The Vilcek Foundation is giving chefs and artisans that are under 38 years old and were born outside of the United States a shot at $25,000. The Foundation aims to award culinary professionals who have made notable contributions to the field at an early stage in their career.
The Vilcek Foundation honors the contributions of foreign-born scientists and artists living and working in the United States by focusing attention on the extraordinary drive, talent, and ingenuity new generations of immigrants bring to our culture, arts, and sciences. Applications and more information are available on the Vilcek Foundation website. Applications are due July 31st.
Chicago's "new wave of microbrews" is highlighted in the travel section of this Sunday's New York Times. Metropolitan and Half Acre both get shout outs, as well as the venerable institutions where their beers are sold, such as the Hop Leaf and the Map Room.
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.
I know many people have asked me, and I've wondered myself, why Chicago doesn't have hot dog, pretzel, elotes, knish, etc. carts hanging out on downtown streets like New York and many other cities do. Despite what Hollywood would have you think, there are no folks in business wear standing on street corners to get their dog fix on.
Claire Bushey wrote a great piece for The Reader called Legalize It that explains a bit of the history of the fight to license food cats and what many vendors are getting together to organize.
The restaurant owners in predominantly Latino neighborhoods (where you're most likely to see the carts) are uncomfortable, and reasonably so, with having a cart parked outside their business selling the same food (probably for less) than what can be purchased inside. But there are many areas of the city where the ratio of potential eaters to restaurants is much greater. The city cites concerns for health reasons, which is understandable, but those are things that can obviously be relegated and inspected.
If you want to see more street vendors near where you live or work, contact the Chicago Worker's Collaborative to lend your support. And a call to your alderman certainly couldn't hurt.
As Congress prepares to debate the reauthorization of the school lunch standards set out in the Child Nutrition Act, the Tribune's Monica Eng shares an inside look at CPS lunch offerings.
Many of us have memories of "pizza boats" and "walking tacos" from our school days, but if you need a refresher a fewsites have started cataloguing differences between school lunches around the world. The U.S. lunches sure aren't pretty (or nutritious).
On May 5th, a healthy meal created by Chicago high school students was served on Capital Hill. Yu Kizawa wrote about the effort by The Healthy Schools Campaign in a recent Gapers Block Drive-Thru article.
According to The Healthy Schools Campaign, more than 30 million students in the United States eat school lunch every day. Through their website, you can urge your legislators to reauthorized a well-funded Child Nutrition Act that will help future students avoid the unhealthy and unappetizing school lunches many of us experienced. To learn more about the childhood obesity epidemic and how it is affecting our nation, visit the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Ribfest Chicago is expected to draw 50 thousand people to Chicago's North Side this weekend - people who will consume some 65,000 pounds of ribs. But not all those ribs will come from animals.
Kevin Porter and Chelsea Waldrop are the married couple that runs Delicious Cafe (previous review) in the St. Ben's neighborhood. Starting Friday, they'll be at Ribfest Chicago, introducing the carnivorous crowd to vegan ribs.
Ribfest Chicago runs this Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. It includes 25 bands and can be found at the intersection of Lincoln, Irving Park and Damen.
Although it's an event that needs little advertising, the City is throwing a Taste of Chicago Preview at Daley Plaza from 11am-2pm tomorrow, where you can buy $2 "Taste Portions" of several foods that will be on sale when the monster hits town on June 26.
If your stomach grumbles at the sound of the word "free," you've got a couple good opportunities to fill up on the cheap this week and next -- provided you've got a little cash.
Whuh? Yes, there's a little money being exchanged before you get your freebie on a couple of these. Today from 11am to 2pm, are Potbelly Sandwich Works locations are giving away a free bag of Zapp's chips with every sandwich purchase, in honor of Zapp's being their new chip supplier. And starting at 2pm, you can wash the Crawtater chip flavor out of your mouth with a free iced coffee from Au Bon Pain, no purchase necessary.
Then on Friday, June 5, the 470 Chicagoland Dunkin' Donuts stores will give a free donut with any beverage purchase in honor of National Donut Day -- which was started in 1938 by the Salvation Army right here in Chicago.
And next week, on June 11, Panera Bread will be giving away free samples of its new summer salads: Chopped Cobb Salad, Strawberry Poppyseed or Fuji Apple Chicken Salad all day. [via]
If you're like me (meaning, you have little to no self control when it comes to sweets), you've been guilty of making an emergency run to Whole Foods not for organic wheat germ or Acai berries, but for one of the way-inappropriately sized Carol's Cookies sold in their bakery. (Toffee Crunch is my fave.) Recently, I learned Carol's has been making these half-pound beauties in the Chicago area since 1979 - the year of my birth. Coincidence? I think not.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Carol's recently put out a call asking loyal fans to submit ideas for the company's next cookie flavor. (Yes, the winners get free cookies. Stick with me here.) To participate, visit Carol's Web site or join the new Facebook fan page, "Carol's Cookies Giant Cookie Club." The contest starts June 1 and runs through Aug. 12, 2009.
After reviewing all entries, Carol's bakers will select the top five flavors and spend four weeks perfecting the recipes at the Carol's cookie factory. The five finalists' recipes will be judged on Sept. 15, 2009, at the Carol's factory by Carol Goldman (yes, the Carol), and foodies Katrina Markoff of Vosges Haut-Chocolat, Marc Shulman of Eli's Cheesecake, Bryant Keil of Potbelly's Sandwich Works, and restaurant critic Sherman Kaplan from WBBM AM 780 radio.
The winner will receive a year's supply of free cookies, as well as virtual applause from the online universe. Oh, and the champ also gets to be guest baker for two days at Carol's Cookies Highland Park bakery. The runners-up even get some cookie dough. So what more can I say, people: Cookie it up!
Every restaurant in the Belgium city of Ghent must now offer at least one vegetarian meal on Thursdays. Lisa Mullins of PRI's The World checks in with the chef (via Chicago Public Radio) at one top restaurant, who tells us about the great success he found serving a tofu product that "seems a little bit like meat." The BBC brings us the deputy mayor, not a vegetarian himself, who explains why the city is promoting eating less meat (play audio).
Despite the extensive list of nominees hailing from Chicago, the winners [pdf] of the James Beard awards, which were announced last night, contained only two awards for nominees from the Windy City: Grant Achatz's Alinea cookbook and Publican (for restauarant design, not food). Le sigh.
On May 5, lawmakers Washington D.C. will have an opportunity to eat school lunch in the Capitol Hill Cafeteria. But they need not fear: we are not talking about oil-coated cardboard pizza with watery skim milk here.
The lawmakers will be served what could be the future of school lunch, designed, and hopefully cooked, by Chicago-area high school students in culinary art programs. Back in October, the Healthy Schools Campaign, an NPO dedicated to the improvement of healthy overall environment in schools, held Cooking Up Change contest. (Photo from HSC.)Six students from Richards Career Academy High School won the first prize in the healthy school lunch division, and theirs will be the menu served to the lawmakers, with the help of White House Chef Sam Kass. The same menu will be served in more than 40,000 students across the country.
Alinea made the top 10 in the annual S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants survey sponsored by Restaurant magazine. That's not all that surprising, though -- Alinea's star has been rising steadily since it opened. What's a bit shocking is the continuing fall of Charlie Trotter's. The Lincoln Park institution has been on the list since its inception, but this year it didn't even make the top 100. This is obviously a major blow, coming on the heels of being dropped from New City's own Resto 100. As Michael Nagrant said then, "We don't dispute the fact that his Lincoln Park spot was influential in building the world-class food city we have today, but in recent years he's been a victim of his own success, as protégés and followers have gone on to provide more cost-accessible and innovative quality restaurants by watching him." Apparently that opinion is shared by many.
Chef Shin Thompson of Humboldt Park's Bonsoiree has been tapped to cook an "Artisanal European Wine Dinner" in June at the James Beard Foundation in New York. The meal sounds amazing: an inside-out trout, a velvet Zucchini Bisque with Maple-Poached Lobster and Eggnog Crème (it's Christmas in June!), and a Goat Cheese Cheesecake are on the menu. Tickets there run $100-125 per person, but save the plane fare and take the #73 bus to California Street instead. You won't be disappointed.
Green City Market moves outside to Lincoln Park (1750 N. Clark) on Wednesday, May 6, with a rally and 2009 season kick-off on Saturday, May 9. Green City will continue in the park Wednesdays and Saturdays (except July 4) from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Until then, Green City continues in their winter home at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 18 and Saturday, April 25. Alice Waters visits the market on the 25th for a book signing of her book, The Edible Schoolyard, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
We're giving you a heads up that the Food Network's Guy Fieri gave another PR blast to Kuma's Corner on an episode of "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" that aired last night; it'll run a couple more times next month, too. So if your last wait for a table at Kuma's was three hours, now it will be five.
It didn't take long for our story about Hot Doug Drop to make the rounds about town yesterday, but before the day was done, the unofficial Hot Doug's delivery service was put on hold after restaurant owner Doug Sohn talked with Drop owners Nico Westlund and Greg Michaels. The services website was updated with the message, "We're taking time off for Passover and working out some kinks with the Sultan of Sausage... Please be patient, as we may have angered the Big Dog."
"We had that discussion with Doug," Westlund told me this afternoon. "Things are cordial and this morning we were able to meet to discuss things." He said Sohn didn't give them much hope that a full-blown delivery service would return, "but we may be able to use this notion of group buys in some way," operating more like a catering set-up than its current form. "The possibilities are still there, and we're excited to be able to work with Doug," Westlund said.
Sohn was less encouraging when I contacted him after the restaurant closed today. "I told them to present something to me, that I'm always willing, certainly, to listen, but that I wouldn't be hopeful."
Knowing just how hard it is for some people working in the Loop to make it up to encased meats emporium Hot Doug's, Nico Westlund, a nationally ranked bike messenger, and his friend Gary Michaels have launched Hot Doug Drop, a service that lets you email or fax in your order and have it delivered to one of two "drop" locations in lobbies of the Mercantile Exchange, 20 S. Wacker Dr., and Chicago Board of Trade, 140 W. Van Buren St., at 11:30am and 1:30pm. The service was launched a couple weeks ago for the benefit of friends who worked at the trading centers. "I used to deliver Bari Foods, and saw how much the people at the BOT appreciated having Bari in the middle of the day," Westlund said. "The idea of having Hot Doug's at a boardroom meeting is so appealing." The service was expanded beyond friends at the end of last week, and its Facebook page already has 170 fans.
Hot Doug Drop is unaffiliated with the restaurant, and charges $1 per dog for delivery. Hot Doug's owner Doug Sohn is not pleased.
If you've got a Lettuce Entertain You Frequent Diner Card, Monday is a good day to score some points. Present your card at any Lettuce restaurant on Monday and you will automatically get triple points. Maggianos, Don & Charlies and banquets are excluded along with a couple of other restrictions. Chow down and get closer to those gift card rewards!
Vosges has their "Green Collection" for Spring available now in their boutiques and on line.
The collection includes:
Ellateria - Indian green cardamom + dark chocolate + white poppy seeds
Kaffir - Thai kaffir lime + fresh coconut + dark chocolate
Kayoko - Japanese macha green tea + white chocolate + cherry blossom petals
Buddha's Leaf - Malaysian pandan leaves + dark chocolate + cocoa powder
Green Truffle Collection, $28-$42
Vosges is also making great strides in eco-conscious production. Their shipping department uses air-filled bags that are made from 100% post-consumer waste and are biodegradable as opposed to styrofoam peanuts. Vosges manufactures their products using 100% renewable energy and heir boutiques in Chicago, New York and Las Vegas run on 100% renewable energy as well. Catalogs are printed with paper from a mill in the USA that is 10% post-consumer waste and certified for sustainability.
So you can feel good about all that chocolate you snarf down.
Vosges
951 W Armitage
520 N Michigan (North Bridge Mall)
Nominees for the James Beard Award have been announced [PDF], and a nice batch of Chicago names are on the list for achievements in cooking, restaurant design, wine service and journalism, among them:
Restaurants: L20, Spiaggia, Publican
Chefs: Paul Kahan (Blackbird), Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate) Koren Grieveson (Avec), Bruce Sherman (North Pond) and Arun Sampanthavivat (Arun's)
Journalism: The Trib, Monica Eng (Trib), Mike Sula (Reader), Steve Dolinsky (ABC
Wine Service: Brian Duncan (Bin 36)
Restrauteur: Rich Melman (Lettuce Entertain You)
Author: Grant Achatz
America's Second Harvest will be receiving the Humanitarian Award. The awards ceremony is May 4 in New York.
Sunday is the start of World Water Week (which kicks off with a one-mile walk and other festivities at the Field Museum) and the Tap Project, a chance for the nation's restaurants and restaurant patrons to help bring clean water to children around the world. For the week, restaurants around Chicago will charge $1 for the tap water they normally provide for free, and the money raised will go to UNICEF's clean-water works. The Tap Project web site has a list of participating places in and around town. There's an inspiring variety, in terms of location and price point, including the Goddess & Grocer, Naha, Southwater Kitchen, Big Bowl and C-House, the kitchen featuring Marcus Samuelsson, celebrity chef and UNICEF Ambassador (and, some might say, tall, cool glass of water himself).
Evanston bakery Kim's Kitchen (located at 815 Noyes) was mentioned in a NYT piece about the loveable whoopie pie. Kim's sells pumpkin and chocolate versions, and judging from a picture accompanying the story, they're the size of Quarter Pounders. If you can't make the trek up north, Trader Joe's also sells whoopie pies in their baked goods section.
The Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit is being held in Chicago this week, with a few choice quotes from the kings and queens of industry in attendance being released to the public to chew on, and it looks like they've finally given an ear to healthier eating:
"With the success of Starbucks and Jamba Juice, there are a lot of people interested in oatmeal, it's becoming the new black. Oatmeal is in."
--Mark Schiller, President of Pepsico/Quaker Food and Snacks Division (maker of Frito-Lay, Rice-a-Roni, Aunt Jemima, and of course, Pepsi products)
"There is a perception that high fructose corn syrup is evil and that's changed some behavior. Some manufacturers are taking it out of products. We're taking some out. We've had some push back from natural foods centers."
--David Wenner, CEO, B&G Foods (maker of Ortega brand foods, Cream of Wheat products)
More interesting trends: meat sales aren't doing as well as a result of economic problems ("Huzzah!" to our livestock in the audience), but restaurant business is slowly picking up again and rural economies are doing well in this recession, which could mean that (overall) brighter days are ahead. But I'm sure you already knew that.
The Heartland Cafe was closed by city inspectors Thursday after finding that perishable ingredients were poorly refrigerated, a "black slime" was growing in the ice machines, and the restaurant had a rodent infestation. Heartland's owners vow to correct the problems. The restaurant has no prior health violations (their last passing inspection was in July 2008), and their website now states that they are closed for renovations.
I stopped in Whole Foods today to pick up some wax-paper bags for my daughter's lunch box. I stopped using plastic baggies last year, and since then have been packing her sandwiches and snacks in little plastic containers. But recently I've been hearing scary stuff about the plastic, which, they say, leaches when I wash it in the dishwasher. So I'm using the wax bags now. While there, I also picked up some overpriced antibiotic-free lunch meat. Then went home and looked through the New York Times. In it, I found more to worry about as I pack those lunches. Nicholas Kristoff's column today is about MRSA, or staph infections on the skin that are resistant to antibiotics. Kristoff links the buggie pimples to "the routine use -- make that the insane overuse -- of antibiotics in livestock feed." Time to hit Whole Foods again; this time for the fake meat and tofu.
The NYT profiles Springfield, Missouri, the capital of self-important actors and...cashew chicken. What began as a Chinese restaurant's 1950s-era renovation of an American dish turned into a citywide obsession (and culinary culture war?).
The Trib reports that Yelp.com, the opinions website that gives everyday folks a chance to applaud or criticize thousands of businesses, has been conducting some unfavorable business of its own. Yelp staffers reportedly approached owners of local businesses (e.g. Ina Pinkey of Ina's and Patty Rothman of More Cupcakes) to ask for sponsorship of Yelp events in exchange for guaranteed higher ratings for their business's entry. Graham Elliot Bowles says he had his Yelp account suspended after personally contacting reviewers whose entries about his restaurants seemed questionable, and several other business owners claim that Yelp removed positive entries after they passed on offers to advertise on the Yelp website.
This doesn't seem shocking. What comes to mind is a restaurant whose review skyrocketed after a free party held exclusively for Yelp "Chicago Elite" members a couple years ago. While the food is perfectly edible, the place will never be a culinary standout in the city. Here's a review from the night of the Yelp party: "Every bite was a mouthful of satisfaction." Now compare that to a line from their most recent review, written a few weeks ago: "It is always dead too so at least you know you'll get a seat."
Yelp, after all, is a business. Their Myths section addresses the problems cited in the Trib article and claims innocence in managing their site and customers, but I doubt that Rothman, Pinkney and Bowles are voicing their gripes merely for publicity. What do we do as customers? Continue to use it, but like any opinion, take it as another piece of information floating out there for us to use or discard.
James Ward, former food critic for WLS-TV and the Sun-Times, passed away today after a long illness. From his Channel 7 bio:
Ward was restaurant critic and food columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, from 1978-1984. Prior to this, he was restaurant critic for the Chicago Daily News.
From 1969 to 1974, Ward served as editorial director for R.R. Donnelley & Sons in Chicago where he was responsible for producing travel and food magazines.
He began his career as a restaurant critic as editor and assistant publisher of Restaurants and Institutions, a food service industry trade magazine from 1960-1969.
Ward, a Chicago native, graduated from Loyola University, and holds a Master's degree in political history from the University of Chicago. He and his wife reside on the city's north side.
Ward was memorable for his often flamboyant delivery and purple prose, employed here in this review of Lindy's Chili (from early 2000s, judging from the website at the end) -- and his trademark red-rimmed glasses.
A hearty thanks to those of you who visited us at the Hideout last night for Soup and Bread. You were there to enjoy a bowl of the good stuff and more importantly, donate money to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which is having a tough week as they recall over 500 pounds of donated food containing peanuts due to the nationwide salmonella outbreak. That's a bowl of boo-hoo if I ever saw it, so make sure you head to the Depository's Sunday Soup-Off event to help them out in this trying time. You'll also get another bowl of the good stuff.
For a sad reminder that small businesses need our support, Pilsen's locally owned neighborhood grocery storefront Soy Organic will soon close, citing "hardship times." They plan to remain open at 1700 W. 19th Street through the end of this month with sales of 30% to 50% off, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and then move to operate from a warehouse. (312) 850-9801. El: Pink to 18th Street. Bus: 9-Ashland, 18-18th Street, 21-Cermak, 60-Blue Island.
The James Beard Foundation has announced the semi-finalists for its namesake awards, and Chicago is well represented. Here are the local nominees:
Outstanding Restaurateur: Rich Melman of Lettuce Entertain You
Outstanding Chef: Jean Joho of Everest, Paul Kahan of Blackbird
Outstanding Restaurant: Everest and Blackbird
Best New Restaurant: L2O
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Jimmy MacMillan of Avenues, Mindy Segal of Hot Chocolate
Outstanding Wine Service: Avenues and Bin 36
Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional: Anthony Terlato of Terlato Wine Group
Outstanding Service: Spiaggia, Courtright's Restaurant in Willow Springs
Best Chef, Great Lakes: Suzy Crofton of Crofton on Wells, Christophe David of NoMI, Curtis Duffy of Avenues, Kendal Duque of Sepia, Koren Grieveson of Avec, Michael Maddox of Le Titi De Paris, Martial Noguier of Cafe Des Architectes, Arun Sampanthavivat of Arun's, Bruce Sherman of North Pond, Giuseppe Tentori of Boka, and Paul Virant of Vie
No local chefs made the cut for Rising Star Chef of the Year, but otherwise a rep in every possible category. The finalists will be announced on March 23, and the awards ceremony takes place May 4 in NYC. See the full list of semi-finalists here [PDF].
Bleeding Heart Bakery received clearance to reopen today after a health department re-inspection found that all problems had been fixed. The bakery is offering a special cookie to celebrate: the "Kitchen Sink Cookie" -- oatmeal with flax, dried fruits and chocolate -- just $2.50.
Michelle Garcia of Bleeding Heart Bakery distributed a news release today explaining the circumstances surrounding its closure yesterday due to health code violations. The full text of the release follows after the jump.
Despite the shock and dismay that often arises with such closures, the reasons behind them are often more procedural than anything that truly endangers customers' health. In Bleeding Heart's case, some temporary and easily fixed plumbing issues and a late trash pickup were involved, compounded with some missing paperwork regarding employee certification, led to a mandatory closure. If it were just one of the three problems, the bakery may have simply gotten a slap on the wrists and an order to have it fixed for another inspection in a couple days, rather than a week off.
Obviously, if the inspection reported rodent droppings, things would be different. But if you look at the details on this case, it was much ado about not very much.
On Tuesday, March 3, Crain's Chicago Business and "Check, Please!" will host a party at Texas de Brazil to videotape people from all over Chicago talking about their favorite spots to meet for a business breakfast, lunch or dinner. Crain's will post a selection of these segments to its web site, ChicagoBusiness.com.
The party isn't a free-for-all, though. You must register here, and the deciders will let you know if you're in.
The S-T reports that like the hustlers they are, Wal-Mart is renewing their interest in opening several stores on the south side in "food desert" neighborhoods (e.g. Chatham, Pullman) that have little or no access to full-service grocery stores. A Wal-Mart spokesperson said there's "a new sense of urgency from aldermen due to the worsening economy and job losses." Bringing labor superstar Wal-Mart in to bolster the economy of underserved neighborhoods makes about as much sense as paying city aldermen almost $100k per year in salary. Carry on.
If the City of Chicago were to celebrate one seed to plant and cook from this coming growing season, what would you want it to be? NeighborSpace and the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance created One Seed Chicago to put the vote to you. Vote for either cucumber, okra, beets, or beans. The sunflower, not an option this year, took it in 2008. Submit your physical address and you'll receive a free seed packet of the winning seed, to be announced at the Green and Growing Fair on April 25.
If you've been feeling jealous of all the cooking apps available to iPhone users, such as Dinner Spinner, Grocery iQ and Beer Brands, among others, fret no more. Your regular, ordinary cell phone can transform your grocery shopping, food prep and cooking too. Wednesday's New York Times dining section tells of the many ways cell phones are transforming the lives of professional chefs and home cooks. A Chicago college student talks about photographing a lasagna with her cell phone, then IM-ing her mom about the lasagna's topping. Chefs use their phones to e-mail others in their kitchens, instead of yelling, as in the days of yore. And no one needs to carry a list around the grocery store; a cell phone, especially if it comes from Apple, can organize your shopping list by aisle. If your phone can't do that, it can at least help you remember when to turn off the boiling eggs so your apartment won't smell like sulfur for the rest of the week.
Cru Cafe & Wine Bar is closing its doors next Saturday, Jan. 24, due to the "economic climate," according to owner Debbie Sharpe. If you're in the market for higher-end wines, the cafe will be selling off some of their better bottles this week.
The space will be closed for three weeks for renovations and re-open as a Feast Restaurant + Bar, to complement The Goddess and Grocer next door. A new chef will be announced on Monday.
In related news, Feast Restaurant + Bar and The Goddess and Grocer are expanding to Lincoln Square at 4743 N. Lincoln Ave., right near the fountain at Giddings Plaza. Both are expected to open sometime around June. Feast will seat 120 people indoors, with sidewalk seating for 80 in good weather.
• Chicago MenuPages has been tracking news about "Alinea 2.0," a "small bite, multi-use" restaurant in development by Grant Achatz, Nick Kokonas and ex-Powerhouse chef (and former Achatz colleague at Trio) John Peters.
Green Grocer just received their liquor license and is now selling wine and beer. To celebrate, they are holding a wine tasting this Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. They will follow this up with "Tasting Tuesdays" every Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. Don't forget your grocery bags. 1402 W. Grand Ave. (at Noble). Bus: 9 Ashland, 65 Grand.
Phil Vettel released his best-of 2008 list (what a coincidence! we did, too), which applauds the opening of L20 (and claims it could possibly be the best restaurant in the nation right now) and the Publican, but claims that even with its warts, the Chicago Gourmet festival was the best food event last year (read Drive-Thru's coverage of the event).
The August 2001 episode of "Check Please!", featuring the then-State Senator Barack Obama and his visit to the Dixie Kitchen will air on Friday, January 16 at 8pm on WTTW. The popular restaurant review show will mark its 100th episode by airing this "lost" episode. (Via Eight Forty-Eight.)
The Wall Street Journal reported this past weekend that more than a few cocktails are showing up on Chicago bar menus in "honor" of His Honor, Gov. Rod. The drinks at Harry Caray's and Nacional 27 are name-checked, but most concoctions seem to include some pun on "impeach," mostly through peach-flavored or -infused alcohols, which leads the WSJ to wax historical about one particular Chicago drink -- the Cohasset Punch. The story is neat, and the drink sounds nifty -- give it a whirl at your politically themed holiday party!
From the Wall Street Journal:
Cohasset Punch
1½ oz dark rum
1 oz sweet vermouth
juice of ½ lemon
½ oz syrup from canned peaches
½ oz Grand Marnier
2 dashes orange bitters
Start by putting half a canned peach in the bottom of a saucer champagne glass; then half-fill the glass with shaved ice. Put all the liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into the glass.
A Madison, WI-area man gets a write-up in the Wisconsin State Journal for his love of foraging for food, e.g. making his own "catnip energy drink" made of minced burdock and dandelion root. The story is truly mind-boggling when compared to how the modern forager lives: he roams floodplains and forests looking for snacks in roots and grasses while I silently complain over the ten-minute walk to the corner coffee shop to buy a muffin. He cites his south side childhood as an inspiration, "where our Italian neighbors dug dandelions and added them to the hot fat of fried bacon, heating them just to the point of wilting'." Spring's only a few months away, people.
• I'm a fan of Elizabites' "On the Table" series, where she shows how a restaurant's table is set when you arrive -- most recently, Province and The Publican.
Morton's turned 30 this year, and to celebrate, you can get free mini cheeseburgers this Sunday, Dec. 21, at any of their locations from 5pm to 6pm. (They also have a $49.95 three-course prix fixe deal if you're interested.) UPDATE: Morton's will also be handing out complimentary steak sandwiches on Friday, Dec. 19 from 4:30pm to 5:30pm at the Wacker Place (65 E. Wacker Place) and State Street (1050 N. State St.) locations.
On the other hand, The Reader's Free Shit blog reports that only half of McDonald's downtown locations are prepared to make good on the promise of free McCafé coffee on Mondays. The others either aren't participating or can't because the new machines aren't set up.
What could be cooler than being in culinary school and winning a trip to the Douro Valley in Northern Portugal because of your talents? Next year two Kendall College culinary students will do just that, having won the first Cockburn's Culinary Competition, which put students to the test of pairing entrees with Cockburn's Special Reserve Port.
Last Wednesday, Kendall hosted the final round of this competition, where three teams of two vied for this prize. Fellow GB-staffer Lori Barrett and I attended this event, where we got to sample Cockburn's ports and taste all three finalists' dishes.
This week Half Acre Beer Company received their Federal Brewers Notice, which legally allows them to brew beer in America. Although the label has been available since August 2007, Half Acre used The Sand Creek Brewing Company, a contract brewer in Wisconsin, to brew their beer. Now they'll be able to move production in-house when they open their new North Center brewery. Their timeline for starting Chicago-based production still changes, but as The Decider reported, it may not be until February.
• Hopleaf's plan to buy La Donna's space for a new Mediterranean restaurant is dead, Crain's reports. (Did Andersonville really need another Mediterranean place, anyway?)
An AP story reports fewer numbers of people are buying organic groceries due to economy woes, and interviews Cassie Green, owner of Green Grocer Chicago, who laments the sagging sales.
Researchers at Children's Memorial Hospital are undertaking one of the largest food allergy studies ever, with families in Chicago, Boston and China as their participants. The NYT reports on the many difficulties of people living with severe allergies.
Looking for a good holiday cookie recipe? Check out the Chicago Tribune for winning recipes from the paper's annual Holiday Cookie Contest.
But what if you can't bake - or just don't feel like it this year? Chicago's bakeries can be your secret weapon for holiday parties. I surveyed friends and co-workers, asking them to tell me their favorite cookie in Chicago. Here are their picks:
The anticipation ends here: Epicurious released their list of food trend predictions for 2009, and the news will make you scratch your head in some parts ("Portland (Maine) is the new Portland (Oregon)"), and stare blankly at others ("Top-Rated" is the new "Critic's Pick"). The good part is that Alinea and The Violet Hour, which got nice shout-outs in the list, are predicted to still be "in" as of next year.
• Compare and contrast these approaches to making recipes from the Alinea cookbook: Decider/Reader and Alinea at Home. Oh, and Metromix (no photos, alas). I'm looking forward to having some time to try one myself.
• It's the time of the year to once again point you to Mondo Fruitcake, the world's only blog devoted to that unfairly maligned holiday treat.
UPDATE: Two scoops of Stephanie Izard: 312 Dining Diva reports Izard is teaming up with the guys behind Boka, Landmark and Perennial for her forthcoming restaurant, which Time Out reports will be called The Drunken Goat.
Earlier this year, Wicker Park's Sweet Thang bakery lost its lease and had to close its doors, Chef Bernard Runo promised to reopen in a new location. And indeed it did, at 2142 W. Roscoe Ave. in Roscoe Village.
Unfortunately, the new Sweet Thang is nothing like the old one. Runo appears not to be involved, as the new location apparently doesn't bake its own cakes and pastries, and prominently features a Chocolate Shoppe ice cream counter.
Wait, does that sound familiar? Oh yes, sounds exactly like the offerings of the late Sweet Occasions chain. And in fact, the new Sweet Thang is in fact a reincarnation of Sweet Occasions, which abruptly closed over the summer in what was later revealed to be a scandal involving unpaid employees, extravagant spending and more. In the comments on a post about the store closures on Edgewater Crime Blotter, a former employee made passing mention of one of Sweet Occasions' owners, Andy Singer, "concentrating on the purchase (with what money, I don't know) and opening of Sweet Thang in Roscoe Village." Reviews in Yelp -- which have been almost universally negative since the new location opened -- seem to confirm it.
Unfortunately, history appears to be repeating. Paychecks began bouncing, and after being confronted on the matter, Singer has closed Sweet Thang.
The employees aren't taking it lying down, however. They have teamed up with the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues to stage a protest and press conference on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 3pm in front of the store, demanding payment (full press release follows after the jump). Maybe they can get some money for all the unpaid Sweet Occasions employees, too.
Stephen Colbert last night reported on the brewing advertising battle between Progresso and Campbell's soups. Both have had full-page ads in the New York Times recently claiming to have fewer soups with MSG. Colbert would make a good commentator on this subject, given his love of MSG (he says his favorite soup is Campbell's MSG with Stars). But, it turns out he's "heavily and proudly invested in Campell's soup stock," he admits in the broadcast. He holds some beef stock, as well as some chicken stock.
Meanwhile, the Glutamate Association is also weighing in on the battle. The GA says that these ads might cause consumers to assume there's some reason for them to avoid MSG, a flavor enhancer that's been in use for 100 years. The FDA says MSG is a safe additive, and I believe that. But I was a bit horrified to learn from this article from Food Product Design that, surprise: like so many other foods ingested by Americans, MSG (a once natural product derived from seaweed) is made from corn glucose.
Stick with Colbert. He promises to follow this battle as it simmers.
Marion Konishi, founder of Kamehachi (open since 1967), will be honored today as the "first lady of sushi" in Chicago with an honorary street dedication at 4pm at the corner of Wells and Schiller (Kamehachi's Old Town location). Interested in the background of street dedications in Chicago? GB Book Club Editor Alice Maggio has the scoop.
• The Local Tourist and Tweating Out have launched Chef's Table: Chicago, a new dining series where foodies can interact with some of the city's leading chefs without paying an arm and a leg. First up is Powerhouse, and there were two seats left at press time. Get'em quick!
• Time Out Chicago put together a roundtable to discuss the interaction of chefs, critics and bloggers; the full transcript is now online.
The fifth season of "Top Chef" premieres tonight at 9pm on Bravo. This time around the cheftestants and judges will be holding it down in New York City, but the show will still have Chicago flair due to CHIC grad and Between Cafe and Lounge Executive Chef Radhika Desai, who will be competing.
Even though diners may be cutting back on appetizers and drinks with their meals, recent research by Zagat has shown that 83% of respondents dine out as much now as they did two years ago. Also, the Sun-Times reports that the average cost of the Chicago restaurant tab is up slightly, to $35.17.
The Trib announced their Good Eating Award recipients, who are honored for their contributions to Chicago's culinary industry. Among the winners this year were Delilah's owner Mike Miller and Vanille Patisserie's Keli and Dimitri Fayard.
• Grant Achatz and Wired's Nathan Myhrvold talked food and technology in New York last week. Serious Eats has some highlights, or you can download an mp3 of the talk here.
On Thursday evening at the Merchandise Mart, NEFF of Chicago hosted a fund-raiser for the Organic School Project. The evening was also hosted by Chicago Social and featured food from Greg Christian catering loosely based on what the OSP serves to public-school kids at Alcott Elementary school. (Christian founded the OSP.) Lauren Pett from Rich Chocolates manned a table full of mini mint-chocolate chip truffles, dark chocolate flavored with chai and other sweet treats. Hosts NEFF, meanwhile, launched a ten-week period in which the luxury cabinet manufacturer will donate 10% of every cabinetry project sold to the OSP. So, if you're in the market for some cabinets with sexy curves or a unique holographic finish, now's the time to hit the NEFF showroom.
Money from sources like this is important to the Organic School Project. They currently feed the kids at Alcott with very little money from the USDA's National School Lunch Program or the Chicago Public School System. It's becoming more widely recognized that the money schools get from the NSLP barely pays for food, once salaries, transportation and equipment is factored into the equation.
Chicago may have just come one step closer to daily farmers markets and seeing more local produce available year round. Chicago's Downtown Farmstand opened on October 1 as a pilot, and while it may close for the season this winter, the goal is to have it open year round next year. This market, in the Loop at 66 E. Randolph, stays open 5 days a week through mid-December - Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. - re-opening in the Spring. Products come from within 250 miles of the city.
The Farmstand, put together by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs, reminds me a lot of the Green Grocer. Both sell a variety of local produce and locally made packaged goods. The Farmstand's refrigerated cases currently chill local English muffins, various apples, jugs of cider, preserves, small pumpkins, and greens like Swiss chard, arugula, and spigariello. Shelves and baskets are stocked full of locally grown beans, artisan bread, jars of vegetable dips, and locally roasted coffee. You'll also find Brussels sprouts, onion, peppers, green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes. Behind the counter near the registers, they'll make you a smoothie of cider, fruit and ice. Cooking related classes start September 11. Photo courtesy of Kate Gross Photography.
• "Isn't there a restaurant in Chicago with that chef, who just won some crazy award, who's like, "I will poach the...idea of a pine needle, and insert it into your vagina at some point during your visit." Do you know what I'm talking about? It's called Alinea or something." Singer-songwriter Nico Muhly talks with Pitchfork.
Mayor Daley is wagering a boatload of Chicago-based foodstuffs (Ferrara Pan candy, Vienna beef hot dogs) on the Cubs/Dodgers divisional title with Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who in turn has wagered a rice cake and some Pinkberry coupons (just kidding).
• Monica Eng sits down with chefs Graham Elliot Bowles, Paul Kahan, Bill Kim, Carrie Nahabedian and Jackie Shen to talk about a variety of things, including foodbloggers. (Bowles and Kim think we have too much time on our hands, apparently.)
• Glad we didn't rush an interview of iCream: Dish reports that it's closed for six to eight weeks for repairs to its super-fancy gear. They also let us know where the name L20 came from.
• I don't normally think of Crust as an alternative to Spacca Napoli (which reopened tonight after two weeks off, btw) due to the distance, but Chicago Foodies found the trek worthwhile.
Chicago Public Radio's Chicago Matters: Going Forward covers how the National School Lunch Program decides what Chicago Public School students eat for lunch, and how CPS is trying to make lunches healthier and from local growers – tomorrow at 7:20 a.m. on Morning Edition and between 9 and 10 a.m. on Eight Forty-Eight.
Meanwhile, Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs brings Chicago's Downtown Farmstand to 66 E. Randolph with fruits, vegetables, preserves and baked goods from within 250 miles of the city. The pilot Farmstand will offer educational programs and lunchtime demonstrations on Wednesdays and Fridays. The Farmstand opens October 1, with a Grand Opening celebration featuring samples and demos from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Afterwards, the Farmstand operates Tuesday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through mid-December, and re-opening in Spring 2009.
• You can now follow the Reader's Chicago Drinks correspondent, Bianca James, on Twitter, although if you're interested in drinks it won't be worth it.
• This ad on the Near West Side for a Brazilian-distilled (but NYC-owned) cachaça leans more toward the porn end of the foodporn. How soon do the protests start, you think?
• Having had the Malai Kofta at Bhabi's Kitchen back when it was still a secret special, I can vouch personally for how tasty it is. Now you can get it any time you like.
• Sky Full of Bacon discovers that Andersonville's Bowmanville's Pizzeria Calzone also offers Mexican food but, strangely, no calzones.
• Alinea at Home, "from the same nutjob who brought you the award-winning French Laundry at Home." Coming soon as she received her copy of the cookbook, I imagine.
• As noted in Merge, sports radio host Mike North will be broadcasting from Lettuce Entertain You's Wildfire starting Monday. The Stew and Phil Rosenthal have further thoughts.
Last month, I wrote a love note of a review in Drive-Thru to Orange on Harrison, the South Loop location of the popular local chain of brunch eateries. Well sign me spurned, because according to sources at Orange, the Harrison Street location is slated to shut its doors permanently by mid-September.
Apparently, the lease is up and the landlord wants more money than Orange's owners wish to bear, given the allegedly shoddy state (according to Orange) of the building and its HVAC system. Owners are hoping to make up for the loss in business with the opening of a new Orange later this month at Clark and Fullerton.
Say it isn't so. The best grilled cheese in downtown Chicago about to bite the dust? Where will the hordes of weekend students with visiting parents in tow who usually people the place on Saturdays and Sundays go? It's not like Yolk has the space to handle that many gourmet pancake-flight refugees.
I should have seen it coming. My last favorite, Pilsen's Take Me Out, burned down soon after I discovered it. Note to any eateries I've reviewed recently: you may want to cross your fingers for the next few days. Bad news always seems to travel in threes.
In all seriousness, a sad loss this will be for a neighborhood with few other close-by options anywhere near as cool, or with as good grub. Oh well, River North's Kitsch'n. I guess you're my new brunch daddy now.
• Meanwhile, Dish tips us off that Sweet Occasions in Andersonville has closed (end of column). The branch under the Damen Brown Line stop shuttered soon after that station closed for repairs, and the long promised Bryn Mawr location never opened.
Fulton's on the River was "scolded" (whatever that means) today by city officials after being caught removing the requisite large sign that announced the suspension of their operating license. A city inspection yesterday revealed a significant fruit fly infestation in their kitchens.
Here in Chicago, local salad spot Dream Salad is planning to offer free salads from 11 am to 2 pm on Friday, August 22, if Phelps wins eight gold medals (which will top Mark Spitz's record of seven)--and if customers show up with a business card. Dream Salad owner Rich Levy is a former high-school swimmer, and he's excited that Phelps has reenergized the sport. (Dream Salad is part of the Salad Spinners chain, but the offer is only valid at 200 E. Randolph Street.)
Free pizzas would be more in line with Phelps's 12,000-calorie a day diet. The guy eats at least a pound of pizza a day, but not a lot of salad. Any pizza purveyors out there willing to sweeten the pot?
• Further Bourdain news: The Stew's Chris Borrelli sat down with Tony -- and Mancow Muller!? How does that man stay relevant? -- at Silver Palm to get more info on the "No Reservations" Chicago shoot.
• Slice checks out Caffe Florian and Spacca Napoli (the latter on my recommendation -- wish it lived up to it).
Slow Food Chicago has three interesting events going on this week. Details are in Slowdown but here's a summary:
Tomorrow: A benefit family-style dinner at Osteria via Stato (6pm, 620 N. State); proceeds will help fund a SFC delegation to the Terra Madre conference in Italy. RSVP required. Tickets are $65 for Slow Food Members/$75 for Non-Members.
Wednesday: The "Annual Garden Celebration" at Evanston's Dawes School Garden of Eatin' (6pm, 440 Dodge Ave). Bring a side dish for 10 people, a non-alcoholic drink and your own utensils. Dessert will be provided.
Thursday: Tomato Festival and Potluck Supper at the Chicago Honey Coop (6pm, 3740 W. Fillmore). Yes, another potluck, but haven't you always wanted to see the Chicago Honey Coop? RSVP required. Tickets are $15.00 for Slow Food members and Honey Coop members & potluck dish; $20.00 for non-members & potluck dish.
• 312 Dining Diva tips us to the Beer Olympics at Mahoney's Pub & Grill August 17. Get your "national" team ready for beer pong, flippy cup, bags, Quarters, Ping Pong, Golden Tee and pool.
Chicago's newspapers and magazines have been overrun lately with articles and lists outlining where to dine or drink al fresco. But in New York, according to an article in the New York Times today, people are hitting the streets to dine where there are no restaurants. There's a story about a guy who hauls some food and drink on to the Brooklyn Bridge and throws a dinner party there every summer. Others tell about setting up tables and chairs on the sidewalk in front of their buildings. I spent a summer in Amsterdam, and every evening residents of the building where I stayed would bring out tables and food and wine. It's something that requires a certain amount of inhibition, and for the New Yorkers in the paper, a desire to take back public spaces that are starting to feel off limits. Two of the diners in the Times story live in and around SoHo, and say they're repsonding to the invasion of glass-walled condos and chain stores. One person even noted that "it's when money hits the street" that the feeling of community and spontaneity go away from a neighborhood. This is something a lot of people in Chicago have experienced in their own neighborhoods. So, why not haul out a card table, some chairs and a pitcher of margaritas, and show your love for your hood.
• Chuck Sudo reviews Graham Elliot, and notes of others, "Those initial reviews also seemed to have served notice to Bowles that, while he may have earned some benefit of the doubt in realizing the vision for his restaurant, that doesn't mean he should hang himself with the rope he's been given."
Mexican chorizo sausage, Asian pear chutney, Indian paneer cheese, chili mustard, served on a multi-grain roll. As the original Chicago dog reflected our immigrant heritage (Greek, Italian and Jewish immigrants), this encased meat reflects our new and future immigrant population. Latinos now account for 1 in 4 city residents, our Asian population is expected to grow over a third in a matter of a decade, and India presents the third largest group of new immigrants to Chicago. This new sausage celebrates this new Chicago.
The New Chicago Dog was created by open source programming consultant Kevin Haas; his masterpiece will appear on the Hot Doug's menu soon. All four finalists were pretty awesome, though, and "Hot" Doug Sohn has said we shouldn't be surprised if all of them — and others not chosen as finalists — made it to the menu at some point.
The FDA issued a statement today that tomatoes are safe to eat following the salmonella scare of last month; however, fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers are still under scrutiny, so take heed.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is exploring the idea of expanding commercial development, including grocery stores, near its L stations, according to the Chicago Tribune.
As a frequent visitor to Alta Vista Foods, a small but fully loaded produce and grocery store accessible from inside the Sheridan Red Line station, I can attest to how great it is to be able to pop in after work to pick up hamburger buns, lemons, tomato sauce or even a package of chicken legs. My husband and I got rid of our car last year, and grocery shopping is about the only reason we miss having it. Alta Vista definitely makes things easier -- and based on the fact that there's always a steady stream of fellow L riders in line with me, it makes good sense that the CTA is looking to spread the love to other stations.
The friendly and local Green Grocer is hosting an open house to celebrate the new seasonal magazine Edible Chicago, while debuting local farmers, artisan food makers and chefs. Bring your friends to sample, watch demos, get recipes, and buy lots of tasty groceries. Judging from owner Cassie Green's charismatic personality, this is sure to be a love fest that you shouldn't miss. Monday, July 21 from 5 to 8 p.m., 1402 W. Grand Avenue.
Apparently, Forbes Traveler doesn't feel like it's necessary to visit Chicago. Or they don't think we're much of an ice cream town. That's the impression I get from this Forbes Traveler article about America's best ice cream, which trots out the old workhorse of Margie's Candies. The brief even includes a mention of Al Capone, who "rumored" to be a "repeat customer." Yeesh.
Sure, there's 80 years of history in Margie's, but it's cramped, cluttered and not all that comfortable, especially on busy nights when there are waiting hordes standing in every available space, often boring a hole in the back of your head as they try to will you to finish and leave. Not to slam a Chicago legend, but the city has a wealth of independent ice cream shops that offer better ice cream in a more appealing space.
We've talked about ice cream more thanonce in Detour, highlighting some of your many options. If Forbes wanted a classic destination, why not feature the Original Rainbow Cone, a South Side institution with at least as much history as Margie's — I'm sure they could scare up some notorious mobster to mention, too.
Or how about one of the amazing modern shops, like Bobtail with its tasty custom flavors — where else will you find merlot-chocolate chip alongside stalwart vanilla and chocolate?
A retired Air Force sargeant in Elk Grove Village plans to send 3,000 Lou Malnati's deep-dish pizzas to US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan in time for the fourth of July holiday.
New Communities Project has a great write-up of a new Woodlawn-area farmer's market. The market featured many of the same vendors you'd find at the Green City Market, from Bleeding Heart Bakery to Mint Creek Farms. The goal for this market, as well as upcoming markets to be launched in Englewood and Bronzeville, is to make more nutritious produce available to underserved communities. The Woodlawn market's debut was deemed a big success, aided in part by the acceptance of LINK public aid cards.
• The next season of "Top Chef" will be back in New York, but there will be a Top Chef Tour this summer, featuring several "cheftestants" doing cooking demos, talking about the show and offering tastings. It'll hit Chicago Sept. 3-4.
• Chicago Drinks, from the Reader and thoroughly sponsored by Kilo Kai Rum, is up and running. At this point, not much distinguishes it from your typical drink specials site.
It had been two weeks since my last visit to Wednesday's Green City Market (vacation, bronchitis) and I was itching for a change from my daily fresh repast of garden lettuce. I was pleased to see so many people turn out at the market, including scores of cyclists who stopped by the Chicago Bike Federation's commuter station.
As far as fare goes, pie fixings ruled. Nearly every table hawked Earliglo strawberries and rhubarb. I picked up two quarts of berries and a bunch of rhubarb to make an early summer crostata.
Here's a longer list of what you'll find at the Green City Market:
- Asparagus (also fairly ubiquitous)
- Cheese (butterkase from Prairie Pure and raw cheddar from Brunkow)
- Elk meat from Hawks Hill
- Great greens from Green Acres
- Herbs from Smits Farm
- Klug Farm strawberries
- Nichols rhubarb
- Peonies, so lovely and full, from several great purveyors
The Green City Market is held in Lincoln Park on Wednesday and Saturday from 7 am to 1:30 pm.
Word on the street is that Avondale's Golden Rise Bakery has reportedly closed up its Sacramento and Diversey store, but will continue to sell its goods at the Logan Square Farmer's Market each Sunday.
The city wants each food vendor at this year's Taste of Chicago to offer a "healthy" menu item, and so far the qualifying entries are pretty questionable: Billy Goat's potato chips (for being healthier than fries), sugar-free and reduced fat Eli's Cheesecake, and Indian samosas, as they're made from peas and potato...which have been covered in dough and fried. No mention of whether ketchup will be classified as a vegetable.
Smoke Daddy, the "legendary blues kitchen" on Division, has launched their barbeque sauce onto the shelves of grocery stores like Olivia's Market, Southport Grocery and Cafe, and Provenance Food and Wine. They say it "complements the flavors of a variety of meats and chicken," but I'm wondering what it will do for all the tofu and seitan in my fridge. They plan to sell the sauce online and, by fall, nation-wide.
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.
Greg Gibbs, of the Chicago Bagel Authority, is always looking for a big bite of food press. It's the CBA's 10 year anniversary, and over that decade, Gibbs & Co. have apparently tried every guerrilla marketing trick in the social media book, from film fests to jingle writing contests an upcoming toaster demolition derby. But what we'd consider truly newsworthy is whether or not you, dear GB eaters and readers, like or dislike CBA's steamed bagels and daily sammitches. Comment away!
Chicago Bagel Authority's toaster steamroll will take place on Sunday, June 15.
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Dunkin' Donuts has canceled an ad with Rachel Ray because the black-and-white scarf with fringe that's draped around her neck looks too similar to a keffiyah, the wrap traditionally worn by Arab men. The company got too much flak from conservative critics and bloggers, who managed to look beyond the paisley print to see something more sinister. The L.A. Times's blog All the Rage puts the scarf in perspective, with photos of other celebrities wearing actual keffiyahs. Writer Monica Corcoran points out that "the kaffiyeh has been worn by many a Parisian grad student and dozens of celebrities -- including Colin Farrell, David Beckham, Kirstin Dunst and both of the Olsen twins." What's worse for Rachel is that at the New York Observer, there's speculation that hipsters will have to burn their keffiyehs now that they're associated with her.
The home office has already reported on Hollywood's invasion of Lincoln Avenue. Many of the storefronts just above Fullerton have temporary awnings, and windows full of clothes and goods from the 1930s for the filming of Public Enemies with Johnny Depp. At night the street is closed for filming, but during the day you can walk around and gawk, or gape and cause a block in traffic. The Red Lion Pub's facade didn't need to be changed too much. Down the block, the restaurant Fiesta Mexicana has been transformed into Mee Wong Chop Suey and is being used as an extras holding area. But you can still eat in Zig Zag Kitchen, which has a 1930s interior, complete with this menu hanging on the wall. They say Johnny came in and ate.
The New York Times reports on the Farm Bill's nearing to become law. It would make child care costs deductible for some families, increase amounts for food stamps and food banks, and, for the first time, provide incentives to grow fruits and vegetables. There is concern, however, that it will cost too much, particularly in corn subsidies. The article's title hints to anyone who says the bill would be more appropriately called the Food Bill.
This morning was the official launch press conference in the Pritzker Pavilion for the Chicago Gourmet food and wine festival, produced by the Illinois Restaurant Association and the Anton Family Foundation and backed by the City. The event will take over much of Millennium Park on September 27 and 28, with a gala opening party on the 26th.
Chicago Gourmet promises to be a culinarily star-studded affair, with nearly every Chicago chef of note involved (list after the jump). It's almost easier to list the ones that weren't on the initial list: Charlie Trotter, Grant Achatz, Homaro Cantu, Bruce Sherman, Michael Carlson, Mark Mendez of Carnivale. The festival will include food from Chicago's great restaurants, tastings of more than 150 wines from around the world, cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs on the Pritzker Pavilion stage (yes, you get to go on the stage!), and seminars on food and wine trends. A special family pavilion will offer kid-friendly food events, including a cooking demo led by Rick Bayless and his daughter Lanie. Additional events will be announced in the months to come.
Thanks to a partnership with the Culinary Institute of America, a version of the CIA's World of Flavors conference will bring chefs from Mexico and Latin America to Chicago to offer samples of traditional and contemporary cuisine from their home countries.
Tickets will be a whopping $150 per day ($130 if you register before June 30) or $250 for a two-day pass. That's nearly twice the price of the much more established Scottsdale Culinary Festival, but only half that of the American Wine & Food Festival in LA. And, as Monica Eng pointed out, you could spend that much on dinner at some of the restaurants represented at the festival.
Tickets for tastings in the family pavilion will cost $30 per adult, with up to three children. The World of Flavors Pavilion will cost $95. There's no word yet on the cost of the opening night party or the other planned special events, such as a Grand Cru wine tasting, which will be ticketed separately. For reference, tickets for similar special events at the 2008 South Beach Wine & Food Festival ranged from $28 all the way up to $500 — $250 would have been a conservative cost for an equivalent experience there. In other words, your full price tag for Chicago Gourmet could potentially run toward $1,000 or more per couple.
• Nagrant finally made it to Tufano's Vernon Park Tap, recently honored by the James Beard Foundation, and is disappointed by lackluster food and indifferent service.
• Dish gets an early word on Mixteco Grill, new to the doomed corner of Montrose and Ashland, and talks with food writer Patricia Wells and her husband Walter, and chef-writer Craig W. Priebe.
Mado, in the old Barcello space at 1647 N. Milwaukee, has been open for just three weeks and is getting largely solid reviews, likely helped by owners Rob and Allison Levitt's proven track record at del Toro and others. And possibly also by this peek behind the kitchen curtain.
Mexique at 1529 W. Chicago Avenue hopes to bring chef Carlos Gaytan's Mex-French flair to West Town this month with its made-to-order tacos, fancy tamales, and a full bar to go with brunch. Every day more and more butcher paper comes down off the windows...it's only a matter of time.
After honing his upscale skills at Charlie Trotter's, Trio and Le Lan, chef Bill Kim is opening Urban Belly at 3053 N. California Avenue in Logan Square sometime in June. A family affair that will focus on noodles and dumplings, Urban Belly may also soon be the Northwest side's answer for weekend dim sum. We can only hope.
Dadaist art gets a nod from newcomer Duchamp, also opening in June, from a team taken from Lumen and Zealous. Taking up residence in the old Meritage space at 2118 N. Damen, Duchamp will feature French and Mediterranean-inspired New American plates with a neighborhoody casual-feel. And, egads, more brunch!
A small essay in the Chicago Tribune's Good Eating section today caught my attention because its subject matter touches on two of my favorite things: words and food.
The author, Kathleen Purvis, muses on the words we've created to describe devoted eaters, such as omnivores, carnivores and, more recently, locavores. Then she wryly dishes out a list of names for some of the "tribes" prowling the modern foodie landscape, including "opportunivores" (people who will eat anything if given the chance); "foodfearists" (adults who still avoid foods they hated when they were kids); and, my personal favorite, "snap-and-eaters" (those who take photos of their food to post , ahem, on food blogs).
• Dish learns more about Province, the new West Loop spot from ex-Nacional 27 executive chef Randy Zweiban, and interviews Kurt Serpin, chef/partner at Café Orchid.
Maybe a person who writes regularly about food shouldn't admit this, but I've not been terribly interested in cooking lately. I'm in a serious rut, such that not even last summer's issues of Gourmet, with their centerfolds of sun-drenched people looking improbably gorgeous while eating corn on the cob and barbecue spare ribs, have inspired me.
Tonight, I will mark my calendar for May 14, and dream of mounds of Japanese and Thai eggplant, orange and yellow bell peppers, heirloom tomatoes, ripe peaches, fresh-picked lettuce and herbs, purple cauliflower, elephant garlic, Michigan blueberries, portabello mushrooms, fingerling potatoes ...
The Chicago Tribune reported that 50,000 pounds of ribs went up in smoke outside of Hazel Crest last night, after a brake-system fire spread on a semi truck.
"The trailer was loaded with about 50,000 pounds of beef ribs, [Master Sgt. David] Bird said. He could not say what cut of ribs they were, but added, "There was no sauce."
I wonder what the interstate smells like right now...
Democrats guzzle Evian; Republicans prefer Fiji. That's according to a NYTimes article on micro-targeting voters via food. As to how effective and accurate that is, I don't know, but I suppose it does make the political news easier to swallow for the style section-addicted news readers of today.
• As expected, Rosscoe's Chicken & Waffles is being sued by West Coast chain Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles for trademark infringement. That extra 's' just isn't enough.
• What happens when a restaurant like TRU works a particular ingredient — say, Sunsweet dried plums — into an entire meal? Divinity. [via]
Our friends at Half Acre Beer let us know that owner Gabriel Magliaro is turning the ceremonial hand delivery of the first case of their beer to the Heartland Cafe into a fundraiser called the "Half Acre Hike." He'll be walking from Monroe Harbor, approximately 0 North, to the cafe at 7000 N. Glenwood -- about 9 miles north, carrying a case of beer the whole way. The walk will raise money for First Slice, a nonprofit that provides healthy, hearty meals to underprivileged children.
The walk gets underway at 4pm on April 26, and a party at the Heartland, featuring Chicago Samba, starts at 8pm when the walkers arrive. You're welcome to sponsor Magliaro -- or join him on the walk and raise money yourself (no need to carry a case). Call 312-492-8494 or email info@halfacrebeer.com for more info.
• Also on April 26, there's a great event for fans of beer ...and zombies. Chicago is finally getting its own Zombie Pub Crawl! The drunkard zombies will be invading Andersonville, and it's $10 in advance, $15 day-of.
• Meanwhile, Samuel Adams has announced a recall of some of their beer after it was discovered that some bottles contain glass shards, due to problem with one of their bottle factories. Check your bottles for the code "N35 OI" stamped around the bottom (in the glass itself, not the label) -- if you find it, don't drink that beer till you check the site to see if it's safe.
• Bite Club, "the world’s first social networking site designed for, and created by, members of the food and bar industry," isn't local, but it sure looks interesting.
• The battle of the fro-yos continues to heat up. Mike Sula says Red Mango is worth the hype. Starfruit's Wicker Park store opens April 15, so we'll see how it stacks up.
Proving that high-end dining has friends in low(er) places, Grant Achatz of Alinea has announced that he will be teaming up with Dan Coudreaut, Director of Culinary Innovation for McDonald's USA, to develop a twenty-one course tour menu that combines Achatz’s culinary genius with the popular, familiar tastes of the fast-food giant. “It’s time to really push flavor away from the experimental and back into the sentimental,” Achatz said at a press conference earlier today. “McDonald’s has been single-handedly responsible for developing the American palate. We will learn a lot from each other through this venture.”
While most of the menu remains a closely-guarded secret, several dishes were revealed to the press, among them the “Happy Meal,” a trio of mini-cheeseburgers made from Wagyu beef topped with a housemade “Velveeta” savory cheese tart. A tableside deep fat fryer will prepare French fries infused with black truffle. The “prize” of the Happy Meal is an edible toy made from liquefied carmel and bacon lardons. The “Shamrock Shake” will consist of a gelee of green food dye, a single mint leaf, and a frozen “vanilla milkshake froth” served in a spoon. Achatz and Coudreaut would not reveal their plans for the chicken McNugget, but did indicate that their version would involve trout roe and nutmeg. For more information, click here.
On the heels of the revelations that the City's five cent bottled water tax has fallen 40% short of revenue projections, several restaurants (among them Ina's and Clarke's Diner) have announced that they will only be serving tap water as part of their pledge to Think Outside the Bottle, which promotes the benefits of tap water and the burden of one-use water bottles to the environment.
Thanks to Chicagoist for passing along some great news: Flossmoor Station is bottling! Look for it beginning April 5th.
Flossmoor has consistently impressed me since I first tasted their beers at the Great Taste of the Midwest a few years ago. Their brewpub serves up delicious food and is an easy and highly recommended trip from the city.
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.
World Kitchen, the series of cooking classes sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs, has extended its class schedule into June; registration is now open for a range of courses, among them tutorials on Mediterranean cooking, making jam from seasonal fruits, mastering the art of improvisational cooking a la Top Chef, and baklava making with Armenian church ladies. Class fee is $30 (unless specified), with all sessions held at Gallery 37 for the Arts.
An Ebay bid for a corn flake in the shape of Illinois is currently going for $56; the auction closes Thursday. The famous flake's owners, two sisters from Virginia, plan to use the proceeds from the sale to buy more boxes of Frosted Flakes, because "[they] like cereal."
This week, a landmark Chicago hotel and a former Chicago hotel both get some time in the spotlight for their new dining options. Yesterday's Trib Tempo section trotted out a long Phil Vettel review of Lockwood, the new restaurant at the Palmer House Hilton (which had arguably been without fine dining even before Trader Vic's closed shop). While some have cited rocky service as a potential downfall at chef Phillip Voss's new establishment, the mid-century-style decadence and playful menu have others, particularly the other Phil, eating it up.
Just a bit further down Michigan Avenue, The Blackstone (Blackstone Hotel? Whatever it's called, it was a hotel, now it's condos. Let's move on) has also gotten a new kitchen crew with the opening of Mercat a la Planxa, a new tapas joint from Chicago-born, Philly-tried chef Jose Garces. The Mercat website (beware, annoying music) touts Garces style as "mod-Mediterranean" which sounds fun, and the grill-heavy menu sounds delicious. Tapas is something of a crowded market in Chicago, but the Southish Loop could benefit from a few more options, and some are already heralding Mercat's success. Mercat opens tomorrow, March 8.
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.
Frat boys, mark your calendars: Crains reports that Playboy will burst on the energy drink market with their new line of ginseng- and guarana-packed energy drinks to be sold later this year.
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").
The Washington Post's campaign blog is reporting that Ben & Jerry have decided to support Obama, now that their guy Edwards is out of the race. In more food-related detail, the blog says: "As part of the event, Ben & Jerry and [Vermont Sen. Patrick] Leahy rode in customized Honda Elements they dubbed 'ObamaMobiles,' to American Flatbread, a Vermont-based artisan pizza company. " Not sure if there's a pizza named after Obama. But, food blog Serious Eats says the Obama ice-cream flavor is called Cherries for Change. This is good news and, more importantly, a good pick-me-up for those suffering from Obama Comedown Syndrome.
Part A: The USDA announced the biggest meat recall in American history earlier today after discovering that California-based beef producers Hallmark/Westland did not follow proper protocol in the slaughtering of injured cows. The precautionary recall of 37 million pounds of beef covers sales from as far back as February 2006. Before you throw out that steak in the cooler, note that there's been no evidence of human illness, and the questionable meat would not have been sold in retail stores but rather to other food manufacturers. Yay! Yay?
Part B: Crains reports that Northfield-based Kraft Foods is trying to retool their Oscar Meyer frank recipe in order to make it (literally) a "beefier" competitor to rival Sara Lee's Ball Park Franks. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in that R&D meeting!
• Schwa reopens tonight, and the Tribune has a look at its last 48 hours open, when Carlson and crew served the biggest chefs in the world and then abruptly closed, and some insight into the restaurant's return.
A story in today's Tribune talks of the precious real estate and tight scheduling in 17 Chicago Public School buildings that results in lunch being served around 9am daily, with the next opportunity for students to eat being when school is over in the late afternoon. While the government mandates that schools serve lunch between 10am and 2pm, CPS received a waiver from the State Board of Education to serve lunch at such abnormally early hours at these schools. The students technically are not allowed to have food with them outside of their early lunch period, but the rule is reportedly unenforced so that students can scarf down food while changing classes.
According to the readers of the Tribune, the best neighborhood dining can be found not in the city, but in Forest Park. "But back to Forest Park -- and in particular Madison Street -- which packs 30 or so restaurants and bars in less than one mile. That means there's at least one place to eat or drink every 200 feet." It's also apparently good for shopping.
At least the runners up are both in Chicago proper. Lincoln Square was second, and Logan Square was a distant third (placing, perhaps, on the strength of Lula Cafe supporters alone.) The Trib certainly knows its audience, which is primarily suburban, and these results confirm it.
Montrose Avenue reopened for traffic on Friday, but that doesn't mean the knot of businesses around the Montrose Brown Line stop have all returned to normal.
Glenn's Diner, one of several restaurants and bars closed by the Montrose Hole, reopened today, and the neighborhood welcomed them back with a packed lunch service. Subway and Beans & Bagels returned last week, the latter having used the closure as an opportunity to do a little clean-up and remodeling. Other spots remain closed, including El Torito, Scot's and Roong Petch remained closed, with little activity inside. The water main break severely damaged the foundation of the building housing El Torito, so it's uninhabitable until the city inspects and approves the repairs -- a delay that may close the restaurant for good.
• Thinking of Drinking reviews a wide range of ginger beers (part one, part two).
• If you're a foodie, you've probably already seen this, but just in case, Slice's list of regional pizza styles is excellent, and includes all three Chicago-indigenous styles (deep dish, stuffed and Chicago thin).
Sunflower Market in Lincoln Park is closing February 21, or when supplies run out, according to a chalkboard easel at the front door. (They plan to close stores in Indianapolis and Ohio, too.) It might be tragic to loose a chain store that has supported Chicago-made products from granola to bakery since it opened about a year and a half ago. Still, it shouldn't be a shocker if the aisles have always been as quiet as I've heard them, and with Trader Joe's and Whole Foods within a few minutes walk. Now, the chilled walk-in vegetable section is almost barren, but their shelves are still relatively full. Reusable "Sunflower Market" shopping bags are free with any purchase. 1910 North Clybourn Ave. (773) 348-4667
With recent articles featuring the growth industry of personal image consultants (who would want to pay someone else to go shoe shopping? Does not compute) and the emergence of deal-brokering power breakfasts, Crain's has been all over the personal tangents of business life lately. Their list of the 25 best downtown business dining options is online today, with accompanying kind of hilarious video (the critics are shot with the same obscuring technique that goes into making a meth-user's documentary. Secrecy is funny) and interactive map-thing). They don't exactly cover new ground (Morton's and Gibson's steak houses? shut up!) but a few new, though still critically ambivalent names pop up on the list (The Gage, Table 52). If you're like me, most of your business lunches take place at the cheap taco place down the street, or maybe, if you're feeling particularly fancy, Potbelly's (wreck on wheat, holla!). But it's nice to have some suggestions in your pocket for that rare promotion-lunch or some advice on where to go for your first real wine-and-dining client signing. And at most of these spots, it's probably also nice to have an expense account.
• Time Out's Heather Shouse got an exclusive interview with Schwa's Michael Carlson. He talks about the events leading up to the restaurant's closing, and a little about the changes that have helped bring it back to life.
• Dish points us to HotChefs.TV, a video site with a bunch of chef interviews, and notes that Harry Caray's Tavern will replace the former Hi Tops at Addison and Sheffield (didn't even know it had closed.)
Sometimes I’m not as good a foodie as I pretend to be. (My blog posting stats would bear that out, if nothing else.) Until last week, I had never been to Avec – though it’s safe to say that after that meal, I’ll be looking for a way back as soon as humanly possible. Especially since the menu featured an Iberian ham special for which there are almost no words. In a special reporting segment for today's Trib, however, food author and Spanish resident Janet Mendel offers up many many words to reach the same eventual conclusion. This ham rocks.
Here's the Cliff-Notes version: Iberian ham comes from black acorn-fed pigs from a specific Spanish hog bloodline, and is similar in appearance and texture to proscuitto. Our Avec waitress described it as being served with olive oil, which seemed reasonable in an abstract way until the plate arrived with naked shavings of ham, glistening in a bit of olive oil. So...that was pretty accurate, really. For $25, a simple plate of ham slices might seem a let-down – until of course you start eating it. It’s like pig candy. Pork crack. Words fail to do justice to its richness, its buttery-chewiness and salty tang. Only recently made available in the US, and whole legs (so ubiquitous in the decorating scheme of your favorite local tapas bar) won’t be up for purchase until sometime this summer, and will set you back quite a bit further than the comparatively thrifty shavings at Avec. Even at $1,000 a shank, it may very well be worth it.
The Chicago Tribune Web site reported today that some of the city's best restaurants will offer cut-rate, three-course, prix fixe lunches and dinners the week of Feb. 22 to 29.
For just $21.95 for lunch or $31.95 for dinner, you can enjoy an appetizer, entree, and dessert at places like David Burke's Primehouse, Naha, Blue Water Grill, Roy's Restaurant, and Smith & Wollensky. The slogan for the city's first-ever Chicago Restaurant Week is "Eat It Up!" And that's just what restaurateurs are hoping you'll do during what is traditionally a slow time of year for fine dining. Make reservations starting Tuesday.
While you were nursing a hangover on New Year's Day, hometown food critic, Steve Dolinsky, appeared on the Food Network's Iron Chef America. If you happen to have caught the episode or read Dolinsky's blog, that's old news. No word yet on when it will re-air, but the Hungry Hound pledges to update his blog as soon as he knows.
Both Metromix and Chicagoist have reported on Schwa's comeback. According to Metromix, Shwa's chef, Michael Carlson, was just taking time off to spend time with his baby daughter and spiff up the joint.
While Schwa won't be back in business until late January at the earliest, you can pass the time with Naz's foodporn, shot at the restaurant early last year.
• Sweet Occasions opens its third location, on Bryn Mawr at Kenmore, next Tuesday, Jan. 15. Three more locations, in Roscoe Village, Boystown and Lincoln Park, are planned for later in '08.
• The owners of Think Cafe recently began construction on a new restaurant, to be called Knew, in Wicker Park. No opening date set yet.
• At Wilson and Ravenswood in underserved Ravenswood, O'Shaughnessey's is nearing completion; looks to be a couple months from opening. From the external signage, it'll be a standard model Irish pub, unless they're serious about being "tea merchants" and "whiskey blenders."
• Metromix reports that a new beer garden is growing in East Ukrainian Village. The Old Oak Tap is aiming for a September opening.
• Pollo Campero will open its third Chicago location on a western stretch of North Avenue in the coming months.
• Eno, the wine room chain with an outpost in the Hotel Intercontinental, is opening another branch in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel; look for it to pop up in May.
• The beloved, belated Tiny Lounge (formerly under the Addison Brown Line stop) is soon to reopen in the former Charlie's on Leavitt space at Leavitt/Lincoln/Montrose. Let's hope for a quick build-out and open.
Zagat Survey has chosen the top 11 restaurants of the year based on cost, service and decor. It is an interesting mix with only two establishments hitting close to home. All of the restaurants scored a 29 out of a possible 30 points. Has anyone dined at these restaurants?
You may have missed the blurb in RedEye this morning on nudo-italia.com. No, it's not a Web site for Italian nudists. Nudo is the name of an olive grove in Le Marche, Italy, and you can adopt one of its trees for the low, low price of about $133.
In addition to an adoption certificate and booklet about your tree, you'll receive a package in the spring containing extra virgin olive oil from your tree, and another in the fall with three flavored oils. Olive oil aficionados out there are probably thinking, "Wait just one second! One tree does not a bottle of olive oil make!" You are correct: in fact, the oil you receive will be produced from your tree and about 49 of its neighbors.
The coolest part about the site is that you can choose which tree you want based on the varietal of olive, the tree's location in the orchard, and even what kind of "view" your tree has. If anyone wants to adopt a tree in my name, I urge you to choose one in the Ardelio grove, which boasts "a breathtaking view of Mogliano in one direction, and in the other, a marginally less breathtaking view of a dilapidated farmhouse."
• Meanwhile, Hungry Mag's latest podcast is an interview with Frank Brunacci, chef of the restaurant 16, opening in the new Trump Tower sometime this month.
• Chicago Foodies spotlights an overlooked lunch option for Loop desk jockies: Quang Noodle.
Another one bites the dust: a bankruptcy judge has allowed the sale of the Pullman factory that produces Jay's Potato Chips, Krunchers and O-Ke-Doke popcorn to Pennsylvania pretzel manufacturer Snyders of Hanover. The closing results in the loss of 220 union jobs, although the snack foods will continue to be made in another factory in Indiana. If you want to know more about the rich history of Jay's and its ties to Al Capone, watch the next broadcasts of the earth-shaking Foods of Chicago documentary on WTTW this weekend.
The answer? Ebay. Burgundy Bistro, an Olympia Fields restaurant serving French/Cajunish/American food, has gone up on the market for $195,000. According to the Tribune, the Bistro's "hospitality and quality make it a gem," so I would hop on this bid soon. Hey, where's Olympia Fields?
In today's New York Times Dining Section, food writer Alex Witchel describes her devotion to Gene and Georgetti. She laments the impending Chicago smoking ban and details a decadent night of drinking and eating in the venerable Chicago steakhouse.
Wine geeks in the South Loop have two new spots to shop in the hood.Binnys Beverage Depot and Sam's Wine and Spirits have both opened giant new stores on Roosevelt in the South Loop. The new Sam's features a wine and cheese bar and fine wine room, with two floors of wine and spirit selections in a landmark building circa 1928. Binny's new location, less than a mile west, is simply gigantic. In what looks like even more floor space than the Lincoln Park Sam's location, Binny's South Loop has a tasting room with over 100 wines and 16 beers to sample, a rare wine cellar, walk in humidor, and special section of their gourmet market dedicated to chocolate. Both stores have Grand Opening events scheduled for the week.
Never in my life have I been so steamed. The Tribune declares open season on serving pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, offering artsy alternatives created by local chefs. Jeez. The pumpkin pie is only reason why I even show UP for Thanksgiving dinner. As a kid, I didn't care about the turkey, cranberries, or the candied yams; it was the delight of seeing the empty Sara Lee box in the garbage, the small rim of aluminum foil gracing the crust to prevent it from burning as it baked in the oven, and the blistering top of the pie as it sat on the table waiting to be devoured. Very little has changed as I've grown older. This Thursday, you'll know what I'll be eating. And it won't be a ginger custard with cornmeal-spiced cookies.
• The Burrito Bracket has chosen three of its Final Four tacquerias; results of the showdown between Irazu and Tecalitlan should be posted sometime this week.
PETA2, the PETA offshoot that knows even vegetarians care about cute clothes and vegetarian celebs, voted Northwestern University the nation's most vegetarian-friendly campus. There were 30 entries in the online contest. Northwestern was a new entrant this year and beat out last year's winner, Indiana University, with the vegan riblets, vegan pancakes and seitan fajitas offered to students.
Three years after their comeback in late 2004, Fannie May now offers a bit more than chocolate. Starting this Saturday, the candy company (hand in hand with Chicago Water Taxi) will be running free ferries that connect Oglilvy Metra station and the Michigan Avenue Bridge during the weekend holiday shopping rush. And you've guessed it right, there'll be chocolate samples to try on board. If the equation (Chicago winter plus boat ride) proves too chilly for you, you can warm up your fingertips with the complimentary cup of hot chocolate at their Michigan Avenue store (at Wacker Drive) after the ferry ride. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
According to the press release, the ferry runs on weekends from November 17th to December 23rd. Weekend service runs about every 25 minutes, from 10 a.m. to 6:25 p.m. on Saturdays and 10:35 a.m. to 5:12 p.m. on Sundays. It also runs on the Black Friday (of course). For the complete schedule, visit Chicago Water Taxi or call (312) 337-1446.
Newcity Chicago's latest paper edition features a "selective indie coffeehouse guide," helpfully organized by neighborhood. The collection of reviews is fun to read. Did you know there's a coffeehouse in Ukrainian Village where you can take tango lessons several nights a week? Or that you can get a tamale, Viennese breakfast, or even sushi with your coffee at shops around town? Despite the loss of institutions like Filter in Wicker Park, it's nice to see that so many indies are still serving it up hot and quirky in Chicago.
The Web version of the Newcity's guide is more extensive -- though my one minor gripe is that I wish it linked to the coffeehouses' Web sites, when available, so readers could more easily check out the menu and hours of operation.
Half and Half at 1560 N. Damen is closed. The inside looks gutted. No cabinets. Electrical conduits are all that are left of the counter - they rise up from the floor with outlet boxes at their tops and look as lonely as a few trees in an otherwise barren landscape. A sign on the door sends us thanks for years of business, and tells us that Feast (a block north on Damen) will have Half and Half's breakfast sandwiches as of Monday.
Earwax Cafe and Film is now just Earwax Cafe. A new door blocks the downstairs entrance to what used to be the cafe's video store. They couldn't compete with Netflix, someone coming out from the closed downstairs told me. I'm going to miss a guru of movies who used to work there. The cafe remains open.
If you're a chocolate lover with a little extra (OK, a lot extra) cash lying around, why not fly to New York to check out the world's most expensive dessert? The dessert, deemed the "Frrozen Haute Chocolate," earns its expensive price tag by containing the following:
- A blend of 28 cocoas, 14 of which are the world's most expensive varieties
- 5 grams of edible 23-karat gold infused in the chocolate
- A whipped cream topper containing even more gold
- A side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which retails at $2,600 a pound
And if that weren't enough, it's served in a goblet lined with edible gold, with an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 carat of white diamonds at the very bottom.
To fulfill your extravagant chocolate sundae craving at a much more reasonable price here in Chicago, check out Margie's Candies. $50 gets you the Royal George sundae, which consists of 25 scoops of ice cream and a variety of toppings, including English toffee, fudge, strawberries, bananas and much more.
• Last week's Dish included a little more info about Butter's closing, news that NY chef Marcus Samuelsson is coming to town with a new restaurant this spring, and an interview with LTHForum's David Dickson about their Great Neighborhood Restaurants awards.
Sometimes the truth hurts: in a few days, Halloween will be here, and whether you work in an office building or are a third-grader, you'll be eating candy. Lots of candy, unless you're the part of the Power Bar and Aquafina set. The Tribune had a nice debate over whether candy corn or a mini-chocolate bar was healthier to eat, with the victor being the candy corn, as it has less calories and is sweet enough to curb your sugar jones. Frankly, I think the candy corn should be used as a chaser for the chocolate. Times are hard. Eat more candy.
Handlebar owner Josh Deth is pursuing financial help from the city for the redevelopment of a vacant storefront at 2323 North Milwaukee into a two-story brewpub and restaurant scheduled to open by the end of next year. Deth is asking for $490,000 in TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money to help build Revolution Brewing. Deth's proposal, which would be a welcome tenant in a blighted section of the avenue, has the support of 35th Ward Alderman Rey Colon and neighborhood residents. The TIF money would account for a mere 15% of the total bill to rehab the space. Deth's request is pending approval by the City Council.
The Tribune announced the winners of the eighth annual Good Eating Awards, which honors significant contributions to Chicago's culinary scene. This year's winners include educators, businesspeople, bloggers (i,e. Gary Wiviott, creator of LTH Forum) and local celeb Alpana "Check Please!" Singh.
Fans of Tanoshii, Kuma's Corner and Xni-Pec beware, "Check Please!" is invading. Tanoshii, my personal favorite sushi place, will be on this week's show along with Xni-Pec, and Kuma's is on soon. LTHers are already cringing at the thought of needing reservations for their next Mastodon.
Speaking of "Check Please!," we hear that host Alpana Singh will be hosting the holiday party at Google's Chicago offices this year. With Singh's sommelier skills and Google's budget, you can bet the folks at that party will be drinking well.
Production of Frango Mints, the candy mascot for Marshall Field's, will be returning to Chicago, according to today's Sun-Times. The mints have been produced in a Pennsylvania factory since 1999, but will now be manufactured by Cupid Candies, a south-side factory that is already familiar with chocolate-covered mints. The change was promised by Macy's Chairman and CEO Terry Lundgren in 2005 when the New York-based retailer took over the Field's chain and discontinued the department store's name and branding.
This year, localvorism has been the rage; Green City Market's eat-locally challenge immediately rushes to mind. Some, though, have gone further than just buying food from local sources. NPR has an interesting story on a guy who tried to live off of a hand-made "farm in his 20- by 40-foot Brooklyn backyard." At the start of his month-long challenge, he dreamed of collecting fat from his ducks and brewing vodka from his potatoes. When the challenge ended, he had earned the neighborhood recognition of eccentricity. Listen to the story here and see what he thinks of this extreme localvorism.
Chicago restaurants have been getting their fair share (though still short of the share they rightly deserve, one could argue) of national press these days. With Saveur's Chicago cover still gracing supermarket magazine racks, a related shin-dig scheduled for tonight at the Chopping Block, and the festive juggernaut of the Trotter's anniversary, our fair city's cuisine is not ready to give up the spotlight anytime soon.
If you missed Trotter-palooza and can't make it to the Chopping Block tonight, how about grab a drink in its fifteen of food fame? The October issue of Gourmet magazine has, as the frontispiece to its Drinks section, a piece on the mojito garden at Nacional 27 featuring seven kinds of mint with more herbal additions on the way. Cheers, Chicago.
• On November 8, Vella Cafe and Cellar Rat Wine Shop are holding a Spanish wine dinner. $65 (tax and tip included) gets you six courses and wine pairings for each. The dinner will be held at Vella, 1912 N. Western; purchase tickets at the Cellar Rat, 1811 W. North Ave.
• Thinking about lunch? If you're near one of these seven Potbelly's shops, your life got a little easier as they now accept online orders.
• Carol Mighton Haddix has started a new series on the Stew where she asks famous chefs what their favorite Chicago restaurant is. First up is Rocco DiSpirito, who's a fan of Mr. Beef.
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.
Bill Daley reports in The Stew that Governor Blagojevich signed HB429 into law yesterday. Starting next June, Illinois residents will be allowed to purchase and ship up to 12 cases of wine directly from Illinois vineyards and out-of-state wineries. This is in compliance with the 2005 Supreme Court ruling on Granholm vs. Heald which determined that states must allow all wineries to direct ship to their residents, regardless of their location, or none at all. Wineries within the state may not have preferential treatment.
There are a few more restrictions that legislators snuck in, though. Illinois residents will no longer be able to purchase wine from out of state retailers. Some of the larger Illinois wineries will be forced to sell all of their goods through distributors, which means price increases to the consumer and tougher competition from other brands.
While these details of the bill may seem trivial, they will impact Illinois consumers more than most folks realize. Winediva is investigating and will report more soon!
Meanwhile, The Stew has been seeking out filming locations for "Top Chef: Season 4," which is shooting here in Chicago. So far, they've learned that the Green City Market and the Boystown Whole Foods will be regular shopping locations. Know anything we should know? We'd love to hear it.
In other news, the coverage of Charlie Trotter's 20th anniversary continues, with a cover story in Time Out and the Trib's Monica Eng's story of spending a day in the Trotter's kitchen -- along with half a dozen other celebrity chefs cooking the $1500 a seat anniversary dinner. (Read to the end for the least summercamp-like s'mores recipe you'll ever see.)
Some early coverage of the new Honky Tonk Barbecue in Pilsen. Dish has an interview with owner Willie Wagner, and The Stew has a look inside. (I'm a little bitter still about being the first person in line not to eat when Honky Tonk ran out of food at the Hideout Block Party last month. But I'll give'em another chance.)
8:55 pm - I still hate Padma. I don't know why Salman Rushdie married her and I wish she could move her forehead. Sometimes she makes me long for Katie Lee Joel. Yikes.
8:58pm - Eric Ripert is so hot as to not really be comprehensible. That was schoolgirly, yes. And I've seen Part 1 of the Finale several times and he still makes me fan my face.
8:59pm - I am really hungry so order a cheeseless Chicago's pizza with broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes. That and the Amy's Apple Pop-Tart knockoff I had should tide me over. I'm also sipping a 2004 Everett Ridge Syrah from the Dry Creek Valley. Yum.
Okay, Blockers. According to Bravo's Finale Clock, we have right about 28 mins until the Top Chef, Finale Part 2. Here at GB HQ, we're all about Dale, but we could go for The Girl. We all hate Hung. I'm sort of thinking you all agree with this, yes? Nobody wants Marcel Deux, although Hung's hair has nowhere near the architectural importance of Marcel's.
One thing: During the live bit, we hope whoever is the loser gets as wasted as Marcel did last year. Yowza.
Richard M. Daley Mayor is a bettin' man. If the Diamondbacks end up winning the first-round play-off series against the Cubs, Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon will find the following items in a box on his doorstep:
-- Hot dogs and Polish sausage from Best’s Kosher
-- gum and candy from Wrigley’s
-- root beer from Windy City Soda
-- pastries and baked goods from Abundance Bakery
-- ice cream from Bobtail Ice Cream
-- Mexican food from Los Dos Laredos
-- pizza from Connie’s Pizza
-- nuts from Fisher Nuts
-- "various delicacies" from Harry Caray’s
What does Daley get when the Cubs win? "Ass-kickin' salsa" and a copy of Arizona Highways Magazine. Sounds like a raw deal to me...
• Again with the Food Network: The Stew reports that Nigella Lawson will be signing books and promoting her upcoming new show at the Ritz-Carlton on Nov. 14.
• Soft pretzels sound like a perfect baking project for cool autumn nights.
• Two downtown dining clubs, the Mid-Day Club in the Chase Plaza and the Tavern Club at 333 N. Michigan, are losing their leases and will likely be forced to move or close in the coming months.
Chicago Tribune's Julie Deardorff blogged earlier this week about a company offering "healthy, eco-friendly school lunches" to kids for five bucks a lunch. The company, Green Bag Lunch offers a meal containing "whole grains, lean protein, fresh organic fruits and veggies, and a delicious treat for dessert," which, according to Deardorff's blog, offers a lesson in portion control. All of the packaging is made of "re-usable, recyclable and biodegradable materials" and meals are delivered right to students' lunch rooms.
In theory, this a great idea, right? Well, that is until you discover that each school lunch costs five dollars, and that parents have to order a minimum of 20 lunches. If my math is correct, that's about $100 a month on school lunches for one kid.
Deardorff writes, "Weber acknowledges that a $5 lunch isn't for everyone, every day." Isn't that like acknowledging that healthy food isn't for everyone, every day? Who is it for then?
It should come as no surprise then that Green Bag Lunch is testing out their program in Evanston, Highland Park and Wilmette.
At least the goal is to get the lunches down to $3 each. It's more reasonable, but still pretty unattainable for many parents.
According to this story, Michael Baruch, who authored a book on Polish cuisine, has written new book on Chicago street food. The book is 455 pages worth of recipes for, the history of and photos of "Chicago’s beloved street foods."
Their blaring, repetitious songs may be tedious, but summer wouldn't be summer without the ice cream truck. Yet it seems they're facing regulation and possibly banishment due to safety concerns. The Tribune reports that in ironicly-named west suburban Sugar Grove, parents are considering a ban on ice cream street vendors, due to concerns about children's safety. The article reviews ice cream truck-related sound policies in several other suburbs, including Aurora, where the Eskimo Man truck driver simply rings a single bell as he rolls down the street. I don't blame him; with that 30-second song on infinite repeat, it's the ice cream man's sanity I fear for most.
All of the businesses on the East side of Lincoln Ave bewteen Wilson and the square have been without power since about 1:10pm this afternoon. Better call ahead before swinging by The Grind, Fine Wine Brokers or Costello's for an afternoon snack.
Today's New York Times Dining section has a preview of a new batch of restaurants that are set to open this fall in the Big Apple, but they don't entirely neglect the rest of the country. In a sidebar, the Times mentions a few much-anticipated openings in other cities, including Chicago. Here's what they say:
"Paul Kahan of Blackbird and Avec will open a restaurant with a long beer list in Fulton Market later this year.
A few weeks ago, NPR took a look at the effects of Chicago's ban on foie gras one year after it was declared law. Correspondent Adrienne Hill visited Cyrano's Bistrot to talk to Chef Didier Durand about his method for getting around the ban and serving up the tasty liver treat without technically breaking the law. The segment basically confirms what we all already knew about the ban, that it's just another byproduct of ridiculous Chicago politics.
Dunkin' Donuts has announced that in an effort to make their calorie-laden treats healthier, they have developed an alternative cooking oil that will make all of their products contain zero grams of trans fat by October 15. In a nation that is struggling with obesity and nutrition problems, how meaningful is it to make donuts, the hallmark of All Things Simpson, slightly healthier?
If you missed Top Chef's recent auditions, why not try out for their more dramatic (and less food-centric) cousin Hell's Kitchen? Auditions will be held Wednesday; click here for details. If you're looking to get into reality shows in general, several of them will be looking for their next cast here in Chicago over the next week; click here for the GB post that lists the opportunities.
• In our continuing Pinkberry coverage, it looks like we'll have one of the buzzworthy frozen yogurt places sometime next year. By then, though, we may no longer care: Competitor Red Mango will be open in Evanston, Naperville and Lincolnshire before the end of the year, with more stores to follow, and a local challenger, Starfruit, is under development by Morton Grove-based Lifeway Foods based on the company's kefir product. The first Starfruit store is expected to open at 1745 W. Division next month.
Finally I can do away with the doggie bags: Governor Blags has signed legislation that would allow dogs to accompany their owners to outdoor seating areas of restaurants. The law, which will be reviewed by city aldermen later this month, would also forbid employees from handling the dogs; prohibit dogs from sitting on a seat, table or countertop; provide disposable towels and liquid hand sanitizer for you and your animal, and require cleaning of all spilled dog food. The law also states that pets can't be inside any restaurant or food prep area. Restaurant owners are not required to observe this law, and will have the right to refuse service to the dog owner in case the dog shows aggressive behavior.
HB429, a bill that prohibits Illinois residents from purchasing or receiving wine from out-of-state retailers, passed both houses yesterday. While it mostly affects high level collectors who purchase Bordeaux futures and very rare wines from stores in New York and California, casual wine lovers will feel the pain as well. Most California "wine of the month club" memberships will now be illegal. A thoughtful friend in another state can no longer go to their local wine store and send you a gift of Champagne for your birthday. Dean and Deluca may not include a bottle of wine in the gift baskets you order for an Illinois client. All of your wine purchases must now be made through an Illinois retailer, with a small provision allowed for folks to buy less than two cases a year, directly from an out of state winery.
There is some talk of this decision being overturned. It could possibly be in violation of the US Supreme Court ruling on Granholm vs. Heald in 2005. The high court ruled that a state must allow wineries from all 50 states to ship to their residents or prohibit their residents from receiving wine in the mail from any winery in any locale. Previously, New York and Michigan laws allowed wineries within their state to ship to residents, but no shipments were allowed from wineries out of state. The high court found this unconstitutional.
So what’s an angry wine lover to do? Visit FreeTheGrapes to read up on the latest news and use their site to contact your legislators.
Even if you're not headed to the classroom after Labor Day this year, you can still get a history lesson or two. This fall, WTTW 11 will present the special, Foods of Chicago: A Delicious History with host Geoffrey Baer.
While the show will investigate Chicago classics such as deep-dish pizza, Italian beef and the Chicago dog, Baer will also visit a pita factory while exploring the city's Lebanese culture, enjoy sushi at an Italian kosher restaurant and investigate Chicago's place in the candy industry.
• Speaking of Sweets & Savories, it and several other Chicago restaurants were mentioned in the Wall Street Journal Wednesday, in an article about "faux gras."
• Balut, a Southeast Asian -- particularly Filipino -- delicacy, was discussed at both The Food Chain and Joelen's Culinary Adventures this week. (Not safe for weak stomachs and PETA members.)
• It's a bit late notice, but Wednesday morning at 9am, WGN will be filming at Kitcsh'n on Roscoe. Be there for a potential second or two of your 15 minutes of fame.
McDonald's has reportedlycut local rapper Twista from its upcoming Live Trek musical tour, citing a conflict with the content of his work, including explicit language, drug references, and other derogatory material. Because, you know, one doesn't normally expect such things from rap music in this day in age.
But let's back up a moment... McDonald's is sponsoring a concert series? Oh yes, in yet another brilliant/wacky marketing move by the Oak Brook corporate giant, McDonald's Live promises to bring up and coming "multi-genre" artists to perform in, wait for it, a McDonald's parking lot near you! At the moment, though, Chicago fast food scenesters won't even get a chance to field the question, "Would you like Twista with that?" at the scheduled August 7 gig.
200 was the number when the city's health inspectors stop counting the fruit flies that infest the State Street Macy's food court. According to the Consumerist and Chicago Tribune, the city health inspectors shut down the lower-level food court of the Macy's State Street on Monday, following a recent inspection after a customer complained that s/he became sick from their pre-packaged salad.
Citing higher materials costs, Starbucks will be raising the price of most of its drinks by nine cents starting July 31. Thankfully, the cost of the easy listening CDs for sale next to the cash register will remain abundant and at reasonable prices. Everybody gonna dance tonight!
Looks like there was a "mild" 4.2 earthquake near Oakland California this morning. I made a quick call to nearby Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda, as featured in my post earlier this week, and the nice folks in the tasting room assured me no one was hurt and no barrels were lost. A wine shop in Montclair California was not so lucky. I'm having trouble with a direct link, but it you visit CNN's video section, and search Montclair, you will find footage of the damage.
Were you aware that July is National Blueberry Month? Well, in 1999 the USDA declared it as such, and to celebrate, two Chicago area restaurants are featuring menu items that put those little, antioxidant rich fruits in the spotlight. Karma is serving Blueberry Mojitos (with Stoli Bluberi, simple syrup, lime juice, fresh blueberries, and soda) and a "Blue-tini" (Stoli Bluberi, Stoli Vanil and fresh blueberries), while Dine will do it up with a more classic treat: blueberry cobbler. Karma is located at 510 East Route 83 in Mundelein, and Dine is at 733 W. Madison in Chicago.
• I noticed a "coming soon" sign for the Pannenkoeken Cafe in Lincoln Square earlier this week, and so did Mike Sula at the Reader. "Breakfast at 6am, Brunch" says the window. Mmm, early morning Dutch pancakes...
• ...And a block or so south on Western, Chubby Weiners is celebrating its first anniversary with a deal: two hot dogs, fries and a drink for $2.99.
In today's "Five for Frying" column, Michael Nagrant profiles Bill Dugan, fishmonger and sometime restaurateur. Dugan's shop on North Elston Avenue is a must-visit for fresh, sustainably caught fish and shellfish. Plus, their Illinois sturgeon caviar is to die for.
Today, we launch the first installment in a series about food on Chicago Public Radio's848. Be sure to listen to 91.5 FM today from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. or again from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. or online. We also have a feature up on on Drive-Thru which includes more of the story not included in the radio piece.
This is exciting stuff, so let us now what you think about the project!
Americans are more eager than ever to try new ingredients and new flavors. NY Times says food companies and chain restaurants are working their butts off to keep up with the accelerating demand for the new and the hip. An example is the Chicago-based Wrigley, which introduced "mint mojito" gum back in January. Where did they get the cue that consumers might be ready for that exotic taste? That was when they noticed the flavor "showing up in candles and bath products."
It's been a weird year for food safety. A banner year, perhaps, if you're an FDA employee and get your kicks from getting your hands dirty and protecting the public. But a disturbing year if you're, you know, everyone else. From tainted pet food and the quiet horrors of unwittingly endangering man's best friend, to e. coli ridden spinach and salmonella-laced peanut butter, more than a few consumers are entering grocery stores on their own new level of orange alert.
Looking back to the source of these nasties' introduction into our American cornucopia, NPR's All Things Considered recently spent some time with Gurnee, IL wholesaler Woodland Farms to talk about food imports and the new safety obsession. (Read the whole story here and be comforted that some suppliers still hold themselves to the highest standards.) While the nightmare landscape of Upton Sinclair may no longer be the backdrop of American food production, we are most certainly hacking our way through a new jungle of imports, additives and biological abuses at the most microscopic level. Happy hunting.
This Saturday, you'll have an opportunity to live out your dream of riding in a public transportation vehicle disguised as food should you board the Chexpress, which is a CTA bus dressed up in...chocolate Chex cereal. According to our buddies at the Tribune, four decorated buses will be in service most of the day (no word on which routes will be used, although it will definitely be one that travels north/south in the downtown area). Adding to the giddiness of your travel experience, the ride will be free, and you may even get a cereal sample.
I don't know what was with the Speed 2 moment there, sorry about that. However, if you happen to cruise down Belmont avenue in the near future, keep an eye out for the new Bleeding Heart Bakery location at 1955 W. Belmont in the former Phillips Bakery space. Staff at the current location says they're still not clear on the details of the move, and the Chicago Avenue location may continue on as a bake-shop and lunch locale, while the new Belmont shop would be the home base for all operations. If this means more hibiscus pancakes with lemon curd for Roscoe Village, that neighborhood just got a whole lot more plausible as a brunch spot (for some of us, anyway, because my God, have you tasted them? Go taste them. Now), though we'd be a little sad to see the Bleeding Heart team leave their current adorable digs.
According to the Tribune, Indiana State Fair is going trans-fat-free for the 7000 gallons of oil it consumes during the 12-day (Aug. 8-19) festivity. To ensure that all its food vendors oblige, the Fair is requiring them to purchase the frying oil from the fair itself. What are the Illinois Fair people thinking about the issue? Well, they think--the Illinois State Fair manager Amy Bliefnick says--that fairs are for splurge and fun, and you can get your healthy food elsewhere.
While eating brunch with a friend recently, I found a hair stuck to a piece of bacon. If I was home, I'd forget about it quickly, as I'm the only one frying the bacon (and bringing it home, I might add), but obviously I'm in a restaurant, so my reaction was different. The waiter apologized and quickly brought over a replacement plate. My experience was minor compared to some of the horror scenes that city health inspectors encounter when visiting restaurants, such as parades of cockroaches, mountains of mice droppings, and poorly refrigerated or stored ingredients. An article in today's Tribune dicusses the number of restaurants in Chicago that have been permanently or temporarily shuttered due to health violations in the past year, and how to notice the warning signs of a poorly maintained eatery. Another resource you can use is the city's online database for researching inspection status of restaurants.
An article in today's Sun-Times uncovers the hottest new trend (huh?) in bars: groups of customers ordering a pitcher of alcohol to share, instead of (wimpy) individual glasses. The trend, according to the South Water Kitchen bartender who was interviewed for the story, has also extended to home entertaining, especially when grilling is involved, as "most [pitcher drinks] are more diluted than most cocktails." Well, he apparently was not collecting data at my apartment. The article also lists several recipes for popular pitcher drinks, one of which involves coconut flakes.
Today's Tempo section of the Chicago Tribune features a front-page spread on Monica Eng's successful consumption of 253 different dishes featured at the Taste of Chicago. Ignoring the annoying mystical food-wisdom flashes from two professional (?) eaters consulted for the ordeal, ahem, challenge, and let-down in the recommendations (only 3 desserts get a shout out?) it's an interesting piece in that car-wreck-can't-look-away kind of way. Thankfully no reporting on purging accompanies the story of the binge, and for the low low price of $1,022 you too could throw down the Taste Gauntlet. Though Monica doesn't seem to imply that you should.
Got an itch for a very specific flavor of ice cream? Pomegranate with chocolate-covered cherries and marshmallows, maybe, or lavendar-honey-orange marmelade? Your wish is the command for Aria's Chef Noah Bekofsky.
This summer, Chef Bekofsky is answering a custom ice cream hotline for guests at the Fairmont Hotel -- as well as locals jonesing for a special scoop. All he needs is 48 hours notice and a novel idea — don't be calling him for any old Baskin Robbins flavor — and he'll whip up a pint of the flavor you're dreaming of. It costs $12 for a pint. Call 312-565-8000 for details.
• Sweet Cakes Bakery is now open, friendlily serving vegan and non-vegan cookies, scones, cupcakes and more behind an open door in a wooden wall along the sidewalk at 935 N. Damen Avenue. A large patio hides inside, including a 7-foot or so tall tower of increasingly small metal Tonka-like trucks (photo), as you walk back toward the bakery. Their vegan chocolate chip cookie (photo) has a good outside crunch with a tender inner chew and chips small enough to easily melt in the mouth. It costs one dollar. They brew Casteel Coffee, roasted in Evanston. Closed Mondays. Tuesday - Sunday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Lovely, "a bake shop", opened today at 1130 N. Milwaukee (photo) with homey tables and stools along a bar (photo). Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• The Division Street favorite, Milk & Honey is opening a bakeshop in July at 1543 N. Damen. Time Out Chicago this week says we can expect mostly takeaway but a few stools, with cakes, cookies, focaccia, panini and salads. Meanwhile, Milk & Honey's Web site announces a Milk and Honey Granola at 1520 N. Damen, the address of the closed and boarded Del Toro.
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?
This morning's Chicago Public Radio news update had it that Logan Square's farmers' market starts to accept LINK Card this Sunday. (Though I couldn't find the CPR news item, I did find a few references to the new program, one of which is a Tribune article.) This is pretty cool, though I don't know how much fresh produce people can sneak into their very limited food stamp budget (especially after reading a few senators' pathetic attempt at eating at the food stamp budget back in May).
• Vince Neil is back in town (well, in Oak Brook anyway) to promote his Tres Rios tequila, this time at SavWay Fine Wines, 3821 S. York Rd., from 6pm to 7:30pm. [via]
• Chicago Foodies reminds us that Thursday, June 21, is Caribou Coffee "Cooler Day;" stop by your local 'Bou in the 2 o'clock (pm) hour for a free 12-oz. Northern Lite Cooler drink in a choice of chocolate, vanilla or caramel.
• We've stayed out of the fray piling praise on Coalfire, and that's not going to stop quite yet. We will, however, point you to the news over at Menupages (where else?) that Coalfire has changed its menu after just six weeks in business.
• Ukrainian Village's Dodo is now open for dinner, and serving specials to boot, weekdays only from 5 to 9 p.m. BYOB. Dodo is also open weekdays 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and weekends 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. They told me that they hope to have air conditioning in a few weeks.
• Sweet Cakes Bakery hopes to open Tuesday at 935 N. Damen Avenue, (773) 772-5771.
• Taste of Randolph Street kicks of Friday; of all the neighborhood festivals, this is the one with probably the best food and the best music — where else can you nosh on food from Sushi Wabi or Red Light while listening to Fountains of Wayne?
• Centerstage and Metromix offer Father's Day dining and activity suggestions.
• The Tribune has your 360° (or should that be 350°?) coverage of the season premier of "Top Chef," featuring Chicago chef Dale Levitsky: read about it in The Extrovert and The Stew. Metromix has an interview with Levitski, too.
• At NewCity/Hungry Mag, Michael Nagrant ponders the Omnivore's Dilemma, currently pitting conventional vs. certified organic vs. local and sustainable produce.
It seems there are few things that life in Chicago can't turn into a big-ass ridiculous political showdown, and the eating of big-ass goose livers is apparently no exception. With the Chicago City Council foie gras ban on the books for over a year, the fuss surrounding the issue and all its attendant concerns (save the geese! save the gourmands! save DougSohn! save the constitution!) continues at a low roar. This month alone, the Foie Gras Debacle (FGD) has received attention from PETA, a federal judge, and the US House of Representatives. This month will see the City Council consider a repeal of the ban, just in case anyone was ready to call it a day.
For those who just miss something salty to go with their cornichons, it does seem to be verging into surreality. And yet, beyond the silliness of the FGD, perhaps there are some real issues at stake...
• The Sun-Times has created a new food section on their website, collecting articles from the business and lifestyle sections and Centerstage.
• Haven't found a gift for dad yet? Sam's Wine & Spirits can engrave a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label for you for free -- just pay the $200 for the bottle.
While gas prices climb to ever greater heights, the ripple effect has in fact hit food prices even worse. Across the board we’re paying an average of 3.7% more for food than we did last year (gasoline was up 2.8%), and the experts feel that increase might double by this year’s end according to a story in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.
Then on Friday, June 5, the 470 Chicagoland Dunkin' Donuts stores will give a free donut with any beverage purchase in honor of 
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If the City of Chicago were to celebrate one seed to plant and cook from this coming growing season, what would you want it to be? NeighborSpace and the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance created 
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Earlier this year, Wicker Park's Sweet Thang bakery lost its lease and had to close its doors, Chef Bernard Runo promised to reopen in a new location. And indeed it did, at 2142 W. Roscoe Ave. in Roscoe Village.
Proving that high-end dining has friends in low(er) places, Grant Achatz of Alinea has announced that he will be teaming up with Dan Coudreaut, Director of Culinary Innovation for McDonald's USA, to develop a twenty-one course tour menu that combines Achatz’s culinary genius with the popular, familiar tastes of the fast-food giant. “It’s time to really push flavor away from the experimental and back into the sentimental,” Achatz said at a press conference earlier today. “McDonald’s has been single-handedly responsible for developing the American palate. We will learn a lot from each other through this venture.” 
While most of the menu remains a closely-guarded secret, several dishes were revealed to the press, among them the “Happy Meal,” a trio of mini-cheeseburgers made from Wagyu beef topped with a housemade “Velveeta” savory cheese tart. A tableside deep fat fryer will prepare French fries infused with black truffle. The “prize” of the Happy Meal is an edible toy made from liquefied carmel and bacon lardons. The “Shamrock Shake” will consist of a gelee of green food dye, a single mint leaf, and a frozen “vanilla milkshake froth” served in a spoon. Achatz and Coudreaut would not reveal their plans for the chicken McNugget, but did indicate that their version would involve trout roe and nutmeg. For more information, 
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Another one bites the dust: a bankruptcy judge has 
Never in my life have I been so steamed. The Tribune declares 
Sometimes the truth hurts: in a few days, Halloween will be here, and whether you work in an office building or are a third-grader, you'll be eating candy. Lots of candy, unless you're the part of the Power Bar and Aquafina set. The Tribune had a nice 
Production of Frango Mints, the candy mascot for Marshall Field's, will be returning to Chicago, according to today's 
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Finally I can do away with the doggie bags: 
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