Juno is Chef B.K. Park’s answer to Chicago’s need for a contemporary sushi restaurant. Nestled in Lincoln Park, Juno is popular for its amazing sushi, sophisticated ambience and top-notch service.

After closing for 8 months in 2014 due to a fire that destroyed most of the restaurant, Juno continues to reinvent itself and its dishes. The renovated bar space located at the front of the restaurant features warmer tones and Japanese-inspired lighting fixtures. The bar serves small dishes and drinks like beer, wine and sake, which is considered Japan’s national drink and is the base for most of their cocktails.

When you walk by the restaurant, you might often see a near-empty bar, but don’t be deterred. At the back is a minimalist formal dining room which is often packed with eager diners waiting to see what Chef B.K. (formerly of Arami) has to offer.

While the restaurant serves its share of sliced sashimi and maki, the side of raw fish is elevated by Chef B.K.’s remarkable skill and creative flair. For instance, the Special Smoked Hamachi is something that has never been seen before. The nigiris, which come with some shiitake and sweet corn, are smoked right in front of you. Other must-try nigiris are Juno’s signature King Nigiri (spicy king crab and tuna with crunchy potato toppings) and Queen Nigiri (spicy scallop and salmon with crunchy potato toppings).

(Photo Credit: Juno Restaurant)

For hot dishes, most patrons recommend the Confit Chicken Wings, which are more like bite-sized pieces of chicken with sweet pepper marmalade, kohlrabi and togarashi.

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Summer is the perfect time for a picnic! Picnics are a great way for corporate businesses to give back to their employees and show their gratitude for all their steadfast hard work. If you’ve been chosen to plan your company’s annual picnic, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together the below tips to help you save time, money, and unnecessary headaches.

Here’s how to plan a company picnic with as little stress as possible.

Plan ahead as much as possible.

Easier said than done, right? We understand that it’s not always realistic to carve out extra time to plan a company-wide event when you still have your regular job duties to attend to. That’s why we strongly recommend putting together a schedule that realistically addresses the complexity of putting together such a large-scale event. This will ideally go back 5-6 months before your planned picnic date to give you enough time to secure a venue, hire a rock star caterer, and give employees enough notice to clear their schedules.

The trick here is to find a caterer who has the experience needed to take this off your plate. And it’s a bonus if they have partnerships with picnic venues — that way you can scratch two important to-dos off your list right away, and then breathe a sigh of relief!

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We’re pretty notorious for our ability to cater many Jewish holidays in style, with respect to traditional foods and their cultural significance. While we take pride in the menus we put together specifically for holidays like Passover, Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hashanah, there’s something special about being asked to take part in the Jewish coming of age celebrations for boys and girls: bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs.

We recently catered perhaps the coolest bar mitzvah, ever. The whole event revolved around a baseball theme, and was over the top in the best possible way.

All photos provided courtesy of Jai Girard Photography.

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Summers are made for salads! We’re talking big, green, leafy deliciousness filled with all the great fruits and vegetables the season has to offer. It’s the perfect strategic combination of these yummy seasonal ingredients that result in light salads with BIG flavor. 

With summer officially kicking off, we asked Chef Mike to share his top 10 favorite salads he’s whipping up this season, along with a recipe for one of his personal favorites that you can make at home on your own. These light and fresh salads are the perfect sides for grilled main dishes at picnics and potlucks, and are always a standout at backyard barbecues.

WATERMELON & FETA SALAD

Served on a bed of arugula, garnished with sliced almonds and fresh mint.

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In the case of Chris and Daniella, it was their professional involvements that brought them together. After quitting her job at a rival company, Daniella became a client of Chris’, and a networking event turned into love at first sight. From there, they became coworkers, friends, and the rest is history. 

Since both Chris and Daniella have connections in the hospitality industry, they were extremely easy to work with, and had an intimate knowledge of the wedding planning process. This helped make the process so much more fun! We worked closely to find the perfect venue to fit the romantic, city vibe they were looking for, and eventually settled on Harold Washington Library.

To complement the urban feel of their wedding, they wanted to serve a menu that was delicious, fun, and a bit different than what guests might expect. Since the couple love Gene & Jude’s hotdogs, we brought them in for a surprise late night snack, which was a huge hit! And if one Chicago favorite wasn’t enough, Chris & Daniella followed the theme of their wedding through to the guest favors and included Garrett’s popcorn (yum!). Needless to say, the wedding was a Chicago foodie’s dream and we had a blast putting it all together!

Photographer Jill Tiongco matched the vibe of the wedding seamlessly and captured these magical images of the day:

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