While fish and shellfish have been the focus at fine dining restaurant L2O (2300 N. Lincoln Park West, 773.868.0002) since it opened in 2008, Matthew Kirkley has taken the concept further since being named executive chef two years ago. Under his direction, the restaurant added a 200-gallon saltwater tank that, at the moment, houses scallops from the coast of Maine, cockles from New Zealand, spiny lobsters from Santa Barbara and geoduck clams. Kirkley acknowledges that there was a learning curve in figuring out the tank’s intricacies, but the work was worth it. “Hearing the tank’s running water in the kitchen reminds us that these are live animals,” he says. “It changes the way you think about seafood, and brings an emotional level to it.”