The Signature Room at the 95th, the restaurant at the top of the John Hancock Building, has named Brandon K. Wolff its new chef as Patrick Sheerin goes off to become one of the Trenchermen later this spring. Locally, he was at one point executive chef of the Maggiano’s chain for Lettuce Entertain You and chef de cuisine of Osteria via Stato, also for Lettuce, and of La Madia, and executive sous chef at One Sixty Blue. He’s had more of a profile in the Milwaukee area, where he headed Bacchus, earning a four star review from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and cooking twice at the James Beard House in New York, and Dream Dance at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino, which may not sound like a culinary destination but apparently was, winning best restaurant of the year from Milwaukee magazine, among other things. In short, it sounds like a guy with a strong rep in Milwaukee who hasn’t quite managed to translate that into a high-profile gig in Chicago— until now, when he’s arrived at the very top (altitudinally, anyway). Expect to see local ingredients and an Italian spin to much of the menu— and a view of the lake, of course.
