Lisa Shames

It’s hard to imagine now, but when Boka restaurant opened nine years ago, co-owner Kevin Boehm had to beg for media coverage. “The only thing that was written about us before we opened was, like, three lines in Dish [Chicago magazine’s weekly e-newsletter],” Boehm, who’s also a partner in Girl & the Goat, GT Fish & Oyster and Balena, says. “And that was just about our cell-phone booth.” These days, between Twitter, Facebook and any number of food-centric blogs, it’s hard not to know every intimate detail about a new restaurant months—sometimes years—before it even serves its first customer. I admit I can get caught up in all the pre-opening hype, too, beyond the fact that as a food writer for the last 12 years, it’s my job to stay current. Whether it’s the mysterious trailer for Next’s current Sicily menu, a video from soon-to-open Belly Q on the making of its handcrafted leather aprons or any number of behind-the-scenes construction photos, I—and in the case of Next, tens of thousands of others—can’t get enough. But I also can’t help but reminisce about the days when restaurants just, well, opened, and I wondered if chefs and restaurant owners do, too. It’s fitting that when I speak with Bill Kim and Yvonne Cadiz-Kim, they’re on their way to a three-day photo shoot for Belly Q, the Randolph Street restaurant they’re opening with Cornerstone Restaurant Group and Michael Jordan in the one sixtyblue space. While the restaurant isn’t slated to open for several weeks, the couple,

Okay, I’ll admit until recently I was clueless about this Far Northwest Side ’hood. But then a longtime resident and friend started going on about all the cool ethnic markets, great independent restaurants and friendly bars—and even friendlier prices—so I decided to check it out. While I’m not sure why there are so many dental clinics (I counted 15) clustered in such a small area, I now know where to head for my next cleaning. Aside from gleaming up those pearly whites, you could also add “eat,” “drink” and “eat more” to the list of things to do in Gladstone Park. The electronic sign outside 1 Andy’s Deli (5442 N Milwaukee Ave, 773-631-7304) lays it on thick when it flashes, “We have it all.” But step inside this European-style market and you’ll agree. Linger among the jars of pickled herring, vats of sauerkraut and frozen pierogi, but don’t leave without a stop in back for housemade sausages. Take a break in the small café next to the deli over a plate of goulash or Flintstone-sized pork shanks. Take dessert elsewhere by wandering next door to 2 Sweet World Pastry (5450 N Milwaukee Ave, 773-792-5566). Owner/baker Adam Ryba is proud of his Polish-style baked goods, including the doughnut-like paczki and jam-filled kolaczki. But it’s his baumkuchen, or “tree cake,” that really gets him talking. Like pound cake but flakier, the tall, multilayered pastry takes a couple of days to make—call ahead to order one. It’s a bit of a trek to 3 Phil’s Pizza D’Oro (5800 N Milwaukee Ave, 77

By now most of us are familiar with ‘family meal,’ the pre-shift supper shared by staff before a restaurant opens. But even before shows like The Bear gave us a behind-the-scenes look into the goings on in a professional kitchen, there were books about the restaurant tradition, like famed chef Ferran Adria’s The Family Meal, inspired by the dishes eaten by his staff at Spain’s El Bulli.   Spend any time on Instagram following those who work in restaurants, however, and you’ll come across posts of chefs thanking other chefs for their staff’s family meal. While not new, this unnamed practice has been pushed into the public eye via social media. Be it for an opening, an award, a birthday or even an unexpected hardship, Chicago chefs can often be found embracing their industry friends and taking care of one another the way they know best: with food. Cooking in Chicago since 2006, Lawrence Letrero of Ravenswood’s Filipino-Cuban Bayan Ko distinctly remembers the first time he was on the receiving end of a gifted family meal. “I was a young line cook at Perennial and during service, we had 50 McDonald’s cheeseburgers delivered,” says Letrero, who believes it came from another Boka Group restaurant. Since then, he’s returned the favor many times, including for Dear Margaret. “I’m good friends with the chef,” he says. “They had just opened and were crushing it, so I sent over a bunch of Cuban sandwiches.” During the pandemic, Letrero leaned into the gifting practice and would often dr