Adios.....Bitch.

In 2010 Michelin finally brought its ubiquitous, yet world renown dining guide to the 312. All of the Chicago dining socialistas, including yours truly, were beyond excited. Securing tickets through my concierge hook up from the Peninsula, I was invited to the unveiling party. Hobnobbing with some of the best chefs in the world was a truly amazing and humbling experience. My date for the event (my mother---you don't bring randoms to events like that and I had yet to meet XV), was equally blown away. We strolled through Violet Hour rubbing elbows with my culinary heroes, entrenching my name at the top of  dining lists throughout the city. I was beyond happy that night, and it is still one of my fondest memories since moving back.

With all of that being said, there was one over the top head scratching part of the evening, that frankly, compromised the integrity of the entire endeavor. Since we were the first people to actually see the Guide and its list of winners (and losers I suppose) we were treated to celebrating with the likes of Grant Achatz and the crew from Alinea, and my friend Curtis Duffy and his team from Avenues at the Peninsula Hotel. But, still something was seriously amiss and everybody in the crowd knew it. Somehow, Crofton on Wells had sucked enough French dong that year to finagle a star out of the Guide. WHAT. THE. FUCK. Avec, Publican, Girl and the Goat all got left off the list, yet this pimply faced dorkus named Crofton, made it. For those of you not familiar with Crofton on Wells, their achievement of a Michelin star would be the equivalent of Beavis getting an academic scholarship to Harvard or Susan Boyle winning a beauty pageant.

Anyways, today Crofton announced that it would be closing. Citing a major downturn in business (they probably haven't recovered from paying off the Michelin people to buy a star), management could no longer keep the doors open.

While I don't often celebrate failure (ex-girlfriends aside),they nearly ruined an amazing night for a lot of us in the dining scene and made a mockery of the first edition of the Chicago Michelin Dining Guide. Thus, I'll make an exception this time....Adios, Crofton on Wells, you Michelin Star swindling shithole.

Leave of Absence....

Sorry for not posting in a few weeks folks, I've been dealing with a bunch of bullshit that's precluded me from dropping my typical long winded musings. Between dealing with some health issues (nerve damage in a pretty sensitive area), going back and forth to California for work, and dealing with the near death of my dachshund Zorba (she's like my child--eat a dick if you don't get "pets") it's been a rough four weeks. Nevertheless, these significant life events haven't kept me from dominating the Chicago dining scene as I always do. Keeping that in mind, reviews of Vie (Western Springs), Yusho, Balena, Nellcote, Allium, The Ogden, and follow ups at Anthem and Chicago Q are all in the queue waiting to be processed. Stay tuned for reviews of some seriously good and seriously bad experiences.....

Until then 312.......