Neighborhood Food Focus on Hyde Park
While Logan Square and the West Loop garner most of the glory when it comes to new restaurant and bar openings these days, an unlikely neighborhood is amassing sizable acclaim of its own. Hyde Park, long regarded by north siders as mere museum and college territory, is in rapid expansion mode in terms of dining. From a European-inspired eatery to meatloaf tartines, there are lots of new things to see and eat in this south side neighborhood.
Before Hyde Park erupted into feverish gentrification mode, Matthias Merges made the surprising, offbeat announcement that he was headed to the neighborhood with big restaurant plans. It was especially confounding considering how well established he made himself in Logan Square with Yusho and Billy Sunday, but if the revered chef feels Hyde Park has potential, it’s a sentiment worth heeding. He started with A10 last year, a sunny European-inspired eatery open for dinner, lunch, and brunch on bustling 53rd Street. Merges offers his modernized interpretation of European cuisines with dishes such as pumpernickel-scented marinated beets, smoked ocean trout bruschetta, octopus panella, charred broccoli pizza, bottarga-strew fettuccine, oxtail lasagna, and sweet pea zeppole. Don’t overlook the masterful cocktails, a few of which are on draft. In the near-ish future, Merges is also planning on adding a pared down Hyde Park outpost of his wildly successful north side Japanese bastion, Yusho.
Another big name to put down roots in Hyde Park is Kevin Heisner, one half of the Heisler Hospitality brand responsible for powerhouse hits such as Lone Wolf, Trenchermen, Nightwood, and Sportsman’s Club. For Hyde Park’s Plein Air Cafe & Eatery, his simplest and most casual endeavor to date, Heisner teamed up with Soo Choi, alum of Little Branch Cafe. Situated alongside the historic Robie House amidst the University of Chicago Hyde Park, the airy cafe is bright, vibrant, and warm, bedecked with tasteful taxidermy, plenty of cloud-like whites, and an order window that looks like it was plucked out of a cartoon cottage. The food is courtesy of Pleasant House Bakery, which provides savory pies, assorted tartines, stuffed French toast, and a miscellany of pastries.
The names just keep getting bigger in Hyde Park, with folks from Longman & Eagle and Dusek’s Board & Beer next on the docket. Their long awaited The Promontory is still in the works, with promise of more whole-animal cookery with a cozy hearth oven focus. Jared Wentworth does triple duty as chef at Longman & Eagle, Dusek’s, and the forthcoming Hyde Park venture.
Another new addition to the Hyde Park scene is the second location of Porkchop, the West Loop-based barbecue spot with a proclivity for whiskey. The all-day restaurant and bar is now underway, with more than 150 whiskeys, craft beers, and Southern-style fare prepared by Kenny Robinson.
Also in the works for Hyde Park, another outpost of Sugar Hills Bakery, a concept that originated in the suburbs and opened its first city location in Avondale this spring.
A10
1462 E 5.3rd Street, Chicago
(773) 288-1010
Website
Plein Air Cafe & Eatery
5751 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago
(773) 966-7531
Website
Porkchop
1516 E. Harper Court, Chicago
(312) 733-9333
Website
