LINCOLN PARK — It took two years, but Blue Door Farm Stand is finally reopening in its new location Friday at 2010 N. Halsted St.
The farm-to-table restaurant first announced the move from its original location at 843 W. Armitage Ave. more than two years ago. When the conversion of a two-story former yoga studio hit the inevitable snags, it opened a small delivery and carryout kitchen called Blue Door Farm Stand Too in the fondly remembered former Armitage Pizzeria at 711 W. Armitage as a stop-gap pop-up shop.
Blue Door Farm Stand closed that shop last week and opens in a two-story, 4,000-square-foot space on Halsted on Friday, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner and brunch from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends.
It will run abbreviated hours to open of 10 a.m.-4 p.m. through Monday, but starting Tuesday it will be breakfast 8-10 a.m., lunch 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and dinner 4-10 p.m. weekdays (open to 11 p.m. Fridays), brunch 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and dinner 4-11 p.m. Saturdays (closing at 10 p.m. Sundays).
The menu, under the direction of Executive Chef Rey Villalobos, who also calls the shots at Ideology Entertainment Restaurant Group's Blue Door Kitchen & Garden at 52 W. Elm St., again emphasizes fresh food gathered from local farms in the Chicago area, elsewhere in Illinois and in Indiana and Michigan.
The offerings run a wide range, with offerings such as smoked salmon and croissant Americana for breakfast; a Spanish-style Bikini sandwich (Manchego cheese, Serrano ham, pepper jelly) and pho for lunch; and fried-chicken sliders for dinner.
Brunch will include a crab cake benedict. Pastries include carrot cake and smores.
Blue Door boasts a philosophy to "let the seasons dictate what’s on the plate, and keep the mileage between farm and table as small as possible." But longtime fans no doubt feel that it should have included some sort of time-shortening element as well.
