Corner Bakery was bought by (surprise!) a private equity group that also owns Il Fornaio. I guess that explains the weird "take a number" system that was instituted at the one in my office building.

Incidentally, Brinker still owns all rights to Maggiano's outside the Chicago area. Not that it seemed special before, but the vast heaving groaning bowls of pasta seem even less special now: just a mile from the Italian Market in Philadelphia, you can eat at a clone of a River North restaurant that's aping a (fictional) Taylor Street establishment. Baudrillard would've loved it, but I don't.

I seek out LEYE spots for dinner twice a year:
- My mom, who managed Chinese restaurants for many years, is consistently amused (in a good way) by LEYE's various attempts at Asian fusion. I'm personally amused by the new downtown Wow Bao; wonder what she'll think of it.
- In July, Brasserie Jo's appetizer menu "follows" the Tour de France around the country, which is a convenient way to experience new regional French cuisine.

I'll give LEYE credit for being good trendspotters: Ba-ba-reeba was among the first in what has become an endless line of tapas/small-plates bars; Osteria Via Stato was the third of what will soon be perhaps a dozen Near North wine bars.