- Michael Gebert
Leghorn Chicken, the long-awaited chicken sandwich stand from chef Jared Van Camp and the others at Element Collective (Nellcôte, Kinmont, etc), opened at 11 AM at 959 N. Western yesterday, and closed less than two hours later, all 600 of the chicken parts prepared for its sandwiches gone. Under normal circumstances 600 would be a very ambitious number for a sandwich shop on opening day, so I wouldn’t say that I think selling out was exactly part of the plan—but I doubt anybody really minded it either. As with Brendan Sodikoff’s Green Street Smoked Meats a month ago, running out on opening day makes for good buzz, perfect for spreading even more widely by social media. In any case, it’s proof that there’s no such thing as a neighborhood restaurant or a soft opening any more, as a corner on Western in Ukrainian Village became Chicago’s foodie epicenter on a Thursday—for an hour and 45 minutes, anyway.
• Serious Eats Chicago contributor Dennis Lee, fresh off his coveted role as “Asian extra in Cosby sweater” in the new Transformers movie, has launched a Web series called Table For One devoted to the delights of eating alone, as at White Castle on Valentine’s Day. OK, if that sounds depressing, you’re right; although the places Lee plans to visit on the show are real, he says the show is kind of a metaparody of food TV “about a guy going around and trying to enjoy meals alone, despite terrible loneliness, while trying to keep some semblance of a food show together.” Episode one:
