For its Fourth Annual Author Event, the Women's Board of the Chicago Regional Office of the American Cancer Society, has delved into the world of food by presenting an evening with celebrated Chicago pastry chef and Food Network star Gale Gand. Gand will be demonstrating from and signing her latest book Gale Gand's Brunch! at a special event on October 28.
The event will take place at Macy's Narcissus Room (111 S. State St., 7th floor) beginning at 5:30 p.m. with a reception and book signing. At 6:30 Gand will conduct a demonstration and tasting in Macy's Culinary Studio.
Tickets for the event cost $95, with a limit of 150 guests. For more information or to make reservations contact Dawn.Kobel@cancer.org, or call at 312-279-7264
Mayor Daley has officially proclaimed tomorrow to be "Chef Carrie Nahabedian Day" in Chicago. Chef Nahabedian is known for her wonderful food at Naha. She follows Rick Bayless, Jimmy Bannos, and Charlie Trotter in being inducted into the Chefs Hall of Fame by the Chicago Culinary Museum.
The induction will take place at the Union League Club of Chicago tomorrow night. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and tickets are available at the door for $175. This is the annual fundraiser for the Chicago Culinary Musuem.
What can't Chicago's macchiato-mustachioed molé-master conquer? Last week, fending off fierce competition from Californians Hubert Keller and and Michael Chiarello in what looked like quite possibly the best meal on earth (recipes online, cooking ability tragically not included), Rick Bayless proved himself a standout not only among Chicago gourmands and élotes vendors everywhere, but the nation's top cooking talent. With dishes like the tongue tacos that got him through the first round (a quickfire challenge creation that's become a hot menu item at Frontera) to a concentrated conchinita pibil that made me want to lick my TV, Bayless has, hopefully, proven his worth even to critics who doubt his ability to convincingly rep traditional Mexican cuisine to the masses--to say nothing of his many supporters. Suffice to say, I'm sold.
Seventeen new cheftestants roll the dice on culinary fame in Las Vegas as the new season of Top Chef starts tonight (8pm on Bravo). And with the success of our fair city's chefs in recent seasons, as well as in this summer's amuse bouche show Top Chef Masters, one would expect a strong showing from Chicago again this season. In reality, one would be dead wrong. Nary a Chicagoan in sight. Not even an Illinois resident. The closest we get is Eve Aronoff from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She's the sole representative of the entire Midwest region! The hell?!
If lack of a home team doesn't dissuade you from watching, you might want to check out the weekly viewing party at the Kit Kat Club, hosted by former cheftestant Radhika Desai. No cover, and each week will start with a cocktail demonstration and end with a Q and A session.
Keep your eye on this page, as well as the Moto chef's Twitter account, for clues as to what happens on, by my calculations, November 14. From the looks of things, we can expect a video aspect:
Might want to make a reservation for that night, just in case.
A blogger recently griped about why Rick Bayless gets so much attention for his vast knowledge of Mexican cuisine. Especially because he's, well, white.
She wrote:
"Something just bugged me that a white guy was gaining so much fame for his Mexican cuisine. I'm sure his love of Mexico is genuine and he does good charity work. I'm not saying he's a bad guy, and he is a great chef. But why does the media make him the spokesman for Mexican food in the United States?
You can accuse me of being too politically correct. But how would the French feel if their premier chef celebrated by the media in France wasn't French at all?"
This issue is interesting to me. The best Italian food in my family was made by my non-Italian mother, who learned the trade of the mangia from my grandparents' very knowledgeable housekeeper. She could turn out a mean braciole in red sauce just as easily as a plate of dull American fare. I'm very picky about eating at Italian restaurants in town, because I've already eaten the best.
My mom was a versatile chef. But was she an interloper? Were her dishes not authentic? No. Like any cook, she learned and perfected the recipes. So is criticism of Bayless made out of jealousy--that a skinny white guy with a goatee who lives and breathes Mexican food is more highly regarded than someone who actually is Mexican and cooking the same food? I think so. Food is food and great food is great food, regardless of who cooks it and what they look like.
Prolific food writer Michael Ruhlman came to Chicago on a recent weekend and enjoyed an architectural boat tour. He spent some time dining here in Chicago as well and had great things to say about Paul Kahan's Publican and Avec and of course he dined at Alinea. Which makes sense, since Grant Achatz was working at The French Laundry while Ruhlman was interviewing Thomas Keller and his staff for The French Laundry Cookbook and some of the experience is described in his follow-up book The Soul of a Chef -- not to mention he contributed an essay to the Alinea Cookbook.
When the cattle call went out soliciting interest in covering this event, it spoke to me. Déjà chef if you will. The comparisons with my professional life were too many to say no to and is how I found myself at the Country Chef's Challenge at Daley Plaza this Thursday, Aug. 6.
The three chef contestants had 30 minutes and $50 to shop the Farmers Market, with an additional 30 minutes to create a dish with their selected ingredients. The results were scored by a panel of judges, the winner claiming bragging rights as "Master of the Market."
Having competed in (and won) numerous similar events, I was intrigued by seeing it as an observer instead of a participant. Highly skilled chef's going "mano a mano" in public, preparing mystery food against the clock, "Iron Chef" style. A daunting task under the best of circumstances and these are not the best of circumstances.
The Culinary Historians of Chicago will sponsor a lecture on the evolution of the Asian Culinary Tradition this Saturday from 10am to noon at Big Bowl, 6 East Cedar. Chef and cookbook author Bruce Cost will share his vast knowledge of Asian cooking, so you know it's a good way to escape the mucky weather. Cost is $3-5; RSVP via email or call (708) 788-0338.
Tomorrow night, at 7pm at an undisclosed location somewhere near Pilsen, fine dining and music criticism come together to create a themed menu and perhaps, if their on-air banter is any indication, a Desert Island Pantry list of dessert toppings. Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot of Chicago Public Radio's Sound Opinions have teamed up with Chef Efrain Cuevas's community dining project Clandestino for a meal and Candid Wine pairings based on five selected albums, including selections from Junior Wells and Buddy Guy, Curtis Mayfield, Common, and Mavis Staples. Why exactly Naked Raygun goes so well with fennel and herb crusted hanger steak, braised marrow, potato terrine, oyster mushroom ragout -- I guess you'll have to try it to find out. The inspiring albums will, of course, supply the soundtrack for the evening.
Spots still seem to be available (click to RSVP) -- $250 covers the meal and gratuity for one guest, and a portion of the total is tax deductible. Exactly how much, and exactly where the event will take place will be announced this week via email to registrants.
This past Saturday I caught Bravo Channel's Top Chef Tour at the Chicago Green City Market. On hand were Antonia Lofaso and Radhika "Rad" Desai, both Cheftestants from Top Chef's Season Four and Season Five respectively. Over the course of 4 sessions on Saturday, both demonstrated their skills and amused the crowd with anecdotes from the show, dishing out answers to the audiences questions like "Are Hosea and Leah still together?" (The answer is yes), and "Is Toby truly that way in real life?" (Off camera, he's supposedly much nicer and very much the family man).
After the second session I had about five minutes with Wicker Park's Radhika Desai, who I found to be wonderfully charming and very funny.
So what's new for you?
"I left Between... it was a friendly separation,but I just felt like I needed to move on. I'm also doing private dinners and catering, and a lot of charity stuff. I'm not sure if you've heard of Deborah's Place?
It's a foundation for homeless women and children, and I donated a dinner where I went to someone's house and cooked. We raised $8000 for the charity! So I'm using my pseudo-fame to give back to the community rather than just being a consumer.
Atwood Café's Executive Chef Heather Terhune will be baking up a storm in the next two weeks in preparation for participating for the second year in Share Our Strength's (SOS) Great American Bake Sale to end childhood hunger. Last year, the Loop restaurant's bake sale raised more than $1,500 for SOS. This year, their goal is to "bake" in $2,000 or more. You can help by stopping by the restaurant (at 1 W. Washington St., on the corner of Washington and State streets) on Thursday, May 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to purchase some of Chef Terhune's homemade apple butter, granola, cakes, pies, cookies, muffins, and brownies.
Here's a peek into the mind of Chef Grant Achatz, via Twitter: Kevin Elliott of Consumatron noted a touch of sarcasm in one of the chef's tweets, and asked what sarcasm would taste like at Alinea. Achatz replied:
encapsulated Yuzu juice w/ honey foam, and chili juice. ( depending on context --juice would be dripped in your eye tableside)
The Chicago Culinary Museum has chosen Chef Carrie Nahabedian as its 2009 inductee into the Chefs Hall of Fame.
Nahabedian's highly acclaimed career has lasted nearly a quarter-century, the last nine years of which have been at her own River North restaurant NAHA, which showcases Nahbedian's distinct style, blending her Armenian roots and a Californian lifestyle. She's a proponent of locally sourced foods and Chicago's Green City Market. Last year she took home a James Beard award for "Best Chef Great Lakes." She is the Hall of Fame's fourth inductee and first woman, joining past honorees Charlie Trotter, Jimmy Bannos, and Rick Bayless.
Nahabedian's formal induction will take place this fall at a fundraiser for the Chicago Culinary Museum, with details to be announced at a later date.
This sounds like too good to be true, especially given the date, but we're going to run with it: Now We're Cookin' is hosting a cooking demonstration by Grant Achatz at their Evanston store on April 1st. For a mere $65, you'll get wine and appetizers made by the staff at NWC, and Achatz will demonstrate his kitchen magic. For an additional $50, you can buy the slip-covered edition of his newest book and get it autographed. Event begins at 6:30pm at 1601 Payne Street, Unit C. Reservation required.
One of my colleague is a venerable veteran of bread making, with more than 20 years under his belt, during which time, rumor goes, he hasn't bought a single loaf of bread. Since I discovered the fun of bread making (and also the fact that he was a closet bread maker), we've been spending good ten minutes every Monday morning discussing what we'd done in the bread department in the preceding weekend. And we steal a few minutes here and there during the week, too, talking about bread. During a recent chat, he told me about an improbable bread recipe he saw on PBS. He called it "Jacques Pépin's pot bread."
"I just don't see how it can be any good," my colleagues added, "it defies all that I know about bread."
While watching the Oscars last night, I saw an ad for Diet Coke featuring Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio:
While I'm certain that Chef Tom wasn't in the drawing room when this ad was crafted, one local restaurant sprang to mind when I saw the wire contraption that was an object of scorn and ridicule, a place that gets a lot of press and fanfare and whose chef has a lot of name recognition in the industry (and who also is a huge Diet Coke fan himself).
Cookstr, the long-awaited recipe search site, launched today. The website hosts free recipes from noted chefs and cookbook authors. The site currently allows you to search by ingredient, chef or recipe. There also handy ways to refine your search like "five ingredients or less" and "inexpensive." They are adding new content daily, so if your first search doesn't yield what you had hoped, it may be wise to check back. New features will be added over the next few months, like chef profile pages and personalized recipe boxes.
This charming memoir captures Julia Child's first impressions of France and the joyful adventures she found in her adopted homeland.
Child was first introduced to France in 1948 when she moved to Paris with her husband and Foreign Service Officer, Paul. The book follows Child through the early days of the Cordon Bleu, the intense creative process that ultimately bore Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and the cultural differences between French and United States cooks during the '50s.
This book is a highly recommended companion for these bountiful fall days.
When I think of Las Vegas, words like repulsive excess and unnecessary waste spring to mind. That's why I was pleasantly surprised by Rick Moonen's Chicago Gourmet seminar on selecting fish the sustainable way.
Moonen, considered one of the nation's top seafood chefs, owns RM Seafood at Sin City's Mandalay Place, a 200-seat restaurant designed to look like "a swank cruise ship," according to the Web site. The chatty, energetic chef knows how to put on the ritz, but it's clear from listening to him that his twin passions are protecting endangered seafood species, while helping home cooks get comfortable with preparing fish.
"Everything we cook has an odor, but do you ever hear someone say, 'Eeew, it smells beef-y in here?' No!" he said, alluding to one of the reasons people often cite for not cooking fish at home.
At his lecture at Chicago Gourmet, the chef focused less on cooking and more on educating. Moonen is a regular visitor to Web sites like Seafoodwatch.org, which "raises consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources." The site regularly updates a list of fish that are the worst and best choices for consumers who want to buy "green."
When Andrew (chief of Gapers Block clan) managed to secure press passes to the Chiago Gourmet for us, I immediately wanted to cover a seminar on sake. Normally, it would be $60 to attend (on top of the already hefty $150 day pass, I believe), which is a bit out of my budget. I was curious to see how sake is presented and received, given the recent surge of interest in sake in the Untied States. On top of that, as a relative newcomer to the world of sake myself, I was eager to try new varieties and listen to a sake expert describe their aromas and flavors. So I jumped to the opportunity.
After picking up the press pass and walking past a glassed-in seminar room with maybe eight people listening to a suit-and-tied presenter from an exotic winery, I sat down by the grand staircase on the first floor of the Cultural Center. I was a few minutes early. When I was checking the setting of my camera when I noticed a middle-aged, Eastern Asian guy sit next to me. I didn't think much of that; I just thought he was a tired visitor taking a break for a moment.
The man turned out to be the chef Takashi Yagihashi of Takashi, the seminar's presenter. As he walked up to the front of the seminar room, I kicked myself for not looking at him closely enough--I could have talked to him about the Chicago Gourmet and about sake without anyone milling around for their turn to speak to him. There were probably about 30 people in the room for the seminar. Some wore press passes, while others were paying guests (with occasional flashes of ritzy jewelry). It was interesting to see the sake seminar much better attended than the preceding seminar on wine--although, to be fair, there are more than fifteen wine seminars to choose from, whereas on sake there is only one.
Yagihashi's sake cup collection, along with his Starbucks cup, made an eclectic tableau at the Sake for Everyday seminar.
Yagihashi started with a little biography of himself -- growing up in Mito as a grandson of a sake retailer, moving to the U.S., working his way up in prestigious restaurants, and opening his own in Bucktown -- and moved on to the brewing process of sake. Within a few minutes, everybody was intently listening to his charming and informative talk with occasional self-depricating humor (which reminded me of Japan so much!).
For the tasting part, there was generous pouring of one sake from each of the major sake category. A guy from Yagihashi's distributor joined and gave us a lively commentary on each sake. From the "Junmai" category, which uses rice grains polished at least to the 70% of their original size, we tried "Hitorimusume" from Yamanaka Brewery in the chef's hometown (link in Japanese). To my palate, it tasted a little harsh and alcoholic, although, after listening to Yagihashi describe it as "neutral and good with food," I could see it that way, too.
One of Food Network's newer (and, if you ask me, more likeable) stars, giggly Cleveland-based chef Michael Symon, will be at The Counter, the new "build-your-own-burger" joint on Diversey, next Thursday, Sept. 18, from noon to 6 p.m.
The first Chicago outpost of the chain opened this Monday at 666 W. Diversey Pkwy. Symon's visit is more than a well-timed PR gimmick: Proceeds from the location's sales on Sept. 18 will benefit the Big Shoulders Fund, an organization that helps support Catholic schools in some of Chicago's low-income neighborhoods.
In case you haven't heard, The Counter claims diners can choose from 312,120 possible burger combinations, by selecting among a variety of proteins (Angus beef, chicken, turkey, veggie and seafood), 10 cheeses, 28 toppings, 18 sauces and three types of buns.
Symon has a penchant for pork. Might I suggest he order a beef burger on a classic hamburger bun, topped with Black Forest ham, honey-cured bacon, horseradish cheddar, and apricot sauce?
Celebchef Rick Bayless will be inducted into the Chicago Culinary Museum and Chefs Hall of Fame tomorrow night at the Palmer House Hotel, 17 East Monroe, from 5:30-9:30pm. Tickets are $175 (before event) or $200 (at the door) and include attendance to a cocktail reception, silent auction, awards presentation and a "Wandering Feast," which I'm sure is short for "passed hors d'oeuvres."
Now that my heart is no longer aflutter and my breathing has returned to normal, I'm clear-headed enough to write about the encased meat sandwich that lured me to Hot Doug's on Friday. Kevin Haas won Time Out Chicago's contest to have his hot dog made and sold at Hot Doug's. It admittedly wasn't the sandwich I voted for, but I was delighted to try it anyway. I love the concept of combining a variety of different ethnic cuisines into one meal. And it almost works really well. But only almost.
The chorizo sausage is one of the best I've had. It packs a lot of flavor and spice in each bite, and it's not so greasy that you end up with orange juice running down your chin which was nice. Fat may add flavor, but too much fat flattens the flavor and ruins the taste. The spiciness of the chorizo was expected and enjoyable for the first couple of bites, but the spice of the sausage combined with the chili mustard quickly became overpowering and drowned out the flavors of the Asian pear chutney and the paneer. Which was a shame, because the chutney was heavenly and made only better by the chili mustard. The paneer was fried, which I hoped would add a little flavor to an otherwise bland, but soothing, cheese. Unfortunately, the paneer was cold when it was placed on top of the sausage, and served in large chunks, so they mostly fell off while I was eating. If the cheese had been in smaller pieces, so they stayed on top of the sandwich, or if the cheese had been soft and melty so it stuck to the sausage, I think the paneer would have provided the cooling sensation that it provides in many Indian dishes.
So while I had a very, very enjoyable lunch and would even end up ordering this sandwich again, I'd probably split it with someone because by the end of the sandwich all I tasted was the chorizo. Thankfully the ingestion of duck fat fries (which are so amazingly good) provided enough grease to counteract some of the spice so I could eat without sniffling while sitting just a few feet from Anthony Bourdain. Maybe I'm not done swooning after all.
I decided to swing by Hot Dougs today and enjoy the award winning New Chicago dog and some Duck Fat fries. Right after I finished taking a photograph of my encased meat, a young woman came over and asked me very apologetically if I would move over a few seats. "You see, we're doing some filming, and this is unfortunately the seat with the best light." Since I was done using the light for my own purposes, I agreed and asked who was filming.
My belly flopped, my breathing stopped and I was somehow able to mutter "Yeah, but Anthony Bourdain isn't really here? Right?"
"Oh yeah," she replied. "He's waiting in line."
I spent the next several minutes trying to eavesdrop on his ordering conversation with Doug Sohn, owner and head comedian of Hot Doug's, and trying to get a halfway decent shot of him standing in line. And then he came and sat beside me and grumbled about how hungry he was while the camera operators got everything focused and queued up and then he began to eat and talk while he was eating. The eating definitely took preference over the talking and he ate The Dog (what Doug calls a Chicago dog) and he ordered a "Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Mustard, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris", probably just to piss of Alderman Joe Moore for trying to make foie gras illegal and costing poor Doug a fine for selling it anyway.
Honestly, if you've seen one man eat a hot dog, watching Bourdain eat a hot dog wasn't really any different. However, because almost everyone in the restaurant knew who he was, even though they were trying to pretend they weren't staring at him, and since everyone was suddenly "dialing" their cell phones at eye level, even he seemed a bit unnerved by the staring and attention. But he handled it gracefully. I honestly think he's used to being stared at while he eats, but probably not used to being stared at by people who know him while he eats. But he seemed to love his meal, including the duck fat fries (even though the camera operators, assistant and sound folks probably ate more of them than he did). And while Chicago is no Malaysian jungle, this Chicago foodie hopes that Tony enjoyed the rest of the meals he ate in our fair city. I'm not sure about everywhere that he went, but The Food Chain has a few places listed.
Chef and host of awesome PBS cooking show Simply MingMing Tsai will be making an appearance at the WTTW studios (5400 N. Saint Louis) on Tuesday, July 29 for a meet and greet and to sign his newest cookbook, Ming's Master Recipes. Event begins at 6:30pm. Tickets are $10 for WTTW members and $15 for non-members. Reserve your spot online or call (773) 509-1111, ext. 6.
Last week, "Top Chef: Chicago" winner Stephanie Izard went head to head with The Drawing Room Executive Chef Nick Lacasse in a four-course plate vs. plate dinner competition held Sunday. The dinner sold out in moments, as savvy diners realized it would be the first public event for Izard after the show's finale. The fact that she won made the evening that much more of a must-attend event.
The chefs each created a dish incorporating the following ingredients:
• First Course - raw fish and asparagus
• Second Course - foie gras and kumquats
• Third Course - lamb and cherries
Course Four was a collaborative dessert featuring fresh strawberries.
Each chef's dishes were labeled A or B, and diners used ballots to pick their favorite of each course. A run-down follows after the jump.
Daily Candy has an interview with home-town hero Stephanie Izard today, the day Stephanie, Richard and Lisa face off for the crown of "Top Chef." Izard dishes about her favorite Chicago restaurants and food shops, but keeps mum about her competitors and her future plans.
Don't forget to tune in to Drive-Thru tonight around 9pm for our live-blogged recap of the "Top Chef" finale! D'oh! Technical difficulties interceded! We'll have a (sadly, un-live) recap up as soon as we can.
The 2008 James Beard Awards winners have been announced, and Chicago took home several titles. Alinea's Grant Achatz won the Outstanding Chef Award, given to "a working chef in America whose career has set national industry standards and who has served as an inspiration to other food professionals."
Carrie Nahabidian won Best Chef for the Great Lakes region. This was Nahabidian's third year nominated, and she was up against two other Chicago chefs, Graham Eliot Bowles and Bruce Sherman — as well as Iron Chef America's Michael Symon.
Much farther down the awards bill was Robert Louey Design, who won Outstanding Restaurant Graphics for their work on Sepia. Lastly, as previously announced, Tufano's Vernon Park Tap was honored with an America's Classics Award.
SavoryCities interviewed Rick Bayless and Bruce Sherman during the cocktail before the awards ceremony.
According to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council (yes, there is such a thing), Americans typically consume 7 billion hot dogs between Memorial Day and Labor Day. And while the Chicago dog--in all its poppyseed bun, sport pepper, celery salt glory--is undoubtedly a classic, it's a little...well...old school.
For those who prefer a more done-up-dog, Chicago Tribune's Good Eating challenged five Chicago chefs to revamp the classic hot dog in a way that was unique, yet easy enough for the home cook to replicate. And in true Chicago fashion, you won't find ketchup in any of the recipes.
Not really the cooking type? Check out Hot Doug's, where this week's special is a Chardonnay-Infused Rattlesnake Sausage with Bacon-Garlic Dijonnaise and Mirabo Walnut Cheese ($8).
Chef/Restauranteur Gordon Ramsay has confirmed that he will open a restaurant in Chicago next year. Speaking at a recent book signing event in Macy's department store, Ramsay said: "Chicago is at the forefront of the culinary world right now and I want a piece of that action." Take cover!!
Ramsay, the frothy spittled warlord notorious for whipping untrained cooks into "world-class chefs" using his own signature torture tactics, is currently in his fourth season of the faux food show Hell's Kitchen.
If the whole grade-A bleephole thing just isn't for you, check out Ramsay in BBC America's Kitchen Nightmares (the American version just isn't up to snuff). In Nightmares, not only might Ramsay end up ostracizing the folks to the point that they quit the show or physically attack him, but he candidly talks to the viewer as he identifies the various failings of the restaurant with an amusing combination of incredulity and snark.
Food & Wine magazine announced its 10 winners of this year's Best New Chef awards--two of which were from Chicago (and...ahem...only one was from New York). Receiving the honors were Koren Grieveson of Avec and Giuseppe Tentori of Boka.
According to the magazine, the Best New Chefs are chosen as part of a six-month selection process. The process includes working with trusted restaurant critics and food writers around the country to identify outstanding chefs who have been in charge of a kitchen for less than five years. Then the editors travel to taste the food themselves (undercover of course). This is the 20th year of the award.
Recent winners from Chicago include Michael Carlson (2006, Schwa), Graham Elliot Bowles (2004, Avenues), Bruce Sherman (2003, North Pond) and Grant Achatz (2002, Alinea).
The nominees for the 2008 James Beard Awards were just announced, and Chicago has pretty good representation this year. The Chicago chefs/restaurateurs nominated are:
• Rich Melman, Lettuce Entertain You, Outstanding Restaurateur
• Grant Achatz, Alinea, Outstanding Chef Award
• Mindy Segal, HotChocolate, Outstanding Pastry Chef
• Brian Duncan, Bin 36, Outstanding Wine Service
• Spiaggia, Outstanding Service
• Graham Elliot Bowles, formerly of Avenues, Best Chef: Great Lakes
• Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Best Chef: Great Lakes
• Bruce Sherman, North Pond, Best Chef: Great Lakes
Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap received a James Beard Foundation "America’s Classics" Award. The citation said, "One of the few remnants of Chicago's Little Italy, Tufano's Vernon Park Tap has been owned and operated by the same family since it opened as a bar in the early 1930s. The small table in the bar's kitchen has since expanded to include two dining rooms that are regularly packed with businessmen, police officers, families, and pre-game sports fans. The restaurant's chalkboard menu offers diners Italian-American classics like lemon chicken, eggplant Parmesan, and fettuccini Alfredo at prices that make just about everyone a regular."
In addition, the Sun-Times' Janet Rausa Fuller was nominated for Best Newspaper Feature Writing without Recipes for her story "Fish Fraud: The Menus Said Snapper, but it Wasn't!"; CBS2 Chicago's Vince Gerasoli's "Table for Two" was nominated for Best Television Food Segment, National or Local; and the WTTW special "Foods of Chicago: A Delicious History" was nominated for Best Television Food Special. Robert Louey Design was nominated for Outstanding Restaurant Graphics for their work on Sepia.
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.
In this week's New York Times Magazine, Rick Bayless reveals the quirks of his home and daily routine. Bet you didn't know that he often gets mistaken for Eric Clapton or that he has thousands of dollars worth of microgreens growing in his basement...
The Reader's The Food Chain has published a statement from Grant Achatz's publicist announcing the completion of his treatment for cancer. The full text:
"It is with a tremendous sense of gratitude and relief that I have successfully completed my course of therapy at the University of Chicago. It was incredibly important to me to remain as engaged as possible at Alinea while receiving treatment, and during that time I only missed 14 services. I continue to stand committed to innovating fine dining long into the future."
Chef Charlie Trotter has earned a spot on Chicago Magazine'sChicagoans of the Year list. His contributions to the Chicago community include the Charlie Trotter Culinary Education Foundation, which has donated more than a million dollars towards scholarships for aspiring chefs, and the Excellence Program, which treats Chicago Public School students to a multi-course Trotter-esque meal.
I spent the morning reading a profile on NY chef David Chang and his recent success in the foodie and media circles concerning his and business partner Joaquin Baca's Momofuku restaurants. It's the kind of place that seems to exist primarily on the coasts: superior worldly ingredients cooked at a high level which produces what some might call the New American Cuisine. A combination of small plates and large, communal dishes at a very affordable (almost student cheap) price, a lack of reservation options, no dress codes and chefs being cooks, servers and host, all in one.
The question I have for Chicago is this: we're in an amazing place right now for food culture -- Alinea is here, Paul Kahan's Blackbird and Avec, Hot Doug's and Kuma's Corner -- so I ask the readers, where's some really exciting high level cooking going on right now?
This past Saturday I went to see Paula Deen at the Chicago Theatre for what I thought would be a 2-hour cooking demonstration. I was wrong.
Despite an appearance from Art Smith—Oprah’s former personal chef and owner of Table Fifty-Two—Paula Deen Live felt more like a poorly executed comedy routine than a cooking demonstration. The cooking portion of the show lasted approximately 30 minutes, with all the cooking being done by an assistant. Paula’s contribution? Tasting a few recipes and insisting that they all needed more salt…and butter (of course).
However, the night was not drama-free. While Paula spent a few minutes thanking sponsor Smithfield Foods, a group of rowdy protesters sitting in the upper level shouted comments about unfair treatment of employees and unsafe working conditions. Paula shrugged off the comments and said that "she'd rather spend time chatting with her friends" than discuss the Smithfield Foods controversy.
Paula Deen, the Food Network's queen of country cuisine, is coming to The Chicago Theater on November 17th for two live shows. Paula will share her favorite down home recipes with fans, as well as cooking tips and advice. Tickets are still available for both shows. You bet your britches that I'll be there.
Can't wait until November? Try making one of my favorite Paula recipes--corn casserole--at home. (Warning: recipe may not be suitable for the calorie-conscious.)
Paula Deen's Corn Casserole
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.
The next generation of Chicago celebrity chefs is hitting bookstores and cooking demos this month. Fourth grader Isabella Gerasole and second grader Olivia Gerasole have a new cookbook for kids based on their web site, Spatulatta.com. Last year the site, which has videos to accompany the recipes, won a James Beard Foundation award in the webcast category and landed the girls on Jay Leno's show and in the pages of Food and Wine. It's a great site for kids interested in food. Right now there are Halloween recipes, including Spiderweb Soup and Spooky Skull Meatloaf. And in the archive are vegetarian recipes for Thanksgiving, as well as recipes for everyday snacks and meals, and even a concentration game with images of cooking utensils. The girls are appearing around Chicago, signing their book and giving cooking demonstrations. I recommend introducing any kids you might be spending Thanksgiving with. Let them do the cooking this year, while the adults keep asking when dinner will be ready and if they can have pie even if they don't eat their Quinoa Stuffing Pilgrim Hats.
Prentice Women's Hospital at Northwestern opened Saturday, and along with it another chapter of the well-hidden secret of why I love Northwestern Memorial Hospital: their cafeteria. If you've ever tasted hospital food, you know its bland calling card; however, I've enjoyed many countless meals at Spice of Life, the NMH cafeteria. The place has even been on Check Please!. Their sister restaurant at Prentice, Fresh Market at Fairbanks, promises to deliver as much, with chef and author Joyce Goldstein at the helm. I'm excited to get to the new hospital and get my chow on; thankfully, that will be my only reason to be there.
According to Time Out Chicago, Schwa officially closed yesterday. No word on any new projects from Chef Michael Carlson but he tells Time Out that he will return to cooking in Chicago "after dealing with personal issues." I'm sure all of Chicago joins me in wishing him the best.
A lot of media attention has been given to Charlie Trotter recently in celebration of his twentieth anniversary of the opening of his Lincoln Park restaurant. From the city naming "Charlie Trotter Day" in August, to the cover of a recent Time Out issue and a review of invite-only events over this past weekend that was attended by the world's top chefs (the real top chefs, ahem), this is a nice salute to his work.
Chef Grant Achatz and his business partner Nick Kokonas have turned down million-dollar offers for an Alinea cookbook in order to go DIY. You can pre-order the book -- due next fall -- at alinea-book for $50, which entitles you to a copy of the book signed by Achatz and everyone else involved in the project, early access to the companion site, alinea-mosaic.com (nice retro web reference, guys) next May. My order is in; yours should be too.
Serious Eats' Ed Levine spoke with Kokonas about the project. Their decision to go independent with the book (which will be published under contract by Ten Speed Press) had a lot to do with the limitations publishers wanted to place on the project.
Kokonas: "Grant and I regard this whole process as an exercise in mass customization. We wanted to do the book our way. The publishers we talked to would have imposed their vision and their way of thinking on us. We didn't want that. One of the key components to us is the online component. On the internet, you can create something rich and hopefully special. When we explained to the conventional publishers what we wanted to do, they all thought we were nuts. They thought that if we put big chunks of the book online, we would be cannibalizing our own sales. But I have tons of cookbooks at home, and I go on the web all the time for cooking and food info, and those are two distinct interactions, and one doesn't come at the expense of the other.
"What we are trying to do here is much more than publishing a book, because with the website, we're going to be adding to the book continuously after the publication date. What we're most excited about is the chance to build an Alinea community. We've already started to do that with the restaurant, and now with the book and the website, we can take that community to a whole new level."
It's unsurprising that a chef who's pushing the boundaries of cooking would also want to challenge the conventions of publishing; if the gamble pays off, I predict a very cool future for cookbook publishing.
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.
The super fabulous Concord Grape Tart returns to the menu at West Town Tavern for a limited time. Make sure you save room for this tasty treat that made the Time Out Chicago "100 Best Things We Ate" list when you go. Also, catch Chef Susan Goss for a live demo of two recipes at Green City Market tomorrow at 10:30am.
Plenty of opportunities to have fun with fish this fall with The Fish Guy. Take a sushi class from Hiroko Shimbo on October 14, 15, or 16 for just $100. Class includes lots of sushi and sake as well as signed copies of both of her cookbooks. You can also snag a coveted reservation at the once a week restaurant Wellfleet on September 7, 14, or 21 if you act quickly. Sign up now and get a free Caviar Wellfleet for each couple. 773-283-7400.
Chef Joel Dennis, most recently Chef de Cuisine at Tru, has been named Executive Chef at Blue Water Grill Chicago. Before moving to Chicago, Chef Dennis worked under several other rock-star chefs including Alain Ducasse and Charlie Palmer. Wonder if we'll get a Blue Water version of the caviar staircase?
Two interesting sites with video came across my browser in the past couple days; one bridges the divide between music and food, the other between top Chicago chefs and us.
Cooking with Rockstars is pretty much what it sounds like: rock'n'rollers demonstrating how to cook their favorite meals ...or, well, meals anyway. So far the only Chicago videos are sort of tangentially related; Neal Pollack used to live here and write for the Reader, and Enon is on Touch and Go Records. Stay tuned for more solidly local rockers, hopefully.
Today was one of those rare days that my wife and I both managed to have off from work, so we ventured down to Hot Doug's. It was crowded as usual, but whilst waiting in line we spotted a large, pony-tailed redhead holding court over some sausage and soda: Mario Batali. It's good to see a chef of his stature venture out to the virtual boon docks of the city for some good eating. And while I have it on good authority that the dude can cook, he sure has crappy taste in footware. I don't care how comfortable they are. Those shoes just don't work with orange socks.
By the way, the rabbit sausage Doug's got right now? Totally rocks.
Local culinary darling Grant Achatz and his restaurant Alinea took home the top two prizes at this year's Jean Banchet Awards, which was held Friday as part of the Grand Chefs Gala. Achatz was named celebrity chef of the year and Alinea was recognized as the best fine dining in the area. Their sommelier, Craig Sindelar, was also named the best in his field. The Banchet awards are named for the pioneering French chef who founded Le Francais in Wheeling and are distributed every year for the best culinary achievements in the Chicago area.
Other 2007 winners: Elissa Narow of Custom House for best celebrity pastry chef; Michale Carson of Schwa for best rising chef; Suzanne Imaz of NoMI for best rising pastry chef; Le Bouchon for best neighborhood restaurant; and Designed Cuisine for best catering company.
In May I traveled to Buenos Aires and spent a week eating and drinking in South America's second largest metropolis. Many guidebooks are quick to peg Argentina as the place to drink Malbec. While this is true, Argentina has much... Read this feature »
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Chef Grant Achatz and his business partner Nick Kokonas have turned down million-dollar offers for an 
