There’s a new chef at Found Kitchen and Social House (1631 Chicago Ave., Evanston), and owner Amy Morton is dropping hints that more change is on the way.
“I actually have a lot to say, but let’s leave it (for now) at our incredible new chef, Bradford Phillips,” she said. “He actually came on board a little while ago. He’s got an incredible pedigree (stints with Paul Kahan and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, much work with the LM Restaurant Group), and he’s ready and excited to make a change.”
Phillips has been focusing on Found, but also will oversee menu development at The Barn, Morton’s other Evanston restaurant.
“We’re reconnecting with what Found always was meant to be,” Morton said, “really getting back to a major veg focus. One of the fun things about (Phillips) is his great synergy with my flexitarian motto (a diet philosophy that’s vegetable-focused but occasionally includes meat and fish). We’re going clean and mean, really vibrant on the palate and the plate.”
And what is this change at which Morton is hinting? She has been planting clues on Found Kitchen’s Facebook page this month, suggesting a transition from Found’s original, 1920s-Bohemian-Paris vibe to something in the 1960s protest era. Recent posts have quoted song lyrics by John Lennon, Paul Simon and the Grateful Dead; another declared, “Found is soon to emerge from its chrysalis”; and a post May 8 said June 8 is when the next iteration of Found will be revealed.
“Found has been one thing for five years,” Morton said, “and the last couple of years I’ve been exploring who I want to be in the next five. The timing couldn’t be better.”
pvettel@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @PhilVettel
