🍽 ON THE PLATE
Muhājir opened Wednesday at 2630 N. Clark St. — the Lincoln Park debut Chef Zubair Mohajir has been building toward since we first flagged it back in Issue 9. The live-fire restaurant, an extension of the team behind Coach House, Lilac Tiger, Mirra, and this spring's Mariela in the Loop, is built around foreign cuisine and the historic spice routes connecting South and Southeast Asia — think seafood crudos, dosa with prawn ghee roast, and braised meats off the fire. Bobo, the Filipino speakeasy tucked behind it, follows one week later on July 8. Co-led by chef Jacob Dela Cruz and named for his father, Bobo leans into Manila street-market energy — kare kare grilled prawns, slow-cooked lamb ribs, a savory take on hopia — with a bar program built to be looser and brighter than the main dining room's. Reservations on OpenTable.
Craft & Carvery is back — five months after Time Out Market abruptly shuttered and took the sandwich shop's home with it, Richard Vallejo and chef Yanitzin Sanchez reopened Wednesday at 2101 W. North Ave. in Wicker Park. It's a bigger concept now: full brunch service, a coffee bar, and pizza out of a Marra Forni oven the previous tenant left behind. The pair also run Botanero down the street on Ashland.
📅 MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Fourth of July weekend is here and Navy Pier is promising its biggest fireworks show to date — a full 15-minute display Saturday night at 10pm, visible from the lakefront well into the South Pond stretch of Lincoln Park if you don't want to fight the Pier crowds. Separately - the Chicago History Museum (1601 N. Clark St.) caps its Civic Saturdays series with a free Independence Day celebration Saturday — arts and crafts, a sing-along, outdoor activities, free entry for Illinois residents. No ticket needed, just show up.
Bastille Day French Market takes over Lincoln Common Thursday, July 9, starting at 5:30pm. 2345 N. Lincoln Ave.
Stan's Donut Run turns 10 this year — Saturday, July 18 at Soldier Field. 10K at 7am, 5K at 8am, Kids Dash at 9:45am, all benefiting Cal's Angels. donut5k.com
QUICK HITS
BAGGU finally has its Limited Business License for 2118 N. Halsted St., issued July 1 — the last real hurdle for the bag brand's second Chicago store, first teased back in Issue 6.
Colectivo Coffee Roasters filed a Retail Food Establishment license this week for 3258 N. Southport Ave. in Lakeview — a new stop on the Southport corridor for the Milwaukee-based roaster's expanding Chicago footprint.
See you next Friday — The 60614