Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/198792
THIS MONTH: GIVING THANKS She's on a Mission WITH FOUND KITCHEN AND SOCIAL HOUSE, AMY MORTON IS GIVING BACK —AND GIVING NORTH SHORE DINERS SOMETHING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT. BY J.P. ANDERSON "I always knew I had another restaurant in me," says Amy Morton. The daughter of steakhouse king Arnie Morton and a restaurant veteran herself as owner of '90s Old Town boîtes Blue Room and Mirador, the petite, pixie-ish Morton stepped away from the business to raise her three children, but she knew she'd eventually be back. "It had to be an organic progression," Morton attests. "If I was going to take time away from being with my family, I needed to be so incredibly sure I was making a difference in my own life and in other people's lives. I wanted a place that was authentic." It doesn't get much more authentic than Found Kitchen and Social House, the downtown Evanston restaurant where Morton's vision has come vividly to life. Featuring a delectable American tapas menu from C-House veteran Nicole Pederson, Found has thrived since its opening last November, becoming not just one of the most enthusiastically reviewed restaurants in the area but also an integral part of the community. The restaurant works with a North Shore nonprofit to offer jobs to those transitioning out of homelessness; offers the space at cost to nonprofits to use for fundraisers on the first Monday of each —AMY MORTON month; and supports the local farming community by sourcing as many ingredients as possible from within a one-hour radius. It's all part of Morton's mission. "That sense of community drives our menu," says Morton, "and we're deeply committed to supporting our farmers. But most important is our social mission: I've worked in the area of homelessness my entire life, and it's such a perfect continued on page 86 American tapas like lamb meatballs with pistachio chimichurri have diners flocking to Found Kitchen and Social House. PHOTOGRAPHY BY NEIL BURGER "I needed to be sure I was making a difference in people's lives." 84 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 084-086_MA_Taste_SMD_Nov13.indd 84 10/21/13 10:47 AM