Hotel lobbyist

Photo: Martha Williams

Here’s how to breathe life into a 130-year-old hotel: Pour $150 million into renovating it, add a contemporary restaurant and hire a restless chef with a globe-trotter’s résumé. At least that’s what Palmer House Hilton did, and this week, it’ll unveil Lockwood. While chef Phillip Foss has seen his fair share of kitchens—in France, Brazil, Maui, Bermuda, Israel and New York—he’s especially psyched about his new hotel gig. “I’m taking French and Italian standards and trying to do some cool things: reinterpretations so that people will want to check out what we’re doing,” Foss says. What he’s doing is turning lobster into beignets and shaving pears over them, and layering braised veal-shank meat with fresh pasta sheets for an “osso bucco lasagna.” Even Bertha Palmer’s fabled brownie (supposedly invented at the hotel in 1893 at her request) gets an update: It’s served with a glass of milk mousse and boozy shiraz-chocolate ice cream. 17 E Monroe St between State St and Wabash Ave (312-917-3404).