Chef Lamar Moore Opens Etc. in South Loop

Lamar -- Chef Lamar Moore is the chef and partner of Etc. in the Loop. Photo provided by Six4Creative.
Lamar -- Chef Lamar Moore is the chef and partner of Etc. in the Loop. Photo provided by Six4Creative.

Chef Lamar Moore Opens Etc. in South Loop

By Tia Carol Jones

Chef Lamar Moore has been in the culinary industry for 26 years. He believes that food is of the soul.  Growing up, he sat around his mother and grandparents and watched them cook. As he got older, cooking became something he enjoyed doing and he turned it into a career. Moore, a Chicago native, is the chef and partner of Etc. in the Loop. Etc. stands for experience, taste and cocktails. The restaurant has been open for eight months.

Moore said his inspiration for his dishes comes from food he grew up eating and things he has done in his travels, as well as what the neighborhood where his restaurants are located dictates. Moore started out as a line cook at a hospital while he was in culinary school. He said that while or whether people  realize it or not, preparing food in a hospital is a way of helping those people.

“We probably don’t think about it, but when you’re in a hospital, you either have people being born, or dying, or sick and gaining health, so you have all these different facets. I really believe food is of the soul and its nurturing,” he said.

When Moore was 20, he moved to California and while there he worked at McCormick and Schmick’s. He said he appreciated the restaurant’s coastal cooking, farm to table, and fresh. He was there for 10 years, then came back to Chicago. After some time off, he worked for the Chicago Bears. He said there was a lot of fine dining and moving parts; cooking for the players, the ownership and more than 65,000 people. There, he understood how to take food on a plate and feel like he was cooking it in a hotel pan.

Moore moved to Coopers Hawk, which for him was cool because he had wine experience from his time in California. He enjoyed working there. He worked at Smoke Daddy Barbecue, Hotel Chicago as an executive chef, and a Peruvian restaurant. He said working at the Peruvian restaurant was one of his favorite experiences because they cooked very differently. After that, he worked at Theaster Gates’ Currency Exchange Café. He said what he liked about that, was that it was for the community. He was part of the Swill Inn for a few years and moved to Las Vegas to open a steakhouse, Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse, after winning a show called, Vegas Chef Prizefight.

Moore came back and worked at the Eleven|Eleven in West Loop, then went to the Bronzeville Winery. He said his experience at Bronzeville Winery was amazing. He said he has been fortunate that a lot of places where he has worked have been in neighborhoods where he can get a feel of what the people who live there like. He has also been fortunate to live in neighborhoods that had restaurants that thrived.

Moore said he wanted people to walk into Etc. and be wowed by how the space looks; dim lighting, pictures on the wall, wall sconce lighting, and a window wall. He wants people to feel as though they are sitting in his home and feel welcome. There is an open kitchen. He also wants people to really engage with each other as they enjoy the food. The restaurant has shared and single plates. The cocktails are scratch made and hand shaken, something that he said he appreciates.

At Etc., Moore has a shrimp cebiche, a nod to his time at the Peruvian restaurant. And, while there are staples like deviled eggs on the menu, it has a Southern twist to it, and a French technique, also featureing caviar and extra virgin olive oil from California. There is a catfish dip that texturally reminds a person of eating tuna fish, with Cajun spices and served with fried crackers. He does fried green tomatoes, with a twist of burrata cheese and white balsamic. His oxtails and grits has a boneless oxtail pattie, served with purple heirloom grits.

“Oxtail is a staple you expect to see, but then I’ve taken it and added my little twist to it,” he said.

When it comes to plates he would recommend, he said the deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, the suya chicken and the oxtail and grits. He said he likes the deviled eggs, as a snacker, because they are a good starter. He said the guests feel the same way. He said the other sides also complement the rest of the menu. Etc. recently started to serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and Happy Hour from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday-Friday.

Etc. is located at 404 S. Wells. For more information about Etc., visit www.etc-chicago.com.

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