Welcome to the Scene Report, a new column in which Eater Chicago captures the vibe of a notable Chicago restaurant at a specific moment in time.
Parachute was a tour de force, a stunning restaurant that showed both Korean flavors in a different light to Chicago and the rest of the country.
But a decade after opening along Elston, and igniting Avondale as one of the hottest dining neighborhoods in America, Kim and Clark have shifted gears. Parachute HiFi marks their latest attempt at reinventing themselves. While they hope to eventually bring back Parachute in all its fine dining glory to a Downtown Chicago space, their focus right now is to bring back some fun to Elston.
Elston Avenue. The Wait : Parachute was a fine dining restaurant and thanks to its Michelin-star status and notoriety in the Korean community, finding a table without a reservation was nearly impossible during its peak. Find a barstool with your name on it. Need a quick weeknight dinner? Just walk in and grab a table. Kim and Clark have no prior experience spinning records, but they planning on hosting themed music nights.
Parachute HiFi captures the casual nature of these pubs and it may remind customers of another Avondale institution across the street. The menu features a mash-up of Korean, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, and more.
