Gioco Announces New Executive Chef and New Menu

Gioco announces new Executive Chef, Jim Kilberg and his new menu. Chef Kilberg is back at Gioco, where he spent three years as a Sous Chef before traveling back to Italy to immerse himself in Italian culture and cuisine and returned to Chicago as Gioco’s Chef de Cuisine and later as Executive Chef.

Menu highlights include:

• Grilled Baby Octopus
• Braised Duck with House Made Pappardelle 
• Wood-Fire Grilled Veal Chop
• Whole Roasted Branzino with Tomato, Olive and Caper
• Linguini with Clams, Shrimp and Calamari

Chicago restaurateurs Jerry Kleiner and Howard Davis opened Gioco in 1999 and pioneered the retail development in the South Loop and inspired future restaurant groups and Chicago's culinary scene. Kleiner and Davis opened Vivo, Marche and Red Light on West Randolph before today's popular Restaurant Row in the West Loop, where Kleiner had a knack for creating the next hot spot.

“We are delighted to have Chef Kilberg back at Gioco,” says Howard Davis, Owner. “Chef Kilberg’s love for Italian cuisine and culture provides our guests with one of the best authentic Italian dining experiences in Chicago set in a warm rustic space in an historic building in the South Loop.”

For reservations to taste the new menu, call 312.939.3870.

About Gioco
Gioco pioneered the retail development of the South Loop when it opened in September of 1999. The restaurant has been a mainstay in the South Loop neighborhood as other restaurants and stores have opened up over the years. Gioco is located at 1312 S. Wabash in an historic building built in 1890 and is one of the few remaining buildings in Chicago from that era. The Gioco space features the original old brick and plaster walls, an old wooden walk-in cooler and a walk-in safe built into the wall, used by the Chicago gangsters for one of the gambling and/or brothel houses that dominated the area in the early 1900s. Gioco Restaurant was designed to retain these old world elements and to feature them in a modernized space. For more information, visit http://www.giocochicago.com.

New Chef Brings New Menu To Gioco This Fall

Chef Caetano Ascione

Gioco restaurant announced the appointment of Gaetano Ascione as its new Executive Chef. The popular South Loop Italian restaurant was spruced up this spring with new furnishings and a new antipasto bar. Ascione, who arrived at Gioco late this summer, has added some new dishes, including linguini with fresh clams and veal scallopini. Chef Ascione will introduce his new menu this fall.

Ascione is a native of Naples, Italy. He has worked as a chef in Italy, Germany, the UK, and the Bahamas. Chef Ascione was the Chef de Cuisine at the George Town Club in Washington, DC where he served both Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

Gioco will continue serving their popular wood-fired pizzas, veal meatballs, fried calamari, and house-made papardelle with wild boar ragu, but with Chef Ascione’s “culinary perspectives.”

Gioco is located at 1312 S. Wabash Ave. For reservations call 312-939-3870 or visit their Web site.

13th and Wabash Continued

Obstruction Moved
The truck flatbed that was blocking the south-facing stop sign at S. Wabash and 13th has been moved to the east side of S. Wabash near 14th. We put in a call to 311 yesterday and we’re happy to see they made sure the truck was moved.

What we're seeing on S. Wabash these days

What's the 311?
South Loop Connection still hasn’t been able to get any information on how long the water main work will take. The signs say call the 311 operator for information, which we did this afternoon. The 311 operator was very polite, but the work seemed to be as big a surprise to her as to us. She checked with her supervisor, but she was not able to provide any additional information.

"Work on S. Wabash and S. Michigan"

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Timing is Everything
The timing couldn’t be worse for the restaurants along S. Wabash offering alfresco dining, just when the weather is finally getting nice. We called Gioco, but there was no one available to speak with us before this piece was posted. Zapatista’s had their answering service on.

There is also sewer work going on along Michigan Ave., which seems to be another surprise to most of us.

Gioco: It's Open!

Penny Pollack from Chicago Magazine called it on April 20, 2011, and she was right. If you walked by Gioco this evening, you would have seen that the South Loop landmark is open for business.

As promised, Gioco was open for business tonight.

Now that Gioco is open again, will you be dining there any time soon?

Gioco Set to Reopen April 27

According to Chicago Magazine dining editor, Penny Pollack, Gioco is set to reopen on April 27.  Pollack tweeted the news today at 5:29 p.m. According to Pollack's tweet, the renovated space will include "new seasonal dishes + antipasto table w/cured meats, veggies, & cheeses."

A inside view of the popular Italian restaurant and South Loop landmark

It will be nice to see Gioco reopen. That area of Wabash was getting a little gloomy. Are you looking forward to Gioco reopening? Will you be dining there?

South Loop Roundup

It's Spring, Right?
This week the weather turned downright wintry. I couldn’t believe I was wearing earmuffs and down in mid-April. Still, I was out and about in and around the South Loop where there were some interesting sights to see.

The wood exterior of Gioco is sanded down

Closed for Renovations
Gioco's reopening date is a bit unclear, but what is clear is the space is getting a makeover. Workers were sanding down the wood exterior this morning. They updated the message on the restaurant’s answering machine; it says they’re closed temporarily for remodeling. This is an improvement over the previous message that said they didn’t know when they were reopening or why they were closed in the first place. The signs outside the restaurant and the new phone message encourage us to visit Gioco’s Web site, but it still hasn’t been updated to reflect the closure or renovations. Here’s hoping Gioco opens soon.

Construction is underway at Roosevelt and Wabash

Trader Joe's to Open in 2011
There are some rumors around town that the opening of the new Trader Joe’s coming to Roosevelt Rd. and Wabash Ave. has been delayed. I thought I’d contact Trader Joe’s corporate offices to check on the progress. In an e-mail response to my query they said, “We do not currently have a date set but are hoping for late this year [2011].” Not sure that clears things up, but the assumption from the start was that the store wouldn’t be open before the fall of this year.

Printers Row in bloom

Walking near Printer’s Row, I saw this burst of spring and had to take a picture of it. The day was cold and a bit blustery, but this flowering tree was in full bloom.

Just another bus on the sidewalk

Bus Stop, Bus Stop
It isn’t every day that you see a bus on the sidewalk, but this one parked at  the correctional facility on Clark and Van Buren.

The fountain at Chicago Women's Park and Garden

Bubbling Up
Buckingham isn't the only fountain in the city. The fountain at Chicago Women's Park and Gardens is open for the season and bubbling forth in the shadow of the Clarke House Museum.

Gioco: The Lights May Be On, But...

Closed Till Further Notice
Gioco at 1312 S. Wabash Ave. closed suddenly on Wednesday March 23. It was soon revealed that they had their state license revoke for not paying "employee withholding and sales tax payments." Several signs posted said that "...Gioco would be closed today until further notice."

One of several signs posted on Gioco's windows on March 23

Pardon Our Dust
On March 28, Crain's Chicago reported that Gioco was planning to reopen, but that Red Light, another KDK restaurant in the West Loop, was closing for good. Earlier this week, lights were on inside Gioco and some people were spotted inside. New signs were posted to Gioco's window, this time asking "us" to visit the restaurant's Web site. A check of the Web site reveals no new information. In fact, nothing on the Web site has changed since it closed on March 23. The same is true of the message on the answering machine.

Sign posted this week encouraging us to visit Gioco's Web site.

We hope Gioco reopens soon, as reported earlier, but their communication methods, or the lack thereof, give us pause.

Lights Out in the West Loop: Red Light Closes

Red Light at 820 W. Randolph St has closed its doors according to an article in today's Crain's ChicagoBusiness. Just like it's sister restaurant, Gioco, a sign posted on the door Wednesday announced that it was closed. The reason for its closing: an expired state license. Gioco closed its doors on Wednesday too, for falling behind on employee withholding and sales tax payments.

Red Light was a popular pan-Asian restaurant located in the West Loop.

This is another blow to KDK Restaurants, Inc. Jerry Kleiner who said Gioco would be reopening is saying the same about Red Light, although now, he's directing all questions to his lawyer Howard Davis, a KDK partner as is Kleiner.

Gioco's closing was another in a list of restaurant closings on S. Wabash Ave. First Ole' Hardwood closed due to a fire that was called suspicious on December 30, 2010; Opera, another KDK restaurant closed it's doors after dinner service the following day.

In the West Loop, Marché also owned by KDK closed June 13, 2010 after 17 years at 833 W. Randolph St.

Gioco "Shuttered" Over Taxes

According to today's Crain's ChicagoBusiness, South Loop restaurant pioneer, Gioco, closed Wednesday due to falling behind on "employee withholding and sales tax payments."

Gioco was the first of the upscale restaurants on S. Wabash Ave. in the South Loop.

The popular Italian eatery at 1312 S. Wabash Ave. had its state license revoked, while the tax matter is being addressed. The Jerry Kleiner empire that once included such upscale fare as Marché, Room 21, and Opera, now includes only one restaurant--Red Light in the West Loop.

One of several identical signs posted on the windows of Gioco

According to Kleiner, Gioco is profitable, although no actual numbers were disclosed. Gioco's former neighbor, Opera is due to reopen as The Scout this spring.

What do you think? Will Gioco reopen? Would you be sorry to see it go?