No restaurant closing announcement has bummed me out more than the demise of Sabatino’s on West Lawrence Avenue in Chicago. It is/was the kind of old-school place fit for both Tony Bennett and Tony Soprano. I could only afford to eat there once a year, both money-wise and calorie-wise—I wouldn’t eat all day in preparation for the colossal dinner ahead—so I usually saved it for my birthday. My meal was always the same: Focaccia in the bread basket. A lasagna plate so large I would live off the leftovers for the following three days. A plate of tiramisu with a sparkler in it, as I was serenaded by the lovely Sabatino’s waiters. This year it was announced that Sabatino’s is closing after 49 years of serving devoted Chicago patrons like myself, right before Christmas. Maybe I can squeeze in a half-birthday trip on December 21? Thanks for all the good times, Sabatino’s, and the many birthday nights where I was fuller than after Thanksgiving dinner and my stomach stuck out like Santa’s. [Gwen Ihnat]

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Michelin-starred molé

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It’s kismet that The Takeout’s birthday coincides with this wonderful molé guide we ran today, because one of my most memorable birthday dinners took place at Mexico City’s Pujol, a restaurant whose signature dish is called “molé madre, molé nuevo.” I ate this meal in February, so both molés’ deeply complex flavors and surprising contrasts are still fresh in my mind. It felt like an appropriate meal for a 30th birthday: the brightness of something young, melding with the (hopefully) sophistication of something older. [Kate Bernot]