We wish Urban Union had named itself anything else (well, okay, at least it didn’t name itself “JM” for Jason Chan and Michael Shrader’s initials). Seems like “Urban” or “Union” turned up in half the new restaurant names this year, and we see ourselves getting hopelessly confused with Union Sushi, Union Pizza, Urban Vegan, etc. Which looks as if it would be our loss; the 1421 W. Taylor Street spot from former Epic chef Shrader and former Butter owner Chan, who met in 1997 (hence the “est. 1997” in the logo), looks like a smart addition to that street’s restaurant row with its small plates menu, woodburning oven, raw bar, and hip interior of reclaimed wood. In any case, the pushed-back-from-December opening is now set to be January 17; our man Huge Galdones popped in to preview the food. Check out his slideshow below.
