Mag Picks Alinea As Its National Favorite

IN THE NEWS: City magazine in New York has named its 101 favorite restaurants in the country, with Alinea ( 1723 N. Halsted St., www.alinea-restaurant.com). No. 1 overall. city-magazine.com ... From Chicago magazine's Dish column: "Birthday greetings to the rib joint Twin Anchors (1655 N. Sedgwick St.), celebrating 75 years in Old Town. ... Stephanie Izard is closing her popular Bucktown Mediterranean spot Scylla (1952 N. Damen Ave.) on Aug. 25, but it looks as though Bon Appétit got the news a little late—the September issue profiles Scylla as one of the 12 best small restaurants in the country. ... Congrats to Go Roma (www.goroma.net for restaurant locations), the local Italian chain restaurant group, for receiving Nation’s Restaurant News’ Hot Concepts! award. ... Much to the chagrin of Streeterville loyalists, Original World Famous Gino’s Pizza shuttered its historic spot at 930 North Rush Street two summers ago. The beloved pizza parlor finally resurfaced mid-June in Lincoln Park (1417 W. Fullerton Ave.), but vows to reopen in its original location in about a year. ... Extra Virgin (741 W. Randolph St.) closed two weeks ago. ... Dish also has five questions for Elizabeth Dahl, the new pastry chef at Boka (1729 N. Halsted St). chicagomag.com ... TimeOut Chicago reviews Bluprint (222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, suite 135), and BBop (3952 N Sheridan Rd), and notes the opening of The Orbit Room (2959 N California Ave) timeout.com/chicago.

The Tribune's Phil Vettel gives three stars to The Gage (24 S. Michigan Ave.) and looks at the growing trend of mini-burgers, including those at Homaro Cantu's Moto, and the Trib rates 25 of them. ... Chris LaMorte notes new restaurants Cafe 103 (1909 W. 103rd St), Table Fifty-Two (52 W. Elm St), Bluebird Bistro & Wine Bar (1749 N. Damen Ave), and Nazarlik (1650 W. Belmont Ave). ... Bill Daley's Cheap Eats visits Shan Restaurant (5060 N. Sheridan Road). ... The Trib's Kevin Pang has a first bite at Marge's Still (1758 N. Sedgwick Ave), while Monica Eng has a first bite at Otom (951 W. Fulton Market). chicagotribune.com ... The Sun-Times' Pat Bruno raves about chef/owner Michael Taus' Zealous (419 W. Superior), while Lisa Donovan considers the soft-shell crabs at Cy's Crab House on North Ashland. suntimes.com ... The Reader compares upscale ice cream, including Hot Chocolate (1747 N. Damen). ... Mike Sula takes a first look at two new Turkish restaurants, Cafe Orchid (1746 W. Addison) and Nazarlik (1650 W. Belmont). chicagoreader.com ... Menu Pages notes the recent opening of Rosebud Prime in the South Loop. blogs.menupages.com/chicago ... ChicagoBites.com reviews Dine (733 W. Madison St.). ... ChicagoBurgerProject.blogspot.com visits Twisted Spoke (501 N Ogden Ave, 3365 N Clark St). ... Chicagoist.com reviews Sweets & Savories and the South Side's Racine Bakery and Deli. ... USA Today rounds up tiki bars, including: Portland's Alibi Lounge, River Grove (Ill.)'s Hala Kahiki, Los Angeles' Tiki-Ti, San Francisco's Tonga Room, Atlanta's Trader Vic's, Saugus (Mass.)'s Kowloon, Fort Lauderdale's Mai-Kai, and Smyrna (Tenn.)'s Omni Hut. usatoday.com ... Crain's ChicagoBusiness.com reviews Republic Pan-Asian Restaurant & Lounge (58 E. Ontario St), and Marche (833 W. Randolph St).

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com