Louisa Chu

Oct 8, 2023 | chicagotribune.com | Louisa Chu

José Sosa might have cooked for you already. Even if you haven’t had a chance to visit his debut restaurant, which opened in August in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. The chef and partner describes his menu simply as contemporary Italian, but it’s more than that. Ummo is the surprising exploration of inventive dishes tempered by personal culture and chosen traditions. Sosa was most recently the executive chef at Gibsons Italia.

Sep 24, 2023 | chicagotribune.com | Louisa Chu

Why did the sudden closing of Chinatown’s Seven Treasures, home of the cult favorite 554, leave long lines and such grief? After all, the iconic dishes live on at Wonton Gourmet in Des Plaines. Their story was our story. And it’s an untold story of love, loss and noodles. Chung and Kai Au owned a wonton noodle shop in Hong Kong before they moved to Chicago. Chung, the family patriarch, immigrated first.

Sep 4, 2023 | chicagotribune.com | Louisa Chu

Veah Larde was destined for the role she took over this year. “I tell people all the time, I’m from this dirt. I’m an Austin girl, born and raised,” Larde said. The chef and resident of the West Side Chicago neighborhood put her busy catering business on hold to take over as manager of Austin Town Hall Market for the season. “I’ve seen the different transitions that the neighborhood has gone through,” she said. She remembers a street full of grocery stores where now there are nearly none.

Aug 27, 2023 | chicagotribune.com | Louisa Chu

Scofflaw has a legacy of culinary overachievement. So you’d think with the success that preceded executive chef Fred Chung, who took over just about a year ago, he might have kept the fan favorites on the menu a little bit longer. The tteokbokki, however, was a victim of its own success. Having missed out on the Korean rice cakes, I had to ask the chef why. “For the cooks really,” he said.

Aug 22, 2023 | chicagotribune.com | Shanzeh Ahmad |Louisa Chu

Chef José Sosa grew up in Michoacán, Mexico, and got his start in restaurants at 16 years old as a dishwasher in Chicago. But Italy is where he really fell in love with food. “In Italy, it’s all about the flavors directly in front of you, those which are cultivated in your backyard,” Sosa said. His passion for the minimalist approach to Italian pasta, seafood and steak is now on display at UMMO, which opened in River North earlier this month, in the former Rockit Bar & Grill space.