Sample Ukrainian Pastries and Chicken Kyiv at This Stunning Sequel
On Wednesday, June 4 at 10 a.m., the couple will grow their community with the opening of Abrah just a few steps away at 2269 N. Lincoln Avenue. While coffee is the star at Soloway, at Abrah it's bread and pastries. The all-day bakery and bistro features a different menu of coffee drinks, baked goods, and more complex dishes for brunch and dinner.
Like at Soloway — a term of endearment and sign of spring, meaning 'nightingale' in Ukrainian — Abrah's kitchen doesn't feature any prominent chefs. The couple recently hosted a four-day master class for their staff led by celebrated French pastry chef Romain Dufour.
'We have a good team, and we train them, so the end result behind everything is due to the teamwork,' Artur says.
Adds Iryna in Ukrainian, which Artur translates into English: 'There's not a single dish or pastry that isn't our vision and matches our lifestyle philosophy. We want to make sure that people feel there is a personal touch to every project we do.'
Abrah is divided into two spaces. One features freshly baked breads and to-go pastries, including creme brulee danish, seasonal berry-filled laminated pastry, and classic plain croissants. On the savory side, there's kimchi danish and puff pastry topped with roasted vegetables, bacon, and mashed sweet potato. For the streamlined coffee program, they have collaborated with the Soloway roastery team in Ternopil to create a 100 percent arabica custom blend with hints of peach yogurt, blueberry, and linden honey. Tea options are from Chicago's Spirit Tea. The couple also plans on adding a small retail section with items made on premises and unique imports.
An intimate dining room open for breakfast, brunch, and dinner, with seating for 24 guests, occupies the other side, with an open kitchen dominating the space. For the menu, the couple found inspiration from France, Scandinavia, and Ukraine with American touches as well. 'We've been here for two years in Chicago, and we've noticed what are the local favorites,' says Artur. But they will be open to feedback. 'We will listen to our guests to make sure that they find what they're looking for.'
'We'll try to surprise our guests with unexpected flavors,' says Iryna, adding that the goal will be to present the ingredients in a way that best showcases them.
Menu dishes include a Kyiv-style chicken cutlet, which is filled with dill butter. It's served atop parsnip puree and finished with pickled onions. Charred romaine and garlicky baby potatoes tossed in smoked paprika and butter sauce accompany a grilled skirt steak paired with a peppercorn sauce. Gombovci, a classic dish from Western Ukraine, features tender dumplings made from fresh farmer's cheese, flour, and eggs. They're filled with ripe cherries and include a coating of breadcrumbs, which adds a delicate crunch. They're garnished with a rich sour cream sauce, seasonal fruit, and cherry jam.
The concise wine list features natural wines, including pét nats. For brunch, the cocktail offerings focus on aperitif-style drinks, while in the evening, there are espresso martinis and whiskey sours along with other classics.
The interior design of Abrah features many custom elements, including charming food images hand-drawn by Iryna on white tiles on one wall. Lime-wash paint with delicate warm undertones helps create a calming atmosphere. Above the pass of the open kitchen, light blue and white patterned tiles add a vintage touch. A small patio is planned for the middle of the summer.
For the name of their second venture in Chicago, the couple looked close to their new home. 'We wanted to play a bit with Abraham Lincoln as this is Lincoln Park,' says Iryna. 'We decided to give some respect for the street and area that accepted us as strangers and made us feel very welcome.'
Tour the space before Wednesday's opening below.
Abrah , 2269 N. Lincoln Avenue, opening on Wednesday, June 4; opening hours will be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday through Sunday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
8 minutes ago
Japan votes in a key election as Prime Minsiter Ishiba faces a loss and political uncertainty
TOKYO -- Japanese were voting Sunday for seats in the smaller of Japan's two parliamentary houses in a key election with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his ruling coalition facing a possible defeat that could worsen the country's political instability. Voters were deciding half of the 248 seats in the upper house, the less powerful of the two chambers in Japan's Diet. Early results were expected Sunday night. Ishiba has set the bar low, wanting a simple majority of 125 seats, which means his Liberal Democratic Party and its Buddhist-backed junior coalition partner Komeito need to win 50 to add to the 75 seats they already have. That is a big retreat from the 141 seats they had pre-election, but media surveys predict big setbacks for Ishiba. A poor performance on Sunday would not immediately trigger a change of government because the upper house lacks the power to file no-confidence against a leader, but it would certainly deepen uncertainty over his fate and Japan's political stability. Ishiba would face calls from within the LDP party to step down or find another coalition partner. Soaring prices, lagging incomes and burdensome social security payments are the top issues for frustrated, cash-strapped voters. Stricter measures targeting foreign residents and visitors have also emerged as a key issue, with a surging right-wing populist party leading the campaign. Sunday's vote comes after Ishiba's coalition lost a majority in the October lower house election, stung by past corruption scandals, and his unpopular government has since been forced into making concessions to the opposition to get legislation through parliament. It has been unable to quickly deliver effective measures to mitigate rising prices, including Japan's traditional staple of rice, and dwindling wages. U.S. President Donald Trump has added to the pressure, complaining about a lack of progress in trade negotiations, and the lack of sales of U.S. autos and American-grown rice to Japan despite a shortfall in domestic stocks of the grain. A 25% tariff due to take effect Aug. 1 has been another blow for Ishiba. Ishiba has resisted any compromise before the election, but the prospect for a breakthrough after the election is just as unclear because the minority government would have difficulty forming a consensus with the opposition. Frustrated voters are rapidly turning to emerging populist parties. The eight main opposition groups, however, are too fractured to forge a common platform as a united front and gain voter support as a viable alternative. The emerging populist party Sanseito stands out with the toughest anti-foreigner stance with its 'Japanese First' platform that proposes a new agency to centralize policies related to foreigners. The party's populist platform also includes anti-vaccine, anti-globalism and favors traditional gender roles. Conservative to centrist opposition groups, including the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, or CDPJ, the DPP, and Sanseito have gained significant ground at the Liberal Democrats' expense. The spread of xenophobic rhetoric in the election campaign and on social media has triggered protests by human rights activists and alarmed foreign residents.
8 minutes ago
Trump administration imposes limits on Mexican flights and threatens Delta alliance in trade dispute
The Trump administration imposed new restrictions Saturday on flights from Mexico and threatened to end a longstanding partnership between Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico in response to limits the Mexican government placed on passenger and cargo flights into Mexico City several years ago. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Mexico's actions to force airlines to move out of the main Benito Juarez International Airport to the newer Felipe Angeles International Airport more than 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) away violated a trade agreement between the two countries and gave domestic airlines an unfair advantage. Mexico is the top foreign destination for Americans with more than 40 million passengers flying there last year. "Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg deliberately allowed Mexico to break our bilateral aviation agreement,' Duffy said, referring to the previous president and his transportation secretary. 'That ends today. Let these actions serve as a warning to any country who thinks it can take advantage of the U.S., our carriers, and our market. America First means fighting for the fundamental principle of fairness.' All Mexican passenger, cargo and charter airlines will now be required to submit their schedules to the Transportation Department and seek government approval of their flights until Duffy is satisfied with the way Mexico is treating U.S. airlines. It's not immediately clear how Duffy's actions might affect the broader trade war with Mexico and negotiations over tariffs. A spokesperson for Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum didn't reply immediately to a request for comment. Sheinbaum didn't mention the new restrictions during either of her two speaking events on Saturday. Delta and Aeromexico have been fighting the Transportation Department's efforts to end their partnership that began in 2016 since early last year. The airlines have argued that it's not fair to punish them for the Mexican government's actions, and they said ending their agreement would jeopardize nearly two dozen routes and $800 million in benefits to both countries' economies that come from tourism spending and jobs. 'The U.S. Department of Transportation's tentative proposal to terminate its approval of the strategic and pro-competitive partnership between Delta and Aeromexico would cause significant harm to consumers traveling between the U.S. and Mexico, as well as U.S. jobs, communities, and transborder competition," Delta said in a statement. Aeromexico's press office said it was reviewing the order and intended to present a joint response with Delta in the coming days. But the order terminating approval of the agreement between the airlines wouldn't take effect until October, and the airlines are likely to continue fighting that decision. The airlines said in a previous filing fighting the order that it believes the loss of direct flights would prompt over 140,000 American tourists and nearly 90,000 Mexican tourists not to visit the other country and hurt the economies of both countries with the loss of their spending. ___
Buzz Feed
31 minutes ago
- Buzz Feed
46 Pictures That Sum Up Living In The US Right Now
I feel so bad for kids nowadays. I mean, I'm not surprised they feel this way. Jesus. We live in the Bad Place. Oh, cool, this doesn't sound dystopian at all! As if Palantir wasn't a scary enough company without reminding you that it's watching with this massive ad. ...Yeah, not really feeling like this is a r/MadeMeSmile situation. It should not have cost $41k to begin with. And it should not take two decades to pay off student loans. We shouldn't have to donate plasma from our bodies to afford books for school. College already costs an arm and a leg, and then they charge prices like this just to access course materials. This is not the heartwarming story it's framed as. Neither is this. One of the things I hate most about Trumpism is that he's given every misogynistic, xenophobic, racist asshole permission to be a massive misogynistic, xenophobic, racist asshole in public. I heard this ad recently in a taxi. For reference, over 90% of NYC taxi drivers were born outside the US, as of 2020. "No one wants to work anymore" for a reason, it seems. want to work. But they're not even getting past the door. Remind me again why people who work part-time (who, btw, are also probably working another job or in school), can't have time off? The fact that police violence is so bad that this needs to exist is pretty damning. Can AI help make the world a better place? Maybe one day. But so far, AI is giving a ton of inaccurate info, creating dangerous situations, and spewing stuff like this. Remind me who said Trump would pay for these tariffs? I feel like there's an easier way to protect kids from death via gunshot wound ( gun laws?), but okay. This is the state of American healthcare. As is this. Imagine denying someone a CANE. In case you need a more damning indictment of American healthcare, here ya go. We wouldn't need to have cards to remind ICE and law enforcement agents of our rights if they weren't trying to violate those rights. This is concerning as hell. "I never thought Leopards would eat MY face!!!!" And yet this is what rural states voted for. The fact that this question is even being landlords deserve jail time. Oh man, we are so, so cooked. Sounds about right for America. Cool, glad investors can benefit from this. Well, as long as the investors are good! Is this legal? Why are younger people paid less for the same work? This is where we're at now. This is why people can't buy homes. What happens when we all get priced out of any housing at all? Yep, that pretty much sums it up. The whole internet's full of paywalls. Since most people get their news from the all pretty much screwed. Remember when we fought a war so that we wouldn't have a king? Look how far we've fallen. This is horrifying. What in the propaganda...? Sorry, how is this different from the bus, and why is it more expensive? suspicious. And Brother is watching, y'all.
