Prattentious

Tonight I decided to try out the new kebab joint on Sheridan just below Pratt. It went in sometime in the last couple months and looked so lonely in that near-empty block of shops. But I was looking for someplace near the Loyola stop to grab some dinner and the reviews on Yelp were glowing. The menu is straightforward: They do kebabs and...kebabs. Apparently they have falafel, too, which I didn't see on the menu but the nice man behind the counter gave me a free sample to compensate for not withholding the tomatoes.

He also gave me a sample of the chicken, which is fortunate because (and I know everyone's going to suspect my account of being hacked when I say this) it was tastier than the pork. Better seasoned and--what's even more surprising--juicier. Not that the pork is bad, mind you, but I wouldn't have come back just for that. Serving sizes are generous as are the vegetable toppings, it's clean and bright inside, and it has a chummy feel. The owners are South Slavs of some sort; I didn't get a chance to ask what.

But that stretch is potentially going to become much more interesting. The huge corner storefront is being refurbished and is slated to host a "social café" which the owner reportedly describes as something like an eco-friendly Panera. I could go for that. And a glance across the street confirmed that Ropa is no more and its replacement is a "bar and grill" called Aqua. I'm in awe of the nerve it takes to open a new restaurant at any time, but I'm particularly impressed by the number of people taking that leap of faith in one of the shittiest economies on record.