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• The nomination process for the Jean Banchet Awards, the top local restaurant and chef awards, is now open through Monday. Go here to see the past winners and make your nominations.
• After the Chef Ball, two of the visiting chefs, Jason French from Ned Ludd in Portland and pastry chef Kyle McKinney from Barley Swine in Austin will join West Town’s Two for a guest-chef dinner on Sunday night. The a la carte menu will include cocktails and draft beers at half price, with a portion of the proceeds going to Meals on Wheels Chicago. Call 312-624-8363 for reservations.
• Sloopin reports that the South Loop’s Panozzo’s Italian Market, which I wrote about here, may be closed for good. (It’s closed, the “for good” part is up in the air.) It looks like Panozzo’s has been unable to make the leap from upscale grocer to sit-down deli/restaurant successfully in its neighborhood. There’s more speculation, informed and not, at LTHForum, suggesting that the neighborhood may not have been supportive of handcrafted artisanal foods charging more than Subway, an attitude you never see anywhere else, like the comments section on this piece.
