Openings

Rosebud Trattoria Closes, Chef To Open Domestic In River North

We’re trying to remember if we even ever noticed that there was a place called Rosebud Trattoria in River North. With at least four other Rosebud restaurants within a couple of square miles, we may have simply looked right through it. But DNAInfo reports on some changes which may make it more noteworthy. Peter Balodimas was a chef who had an acclaimed restaurant in St. Charles called Fahrenheit before joining Rosebud as a corporate chef; now he’s going out on his own and taking Rosebud Trattoria with him. (It closed after service Saturday.) He has taken over the restaurant’s lease at 445 N. Dearborn and plans to reopen as Domestic, which he describes as a farm-focused restaurant with Southern leanings. He explains:

“The phrase ‘farm-to-table’ is bastardized,” Balodimas said. “It’s going to be very farm-focused, but I’m going to be drawing from across America.

“For me to be ‘local,’ within a 100-mile radius, I’d be losing out on a lot of great ingredients.”

That’s a reasonable position— farm to table typically overlaps with, but doesn’t have to be synonymous with, locavorism— but it’s also the kind of thing we’ve heard when places want to claim to be all farmery but don’t really mean it. Balodimas goes on to name-check a fine Wisconsin cheese, and he touts a planned in-house charcuterie menu and regional craft brews, so we hope the next time we hear about Domestic he’s touting the advantages of buying from great midwest farmers. [DNAInfo]

Rosebud Trattoria Closes, Chef To Open Domestic In River North