Nov. 21--Dining at Ceres' Table (3124 N. Broadway, 773-922-4020) just got a little sweeter. The Lakeview restaurant just announced that pastry whiz Christine McCabe has joined the team as executive pastry chef.
McCabe will create desserts and brunch-menu pastries for the Italian restaurant. Fans of Interurban Cafe Pastry Shop (in the alley off Armitage Avenue at Halsted Street) need not worry; Interurban remains very much McCabe's baby.
"I finally found a time when I can fit it all in," she said.
McCabe said her goal is to upgrade the complexity and look of Ceres' desserts. "I'll keep it in the same (Italian) vein," she said of the desserts, "and fill in some little things, as I like to do."
The menu already reflects McCabe's changes; new items include an apple crostata with caramel creme anglaise, and a flourless chocolate cake with pecan-brittle ganache. "I really like the honey cotta," she said. "It's got cranberry granita and pomegranates."
The sugary swath that has been McCabe's career includes several years as pastry chef at Charlie Trotter's, the creation of Glazed and Infused doughnut shop and the short-lived but spectacular Sugar / A Dessert Bar in River North.
Phil Vettel is a Tribune critic
