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Event Thu May 17 2012
Where There's a Convening of International Leaders, There Will Be International Food
With NATO taking up every ounce of your newsfeed, I'm sure you were thinking as was I, where will all these leaders be eating? Granted, being that we are Chicago, someone's going to try to persuade one of them to forgo the fancy schmansy and get down and dirty with a Maxwell's hot dog or some deep dish pizza. Hopefully, a misguided leader won't end up on the corner of Ohio and Wabash (although it might be funny if Angela Merkel was found throwing back a Goose Island with a slice).
But not to fret, looks like Chicago is holding up its reputation for being a food mecca with its Chicago's Culinary Crossroads program which is like Restaurant Week all over again only NATO style without the prix fix menu. Earlier this month, acclaimed international chefs paired with local star chefs to kick off the festivities and collaborated on menus that reflected their nation's cuisines. Chef David Colcombe of Opus Restaurant in Birmingham, UK paired with Chef Dirk Flanigan of Henri/The Gage and Chef Jason Bangerter of LUMA in Toronto, Canada paired with Chef Tony Priolo of Piccolo Sogno to name a few. If you didn't get a chance to hit up this culinary pairing, check out the menus.
From now until May 25, 200 local restaurants are serving up tasty morsels and libations inspired by the NATO nations. Cleverly enough, diners can also collect "passport" codes at each participating restaurant they visit for a chance to win a VIP weekend for two to Chicago Gourmet in September. (You have to visit three restaurants to participate to win). If you're not busy protesting or avoiding the drama by escaping to Wisconsin or the Cubs vs. Sox games, get out there and eat something different and increase your chance for a gourmet September.
To learn more about the program visit the Chicago's Culinary Crossroads website.