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"I'm intrigued by a new brewpub named for the original 40-acre parcel that became modern-day North Park, which is prepping to launch next month on University Avenue. Owners Steve and Patricia Billings, longtime area residents and proprietors of local bar fixture U-31, are aiming to bring a “next-level” brewery-restaurant to the neighborhood. Chef Luke Johnson, who formerly helmed the kitchen at Cutwater Spirits and has cooked in Michelin-starred kitchens from Spiaggia in Chicago to Melisse in Los Angeles, is crafting a menu that ranges from seasonal salads — including toasted Israeli couscous with shaved fennel, baby spinach, blood orange, radish, and cucumber in a citrus vinaigrette — to fresh pastas like sweet pea ravioli with crispy pancetta, mint froth, grated parmesan, and lemon essence; house beer will be used where applicable, incorporated into a mussel dish and into gougères (French cheese puffs). Lead brewer Christopher Scott Gillogly, whose resume includes time at Mikkeller, Green Flash, and Pizza Port and who most recently won a silver and bronze at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival while head brewer at Groundswell, will oversee a lineup that opens with 26 taps, at least 15 house beers, and styles from a hazy IPA to pilsner, blonde, Mexican lager, and double IPA." - Candice Woo