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!
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEXANDER TAMARGO/WIREIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES (JORDAN) SO MANY DINNERS (SO LITTLE TIME) The most popular dish —Dover sole—is filleted tableside. Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio carved their initials into the bar. REMEMBER THE TIME Among the Cape Cod's many traditions is a more recent one: Groups of more than 20 people are presented with a wooden paddle to sign, and then it's given pride of place on the wall. The paddle has special meaning to Kirk McKie, whose mother, brother, and a couple dozen relatives and friends recently held a memorial at the restaurant for her father, a longtime Cape Cod regular. "It was a sad time that turned a switch for many of us from mourning to really celebrating my father and his life," McKie said. "So now when my 12-year-old daughter comes back and sees the paddle, she can talk about her memories at the Cape Cod. It was perfect." Michael Jordan, Cape Cod guest continued from page 72 While growing up in Peoria, McKie and her family would travel to Chicago for events or Christmas shopping, stay at The Drake, and dine at the Cape Cod Room—just as her mother did with her parents. Today McKie and her hus- band, who live in Chicago, have reg- ular dates at Cape Cod for drinks and Bookbinder soup. "As you see Chicago continue to evolve, you see some of these institutions frequented less," McKie says. "That histori- cal element of the city [is] how we ended up being here today. I still love Cape Cod." It's these personal connections that make Cape Cod a clas- sic. And as the restaurant prepares to celebrate its 80th year, there's a sense of excitement about bringing this iconic restau- rant back into the spotlight. "The anniversary is an opportunity for us to reintroduce the Cape Cod room to Chicagoland," says general manager Ted Daskalopoulos. "It used to be all locals— politicians, upscale Gold Coast customers, VIP personalities. Over the years that has changed because of the trends. Now we have a lot of out-of-towners—it's become famous and somewhat of a tourist attraction. People want to be part of the history of this famous place." MA 74 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM ON THE HALF SHELL After being closed for several years, the restaurant's renowned oyster bar reopened this fall. Hazel Barr remembers it as one of her and her husband, Warren's, favorite date spots. "It was a very romantic place," she said. "We used to go there just the two of us, have a glass of wine, the soup.... It was cozy, warm, and romantic." Now those days are back again, with a new bar menu featuring oyster dishes, clams casino, mussels gratin, Shrimp de Jonghe, Osetra caviar, crab cakes, escargots, and, of course, the famous Bookbinder soup.