Openings

Bavette’s Bar and Boeuf Does a Soft Opening Tonight… Smartly

Brendan Sodikoff
Brendan Sodikoff

Among a certain class of restaurant goers the term “soft opening” has become kind of a dirty word— meaning “you’re going to charge me full price, but I’m not supposed to share my opinion until you’ve had at least a month of practice.” Of course, no one was in such a hurry to get to places, necessitating soft openings, until people made it so everybody had to be everywhere the minute it existed at all. Anyway, with all that in mind we have to give a tip of the hat to Brendan Sodikoff and his latest place Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf, which is at 218 W. Kinzie near all that other new stuff that has opened around there or will soon (Untitled, Bub City, etc.), for the way they’re handling this thorny issue. Yes, they’re in soft opening mode tonight through Thursday, and you will pay full fare, but the cool part is— 100% of the proceeds will go to Heshima Kenya, a youth refugee organization in Nairobi, Kenya. So they’re using this first world problem to benefit a third world problem— even if Bavette’s feast at this “traditional American steakhouse with a European influence” doesn’t thrill you, you’ll know your money went somewhere good, which is a smart way of blunting any possible criticism. And hey, you know that with Sodikoff being to food what Andrew Lloyd Webber was to 80s musicals, it’ll be packed soon enough, so why not go now. To get a reservation tonight through Thursday, call 312-624-8154. [312 Dining Diva]

Bavette’s Bar and Boeuf Does a Soft Opening Tonight… Smartly