As has been the case several times this year, I have to admire anyone who starts up a new restaurant in the middle of a pandemic, but sometimes it’s easier to just keep plunging forward than to hit the brakes on a project. Two new restaurants have recently started service, and both are worth a peek.
Zeppelin is on the rooftop of the new TownePlace Suites hotel near the state Capitol at 505 Third Ave. N. Helming the kitchen at the new restaurant is chef Aaron Thebault, who came to town as a member of the opening crew at Yolan in The Joseph Hotel. Thebault arrives with a vaunted reputation, having worked at celebrated Chicago restaurants like Girl & the Goat and at Spiaggia under his former employer at Yolan, chef Tony Mantuano.
At Zeppelin, Thebault will showcase his love of seafood and classic Americana cuisine with dishes like a hamachi crudo and a roasted pork loin with apple, tomatillo, jalapeño, blue cheese and tarragon. While I haven’t eaten at Zeppelin yet, I did visit the space before it opened, and the wide-open rooftop should be a great place to enjoy a creative cocktail at happy hour and dine in socially distanced pleasure. They promise that their expansive outside patio will be temperature controlled for four-season dining. (Not Four Seasons Total Landscaping.)
Zeppelin will offer dinner and drinks 4 p.m.-12 a.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Keep an eye out for more on Zeppelin in next week's issue of the Scene!
Across town, the team behind such local favorites as Far East; Love, Peace & Pho; and Banh Mi & Roll Factory have opened up a slick little Vietnamese spot on the ground floor of the building that houses the Moxy Hotel in Hillsboro Village at 1808 20th Ave. S. The latest venture is named Banh Mi and Roll+ and features exactly what the name implies, delicious Vietnamese sandwiches and fresh spring rolls. I live a couple of blocks from the Village, and while the dining options are legion, there aren’t many especially healthy spots to eat in that neighborhood. So the chance to pick up some vermicelli noodle bowls, shrimp rolls or a soy-braised tofu banh mi will be appreciated.
Ahh, who am I kidding? Once I tasted what they jokingly told me was their “meat lover’s special” of a sandwich with BBQ pork, cucumbers, pickled carrots and radishes, jalapeño, cilantro, green onions and a house-made hollandaise sauce, I knew I had a new go-to order!
The “plus” in Banh Mi and Roll+ stands for plus boba tea. Instead of using the typical tapioca powder to make the drink's bubbles, the folks at Banh Mi and Roll+ use all natural ingredients and teas handpicked from Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam, and you can really taste the difference. I’m not a huge tea fan myself, but the wide array of options will excite any lover of the boba.
The ownership group also operates the hip new Chao Nail + Bar next door, so I’m already making plans to enjoy a few spring rolls and some fine Japanese whiskey while my girlfriend gets her nails done. No, no honey. Take your time!
