Girl Friday: East Lake Pasta Shop

I've been given full permission by Town Talk Diner managing partner Tim Niver to give full disclosure on their latest venture. It's more-than-tentatively called the East Lake Pasta Shop, and it will be situated on Chicago and East Lake, sharing a parking lot with Chicago Lake Liquors and kitty-korner from the Midtown Global Market. For those familiar with the neighborhood, it's taking over the old Carne Asada building; the one with the windows papered up since February.

A pasta shop. Hell yes.

We're talking a smorgasbord of homemade noodles every day, homemade sauces, fresh-tossed salads with homemade dressings... the whole works. They're even gonna be open for lunch, which is the one little thing I wish would be different about my beloved Town Talk Diner (well, that and being open Mondays, which would seriously cure my post-Sunday night hangover blues). The East Lake Pasta Shop will cater to the takeout connoisseurs (which should very well please the food lovers who regularly visit that corner for delicious world cuisine), and it will also offer a cozy dining room with [at least] beer and wine service for those seeking an inexpensive yet impressive dinner.

As it goes with all restaurant openings, the debut of the East Lake Pasta Shop has been pushed back a few months to early summer. In the meantime, watch for the brand New World Hospitality. It's the Town Talk boys hard at work with catering gigs, not the least of which is an exclusive contract with the Minnesota Center for Photography, which provides an excellent space for the boys to flex their culinary muscles within the premier space for showcasing the best in photographic art from the Upper Midwest.