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Oak and Char to Start Serving Food But No Booze as it Awaits Liquor License

By Lizzie Schiffman Tufano | October 29, 2014 11:56am | Updated on October 30, 2014 10:58am
 Chef Joseph Heppe, previously of Untitled, will head the kitchen at Oak + Char.
Chef Joseph Heppe, previously of Untitled, will head the kitchen at Oak + Char.
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DNAinfo/Lizzie Schiffman Tufano

RIVER NORTH — Tired of waiting for the city to grant a liquor license for their new fusion restaurant in the old Graham Elliot space in River North, the team behind Oak + Char will start serving food Thursday and run a dry operation until the paperwork clears.

“Although we expect our beverage program to be a key part of Oak + Char, we chose to open pending our license, as our staff  — kitchen and service — has been ready to go for several days," Oak + Char's manager, Art Mendoza, said Wednesday morning. "We are optimistic that we will receive the license very soon, and didn’t want to further delay opening our doors."

Bar master Mae Governale, formerly of Longman & Eagle and Thalia Hall, will have to wait to serve a planned drink list that includes pre-mixed cocktails cured in oak barrels.

Lizzie Schiffman Tufano says the location has been "cursed" recently:

But head chef Joseph Heppe plans to fire up the clay tandoor oven and multiple smokers in Elliot's old kitchen at 217 W. Huron St. for dinner service at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, with menu items that combine different world cuisines and are priced in the $30-$40 range.

Small plates include crispy broccoli with white anchovy, parsnip aoili and calabrian chil, and tandoori octopus with an Italian nduja vinaigrette.

Larger plates include skate schnitzel with cauliflower remoulade and a smoked chicken with kale pesto available by the half or whole.

The restaurant plans to expand to add lunch service soon after opening, with less expensive plates that will cost $20 and under.

The eatery is the first project of a new restaurant group Mendoza co-founded with his son Tyler after both left posts at Untitled

Graham Elliot closed New Year's Day after the chef says he had trouble finding a concept that worked in the space.

 

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