Institutions are permanent, which means that they do not end when one person is gone. 

I’m not sure if eight years is long enough to call something an institution but, if so, Found Kitchen & Social House definitely meets that definition. If not, it still feels like an institution–in a very good way.

Certainly the Morton family of which Found Kitchen proprietor Amy Morton is a member is an institution.

Through the years, generations of the Morton family have created a lineup of innovative and highly successful restaurants.

Perhaps most notable of all the Morton’s is Amy’s dad, Arnie Morton, who played a large role in making Chicago the international food destination that it is today.

Amy Morton opened Found Kitchen in Evanston in 2012–so named because as Morton says “life is a journey” and we are always finding something.

Her latest find is “Gold.” (more about that later).

Found Kitchen became an instant destination upon its 2012 opening and remains so today.

We stopped by the restaurant on Sunday for their “Brunch with the Beatles” a brainchild of Amy’s two years ago when she felt the then 6-year-old restaurant needed an update.

Found kitchen. Photo: Carole Kuhrt-Brewer

Amy’s original vision for Found was a 1920’s “salon style” restaurant serving as an inspiration for culture, art, literature and politics to be discussed over outstanding food. 

The formula was quite successful but Amy decided to move things up a few decades to what she describes as “Jackie O and the 60’s” style that is now reflected in the decor, the music and the menu.

The bar at Found. Photo: Carole Kuhrt-Brewer

Changes at the restaurant are ongoing including Amy reuniting with Debbie Gold, a James Beard Award-winning chef, who was chef at Amy’s Chicago restaurant, Mirador, until its closing in 1993.

Chef Debbie Gold, (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

The two have kept in touch through the years and when Debbie decided to leave Tied House in November 2019, the time was right for the pair to reunite.

We caught up with Gold on Sunday. She is  currently working on the menus at Amy’s new restaurant Stolp Island Social in Aurora while also getting the lay of the land at Found Kitchen.

Gold hopes to have new menus in place at Found in April–adding twists to some of the originals, creating some new dishes and retaining some of the favorites from the current menus.

Yoko’s popular housemade donuts will remain on the brunch menu and many of the “storied” drinks on the cocktail menu, including the Vera Charles and the Clover Club, will most likely remain. The menus will continue to be seasonal and local.

But until April, we’ll just have to wait to see what the James Beard award-winning chef, Gold,  has in store for Found Kitchen.

Found Kitchen
1631 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201
847-868-8945

Subscribe to Show Me Chicago by email

If you would like to keep in touch with what’s happening in Chicago, like us on Facebook or subscribe to Show Me Chicago by email. To subscribe, type your email address in the box below and click the “create subscription” button. Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.