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/835995
‒ Secret Source ‒ DANIEL O'LEARY swordfish au poivre. INSIDER TIP: Make tracks to the Shark Bar on Tuesdays during Happy Hour (4 – 7 pm), when the restaurant raffles off a pair of Jimmy Choos. 20 W. Kinzie St., 312-280- 8882; oceancutchicago.com OTTO MEZZO The latest collaboration between nightlife maestros Rockit Ranch Productions and Michelin-starred chef Kevin Hickey, this Italian hang- out opened this spring. Expect intriguing large-format and individ- ual cocktails alike from award- winning mixologist Brandon Phillips in an Italian arts- and cinema-inspired space. 311 W. Chicago Ave., 312-234- 0884; ottomezzobar.com PELAGO It's all in the family at this lovely, intimate Raffaello Hotel destination, where Michelin-starred chef Mauro Mafrici crafts exquisite Italian fare—delicate beef carpaccio with cremini mushrooms, penne pasta with hen ragù and sage—in an elegant space designed by wife Kimberly Anguil Mafrici, an architect and interior designer. 201 E. Delaware Pl., 312-280-0700; pelago restaurant.com PIZZERIA BEBU Thin-crust pizza gets the gourmet treatment at this new Lincoln Park concept, where chef Jeff Lutzow (Publican, Nico Osteria) and team bake pies in a gas-fired, brick-lined oven for three and a half minutes (exactly!), then serve them piping-hot in a metal pizza tin. Toppings include littleneck clams and wild forest mush- rooms. 1521 N. Fremont St., 312-280-6000; bebu.pizza NEW PROXI One of the summer's most hotly anticipated openings, this new Fulton Market District destination from the award-winning team of Emmanuel Nony and chef Andrew Zimmerman gives global street food the gourmet treatment. Expect a livelier and more casual counterpoint to Sepia, its chic-but-buttoned-down sibling restaurant next door, when it opens its doors in June. 565 W. Randolph St., 312-441-1920; proxichicago.com ROCKIT From nightlife king Billy Dec and the squad at Rockit Ranch (Sunda, Bottlefork, Underground, Duck Inn), this was River North's first sports bar- lounge-restaurant hybrid, and it's still the best. The smartly crafted bar fare includes everything from gourmet burgers and salads to addictive, pizza roll-esque Rockit Pockits. 22 W. Hubbard St., 312-645-6000; rockitbarandgrill.com RPM STEAK Power couple Bill and Giuliana Rancic prove that RPM Italian's success was no fluke with this see-and-be-seen sister restaurant, the rare Chicago steak house where stilettos are as common as suits and the meat-heavy menu offers tempting gluten-free and vegetarian options aplenty. 66 W. Kinzie St., 312-284-4990; rpmrestaurants.com SIENA TAVERN The DineAmic Group's flagship restaurant, this River North hot spot WHO: Managing Director, Oak Brook Polo Club (1200 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook, 630-368-5000; oakbrookpoloclub.com). HOME 'HOOD: "Edison Park. It has a downtown feel but with a backyard. Perfect for making the city-to-suburb transition without any separation anxiety." SUMMER CRAVING: "Sunday pitchers of sangria while people-watching on the patio at Quartino (626 N. State St., 312-698-5000; quartinochicago.com)." HIDDEN GEMS: "Flo & Santos (1310 S. Wabash Ave., 312-566-9817; floandsantos .com) in the South Loop. Best thin-crust pizza in the city. The Chicago Water Taxi (chicagowatertaxi.com) is a close second." BEST ARCHITECTURE: "Chicago's river drawbridges. They look timeless and are an incredible display of design, engineering, and functionality." SUMMER FAVE: "The lakefront—so many great views, parks, museums, marinas, and monuments, and they are all connected [to one] another." ULTIMATE INDULGENCE: "Renting a boat on Lake Michigan with friends." PHOTOGRAPHY BY TAYLOR O'LEARY (O'LEARY); COURTESY OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO [THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO], GIFT OF MR. AND MRS. CHARLES DEERING MCCORMICK (MERAHI METUA NO TEHAMANA) French master Paul Gauguin's 1893 painting Merahi metua no Tehamana (Tehamana Has Many Parents or The Ancestors of Tehamana), featured in the Art Institute of Chicago's summer exhibition, "Gauguin: Artist as Alchemist." 132 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM The SOURCE: SCENE