News, Tips, and Inside Information from the Dining Editors of Chicago magazine
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Going Sola
Carol Wallack, chef-partner at Deleece (4004 N. Southport Ave.; 773-325-1710), is leaving to open Sola (3868 N. Lincoln Ave.) this fall. “‘Sola’ is the feminine form of ‘solo,’” says Wallack, a surfer who once worked as Jack Nicholson’s personal chef. “I’m on my own. I wanted something simple to pronounce and easy to spell.” The dishes will be “very clean, straightforward California-style with a lot of Asian and Hawaiian flavors”—such as a seared tuna with ginger confit with a green papaya salad on a sesame crisp. Sola will be designed by Keith Olsen and Cynthia Vranas, the husband/wife team who did HotChocolate, MK, and Pili.Pili. Sounds promising. Deleece, meanwhile, will be in the hands of Wallack’s partner—her sister, Lynne Wallack-Handler.