When Arjun Seigell visited his sister in Sydney, Australia, he and his wife, Lilly Seigell, fell in love with the assortment of meat pies they found in cafes and bakeries. With his background in business and his wife’s background in restaurants, it seemed natural to bring them to the States. They opened Barangaroos Aussie Pies early this month, choosing the name of a waterfront neighborhood of Sydney — another factor, the word sounded cute and catchy like “kangaroo.”
The concept is simple — nine flavors of filling all in a short-crust pastry shell with a flaky top. You’ll find traditional varieties, like classic mince, with ground beef, onions and cheese; or steak and potato, which has a savory brown steak sauce. But to cater to American audiences, Arjun Seigell said he added barbecue chicken and Buffalo chicken, which comes with chicken, carrots, celery, Buffalo sauce and blue cheese.
“There are so many people walking around, and it’s a busy town, so it’s a perfect food if you’re on the go,” Seigell said. “It’s just something different. If you look around, most of the fast food options are pizza, burgers and a couple Mexican joints, and that’s about it. This brings something completely different.”
In addition to pies, the shop also has soups, macaroni and cheese, chips and Australian snacks, like Tim Tam cookies and Bundaberg sodas. There’s some seating inside, but Seigell said many people take their pies to go on their way to work or on their way home.
Business has been strong since opening, so much that Seigell had to close the store for two days because he ran out of a week’s worth of pies in two days.
“We love it,” he said. “It’s been really busy, and we have been getting three or four hours of sleep every night, but we really like it, and everybody has been very nice.”
3208 N. Sheffield Ave., 773-770-3510, barangaroospies.com
Other openings
WEST TOWN — G&O celebrated its grand reopening Friday with a new interior, new food and beverage menus, and updated happy hour specials. 459 N. Ogden Ave., 312-888-3367, grandandogden.com
WRIGLEYVILLE — Lucky Strike Social opened a new location Friday, adding bowling, food and drink to the new shiny Wrigleyville. 1027 W. Addison St., luckystrikesocial.com
GOLD COAST — Le Colonial, which closed its original location after its lease was up and the landlord decided not to renew after 22 years, is opening its new location at the end of the month. The restaurant serves food inspired by 1920s French Colonial Southeast Asia. 57 E. Oak St., 312-255-0088, lecolonialchicago.com
ICYMI
NEAR NORTH — Three Dots and a Dash opens new bar, The Bamboo Room, for your rare rum-nerd needs
FULTON MARKET — Wine bar Joe’s Imports opens in Fulton Market
RIVER NORTH — JoJo’s Milk Bar to open in March in River North, with chef Christine McCabe’s creations
LOGAN SQUARE — Radler owner says bar considering new options after major response to closing announcement
FULTON MARKET — Review: Next’s Silk & Spice menu transports diners but stops short of restaurant’s finest efforts
Closings
LOGAN SQUARE — Langhe Market closed Friday, according to a sign in the restaurant. Cameron Grant, executive chef and partner, said the staff is saddened it had to close because of financial reasons, but hoped that fans would visit its sister restaurant Osteria Langhe. 1904 N. Western Ave.
THE LOOP — Tavern on the Park will close by the end of March, Crain’s reported. 130 E. Randolph St.
gwong@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @GraceWong630
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