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Parachute One of Nation's 10 Best New Restaurants, Says Bon Appetit

By Janet Rausa Fuller | August 18, 2015 2:56pm

Chef Beverly Kim (in white shirt) and staff at Parachute, just named to Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurants list. [Parachute/Facebook]

AVONDALE — Parachute, the 40-seat Korean-American spot at 3500 N. Elston Ave., has gone big time.

Bon Appetit magazine has named the restaurant run by wife-and-husband chefs Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark one of the nation's 10 best new restaurants.

Columnist Andrew Knowlton called it "delectably rogue" and its bacon-studded bing bread "easily the most addictive thing I've eaten all year."

Not that Chicago diners don't already know all this. The lively little restaurant, whose windows are breezily dressed with parachute fabric, has routinely packed in the crowds since opening in May 2014. It was in the running for a James Beard Award this year in the Best New Restaurant category.

When there's a wait — and there usually is if you walk in, though they now take reservations — the person at the door will happily take your cell phone number and text you when a table opens up.

"What an honor! Congrats to the hard working staff who support @ParachuteResto we couldn't have done it without you," Kim tweeted Tuesday morning.

Formerly the executive chef at Aria in the Fairmont Hotel and a Kendall College instructor, Kim had a memorable turn as a contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef." She and Clark cooked together briefly at Bonsoiree (now Table, Donkey and Stick) in Logan Square before taking the leap on their own with Parachute, serving their take on the Korean food of Kim's upbringing.

The hot pot, like the bibimbap and everything else on the menu at Parachute, changes frequently. [Parachute/Facebook]

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