Jan. 21--A very different sort of takeover will take place Friday through Feb. 4 at Homestead on the Roof (1924 W. Chicago Ave., 773-332-2354).
Steadfast, a new restaurant from the Fifty/50 Restaurant Group (Homestead on the Roof, Berkshire Room, The Sixth, West Town Bakery and more), will open this spring in an under-construction Kimpton hotel in the Loop (39 S. LaSalle St.).
"We got the opportunity to lease some space and be the hotel's main-floor restaurant," said Fifty/50 co-owner Scott Weiner.
Steadfast's opening is months away, however (Weiner said he's hoping for May), so, starting Friday, Homestead chef Chris Davies and pastry chef Chris Teixeira essentially will take over their own restaurant, using it for a two-week preview of their Steadfast menu.
The takeover will run concurrently with Chicago Restaurant Week, which is not entirely coincidental; Weiner said Homestead was planning to be a Restaurant Week participant, but missed out due to a "clerical error."
So in the Restaurant Week spirit, Steadfast/Homestead will feature a three-course, $33 menu and a four-course, $55 menu, both at dinner.
The three-course menu will include such dishes as kale salad with candied walnuts and a chorizo-stuffed chicken ballotine with black truffles; the longer menu will offer carrot pave with smoked carrot puree, fideo with black-garlic squid and butter-poached lobster, among other choices. Some dishes will be available a la carte as well.
Steadfast will represent a big step up for the restaurant group. "We've had success with sports bars and pizza," Weiner said, "but we think we can compete with the big boys."
Specifically, Weiner thinks Davies and Teixeira are ready for a more prominent stage.
"We've always felt it's been difficult to showcase what Tex and Chip can do at Homestead," Weiner said. "We wanted to find a place where we could say, 'OK, guys, let's show everybody what you can do.'"
Steadfast will hold about 70 seats, with a 20-seat bar and a 14-seat wine-tasting room. In-house charcuterie and an ambitious beverage program (utilizing elements and talent from The Berkshire Room and The Sixth) with specialty ice will be featured.
"We got a pretty good deal on the space," Weiner said. "We're in a position where we don't have to hit a 22-percent food cost. It's going to be a hell of a value to dine here."
Phil Vettel is a Tribune critic.
