Neal Samors and Eric Bronsky, co-authors of Chicago’s Classic Restaurants: Past, Present & Future, will share stories about this city’s most famous restaurants from pre-1900 through the present on Wednesday, September 12 at 7 pm at Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street.

Samors and Bronsky will show photos and remember the classics like Henrici's, The Bakery, Le Perroquet, The Berghoff, The Pump Room, The Cape Cod Room, The Walnut Room, and Gordon among many others. Then the authors will review how Richard Melman and Lawrence Levy introduced a new type of fun restaurant atmosphere in Chicago restaurants that ranged from R.J. Grunts, D.B. Kaplan, and Fritz That's It! to Lawrence of Oregano and Jonathan Livingston Seafood.

The two authors will note how the restaurant scene turned more upscale with traditional classic restaurants that included Ambria and Le Francais which preceded Everest, Tru, Trio, and Spiaggia. They will trace the road Chicago has traveled to achieve its status with world-class restaurants with “rock star” owners and chefs including Grant DePorter of Harry Caray’s, Chef Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia, Chef Rick Bayless of  Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, and Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea and Next.

Neal Samors, a Chicago native and award-winning author, co-author and/or publisher of 20 books about Chicago, Lake Shore Drive, and The Magnificent Mile.

Eric Bronsky is a freelance writer, historian, photographer and transit enthusiast. Enthralled with Chicago’s restaurants since his youth, Eric has accumulated a collection of menus, postcards, photos, and other restaurant memorabilia which provide many of the illustrations in this book.

Find more free events happening at Oak Park Public Library at http://oppl.org/events/calendar [1].