After years of focusing much of its attention on the West Loop and the Fulton Market district, the Boka Restaurant Group (@bokarestaurantgroup) is ready to open not one, but three concepts on the busy Southport Corridor in Lakeview. You might already know about two of them: Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat Diner (@littlegoatdiner) is relocating from the West Loop, while GG’s Chicken Shop (@ggchickenshop), a fried chicken sandwich concept from chef Lee Wolen (@leewolen), will finally get a permanent home after launching virtually during the pandemic. The third project is brand-new. Gene Kato (@chefgenekato), the chef at Momotaro, is behind Itoko (@itokochicago), a sushi and robata restaurant that opened yesterday. “Itoko means cousin in Japanese,” Kato said. “It has a lot of the DNA of Momotaro in it, including the quality of the product and the high standards.” But Kato is quick to add there will be big differences, with only about 20% of the dishes brought over from Momotaro. “Once we took the neighborhood into consideration, along with input from the chef team, the style of the restaurant became something very unique,” he said. In particular, Kato hopes the restaurant connects with the people who call the neighborhood home. Tap the link in our bio to find what that means and for 5 more new restaurants in Chicago. ?Nick Kindelsperger and Lauryn Azu / Chicago Tribune / @nkindelsperger ?E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune / @ejwamb
March 2, 2023
After years of focusing much of its attention on the West Loop and the Fulton Market district, the Boka Restaurant Group (@bokarestaurantgroup) is ready to open not one, but three concepts on the busy Southport Corridor in Lakeview.
You might already know about two of them: Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat Diner (@littlegoatdiner) is relocating from the West Loop, while GG’s Chicken Shop (@ggchickenshop), a fried chicken sandwich concept from chef Lee Wolen (@leewolen), will finally get a permanent home after launching virtually during the pandemic.
The third project is brand-new. Gene Kato (@chefgenekato), the chef at Momotaro, is behind Itoko (@itokochicago), a sushi and robata restaurant that opened yesterday. “Itoko means cousin in Japanese,” Kato said. “It has a lot of the DNA of Momotaro in it, including the quality of the product and the high standards.”
But Kato is quick to add there will be big differences, with only about 20% of the dishes brought over from Momotaro. “Once we took the neighborhood into consideration, along with input from the chef team, the style of the restaurant became something very unique,” he said.
In particular, Kato hopes the restaurant connects with the people who call the neighborhood home. Tap the link in our bio to find what that means and for 5 more new restaurants in Chicago.
?Nick Kindelsperger and Lauryn Azu / Chicago Tribune / @nkindelsperger
?E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune / @ejwamb
You might already know about two of them: Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat Diner (@littlegoatdiner) is relocating from the West Loop, while GG’s Chicken Shop (@ggchickenshop), a fried chicken sandwich concept from chef Lee Wolen (@leewolen), will finally get a permanent home after launching virtually during the pandemic.
The third project is brand-new. Gene Kato (@chefgenekato), the chef at Momotaro, is behind Itoko (@itokochicago), a sushi and robata restaurant that opened yesterday. “Itoko means cousin in Japanese,” Kato said. “It has a lot of the DNA of Momotaro in it, including the quality of the product and the high standards.”
But Kato is quick to add there will be big differences, with only about 20% of the dishes brought over from Momotaro. “Once we took the neighborhood into consideration, along with input from the chef team, the style of the restaurant became something very unique,” he said.
In particular, Kato hopes the restaurant connects with the people who call the neighborhood home. Tap the link in our bio to find what that means and for 5 more new restaurants in Chicago.
?Nick Kindelsperger and Lauryn Azu / Chicago Tribune / @nkindelsperger
?E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune / @ejwamb
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