Blog Fri May 16 2008
Framing the ban on foie gras as one of choice distorts the issue. Laws codify society's beliefs. Do we believe in mistreating animals or not? I'd like to say, the answer is that we reluctantly accept it only when we know no other way. We accept cruelties involved in food production because we want to feed our people. Foie gras is a delicacy. So, do we believe in mistreatment when we don't need it? The real embarrassment is that we seem to have said yes when we repealed the ban.
- Chris Brunn |
Blog Thu May 08 2008
The Check Please Effect gets national attention today at Gourmet.com. David Tamarkin laments the fact that the Chicago public television show drains business away from lesser known restaurants and funnels it into the spots featured on the show. He concludes it's not so bad, though, to discover one's own favorites.
- Dana Currier |
Blog Wed Mar 12 2008
There are two new bacon blogs in Chicago (full disclosure: both are run by friends of mine): Sic Semper Porcus and Theories of Bacon.
Photo from not martha's fabulous post on bacon curls. Also check out her post on bacon cups. (For the vegetarians, here is a veggie bacon bowl from Annaramma.)
- Gemma Petrie |
Blog Tue Mar 04 2008
For those of us who were disappointed that Daily Candy wasn't edible, there are a couple of culinary e-newsletters of the email kind have popped up recently.
Tastybeat "sifts through the abundant world of food in Chicagoland to serve you with the very best information." The newsletter launched last September and has covered a wide variety of restaurants, bakeries and groceries in the city and suburbs (mostly North Side) in a peppy, attractive style.
Meanwhile, Eatier, which launches today, promises foodporn and cooking tips in your inbox. Judging by the "leftovers" on the site, it should be worth a try.
It's not in your inbox, but SavoryCities has relauched with a slicker design and plenty of video interviews with top Chicago chefs. Set up an account and you can post reviews of your own.
- Andrew Huff |
Blog Wed Feb 27 2008
My friend asked me what I was going to order. There's nothing vegan on the menu, he told me. The CB&J on sourdough drew my eye: "house-made" cashew butter and fig jam on sourdough, pan-fried. But it's got cheese, he said. So I order without. What about the macaroni and cheese it comes with? I ask for fries.
I'd been craving Hopleaf's fries, their greasy softness and crispy ends, ever since I found that I'd be going there, and even though they would certainly seem excessive on a plate next to the house-made, wafer thin and crispy potato chips, which the sandwich comes with. My friend reflected that there weren't many vegetarian options - you might as well be vegan. Our server nodded her head with certainty after I asked for the changes, as she took to her notepad.
The bread was perfectly crispy in certain places, yet soft, and reassuringly warm and oily. Its holes emitted fig jam. I think I felt the tiny, gentle seeds of the fig, adding more texture to the viscous jam. Cashew butter made the sandwich, giving a needed gooeyness and richness, yet subtle enough to nod to the figs and sourdough.
- Chris Brunn |
Blog Wed Feb 27 2008
Evidently, David Tamarkin does, and when he gets the urge, he heads to Deta's Cafe at 7555 N. Ridge. Not that he would ever sit down at a table inside, though. He prefers his burek to go.
- Dana Currier |
News Sat Feb 23 2008
Tony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman's "Golden Clog Award" winners have been announced, and both Chicago nominees have walked away with the shoes!
Paul Kahan of Blackbird and Avec won The Chef's Chef, for "the chef who continues to make the kind of food other chefs like, while flying largely under the national radar," beating out Scott Bryan of Veritas in New York and Mark Vetri of Osteria and Vetri in Philadelphia.
Mike Nagrant of Hungry Mag won The Steingarten, for "the writer or blogger who actually gets it." He beat out Bill Buford, author of the best-seller Heat, and Pim of popular foodblog Chez Pim. Not even Nagrant expected it.
- Andrew Huff |
Blog Wed Feb 20 2008
For the past few days, I've been seeing links to this blog/web site called Stuff White People Like. It's funny, and also obnoxious. The food entries are hilarious--and, for some white people, like those portrayed in Amy Sedaris's book about whipped-topping huffers and cheese-ball makers, spot on. Among the foodie stuff white people dig: expensive sandwiches (In most cities, if you need to find a cache of white people, get yourself to a sandwich shop); kitchen gadgets (everything in their culture tells them that they need to have a nice kitchen and that they need to cook with organic, fresh ingredients to make delicious, complicated food); and being the only white people in an ethnic restaurant (if there is a table occupied entirely by white people, it is deemed unacceptable). Could this blogger be the new Claude Levi-Strauss?
- Lori Barrett |
News Wed Feb 20 2008
Author Michael Ruhlman and chef/author/TV guy Tony Bourdain have created the Golden Clog Awards, a goofy but fun series of awards named mostly for various TV celebrity chefs. The nominees have been announced, and two Chicagoans are among them: Paul Kahan (Blackbird, Avec) for "Chef's Chef" and Hungry Mag's Michael Nagrant for The Steingarten ("for the writer or blogger who actually GETS it").
Bourdain handicaps the nominees on Eater [part one, part two]
The awards will be presented at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival this weekend -- cross your fingers for the home team!
- Andrew Huff |
Blog Thu Feb 14 2008
If we draw a line between the correct foods and the wrong foods, faluda is going to be on the wrong side. And it'll stand there proudly.
Faluda is a Pakistani dessert/refreshment resembling a sundae. At Sabri Nehari, a Pakistani restaurant on Devon where I encountered the dessert, it's served in tall, fluted glasses. On the bottom are a few dumpling-like things that I couldn't figure out what, and a handful of bright green and orange jello cubes. A scoop of vanilla ice cream, strands of thin rice noodles (which give the dessert its name) and basil seeds sit atop, and the whole thing is swimming in sweet, pink rose syrup. The disco-like colors are obviously unnatural, yet oddly captivating: In this age of all-natural eating, it's almost novel to see so much food coloring in a single dessert. The colors, though, aren't the only stamp of evil; faluda is unabashedly sweet, too.
Continue reading this entry»
- Yu Kizawa |
Blog Thu Feb 14 2008
We might be thinking that Valentine's Day is an excuse to go whole hog and get some of the good stuff, but there's a seedy underbelly to this holiday's culinary symbols, a world that doesn't understand truffles infused with curry or rolled in imported cashews. This world will be waiting for you tomorrow in the 50% discount aisle at Target. It will be low-grade chocolate, bad uses of stuffed animals with food, strange lollipops and more, more, more gummi products (that's so 1980s). Serious Eats reports.
- Robyn Nisi |
Blog Mon Feb 11 2008
If you frequent the type of busy fast food spot that draws long lines, particularly at lunch in the Loop, you may notice a bit of a draft on frigid days. A line extends out the door, which someone holds open to keep the line intact. Let the door shut, even if it means breaking the continuity of the line, and even if it's only one door of a double-door vestibule. Your previously cold neighbor will thank you, even if they don't say so. If you agree that this is a sensible thing to do, tap your knowledge of peer pressure from grammar school, put on a smile, and kindly ask the person next to you to close that door, also. Say you helped make Chicago a little greener, too.
- Chris Brunn |
Event Tue Feb 05 2008
Today's the last day to get your paczki from Dinkel's on Lincoln. The fried pillows of sugar, fat and fruit are the traditional Polish food consumed in the few days before the beginning of Lent. Still sticking to the New Year's diet? Check out Joelen's Paczki Palooza and live vicariously through her.
- Meghan Murphy Gill |
Blog Thu Jan 17 2008
An Australian graduate student is researching the impact that food blogs are having on established food related print media. Shuna Fish Lydon has posted more information on her website, eggbeater.
If you are a U. S. food blog writer or reader, you can share your input here.
- Gemma Petrie |
Blog Mon Jan 14 2008
Apartment Therapy's food blog, The Kitchn, is taking advantage of the cold temperatures and turning the oven on. This week is "Baking Week" and features posts on kitchen the best baking gadgets, a Q and A with John Baricelli from Everyday Baking (a la the Martha Stewart empire), recipes and a bittersweet baking contest.
The blog is like a crash course for those of us who received a Kitchen Aid stand mixer as a gift over the holidays.
- Meghan Murphy Gill |
Blog Mon Dec 10 2007
Drive-Thru is proud to participate in this year's Menu for Hope foodblog fundraiser. Organized by Chez Pim originally to help raise money for victims of the 2002 tsunami, last year Menu for Hope raised more than $62,000 for the UN World Food Programme. WFP is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with over 1,000 other organizations in over 75 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people to become self-reliant so that they escape hunger for good. Money raised by this year's fundraiser will be earmarked for a school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa.
Foodbloggers across the country have donated prizes ranging from cooking classes to specialty foods to gift certificates at restaurants. The staff of Gapers Block: Drive-Thru is donating luxury chocolate and coffee from Chicago: a pound of Costa Rica Tres Rios whole bean coffee from Metropolis Coffee Roasters and a Vosges Chocolates exotic truffle collection. You can see what other Midwest region foodbloggers have donated at Kalyn's Kitchen.
Here's How to Participate in A Menu for Hope
1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at Chez Pim.
2. Go to the donation site at First Giving and make a donation.
3. Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form. You must write in how many tickets per prize, and use the prize code. (Each $10 you donate will buy one raffle ticket toward any prize.For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02.)
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win.Your email address will not be shared with anyone. Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday, Jan. 9 for the results of the raffle.
The more you donate, the more chances you have to win -- so donate early and often!
- Andrew Huff |
Blog Wed Dec 05 2007
Today, Heidi Swanson's 101cookbooks.com takes us to the Manor Gardens Allotments on the East End of London. There, potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, broad beans, chard, chilies, wild plums and even figs grow in abundance. In the gardens, two restaurateurs, at least until recently, had a simple structure from which they cared for their garden. The recipe Heidi posted today comes from their book, Moro East, in which they take us through their year-long experiences in Manor Gardens. I’ve already put in my order for a copy. It sounds romantic, especially remembering the NY Times’ answer to their own question, Why are British cookbooks from around 2007 so much better than American ones? "They’re the products of a vision one is tempted to call novelistic," Dwight Garner wrote in last Sunday's article on holiday books. As if cozying up with your sweetie in fields of veggies isn't cute enough, each in the couple has the same name. The book is by "Sam & Sam Clark," or Samantha Clark and Samuel Clark. Sadly, the 2012 Olympics in London is expected not to leave much left of Manor Gardens. I'm glad I have my book coming.
- Chris Brunn |
Blog Wed Dec 05 2007
Apropos for this time of year: Mondo Fruitcake, a local blog dedicated to the holiday sweet everyone loves to hate. [via]
- Andrew Huff
Korean mixed vegetables with rice, or bi bim bop, seems incongruent with my notion of a typical greasy Chicago diner. I imagine the type of place where I could order bacon and eggs, cheese dogs, meat on toast, and pizza puffs at a walk-up counter. Hound Dogs Burgers & Teriyaki has all that, plus teriyaki sandwiches and bi bim bop. I ordered the rice dish without the typical egg and beef. At a place where meat seems to take priority on the menu, anyone wanting to order vegan should assume the responsibility for ensuring their dietary guidelines are met. I stick to the basics. I asked for a vegetarian bi bim bop, no egg. They told me, sure, one bi bim bop, no egg. Hmm, I thought, I better make sure about the meat. No meat, I said, and more notes went on the kitchen's ticket.
Continue reading this entry»
- Chris Brunn
Blog Mon Nov 19 2007
Okay, maybe worst case would be toasting some stale almost-forgotten marshmallows over the flames that consumed your garage and most of the backyard after a disastrous deep-fry turkey grease spill. (Safety first, especially in service of this degree of deliciousness.) But maybe if you're plum out of marshmallows and happen to have some unsigned cash lying around, you'd prefer to eat out, and maybe eat some real Thanksgiving fare at that. Should these misfortunes assail you, or you just don't feel like putting on an apron this year, the good folks at Centerstage have compiled a list of local spots open and ready to ply you with turkey and cranberry jelly come Thursday. Prices and deviations from your Joy-of-Cooking approved menu range wide, and it's enough to almost make you want to stay home and avoid the traffic...
- Andie Thomalla |
Blog Wed Nov 07 2007
On nights when it's my turn to cook for my roomie but I'd rather grab take out and veg with a book, I force myself into it. For a second, I would wish I had just picked us both up falafel at Sultan's, plated it, and brought out our deep fryer to pretend like I made it. It's too bad she wouldn't believe that unless the whole apartment smelled like oil. And if it really did, I might as well be making my own falafel. I usually love to cook. My weeks have been hectic (sometimes too much time wasted away on tedious tasks like searching for the perfect day bag) and it's been maybe two weeks since it's been my turn to cook. So here's a memory of a cooking love fest from a few weeks back.
Continue reading this entry»
- Chris Brunn |
One of my favorite ongoing LTH Forum threads is about the misrepresentation of food labels and language, e.g. "krab" meat, or suspicious signs that read "Voted #1 [Food] in Chicago" with no qualification of who awarded such a title. I thought about this thread tonight as I ate a bowl of green beans that I bought in frozen form, but the package artwork claimed they were fresh. Ah! The wonders of science and advertising!
- Robyn Nisi |
Recipe Sun Oct 28 2007
My roomie Liz, our friend Andy and I used to alternate cooking dinner for each other a few times a week. Those nights, I felt like I was eating with family until the dinners faded months ago. A few days after Andy suggested a revival, Liz was searing slices of leftover neatloaf in a small cast iron pan.
I'm vegan, which pretty much makes our dinners vegan. Our dining room table was full of analogues to traditional American comfort food in sturdy baking dishes. A square glass dish held baked mac (rotini instead of macaroni this time) and not-cheese. Pan seared neatloaf lined a deep white oval baking dish. A small wavy white pitcher was full of gravy Liz had just made from scratch. A slender white candle completed a metaphor of comfort food purity. A clear glass bowl held pureed cauliflower. It looked like mashed potato, but tasted clearly not - much lighter.
After dinner, I asked Liz to explain what she made. Below are my notes with Liz's quotes mixed in. Amounts weren't measured, but in many cases I asked Liz to tell how she knew when she had added the correct amount of an ingredient. Improvising based on what's going on is key. Any stated quantities have been guessed after the fact.
Continue reading this entry»
- Chris Brunn |
Blog Mon Oct 15 2007
When I'm trying to see if a restaurant is worth the travel and expense, I head to LTH Forum to see if any of their dedicated posters has written about the place in question. If you aren't familiar, this website forum is a great resource for finding (and posting) restaurant reviews in and outside of the city, as well as a place to talk about recipes and, well, food. Their annual "Great Neighborhood Restaurants" award recipient list was released today, with over 20 new additions to the elite group, (predictably) among them Smoque and Kuma's Corner, as well as some little-known places that are sure to become highly sought after as a result of LTH Forum's recommendation (similar to the "Check Please! Effect").
- Robyn Nisi |
Blog Fri Sep 14 2007
Things got a little hairy by day three. Our supply of local bread had run out, and our supply of local granola was gone before noon. My son tried his best to eat another serving of the granola for breakfast, but he couldn’t face it for a third time (he’d supplemented his dinner with it the night before); my daughter didn’t even look at it. She had her usual frozen waffles—from Canada—and ate them with a scowl because we didn’t have any bananas. I managed to fill the lunchboxes with mostly local foods: Sandwiches (on supermarket bread from somewhere far out of shouting distance) with the pesto our friend made and reasonably local cheese, some corn chips from Chicago’s own El Ranchero food products, and an apple. With that, the bulk of my local-food supply was wiped out.
Continue reading this entry»
- Lori Barrett |
Celebrated food writer, cookbook co-author and Bourdain partner-in-crime, Michael Ruhlman wrote a while ago about how the classic Caesar salad was no longer really a Caesar salad in the modern American restaurant (or rather, chain).
A call to arms was made and Ruhlman proposed the Chicken Fried Pork Belly Caesar Salad, urging chefs across the country to introduce it to their menus. While chef Chris Cosentino of Incanto in San Francisco brought his version to the dish and answered the call, Mike Mavrantonis, chef of (all places), Mike Ditka's in Oakbrook has brought it to the Chicagoland area.
Kevin Pang, writer of the Trib's Stew, reviews the dish.
- Naz Hamid |
Blog Wed Sep 12 2007
Today I was much more local. For breakfast I had the local granola, blueberries from Michigan and Kefir, which I buy fairly regularly and comes from Lifeway Foods in Morton Grove. I even filled the lunchboxes with (mostly) local fare: spinach-and-cheese scones from Red Hen Bread, snap-pea sprouts from the green market and some grapes that were on the verge of turning into raisins, so they needed to be eaten. I ate the same lunch myself, minus the grapes.
I don’t think my daughter ate much of her lunch. She doesn’t seem to be enjoying the challenge. Last night at dinner she asked what kind of candy a person might eat when they’re eating local. Whole Foods was promoting Vosges Haut-Chocolat as a local source. It's made by a company keen on green, but I don't think cocoa beans are grown in the Chicago area. Wrigley’s is in the business of making gum, also from ingredients that probably aren’t from here. But for the sake of my 7-year-old, we'll consider them local.
Continue reading this entry»
- Lori Barrett |
Blog Tue Sep 11 2007
The Green City Market’s Localvore Challenge started today. Last year at Thanksgiving I made a lot of noise around my house about having a 100-mile Thanksgiving, and my son thought we actually had, but I never fully committed to it. Once I realized I’d have to make my own pie crust, I gave up on the idea. So I’ve decided to try a week of preparing and eating only local food. My first day has been a bit bumpy
Continue reading this entry»
- Lori Barrett |
Blog Fri Aug 10 2007
I like to read while I'm eating, but I don't do it enough. I also enjoy a cold dinner on a warm night - the kind of night perfect for the leftovers I had in my fridge. I picked up artichoke-spinach hummus from Olivia's walking home from the Blue Line at Damen. A few heaping spoonfuls went on my plate. I sat eating while getting inspired reading Change Design, Conversations About Architecture as the Ultimate Business Tool. Two sweet and tender pieces of inari - sushi (brown) rice in a fried tofu pouch - which my sweetie put together at a dinner gathering two nights back, made appearances as well. Rice fell out of the pocket and gently touched my fingers. It reminded me of the sweeping way in which Uncle in India would gather up rice on his plate using his fingertips. Cold soba noodles refreshed and filled just as did a scoop of sushi rice. Thai eggplant from Green City Market sautéed in green curry hit with a bit of spicy heat. (You can find the inari wrappers and green curry in cans at Golden Pacific Market in Edgewater on Broadway, just north of Foster.) Chinese broccoli gave a nice crunch. It was a bit savory, too, sautéed in sesame oil - both leaves and chopped stalks - with well cooked-until-tender soybean sprouts and shitake mushrooms from Mitsuwa Marketplace.
- Chris Brunn |
Blog Sun Aug 05 2007
As noted in Merge, EatChicago, one of the first local foodblogs, has signed off. It will be missed, but author Michael continues to post and moderate over at LTH Forum. We're sad to see it go.
- Andrew Huff |
Blog Thu Jun 21 2007
Milk & Honey is set to open a bake shop this month at 1543 N. Damen, just across from the Damen and Milwaukee Blue Line station.
Handlebar currently has a magnificent buffalo seitan wrap on special. The tangy hot and vinegary sauce that you might know from your favorite wings makes this fried seitan incredible.
Atomix, as always, rocks grilled sandwiches the size of one's head (photo). Order your bagel, sandwich, chili or tasty vegan mushroom burger with whatever fixings you want by checking add-ons with a crayon stick on a plastic ordering card (photo). I chose artichoke hearts, spinach, jardiniere, tomatoes, onions, fake turkey, and vegan cheese on a hot focaccia sandwich.
The wholesome Indian breakfast made of semolina that I wrote about earlier, called upma, makes a good veggie burger (photo) when pan-fried in a little oil. It reminds me of the Trader Joe's masala burger that's made from a potato base.
- Chris Brunn |
Andersonville is getting a new coffee shop, The Coffee Studio, and they’ve been keeping a blog about the trials and tribulations of opening one, from the conception, the build-out of a space and choosing just about everything else. If you have ever wondered just how much work goes into opening an independent shop, you should take a peak at this blog. The Coffee Studio plans on opening sometime in July. Stay tuned for more information regarding just when.
The Coffee Studio is located at 5628 N. Clark St.
- Christian Scheuer |
Blog Thu May 31 2007
Inspired by a One Good Meal column from a few weeks back, I barbecued sweet potatoes this past weekend. The sauce I used was of my own invention (it included brown sugar, honey, apricot jam, and cider vinegar in whatever amount seemed good at the time) but the technique was straight from the column. I highly recommend grilling your own sweet potatoes and serving them as a side to almost anything from fish to pork to chicken. The boneless chicken breasts shown here were marinated in yogurt, spices (mostly garam masala), and fresh cilantro for a few hours before grilling.
I also heartily endorse the charcoal chimney starter. It eliminates the need for lighter fluid and creates a much more even fire under whatever you choose to grill up this summer.
- Dana Currier |
Blog Wed May 30 2007
LTHForum turned three this past Sunday. To celebrate, forum member and food writer about town Michael Nagrant interviewed five of the cofounders on Hungry Mag. It's a long but very worthwhile look into the genesis of the site and the Chicago food scene in general.
- Andrew Huff |
Blog Sun May 06 2007
Occasional Rearview contributors Yu Kizawa and Patrick Spence have collaborated to create not one but two new food blogs -- one in English and the other in Japanese.
Nibble & Kibble follows Yu's food excursions in and around the city in English, while Gochiso Sama serves as a guide to Chicago dining for Japanese readers.
- Andrew Huff |
Drink Sat May 05 2007
Anyone even thinking about preparing a margarita today in honor of Cinco de Mayo (or any other occasion, for that matter) should definitely check out todays blog from The Thirsty Celt. Chicago's favorite Spirits Curmudgeon at Large, has indispensable spirits information and a pleasantly acerbic wit that makes him a joy to read, sober or otherwise. He is also the creator of BeverageExperts.com, a terrific resource for all kinds of booze related questions. His simple but classic margarita recipe is available here.
- Christine Blumer |
Blog Sun Apr 08 2007
A recent post in the Stew, the Tribune's food blog, boasted the joy of Aldi's Mystik brand jelly beans, which are apparently a less expensive (and equally as tasty) cousin of Jelly Bellys. I personally love nothing more than finding a generic counterpart to the "branded" things I buy at the grocery store. But there are some things that I feel are never worth the risk; for example, the grainy and inedible taste of generic Mac'n'Cheese mix is proof that Kraft still has the market cornered, but I can easily handle Sweet Valley Cola over Pepsi any day. What corners do you cut at the grocery store? Your suggestions for acceptable (or superior) generic brand items are much needed...
- Robyn Nisi |
Blog Fri Mar 30 2007
Cinnamon Cooper, GB's resident cooking columnist, is profiled in SeriousEats's "Meet & Eat" feature today.
- Andrew Huff |
Blog Fri Mar 16 2007
In a post today on his Diner's Journal blog, New York Times food critic Frank Bruni considers Custom Houses's adaptation of the small plates concept to the dessert menu. In his recent visit there, he noticed that in addition to their list of $10 substantial desserts, there was also a side menu of less costly and smaller-portioned sweets -- presumably for the almost-full-but-not-quite diner who just can't end his or her meal without that last dash of sugar. I admit I'm often that diner.
Frank gets cynical by the end and suggests it's possibly just another ploy to get the customers to pad their bill. That may be, but I can think of plenty of dinners out when the mere prospect of eating a full slice of cake or creme brulee threatened to make my belt buckle burst. In situations like that, the option of a simple piece of homemade brittle or candy bar would be just the thing.
- Sandy Weisz |
Blog Thu Mar 08 2007
Ira Glass brings us a review of Lula Cafe, one of "the best restaurants in town according to Reader Restaurant Raters," in "The Food Issue" (this week's Chicago Reader). The issue also includes a nice list of "subscription farms," some being regulars at our farmers markets, such as Green City Market which opens May 16. I can't wait.
If you want to help produce the food you eat, non-profit Growing Power - the organization behind the vegetable garden in Grant Park - is offering a "commercial urban agriculture training program" for those serious to farm commercially within the city. It sounds pretty incredible, but I'm going to stay on the cooking and eating side.
- Chris Brunn |
Blog Tue Mar 06 2007
On a gray day like this, when spring should be on the horizon but instead there are only large chunks of ice, a shot of sugar and color from a cupcake can be very healing. Don't know where to go for a cupcake fix? There's a debate going on on Chowhound's Chicago food board about the best cupcakes in Chicago.
If cookies are more your thing, particularly the bracing flavor of Thin Mints, Eric Zorn's column in the Tribune offers an alternative to the Girl Scout cookies that, for some, can be hard to find: Keebler Grasshoppers. Zorn's column links to an earlier posting about Thin Mints, and how to find them in the off-season. From there, you can link to a collection of recipes to make your own minty cookies, as well as some other Thin Mint trivia that ought to take your mind off the cold and the gray outside.
- Lori Barrett |
Blog Tue Mar 06 2007
I used to subscribe to Martha Stewart Living, but not because I needed recipe and home decorating suggestions; I bought the magazine for the lush photography. The images of crawfish boils in the Bayou, cookie decorating parties with well-dressed children, and planning your next Moroccan-themed dinner party transported me to a glorious world where forty-course meals are made in under three hours, and no one uses boxed cake mix. Ever.
Thankfully for me, I can now reach through to the other side with the Traveler's Lunchbox, a recipe blog created by Melissa Kronenthal, an American grad student living in Scotland who combines her love of travel and cooking into a charming, well-organized site.
Continue reading this entry»
- Robyn Nisi |
Blog Wed Feb 28 2007
While The Muffin Lady has reached the heights of her own internet fame, another late night snack bar staple of a legal food kind, has his own presence — oh yes, the Tamale Man has his own MySpace page (beware the music!).
- Naz Hamid |
Blog Wed Feb 21 2007
In 2004, we asked in Fuel, where does one go for pie? There wasn't much in the way of a definitive answer inside the city. Lots of options outside of Chicago but none too many here.
As Andrew and I sat at the Lincoln Lodge for lunch a few days ago and as I requested pie for dessert and was subsequently disappointed, I recalled the Fuel thread. I also recalled a few months ago when we had dropped in at Fat Willy's for lunch and I just had a slice of some very good coconut cream pie. I had found really good pie in a BBQ joint. But I have yet to find a go-to place for pie.
Let's revisit it. So tell me, dear reader, where do you get your pie in the city?
P.S. I hear Humboldt Pie has pies. I have not yet been. If you have, how is it?
- Naz Hamid |
