About A/C

Drive-Thru is the food and drink section of Gapers Block, covering the city's vibrant dining, drinking and cooking scene. Contact the staff via email at drivethru@gapersblock.com.

Editors

Robyn Nisi, Food Editor - Drive-Thru
Robyn is from Omaha, home of the best pizza in Chicago. She laments the discontinuation of such foodstuffs as PB Max and OK Cola, and continues to fight for sweet treat justice (using elite street justice). Email her at rn@gapersblock.com.

Andrew Huff, Editor & Publisher
Andrew works deep into the night at his West Ridge two-flat, writing and editing and playing with the cats. He spends more time online than is healthy; follow along at me3dia.com. Email him at ah@gapersblock.com.

Staff

Lori Barrett
Lori Barrett moved to Chicago from Brooklyn last summer. She's a freelance copy editor, writer and the mother of two vegetarian foodies. She fills her days in Chicago by job hunting and grocery shopping, an eye-opener in this town: Her local Brooklyn Met Food can fit into the salsa section at any Dominick's. She's trying to find out which stores have the best free samples, to better distract her little sous-chefs (when she can drag them away from the Food Network). Her goal is to find a way to blend family, writing, fake meat and work into a perfect cocktail — preferably an Absolut martini, straight up with olives.

Chris Brunn
You may find Chris at a farmers' market in Chicago or at a dhaba in India. He has volunteered cooking vegan short orders at Inspiration Café and has worked a stint in the kitchens of Chicago Diner. Chris designed and constructed his oversized chopping block and loves to cook with friends in his Wicker Park apartment. Chris also enjoys finding great vegan eats while visiting restaurants that might not even seem vegetarian-friendly. He takes plenty of photos while bicycling everywhere, from work to grocery shopping and social outings. Chris also serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation.

Mandy Burrell Booth
Mandy Burrell is a writer who has lived in Chicago for six years. Her love of eating and cooking was instilled in her by her mother, grandmother and four aunts, whose annual all-day Polish cookie-baking extravaganza can only be described as raucous. Her favorite time of year is market season, when local fresh food is available everywhere but her local supermarket.

Cinnamon Cooper
Cinnamon, being curiously strong and originally celebrated, tries to keep her ego managable by learning trivia bits as she wrestles with wayward electronic graphics by day and tames bolts of fabric and skeins of yarn by night. You can read what she learns at Did You Know? and see what she makes at Poise. (Older One Good Meal columns may be found here.)

Dana Currier
Dana studies French literature, teaches French language, and loves French cheese. Even though she grew up in the suburbs of New York City, she is fiercely loyal to Chicago and to Andersonville in particular, where she has lived for the past three years.

Jill Jaracz
Freelance writer Jill Jaracz lives in Lakeview, where she and her husband enjoy running fitness trails and acquiring books. She also blogs, enjoys beer and reads Oprah's magazine, not necessarily in that order.

Yu Kizawa
Yu is a recent (2003) expat from Japan. Though she occasionally misses hot springs (sans bathing suits) and some food items in her native country, she is now fully in love with the wide-ranging mix of edibles in Chicago — something unimaginable in her rather unadventurous, carrot-growing hometown. She thinks she's a pretty good cook, and writes about her daily food adventures in Nibble&Kibble.

Caroline Kraft
Caroline Kraft is often mistaken for a vegetarian, a Southerner, and sometimes both. And while none is entirely true, she has been known to dig into a big bowl of grits with a side of collard greens on more than one occasion. Along with some very strong feelings about bicycling, hand-written letters, and Justin Timberlake, she also thoroughly enjoys trying out the new (and old) tastes and treats of her Bucktown neighborhood.

Kaitlin Olson
A transplant from St. Paul, Kaitlin has been in Chicago since 2007 and, admittedly, loves all things food. Eating it, cooking it, talking about it, photographing it or reading about it. She thinks there's nothing better in life than good food, good company and an excellent glass of beer (or wine). Curious by nature, she is always looking for new and cheap places to find music, food and drinks. During the day, Kaitlin is a marketing manager for a strategic communications firm in Chicago.

Gemma Petrie
Gemma grew up northwest of the city in Woodstock. She studied philosophy at Reed College in Portland, Oregon where she reveled in the abundance of fresh produce and microbreweries. Upon her return to Chicago in 2004, Gemma created Pro Bono Baker to document her gastronomic interests. She currently lives in Pilsen and works in nonprofit development.

Shanna Quinn
Shanna is a Chicago native who often enjoys eating icing, hates wearing socks, and loves exploring Chicago neighborhoods. Her two favorite words are savvy and urban. Shanna works as the contributing editor for the online travel magazine GoGalavanting.

Andie Thomalla
Despite all warnings, Andie is curious about how both laws and sausages are made. She contributes thoughts on these issues at chicagowonk.com and Hungry mag, as well as Gapers Block. By day, she helps bring Shakespeare to the children of the tri-state area.

Leah Williams
After growing up in rural Oklahoma, Leah came to Chicago to study math; she then stayed to study Chicago. She currently spends her days in the Loop, her nights in the Ukrainian Village, and her spare time everywhere. She once flew 45 minutes just to get brunch, and it wasn't even her first brunch of the day. Her love of bacon is exceeded only by her ardor for coffee. She blogs sporadically at Ms. Prolix.

Contributors

Alan Lake
Alan has been a professional chef for 25 years and has won numerous awards, professional competitions and distinctions. He's mainly consulting now, setting up projects like kitchen design, menu development, hiring and training staff, research, etc. He has also been a professional musician most of his life, coining the term "jazzfood" to describe "solid technique based upon tasteful improvisational skills." Just like the music. Check it out at alanlake.com.