Ryan Poli’s Arizona restaurant is a no go. He’s back in Chicago gearing up for a new project. He said he couldn’t comment on the new project, but we investigated, and inside sources tell us he’s going to be fine tuning some things in the Boka kitchen with executive chef Giusseppe Tentori, before taking a chef de cuisine role at Perennial (1800 N. Lincoln Ave.), the new project from the Boka/Landmark crew expected to open late this spring.

The former Butter toque spent the bulk of last year staging in Spain at hot spots like Alkimia in Barcelona and El Celler de Can Roca. If you’re not familiar with Can Roca, it’s probably the hottest restaurant after Ferran Adria’s El Bulli in Spain. We’re not sure if Poli will get to showcase the new chops, but we’re excited to find out.