Necco conversation heart candies have been a part of Valentines Day since the late 19th century and can be seen as a reflection of the times. These sweethearts have evolved from the original saying "married in white, you have chosen right," to the 80's message "fax me" and now to the latest pop culture reference "tweet me."
These heart-shaped candies are super easy to make but truthfully the DIY version isn't exactly cheap. Bottles of extract are on the expensive side and finding the food coloring markers was an adventure in itself but the outcome is delicious! Of all the homemade holiday candies I've made so far (candy pumpkins and candy canes) these were by far the easiest and most-like the real thing!
This past November, my best friend and I took a trip to Seattle - a new destination for both of us, but one that we were both eager to see having heard nothing but good things.
There really is something about the Pacific Northwest that is so perfectly conducive to coffee drinking. The often gray weather, the cozy bookstores, and the abundance of inviting coffee shops that make you want to spend your days enjoying a carefully crafted cup of coffee while writing a letter to a good friend or enjoying a favorite book. One of our favorite stops for coffee was Victrola, a wonderful coffee shop not far from the place where we stayed. It was coffee from people who really care about coffee, surrounded by quirky art and a great space for music. As their website says, "Settle in with a good book, some friends to talk to or just hang out and you will surely get to know your neighbor and our great staff behind the bar." So during these winter months when curling up with a book is one of the things I like to do most, I decided to venture out of my own Chicago abode in an effort to escape hibernation mode - and to find Chicago's most "Seattle" coffee shop.
Did you know today is National Pie Day? Well, it is! Don't worry if you don't have time to bake a pie or run out and buy one, the American Pie Council will be handing out Bonert's pies in downtown Chicago and surrounding areas.
In 2007, Chicago-based artist Dayton Castleman carved with a bandsaw and paring knife the sculpture Bread Bird from the largest and densest loaf he could find at Red Hen Bread. He called the work: "An inquiry as to whether birds would eat bread in the shape of their own. In this case, Chicago pigeons would not."
Yesterday, Castelman released the video of the sculpture not being eaten around Chicago.
Since soup and bread are on our minds, here's another way to get your fill. Mix up your favorite bread recipe and form the dough into small round loaves. Bake, and carve out the middle of each loaf to form the bowl. (Make sure to leave a substantial wall of bread around the sides and bottom to avoid spillage.) Fill with your favorite soup, and enjoy. Perfect for serving at Super Bowl parties...
Saveur's "100 List" for 2010 is an entertainingly whimsical mix of anything alimentary, from ingredients to restaurants to cookbook authors. Included among more mundane things like immersion blenders and homemade egg noodles are a bakery in Egypt (!?), and a food court in Malaysia (!?). Although these may be a little too far-flung for most of us, don't despair: Chicago's very own encased meat emporium Hot Doug'smade the cut at #71.
For those willing to travel farther afield, you might try Wisconsin (#91), replete with craft beer, traditional sausages, old-fashioned chocolates and 600 kinds of cheese. (The very old-world display that accompanies the Wisconsin article is worth a look; who knew that we lived right next door to Germany.) Inspired? Get a copy of Wisconsin beer & cheese map here and drive out, or you can sample some of the best Wisconsin cheeses at the Wisconsin Cheese Mart in the newish Chicago French Market.
I love gruyère cheese so much that if I was told I couldn't have it again, I don't think I could go on living. So when I discovered that the Wit Hotel restaurant State & Lake was serving macaroni and cheese with gruyère, I had to taste it. Made with cavatelli pasta, gruyère and cheddar cheeses, and topped with seasoned bread crumbs, this mac 'n cheese is second to none. Listed on the menu as a side (I am not sure why because it could be a main course) this creamy, scoop of heaven is served up in a cast iron ramekin and priced at only $6. This macaroni is worth a special trip to the Loop and a total lunch-time deal.
I've been trying to overcome my fear of baking and rolled cookies seemed like something that I would ruin several times before I got right. And I'm impatient so I decided to skip even trying for years. And then a recent urge for gingerbread cookies led me to reconsider this. I talked with several very experienced bakers who were confused by my reluctance to make cookies and they offered suggestions for recipes. Since I had an invitation to attend a cookie exchange party, I decided I would gather my courage, sugar coat it, and get over it.
I heart twitter and cupcakes ...and love when those two come together. I spotted this tweet Sunday around 10:50pm from Bleeding Heart Bakery and got so excited!
Nothing like a good cupcake deal to banish a case of the monday's!
If you're interested in honing your food writing skills, have we got the class for you: Northwestern University and the Evanston Public Library are holding a free (yes, free!) eight-session creative writing class starting January 5 where you will learn how to translate your favorite meals into words. So if you're looking to make a New Year's resolution to eat less, perhaps writing more will be an easier goal to keep.
During a visit to IntelligentsiaJackson today, something caught my eye, the Mypressi TWIST. I had read about this portable espresso device in a trade magazine a few months ago and thought it was a novel idea. When I gave a slightly puzzled look to my barista friends, they all informed me that the TWIST pulls a surprisingly decent shot. This tool uses hot water and air pressure from rechargeable N20 cartridge to deliver a single or double shot of espresso. Unlike other home espresso machines, the TWIST doesn't require electricity, though you will need some way to heat up the water, a slight drawback, and you can get about eight single shots out of the N20 cartridge. Retailing at $160, the TWIST is making me rethink my home espresso and coffee brewing options.
With only a few days left before Thanksgiving, there's not a whole lot of time for executing an elaborate "tablescape." For an easy, natural-looking centerpiece, fill a glass vase (any shape will do, really) with cranberries and nestle a small candle inside. Surround the vase with a few small pumpkins and gourds, and you're all set. Now all you have to worry about is the food...
With creations like Bacon Salt and Baconnaise, it's no surprise the brains behind J&D's continue to push the envelope with their bacon-y creations...literally. Mmmvelopes are now available for purchase - yes, a mmmvelope is a bacon-flavored envelope. Why lick paste when you have savor the smokey taste of bacon? Kosher. No refrigeration necessary. Wow.
GB contributor Shaz Rasul came across this bulletin board in a CPS elementary school, challenging students to take a week off of eating "Flaming Hot" Cheetos and other snack foods. Shaz says on his blog,
For those of you not hip to the urban elementary school youngsters' taste in chips, let me say that the flaming hots (preferably in their ubiquitous cheeto form, but also popular their frito incarnation) are the top of the charts.
As one student remarked recently, "the flaming hots, they get in your MIND".
Flaming Hot Cheetos are such a hit with kids that some schools have even banned them permanently -- though with limited efficacy, since kids can get them as soon as they leave school. They're considered disruptive in the classroom because the kids seem to get an endorphin buzz from the super hot snack, making them even more difficult than usual to control.
I'm not sure if this happens to everyone's kids over the summer, but my two kids sprouted some very serious candy cravings during the lackadaisical months. So last night, when the request for "dessert" came up, my husband was prepared: He had a Jelly Belly BeanBoozled game.
Not for the weak of stomach, the game consists of a box of jelly beans and a spinner that directs players to jelly beans of a certain color. Green might be Juicy Pear or Booger; black is Licorice or Skunk Spray; white is Coconut or Baby Wipes, and so on. We went through about 20 napkins, and spitting was most definitely allowed (in the sink). My first taste, a yellow-white jelly bean, was either Popcorn or Rotten Egg. I couldn't be sure which it was; it tasted like eggy popcorn. The black Skunk Spray flavor was deemed "like eating a match," while the Baby Wipe was oddly tolerable--it kind of had that unusual savory-sweet combination that cupcake makers around town are playing with. After biting into the Barf bean, my son shoved a banana in his mouth to clean his palate. My daughter hovered over the sink. The dog turned out to be the real winner. He happily moved from player to player, gobbling up the Canned Dog Food, Moldy Cheese and Pencil Shavings no one else could tolerate. A mom can only hope this run in with Barf and Skunk Spray might curb the candy cravings.
In most of the United States, not far at all. The image above is a map of all 13,000 McDonald's restaurants, with color indicating distance to the nearest Golden Arches. Unsurprisingly, The area around Chicago is particularly bright; if you zoomed in on Chicagoland, the dots stay pretty damn dense:
Where's the spot farthest from a McDonald's? Glad Valley, SD, at 145 miles by car.
UPDATE: Stephen Von Worley, the creator of the McDonald's map, has produced a follow-up focusing on the Midwest (really, more like the Great Lakes region). Fun fact: there are 424 McDonald's within 50 miles of the Sears Tower!
A bevy of local foodie celebrities were on hand yesterday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Carol's Cookies and to select the winner of her flavor contest. The winner gets announced today--keep your eyes peeled!
Feeding Illinois, formerly known as the Illinois Food Bank Association, began its hunger awareness campaign, "Snapshot of Hunger," today. According to the organization's Web site, the recession has driven on average 30 percent more people to request food assistance in Illinois during the past year. To help illustrate why so many Illinois families struggle with hunger, Feeding Illinois is asking you to take a photo of $28 worth of groceries and share it with them.
Twenty-eight dollars represents the average amount a family of four with a working parent and another parent who was recently laid off yet still receives unemployment, has to spend on food. After paying for housing, utilities and transportation, this family has approximately $110 left to purchase food for an entire week. This comes out to $28/person/week or $4/person/day.
The challenge runs through Monday, Sept. 21st and aims to help Illinoisans better understand the challenges our neighbors face and to raise awareness and get people to consider making a donation to their local food bank.
You can share your photo by emailing it to snapshot@feedingillinois.org. When emailing, please include your first name and city in the subject line. For updates on the campaign, follow Feeding Illinois on Twitter and use the #ILHUNGER hashtag.
Take the challenge, you'd be surprised what $28 at your local grocery store can get you compared to what a local food bank can gather for the same price.
•Smokin', Chokin' and Chowin' with the King goes on a search for Caribbean food in the city and loves everything (except the travel time).
•A Paula Deen recipe for Pimiento Cheese gets a healthy makeover by Cakes and Ale.
•Have you made it over to Rick Bayless's newly opened Xoco? The Stew has.
•If only I had a grill...then I could grab some peaches and make this salad.
•Accept it. Summer is ending soon, and going with it is access to freshly grown seasonal fruits and vegetables. But holding on to your favorite berries doesn't mean you have to join the canning bandwagon; you can freeze your beloved produce to enjoy in the coming months. You can even turn it into jam!
•Just Get Floury shows us the proper way to celebrate Mom's birthday: Congo Bars.
•The Grazing Lamb reflects on her anniversary of going vegan and gluten-free, and celebrates with an all-day raw food bender. Naturally.
•An out-of-town visitor directs Chew on This to NYC's opinion of Chicago's best Italian restaurant. Confused?
•L20 geeks out over imported Japanese charcoal. What a bunch of geeks. Delicious food-making geeks, of course.
•NuJoi toys around with her new camera and a plateful of scones. IMHO, figuring out food photography is harder than getting into Princeton.
•If you have a baby (or love baby food), read up about the benefits of making your own chow for Junior, courtesy of the Skinny Gourmet.
•Lindsey's Kitchen pays homage to Top Chef with Tom Colicchio's braised short ribs. Hubba hubba.
City Provisions, a Chicago catering company committed to using local, sustainable and organic foods, is challenging anyone who needs a meeting catered to step outside of their comfort zone and, instead of defaulting to the typical catering choices, to buy local.
"We feel people are too comfortable with processed meat and cheese, but it's easy to go that route when it's the cheap option," says Cleetus Friedman, owner, City Provisions.
Through October 16 City Provisions will be matching the price of the more conventional caterers in its Eat Local Challenge and is offering lunch platters for just $13/person in an effort to help people understand the reason their competitor's prices are so inexpensive. This includes assorted local sandwiches, choice of seasonal side, homemade organic chips and homemade cookies.
I've had the pleasure of attending one of the monthly supper club events City Provisions hosts and I can assure you that, if you let them cater your next meeting, you'll see that there is no excuse not to buy local.
Seventeen new cheftestants roll the dice on culinary fame in Las Vegas as the new season of Top Chef starts tonight (8pm on Bravo). And with the success of our fair city's chefs in recent seasons, as well as in this summer's amuse bouche show Top Chef Masters, one would expect a strong showing from Chicago again this season. In reality, one would be dead wrong. Nary a Chicagoan in sight. Not even an Illinois resident. The closest we get is Eve Aronoff from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She's the sole representative of the entire Midwest region! The hell?!
If lack of a home team doesn't dissuade you from watching, you might want to check out the weekly viewing party at the Kit Kat Club, hosted by former cheftestant Radhika Desai. No cover, and each week will start with a cocktail demonstration and end with a Q and A session.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is launching a public awareness campaign this week to celebrate its 30th anniversary of serving hungry men, women and children in the Chicago area. The focus - "Helping the Hungry for 30 Years" - is to thank those who have contributed to Chicago's food bank and to raise awareness of the continuing need in Chicago and Cook County.
The campaign features local sports figures, newscasters, elected officials, actors and volunteers in advertisements and public service announcements. Among those appearing in the ads: Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley; U. S. Senator Richard Durbin; Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Piniella; Chicago Bull Derrick Rose; and Steppenwolf Theatre Company actor John Mahoney.
Founded in 1979, the Food Depository has distributed 750 million pounds of food to millions of Chicagoans in need. Over the past year alone, the food bank has distributed a record 58 million pounds of food. The series of black and white photos will be running on CTA buses and trains through November and public service TV and radio spots will be released this summer and fall.
Want to help the Food Depository feed the hungry? Here are some ways you can get involved.
Last summer was all about the vertical garden. This summer, vegetables are dancing on the ceiling. Or pretending to. The Lay's Potato Chip "Closer than You Think" campaign, which aims to convince us that Lay's makes chips from potatoes grown on local farms, has hit the streets of Chicago, with a display of spuds growing from the ceiling in the CTA tunnel under Jackson Street. The potato patch will be on display through Sunday.
I have a friend staying with me later this week, and in preparation for her arrival I've turned my place upside down in my attempts to clean it thoroughly. She likes to cook and I want to make sure that her experience in my small kitchen is positive. As sad as it seems, I spent Saturday night cleaning out my fridge. Whoa. The space was a magnet for weird bits of errant quinoa, drips of dried beet juice and a dark sludge in the crisper that may have been from the celery that I bought a few months ago and left to die unused. Urgh.
I saw a story last night on the news that said Chicago's groceries are on average cheaper than Los Angeles's or New York City's; however, we pay the most for organic foods (L.A. pays the least). But apparently that is not a big deal, as a study published today states that organic food is not any better for you compared to non-organic food.
Missed connection, woman for object Where: At Pitchfork Music Festival, Friday night, during the Jesus Lizard. Me: Red hair, green sweater. You: Food, apart from the lone Whole Food tent, moderately stocked with hummus, guacamole, chips, and a few other things. Where were you? I know you'll be coming on Saturday and Sunday, but I thought I'd see more of you on Friday.
It may be an issue with vendors not wanting to come on Friday night, but this isn't the first year the Friday night lack of food has been a problem. The Whole Foods tent was predictably slammed the entire evening, and the Goose Island food tent was also running, but had a line so long that going there would've meant sitting out half of Built to Spill. A fest day that starts at 5 and ends around 10 will support more than two food booth.
Moving into the weekend proper, the selection of foodstuffs will be much better. My favorites include Wishbone (vegetarian-friendly, the corn muffins are great, love the black bean cake sandwich, and the unheated Hoppin' John is refreshing to eat when it's warm out) and Big Bite Catering (I had a refreshing blood orange cooler and a tasty chicken and gouda sausage from their tent at Folk & Roots last weekend). And the Whole Foods tent is a fine place to find things like fresh fruit during the long weekend outsdie. Ćevapčići is a little too meaty for my tastes, but I've heard good things about it. And, if none of the food sounds appealing, there's always Goose Island beer or Sparks.
If you'll recall, two Drive-Thru readers won our Grogood-sponsored Earth Day contest, which gave them free growing supplies to start their home gardens. Each winner pledged to give away some of their bounty to a needy charity.
We wanted to give you some updates on how well they're doing: Jennifer's basil is creeping along nicely, and Erin's tomato and squash plants also look pretty swell. I had some difficulty finding places that would take homegrown produce donations, but Erin dug deeper and found that the kitchen at First Slice will happily receive the fruits of her (and your!) gardening labors.
I also received a Grogood kit and have not been as lucky due to the partial sunlight that plants get in my apartment: I made the mistake of miscalculating sun needs and also trying to grow plants from seeds. My basil and green onion barely survived the germination stage, but the green bean seeds took off; however, I need to move them to a permanent, sunnier home. The plants are starting to wilt--perhaps due to overwatering or the realization that they're in the dark for half the day. Refusing failure, I'm donating them to Editor Andrew's backyard in the hopes that they'll rebound from their miserable beginnings. May the beans grow stronger than my gardening knowledge.
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.
Threadless.com's shirts are so cute, sometimes you just want to eat them up. In fact, many people have -- by turning their favorite designs into cakes.
It's not just for fun, either -- it could be for profit, too, if you enter the Threadcakes contest this summer. From June 15 (ie, yesterday) until August 3, you can submit photos of your own Threadless shirt-based cake to the contest for a chance to win a Threadless 12-Month Club membership, "tons" of Guittard chocolate and a Charm City Cakes prize pack. There are two categories -- 2D (just the design on the cake) and 3D (the design is the cake) -- and you can submit as many cakes as you want. So read the rules, sign up and get to baking!
Having difficulty organizing your kitchen cutlery because your roommates aren't putting things back in the right place? Take it from this Northwestern student's attempt to draw parallels between sloppy housekeeping and, um, racially motivated dorm room assignments(?).
The National Restaurant Association Show, which several DT staffers are attending, is a wonderment of anything you could possibly need for a restaurant.
On the massive exhibit floor I talked with folks from Regal Springs Tilapia, which farms their fish in a sustainable manner in Honduras, Mexico, and Indonesia, and imports it to the US. They're holding a recipe contest that's open to both chefs and the general public. To enter, create a tilapia meal for four that includes 1/4-1/2 pound (or 1 filet) tilapia per person, a vegetable, and salad or fruit. The entire meal must cost $15 or less. Entries will be judged on eight factors, including creativity, how you stretched your money, and your personal story. The winner gets $5,000, and five finalists get $150 each. Submit your entry on their website by August 1.
Here's a peek into the mind of Chef Grant Achatz, via Twitter: Kevin Elliott of Consumatron noted a touch of sarcasm in one of the chef's tweets, and asked what sarcasm would taste like at Alinea. Achatz replied:
encapsulated Yuzu juice w/ honey foam, and chili juice. ( depending on context --juice would be dripped in your eye tableside)
Last month Club Lago, an Italian restaurant in River North, was recently forced to temporarily close after a chimney collapsed onto its building. I pass the restaurant every day on my walk to and from work and last week I noticed they put a gigantic white board over the front door and posed the question: "What dish are you missing the most?" I thought this was an interesting way to interact with customers and to draw the attention of passersby. I have never been to Club Lago but I definitely plan on checking it out when it reopens.
Tonight is the season finale of ">Chuck," the NBC show about spies working in an electronics store (charmingly called Buy More) and a fro yo shop while trying to save the government's secrets, especially those embedded in the brain of the titular hero. If you're a fan of the show, you'll know that the future of Chuck is up in the air. NBC is weighing whether to renew the series. Fans have started letter-writing campaigns to save "Chuck," and are asking people to go out today to Subway (one of the show's main sponsers) to buy a footlong and leave a comment in the suggestion box professing your love and support for "Chuck." If there's no comment box, a Zac Levi (Chuck) fan site suggests contacting Subway online or on the phone. (This site also has a lot of video footage of Zac helping out in a Subway in the U.K., after fans followed him to the store.)
I'd hate to see "Chuck" get cancelled. It's a family staple in our house, looming large in Monday's after-dinner hours, prompting my kids to finish their homework on time and to help clean the kitchen. One of us even has a Chuck dance that accompanies the credits and theme song (Cake's "Short Skirt, Long Jacket"), a dance that would make the Nerd Herd proud.
Today's not just a day to reuse, reduce, and recycle--it's a day to think about the earth and how you can make it a better place. One way would be to start a home edible garden, right? But a lot of us don't know where to start--what to buy, what grows best, etc.--so to boost your interest, we're giving away TWO sets of garden kick-start supplies (a planter, dirt, trowel, a $10 gift card to purchase seeds and a list of "edible garden essentials") that have been generously offered by the GroGood project, a collaboration between Scotts, Plant a Row for the Hungry and Feeding America.
But here's the catch: when your garden turns into a bountiful mess of edible goodness, you need to donate a portion of the produce to the hungry, whether it be a food bank, a local soup kitchen or shelter. Let's do some good for the planet and its citizens by making everyone's stomachs a little fuller. Even if you don't win our contest, please consider joining in and donating your homegrown eats to local charities.
You have until midnight tonight to enter: send an email to contests@gapersblock.com. We will randomly select two winners and mail their kits. Also, we will be checking in on the winners' progress once their respective gardens begin and posting their progress here at Drive-Thru. Kick ass!
In a move to create a more locally sourced and sustainable menu at his restaurant, North Pond, chef Bruce Sherman is launching a series of Sunday meals created with food from his own front yard: the North Pond in Lincoln Park. Dishes will include a squirrel kebab, with dried wild strawberries and black radish; and slow-cooked Canada goose breasts with pea tendrils and smoked quinoa fritters. The new additions to the menu will not only appeal to diners worried about corporate farming practices, but the dishes will also help the restaurant weather the recession. Small, wild game animals take less time to cook, thus saving energy, and, coming from right outside the restaurant's door, they cost nothing. Full menus are online here.
Office workers around Chicago, and around the nation, who still have jobs to go to are giving up their daily $10 sandwich or salad deals and bringing lunches from home instead. And with the stylish new lunch-toting options available nowadays, they can carry their food with pride and panache. Whole Foods carries a bento-box lunch "system," on display right next to the overpriced salad bar, so you can fill the little compartments as soon as you've paid for them.
The tiffin carrier, available from Design Within Reach or other online retailers, is an even sleeker vessel. It might look like the tin pail Laura Ingalls Wilder carried to school on the Little House on the Prairie TV show, but the stainless-steel carrier is inspired by the word "tiffin," which means light lunch or snack in parts of Britain and India.
If having a stylish lunch box makes you feel pressured to fill it with healthy, sophisticated foods, there is help available.
There's been a lot of posting about vegetarian and vegan foods on the blog this week, so I thought the one I've been wanting to share might be a little overkill. Yet, after Lori's post about MRSA being tied to antibiotic use in meat, I realized it was time to post.
I'm a fairly dedicated carnivore; in fact, there are days where my body absolutely craves meat. At the same time, I realize that a ton of meat may not exactly be the healthiest option, so maybe a few more vegetarian and vegan meals might be a good addition to my diet.
However, straight vegetables and beans only go so far. I wanted to try other vegetarian and vegan options, but I also didn't really want to buy a bunch of food I might end up hating. Then I got the opportunity to go to a fundraiser for Mercy for Animals, an organization that fights against animal cruelty--especially in terms of food production--by promoting vegetarian and vegan diets.
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.
Mike Phillips, a barista at Intelligentsia's Broadway store and last year's Great Lakes Regional Barista Championship winner, is one of the six finalists in the U.S. Barista Championship. Three other finalists are from Intelligentsia's Los Angeles outpost, and another, Scott Lucey, is from Alterra Coffee in Milwaukee.
Wondering what goes on at a barista competition? The finals will be streaming live at the USBC website; they're scheduled to run from 2-4:30 Central time this afternoon, and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter.
UPDATE: Phillips is the winner! His final score was 730 points, besting second place Nick Griffith of Intelligentsia LA (719.5 points) and third place Scott Lucey of Alterra Coffee (697.5 points).
What isn't available from Amazon? Among the many, many things to be had with the click of a mouse is discounted food. The site offers discounts daily on grocery items (anything you could want, from coffee and coconut water to toaster pastries and toilet paper) and it also has a Subscribe & Save program, which allows you to set up standard grocery orders for delivery every one, two, three or six months. Shipping is free for Subscribe & Save orders, and free for other grocery purchases over $25 as well. The web site Dealhack also lists Amazon offers, and even breaks down the amount you save.
The other day, when I was on a CTA bus home from work, I was faced with a daunting challenge. As it was approaching my usual meal time, I was getting pretty hungry, pretty fast. At a stop halfway home, a well-clad middle-aged lady got on and took the seat next to mine. Beside a black handbag, she had a Jewel-Osco plastic bag, which she put on her lap. As the bus lurched forward with the green light, she promptly fumbled in the bag and took out (gasp!) a big bunch of celery. I looked on from the corner of my eye, curious to see what she'll proceed to do. With a determined hand, she yanked off a stalk, put the rest back in the bag, snapped the stalk in half and started to crunch her way through the celery. An enticing aroma of fresh celery wafted to my nostrils. I love celery. Now I was getting really hungry.
Last night I read a few pages of the book Coraline with my daughter, who along with her brother, is counting the days to Friday, when the film will open. It was a part of the story where the Other Mother sits on the sofa, eating a bag of black beetles and talking to Coraline about manners, or really, the fact that Coraline won't show the scary woman any love. The Other Mother locks Coraline behind a mirror, and the chapter ends with this creepy description of the Other Mother: "A fragment of beetle was sticking to her lower lip, and there was no expression in her black button eyes."
If you happen to be an Other person, with button eyes and a hankering for beetles, today is a lucky day. In the Tribune's Good Eating section, there's a recipe* on the bottom of page 3 for the Other Mother's Extra Crispy Chocolate Beetles, complete with tips for finding the tastiest beetles (check for shiny and developed thoraxes, as beetles still in larval stage will be chewy and bland).
Most of us don't, however, have hankerings for beetles, even dipped in dark chocolate. On the blog Margo's Musings there's a post about a Coraline junket (prompted by Neil Gaiman's talk of a press junket), a puddinglike dessert that Margo topped with dried apple buttons. Just to prove how un-Other I am, I might try to whip up some junket for my family. Assuming I can get hold of some rennet, that is.
We'll be liveblogging the Chicago episode of "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel tonight at 9pm. Watch along with us and keep refreshing this post!
OK, the live blog is now closed, but feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!
Oh yeah! The contest! We have a copy of "No Reservations" Collection 3 to give away. Enter to win by emailing contests @ gapersblock.com with the answer to this question: What was the one dish that Tony didn't like on tonight's episode? We'll take entries till noon, then pick a winner at random from the correct entries. UPDATE: Congratulations Krissy! The answer is the Mighty Dog, a tamale and hot dog together on a bun, smothered with chili.
The episode premieres tonight at 9pm CST, so to celebrate the occasion, we'll be liveblogging during the show. Also, we'll be giving away a lovely "No Reservations"-related PRIZE during the episode, so stop by for a chance to win!
The Trib reports that a documentary is in the works about Alinea's Grant Achatz, and that filmmaker (and local native) D.A. Pennebaker is making a doc about a pastry competition, with Jacquy Pfeiffer of the French Pastry School being one of his subjects.
On Tuesday, Barack Obama will sit down to his inaugural luncheon, a tradition that dates back to 1897. And what a decadent celebration it will be. "One nutrition writer tallies the feast's calorie count at 3,048 and notes that the spread contains 142 grams of fat," reports the Washington Post.
When Arlington-based Design Cuisine was hired to cater this three-course meal, they were asked to make it "reminiscent of the Lincoln era."
The menu includes: Seafood Stew
Pheasant and Duck with Sour Cherry Chutney and Molasses Sweet Potatoes
Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake
For those interested in learning more about the luncheon, the government has set up a website for you. You can read about the gifts that Obama and Biden have received, the china that will be used for the meal, the flowers that will decorate the tables -- and best of all -- you can even download the recipes for this presidential meal.
Gourmet's Ruth Reichl volunteered to be Obama's "kitchen cabinet," monitoring the foods that the First Family will be eating in the White House and emphasizing on seasonal, locally grown and organic items (doesn't she have actual work to do?). Reichl ended up with free-range egg on her face when it was revealed that Cristeta Comerford, who cooked for the George Bushes and will stay on for the Obamas, already was making organic eats for W and Laura, putting an end to Reichl's campaign. We won't be getting daily reports of the meals served in the White House, but for the love of lutefisk: if Obama wants to eat nothing but Dunkin' Stix and strawberry margaritas all day, let him. He's the leader of the free world, not a contestant on the Biggest Loser.
Despite the nation's financial upheaval, high-end restaurants are not really feeling the pain; a Bloomberg article quoted Alinea co-owner Nick Kokonas's plans to expand his restaurant's private dining space, as well as mentioning that a "non-U.S. automaker" client has rented out Alinea for a private party one night next month to the tune of $25,000+. And just so you know, Alinea accepts payment plans for their less wealthy diners.
America's First Kids Sasha and Malia Obama attended their first day of school at Sidwell Friends in D.C. this week. Other than the high caliber of education offered at Sidwell, they also have a top-notch cafeteria full of organic and locally grown produce; today's menu [PDF] for the kids includes roasted local squash, spicy organic black bean tortillas, and pineapple Gratin. Yum, but don't they want pizza and chili dogs?
This week the Little Green People blog on sustainable living posits the question, Should we eat our wild urban critters? So far only two commenters have weighed in, on that website at least. Elsewhere on the web, others have been throwing the idea out there for thought. Food supplies are diminishing, and our ancestors ate rabbits, pigeons, geese and squirrels. In Europe many people still eat (some of) these animals, though from farms or from the wild, not from city parks. I'm not planning to take my local diet in that direction ... but it's an interesting facet of the larger omnivore dilemma.
If allowing corporate sponsorship/renaming rights of CTA stops doesn't whack your mole, perhaps warmer waits for the bus in the name of "experimental marketing" will...Kraft is teaming up with JCDecaux (French for "this bus shelter is very fashionable and sturdy") for an ad campaign for Stove Top this month that involves radiating warm air from ten downtown bus shelters in an effort to "bring to life the warm feeling that consumers get when they eat stuffing." Kraft will also be handing out samples of their newest feat of stuffing research, an item called "Quick Cups," at selected shelters. I'll be keeping gravy in my commuter mug in eager anticipation.
Local artist Lucy Knisley recently went to Alinea with her boyfriend, and drew a comic about the experience. The pupil dilation is pretty much spot on, in my experience. [via]
One of my favorite online resources is the Los Angeles Public Library Menu Database. Images of menus from their rare books collection are available to browse for free. A search for "Thanksgiving" yielded one Chicago menu. This menu was an advertisement for the Blackhawk Grill Downstairs (139 N. Wabash), published in a 1929 issue of the Chicago Tribune. The menu appears to have been their $1.00 "Sunday Dinner" menu, rather than a strictly holiday offering. In its heyday the establishment offered, "The choicest foods--liberal portions--attractively served--in a pleasant environment."
The Blackhawk Restaurant was highlighted on the Gapers Block Subterranean City Tour by Alice Maggio in 2004. "In the 1920s and 30s, the building became renown as the location of the Blackhawk restaurant, which was famous for its live jazz and big band performances." The building was unfortunately demolished in 2003 to make way for a condo development.
Menu highlights include:
Anchovy Canape
Fruit Cocktail
Cold Tomato Juice
Chicken Consomme with Rice
Baked Sugar Cured Ham with Champagne Sauce
Chicken a la King on Toast
Vegetarian Dinner, Poached Eggs
June Peas
Combination Salad
Click here to see the full menu. There is still a Blackhawk Restaurant in Wheeling, IL. Though, good luck asking for the $1.00 Sunday dinner.
I know that this week has done some serious prying into you and your family's personal life with questions like what kind of dog to buy for Malia and Sasha, who cuts your hair, and will your wife be as much of a style icon as Jackie Kennedy. But I read intently when it came to your preferred foods. You visit Spiaggia when you're celebrating? Nice, you're classy. You like Valois? Eh, well, I think a salt block from Home Depot tastes better than anything I've eaten there, but l respect you. I care about you. And I thought I understood you until I read that you don't like beets.
As nightly frosts settle in, even the heartiest herbs will have trouble surviving. No gardener wants to see their hard work die out, but there is only so much mint a household can go through sometimes.
A quick way to preserve herbs before they succumb to the elements is to freeze them. This preservation method works particularly well with herbs that have a high water content like chives, mint, and basil.
Cut and clean the leaves under cold water, discarding stems. Take a few empty ice cube trays and place bunches of leaves in the bottom of each slot. Fill with enough water to cover the herbs and place in the freezer. When the cubes are frozen through, transfer to sealed bags.
The leaves will be limp when defrostred, but freezing retains more flavor and aroma than drying leaves. The cubes are also convenient for dropping in soups or using in drinks.
If food on your plate just isn't enough, how about food permanently etched on your body? Check out Chow.com's gallery of food tattoos, and get inspiration for your own tasty lookin' tat.
Now that President Obama and the First Family has to pack up shop and head east for Dad's new job in January, a local restaurant is looking for his patronage. Ben's Chili, a D.C. hot dog restaurant, vows to give the Obama family a status level only previously given to one other person (Bill Cosby)-free eats, anytime. One of Ben's owners told the NYT that "Chicago's going to be a little far to travel, so they're going to need a place in Washington...It's a nice way for us to say, 'Welcome to Washington.'"
While many of us are finalizing our Thanksgiving plans, some of our neighbors are choosing between paying rent and putting dinner on the table. Demand at Chicago area food pantries is up 30% from last year. I see this first hand at the nonprofit I work for and there is simply not enough food to go around.
It seems we are all pinching our pennies lately, but if you are able to forgo that extra beer this weekend please consider donating a few dollars to a Chicago area food bank. It just takes a moment to donate online. If you can't find the cash, clear our your pantry or volunteer to donate your time. A great place to start is the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which distributes food to over 600 food banks around the city.
Today, as most of Chicago rejoices over the election of Barack Obama, we need to extend an olive branch to those whose shoulders hang a little low today over the defeats of their candidates (and looking at the local results, there's reason to be surprised and in some cases, pissed off) .
The Drive-Thru staff has assembled a list of their favorite comfort foods that may bring some comfort to those who are staring blankly at online election returns and contemplating watching nonstop "Felicity" reruns for the next week.
-Dolly Madison powdered donuts (the kind that come in the long bag) and hot cocoa.
-Granola (especially from Wicker Park's Milk and Honey) with soy milk.
-Giant bowls of sugarey cereal, like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Golden Grahams. Mixed with ice cream instead of milk. And topped with caramel sauce and nuts.
-There's something about potatoes. Baked potatoes are definitely comfort food, but I think I prefer them cut into wedges, roasted, and eaten with copious amounts of ketchup.
-My motto has always been,"it's a good day when you get soup." I always go to matzo ball soup for comfort.
-Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.
-Anything with cheese. Even cheese by itself. And French fries. French fries with cheese--even better!
-Mac & cheese, followed by Coldstone Creamery's sweet cream and chocolate with Reese's peanut butter cups.
-Comfort booze: good bourbon.
-Simple roast chicken leg and a big'ol helping of baked and gooey mac'n'cheese. Potato chip crumble on top is optional.
-When I'm sick, my go-to comfort food is udon or egg zosui (sort of like Japanese congee). For stress, I run for cookies and chocolate. (Bad habit.)
-Macaroni and cheese with some yellow mustard mixed in.
-When I get down in the dumps, I like to make strange sauces out of whatever's in the fridge and spice cabinet and dip tortilla chips in it. Old habit I picked up in high school.
-Pizza of any (thick-/thin-crust) variety.
-Cheese enchiladas with mole poblano!
-I was just recently was introduced to this magical chicken poppyseed casserole-- it's mostly condensed soup, sour cream, cheese and Ritz crackers.
Being in Grant Park last night for Barack's victory celebration was humbling, and I'm so grateful my husband and I were able to be there, to witness history.
By the time we made it home, it was about 1:30 a.m. We were wired and our stomachs were grumbling. We also wanted to keep celebrating. So we uncorked the last bottle of Chianti we schlepped home from our recent honeymoon in Italy, and paired it with Velveeta Shells and Cheese (don't knock it.) Halloween candy provided an appropriately sweet ending to our night.
If you're going to haul your cookies to your polling place when they open tomorrow at 6am to (possibly) avoid the stampede of voters, here's a small incentive: Starbucks will be giving out free tall-sized coffees tomorrow to those who produce a voting receipt.
Still trying to figure out what costume you'll wear this Friday? One simple idea is to dress up as a chef or baker. Simply tie on an apron, grab a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon, and you're off to the races. If you want to get fancier, the possibilities are endless. Wear shorts under your apron and don a pair of orange Crocs and a red wig (with ponytail) to disguise yourself as Mario Batali. Curl your hair and slip on a chef's jacket with the Top Chef logo embroidered on it to become Chicago's own Stephanie Izard. Restaurant supply stores often carry chef's clothing - black and white checked pants, toques and baker's caps - which can help you really pull off the look.
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).
I spent all day yesterday ripping sopping wet carpet out of my parents' basement, even as more water seeped in and more rain poured down. Our only comfort at the time was our sense of humor -- that, and the carpet was installed circa 1972, and reminded everyone of a cheesy Las Vegas hotel (think Circus Circus). It was time for it to go.
When I got back to my place, I put on my PJs and tucked into a nice hot bowl of vegetable soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Today, the comfort eating continued: steak, mashed potatoes with pureed carrots, and chocolate cake.
It was a miserable weekend, but at least I ate well. What did you eat this weekend to keep you happy?
I always get very giddy when I see businesses in other parts of the country serve Chicago-style food, notably pizza. From the corners of Missouri to the streets of Silicon Valley. The more I investigated it, the more I realized how much influence Chicago has on other regions. As a rule of thumb, I don't sample, but I am curious...which state has the best slice? I'm figuring you'll say Texas...
For $3, would you rather get three-quarters of a tank of gas, or an insanely huge waffle cone overflowing with homemade ice cream? I know my answer.
On a recent visit to Margie's Candies on Montrose, I ordered a waffle cone with 2 flavors of homemade ice cream--strawberry cheesecake and cookies and cream (odd combination, I know)--all for $3. Sure made Cold Stone seem like a huge rip off. Plus, it's always nice to support a local business.
Margie's Candies
North Center: 1813 W Montrose Ave
Bucktown: 1960 N Western Ave
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.
• Temptation is available by the pint at the Green Grocer at Grand & Noble, W Crossings on North Avenue in Wicker Park, True Nature in Uptown, and Whole Foods in Lakeview, South Loop, and on Halsted.
And a few places I've been meaning to try:
• I've seen smoothies being made weekend days on a table out front Crespo's at North Avenue at Leavitt.
• I've heard about a new juice and smoothie shop at 2246 W. Armitage, apparently serving up wheatgrass shots and carrot apple ginger juice.
Sampling cheese needs instructions? Isn't it as simple as, open mouth, insert cheese, repeat until ill or otherwise immobilized (or, worst case scenario, out of cheese)? Apparently there are cheese manners to be observed -- particularly on the farmer's market circuit, where all manner of grubby hands are grabbing after the goods. Imposing some routine structure and discipline in cheese-handling is the least our local cheese mongers can do.
There seem to be two main camps of cheese sampling convention -- the simple tools method, and the what we'll call the gravity method. I participated in the simple tools method this past Sunday at the Logan Square farmer's market, where Provenance had set up a tent with about eight varieties of cheese available to try. Each cheese, from chipotle-infused cheddar, to a combination sheep and goat's milk number where the two cheeses were separated by a layer of ash, was packed into the separated wells of what seemed to be a reclaimed prep pan, the whole pan surrounded by ice packs to keep the dairy from getting funky. Toothpicks and little tasting spoons were proffered to actually sample the cheese -- no direct hand-to-cheese contact! And it seemed using one toothpick per cheese was preferable to double-picking.
This morning I stopped by the Federal Plaza farmer's market to pick up some snacks for tonight's movie in Grant Park. I've worked across the street from it for years, but was always strapped with afternoon meetings preventing actually visiting the market, which I was pleasantly surprised to find incredibly well-stocked with tons of produce, flowers, and even honey vendor that had brought their own miniature working bee hive under glass -- being clumsy, I studiously avoided this table. But felt I could stop by the lone cheese tent without incident. I didn't catch the vendor's name, though they mentioned the majority of their cheeses come from a consortium of small dairies in southern Wisconsin. The gal behind the table was very patient with letting me sample a few different varieties and weighing different saran-wrapped hunks to pick the best price (a brie layers of toasted almonds, apricots and honey) and least messy (a sturdy, buttery tasting raw cow's milk). Her method for testing was a little more low-tech -- with one gloved hand, she'd pick up a modest sample and drop it into my hand. All gravity, very simple, and yet hygienic. (Except that, when she wasn't looking, a passerby totally just dove in and grabbed a chunk off her cutting board with their un-gloved hand. Such is life.) Good things to keep in mind for future shopping.
Given the recent jump in Cook County sales tax, which impacts restaurant purchases, the Tribune asks that you reconsider your tipping strategy. It's too bad Todd Stroger doesn't wait tables on the weekends, eh?
A longtime Starbucks customer laments the overpopulation of the corporate coffee chain and the counterculture it used to represent to the Tribune: "It's a tragedy that the young kids won't know the difference, and will never know how good it once was."
While browsing the menu for my beloved Kuma's Corner, I came across a little note on their website: they're holding a Burger Submission Contest! If your idea is good enough, Kuma's will put it on their menu. And you could mess with their anti-"hippie" ethic by naming the burger yourself...
I grew up a mere 10 miles from Huntley, IL. During my formative years, I was somehow kept unaware of the annual Turkey Testicle Festival celebrated by this neighboring town. Thousands of people reportedly head to the Parkside Pub each year to sample the testicles, which are said to have aphrodisiac qualities.
Even more baffling, there appears to be a second turkey testicle festival in nearby Byron, IL that will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Has anyone sampled these... delicacies?
You can read about other bizarre food festivals here.
Ever troll the Craig's List "Free" section for some budget-friendly shopping? Me, too. If you act quick, you can pick up a free 50 lb. bag of pork rinds. They are listed as "cooked" and sans hot sauce. Skokie area! Now, the idea of a huge, huge bag of fried pork rinds sitting in a hot car today makes me ill, but to each their own!
An interesting New York Times article describes how Big Apple restaurateurs are finding creative ways to cope with rising food costs, such as slimming down portions and forcing diners to request once-complementary items, like rice.
Back here in Chicago, I've come up with my own solutions for managing our ballooning grocery bills, from shopping at out-of-the-way produce markets to buying more frozen veggies (yes, we're looking forward to farmers market season!) To be honest, some of my methods have sacrificed quality, such as not being such a stickler about buying organic.
I'm curious to hear what tricks Chicago restaurant owners and chefs are employing to deliver delicious plates to demanding customers while still clearing a profit?
Look out for Chicagoan Tim "Gravy" Brown as the newest heat in the competitive eating circuit. He won a hot dog-eating contest this past weekend in Arizona, scarfing down 33 wieners in 10 minutes. Brown's win qualifies him to compete in the the Nathan's International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest next month in New York. Pat Bertoletti, Chicago's other big eater, finished third in Nathan's contest last year.
On a flight back from Phoenix, Arizona, I was thumbing through Southwest Airline's in-flight magazine when I came across an article about a goddess of leftovers. According to the author of the article (who seems to harbor a copious amount of reverence toward the said goddess), Peggy Grote is a culinary magician who can turn out fabulous, guests-proof dinners from the content of a sadly-stocked-and-heavily-ransacked refrigerator. As a chronic sufferer of leftovertitis, I read the article with interest. Peggy did sound quite ingenious around leftovers, breading leftover risotto and deep-frying it to make risotto "cake," stuffing dates with cream cheese and jalapeños to accommodate sudden guests.
But as I read on the article, as the author spelled out a few of Peggy's dinner parties consisting mostly of things left over from a few days ago, I started to wonder. See, this is my problem: when I try to revive leftovers by creating something new with them, I quite often end up with more leftovers than I had started out with. If I add curry roux to a leftover stew to make Japanese-style curry, I would notice that there aren't enough beef and carrots left in the stew to make a meal, so I'd add them. Now the curry looks short on potatoes, so I cut up a few and add them. By the time the curry is ready, I might very well have the night's dinner AND a few lunches worth of leftovers--even though I probably started out with a little short of a meal. I just wanted to change the flavor of whatever I had left from the previous night, but now I have an even larger leftover.
The article is interesting and full of leftover tips (like keeping a jar of dried prunes soaked in port in the fridge, which can be used as anything from ice cream topping to a sauce on pork chops), but it doesn't address this peculiar problem. So, I'm just wondering--does anyone suffer from this--the problem of never-ending, ever-growing leftover?
I was lucky enough to attend the "Principles of Beer and Food Pairing" seminar last night at Just Grapes, a wine school and wine shop conveniently located in the Loop. The seminar was just one event of many that Just Grapes hosts; every Saturday brings a complimentary wine tasting and their "Global Grapes" series focuses on different wines found throughout the world.
This particular event concentrated on the relationship between beer and food, a concept that I really haven't explored before. Sure, I've had Kingfisher with mouth-numbing Indian food, Duvel with mussels, and Sapporo with sushi, but those combinations were usually the result of pairing regional cuisine with indigenous beer.
Tonight on the news I saw a feature about freegans, the artsy-looking folks who scour dumpsters for perfectly edible food among the garbage. The journalist went with a freegan (who looked like he came straight from an Umphrey McGee's show) to a dumpster to find some choice eats; they walked off with a few loaves of french bread and some produce. I couldn't tell where they were, but I got looking around the interwebs and came across a resource that lists the best places in Chicago to freeganize: apparently Trader Joe's is the choicest place to scour, and Stanley's reportedly gives away produce each morning. While it's difficult to understand the edginess to freeganism (far less fortunate people have been doing this for decades, and the saved money these freegans are accumulating will likely go towards Pitchfork Festival weekend passes), it made for a softer television newscast and hopefully make viewers question the real shelf/fridge life of their discarded food.
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).
The Stew, a food blog maintained by Chicago Tribune food writers, recently featured a story on newly introduced organic Frango Mints. Apparently, the contest between organic and non-organic Frangos wasn't even close.
We bought two boxes of the classic milk chocolate version in both regular and organic. We asked nine tasters to compare them in a blind tasting. Our panelists voted 8 to 1 in favor of the N.O.F. (non-organic Frango). The prevailing comment: The O.F. (organic Frango) didn't taste minty enough.
For those seeking the real minty deal for dear old Mom, original Frangos are available by the pound at Macy's for Mother's Day, and every day.
I was on a bus this past weekend and struck up a conversation with two frazzled-looking women who were returning from a rough experience. Earlier that day, the women had just ordered lunch while sitting at a restaurant's outdoor patio in Wicker Park (which didn't have a barrier fence around it) when a passerby ran up to their table, quickly stole one of their purses from underneath a chair and ran off. Thankfully, her cell phone and keys were in a jacket. As the victim went through the dreaded notification of her credit card company and bank, she discovered that the thief had already made off with $600 in gas and purchases at a drugstore a few miles away. After expressing my condolences for her loss, I asked if the restaurant had comped her $8 meal. Both women's eyes lit up. "No!" they said. "Can you believe it?"
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 ...
Today is Day One of my Master Cleanse, a ten day detox program created by Stanley Burroughs that involves drinking a mixture of lemon juice, Grade B maple syrup, water and cayenne pepper. This is my second MC; last October's cleanse brought an increase in my energy, mental clarity, and removed an allover sludgy feeling that I was getting far too comfortable with. I also lost 15 pounds in ten days, and have gained approximately 5 back since then.
Last Saturday, looking for diversion from the dreary return of the wintery weather, my partner and I went on an excursion to a local Costco store. Ever since my mom got a membership that provided me with a "family" card to flash at the entrance, it's been our perverse pleasure to go to the behemoth of a store. We would drop our jaws at the inflatable playthings that are roomier than my old apartment in Tokyo, or peel our eyes at the one-gallon cartons of whipping cream (which packs a whipping--no, whopping--96,000 calories, according to my quick math). We've found some good deals over the years, like European cookies that show up in the holiday season and the chocolate truffles with a nice kick of caramelized sugar, but this time, what we found came with a surprise. I'm calling it the "strawberry panic."
Because it's high season on food awards, I was thinking about an achievement that rarely gets its due: restaurants that have the best wait. Rather than standing outside in the cold/heat/rain/snow wondering why you're willing to wait 45 minutes for a table, which restaurants have the best amentities, such as waiting space, food, cool neighboring businesses to browse while killing time? My vote for the best wait is Over Easy, as they give waiting customers a free outdoor coffee station, a wide sidewalk for loitering outside, and I can duck into Ventrella next door to wait out the time. I also walk up the street to Off the Leash to look at dog supplies for Fido. My vote for the worst wait is Sweet Maple Cafe or Mia Francesca's in Lakeview for having no space to stand inside or outside to wait (but the food is worth it for both places).
What's your take on the best restaurant wait? Or the worst?
My husband and I were jonesing for some sticky rice with mango this weekend. and we were foiled not once, not twice, but three times by Thai joints that advertise this special dessert on their take-out menus, but apparently only serve it during a lunar eclipse.
Does anyone know of a reliable restaurant on the North Side serving sticky rice with mango? We're desperate.
As if cherry, grape and lime-flavored popsicles weren't good enough, there's a new player on the market. Introducing Bob's Pickle Pops--a frozen "treat" made from real pickles and pickle juice. And even more bizarre, the USDA has accepted Bob's Pickle Pops as a healthy alternative to sugary frozen treats in schools. Kids must have more sophisticated palates nowadays.
Maybe a month or so ago, the Ukrainian Grocery a block from my apartment closed its doors and went out of business forever (after months of slowly selling off all their merchandise at ever-increasing "liquidation sale" reductions). This didn't seem like a huge loss to me, as Ann's Bakery is still a major provider of tin-packed Cyrillic-scribbled goods and sundries for the more Eastern-European of my fellow Ukrainian Villagers. And the Grocery, frankly, always smelled kind of like pee. Anyway, a few weeks ago lights were on in the old space and major renovations seemed to be taking place to open a new shop -- including a sign that eventually went up for "Edy's Bodega." Score! No more walking to the Windy City Market or Farmer's Pride Produce to snag some queso fresco without the big-box mark-up (ahem, Dominicks. I love you, but come on).
Well imagine my surprise walking out of said apartment this morning and landing in the midst of a movie set. Apparently Edy's is not the newest one-stop-shop on Chicago Avenue, but rather a working set of the long-rumored film Humboldt Park, which finally started shooting last week...though apparently not all filming is taking place in Humboldt Park proper. The film's stars include John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Freddy Rodriguez, and Alfred Molina. Filming is set to continue at the Edy's location through Saturday, according to a flyer taped to my building door this morning. I'd trade cheap cheese for a chance to bump into a movie star -- as long as it doesn't make me miss my bus. And I can only hope Michael Mann decides the Edy's Bodega space is the perfect double for a speakeasy in Public Enemies... I would flat-out give up dairy to see Johnny Depp on my stoop. (Well, for at least a few days.)
Local food is a lot harder to come by in the winter, so I was both surprised and psyched when my parents showed up at my place Friday evening with a dozen beautifully speckled brown chicken eggs, freshly layed that morning.
They were visiting from my hometown in Northwest Indiana, where many small farmers continue to hold out against rapid residential and commercial development. Mom's coworker, an accountant by day, is helping to maintain her aging parents' farm, which in part means collecting the eggs laid each morning by their flock of hens.
My husband and I relished our breakfast this morning: hash browns, maple sausages, toast, and good, old-fashioned, sunnyside-up eggs, with the sweetest whites and creamiest yolks we've ever tasted.
As I said in this week's feature about celebrating national food holidays Chicago-style, this Thursday is National Sticky Bun Day. To commemorate, Bleeding Heart Bakery let us know that they will be selling organic Brioche Sticky Buns in some exciting flavors--walnut, pecan, cheddar apple, or cinnamon. A half-dozen will cost $18.
Well, dear readers, we finally did it: today my husband and I signed a lease for a beautiful, affordable apartment with free laundry, great closet space, a fireplace, a deck for our grill, and - drumroll, please, my fellow foodies - an outstanding eat-in kitchen featuring a five-burner range (!)
We will miss one thing about our current place: it's a five-minute walk from two full-service grocery stores, which is great since we don't have a car. The new place isn't as conveniently located. So today I put on my board shorts and surfed the World Wide Web in search of the ultimate granny cart. The Hook and Go looks like the perfect solution, especially since I already have a healthy supply of reusable bags. Before I plunk down sixty bucks, though, I'm wondering if anyone has tried it. Is it durable enough to stand up to Chicago's sometimes icy, often cracked and bumpy neighborhood sidewalks?
Can't wait the 27 days left until the season premiere of Top Chef? The Stew posted some spoilers yesterday regarding some of the Quickfire Challenges and which hometown celebs will be making cameos.
If you frequent the type of busy fast food spot that draws long lines, particularly at lunch in the Loop, you may notice a bit of a draft on frigid days. A line extends out the door, which someone holds open to keep the line intact. Let the door shut, even if it means breaking the continuity of the line, and even if it's only one door of a double-door vestibule. Your previously cold neighbor will thank you, even if they don't say so. If you agree that this is a sensible thing to do, tap your knowledge of peer pressure from grammar school, put on a smile, and kindly ask the person next to you to close that door, also. Say you helped make Chicago a little greener, too.
In some parts of Europe, people throw oranges at one another in various Lenten celebrations. I got to witness the Shrove Tuesday festival in Binche, Belgium, a few years ago, where local men dressed in bright costumes toss oranges at one another and people foolish enough to be standing around. I made it out alive, thanks to a friend's husband who blocked most of the flying fruit.
In the Piedmont region in Italy, in a town called Ivrea, the start of Lent is marked by a Battle of the Oranges, where all are welcome to join in the giant food fight that now has established teams and rules.
And, in Chicago ... there isn't any orange tossing. But you can celebrate the Battle of the Oranges at Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar. From the 24th through March 1, Frasca's menu features orange-theme menu items, like a blood-orange and shaved onion salad, and duck and asparagus in an orange-taragon sauce. Just wait until you leave the restaurant to throw fruit at your dining companions.
Looking for an apartment in Chicago in February is the kind of cold cruelty that can only be remedied by eating inappropriate amounts of carbs - which is exactly what I did today.
In the midst of apartment-hunting this morning, just after being told by a leasing agent that finding what we want will be "like searching for a needle in a haystick," my husband, Brian, and I sought our first dose of doughy comfort. Clarke's Diner on Belmont was just a few doors down from where we were, and unlike most other brunch spots in the area, had no wait. We grabbed a booth, and I ordered a multi-grain waffle with fruit, while Brian chose the classic skillet with side of pancakes. He was a little disappointed in his choice, but admitted it was his fault: he forgot to order his potatoes extra-crispy. We both agreed my perfectly crisp, slightly cinnamony and nutty-tasting waffle, generously accompanied by a cup of yogurt and fruit salad of grapes, two types of melon, blueberries, strawberries, and oranges, was perfect.
I came across "Trapped in the Drive-Thru," Weird Al's homage to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet," and had a laugh that made all the snow outside and the fearful commute home seem not that important. Enjoy.
On Friday, my hubby and I had a very Chicago kind of night in an unexpected setting: our apartment. Hometown blues legend Buddy Guy was featured on WXRT 93.1 FM, we had some Goose Island beer on hand and we decided to cook a dish from local darling Rick Bayless' "Mexico One Plate at a Time" &mdash Camarones al Mojo de Ajo, or Quick-Fried Shrimp with Sweet Toasty Garlic.
XRT DJ Tom Marker's soothing voice, Buddy Guy's "Sweet Home Chicago," some Oatmeal Stout, and the shrimp, cooked in a fragrant oil made by simmering two heads (not cloves) of chopped garlic in extra virgin olive oil, then adding the juice of a lime and two adobo chilies from a can, were the perfect anecdote to a cold, snowy evening.
No slogging through the snow to a crowded bar. No burning our mouths on deep-dish pizza. No visit to the over-priced Sears Tower Sky Deck. But a very fine Friday night in Chicago, indeed.
In case it wasn't one of the pre-filled holidays in your day planner, today is National Pie Day. According to the National Pie Council, National Pie Day "is a perfect opportunity to pass on the love and enjoyment of pie eating and pie making to future generations." They also suggest that you "perform random acts of pieness" on National Pie Day, which could include:
-Paying it forward by handing out slices of pie to strangers.
-Throwing a charity pie-eating contest.
-Surprising your significant other at work with a pie.
I haven't been sleeping well lately, and at my house, that means we break out the late-night dairy. Cereal with milk, a mug of hot chocolate, or bowl of ice cream all seem to help pave the road to Sleepy Town.
Last night, I slept better than I have in weeks, and I credit not only the hot chocolate I drank an hour before bed time, but also the dream I had about judging an ice cream contest. In my dream, Twinkie ice cream with a hot fudge ribbon edged out hazelnut cookie ice cream laced with Nutella.
Either I'm yearning for my junk-food-tinged childhood or jonesing for the March 7 reopening of Scooter's, Chicago's favorite frozen custard (which, by the way, is hiring).
Be sure to listen to Sound Opinions on Chicago Public Radio (91.5 FM in Chicago) this Friday, Jan 25 at 8pm when Chef Anthony Bordain chats with hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot about "two of the best things on earth: music and food." Other chefs, including Doug Sohn of Hot Doug's and Graham Elliot Bowles of Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel, will weigh in on the connection between the two topics and Jim and Greg are going to play some of their favorite food-related songs.
If you can't catch the show on Friday, it will re-air on Saturday at 11am and will be available by podcast the following Monday on theSound Opinions site.
The other day I made some Koala Crisp treats. I had some marshmallows on hand, and thought I should use them before they turn to stone. It was so easy; the truth is, my kids made them. I only had to make sure no one got scalded by molten marshmallows. Otherwise, I stood around and watched. And as I watched I started to wonder about other cereals, and how they would fare with melted marshmallows. I was about to embark on a winterlong project with the kids, when I stumbled upon the blog Cakespy, particularly the post about their Cereal Treat Wars. They don't name an actual winner, but do say that Rice Krispies better watch their backs. The comment thread is worth reading too.
If you're like me and you suck at "eye-balling" measurements, you'll love this nifty Oil and Vinegar Pump Bottle from Crate & Barrel. Simply pump the buttons at the side to fill up the handy calibrated spigot at the top and viola! Perfect measurements without the mess.
[Photo from crateandbarrel.com]
Looking to find the perfect olive oil? Check out these specialty retailers that offer olive oil tastings.
-City Olive
-Ta-Ze
-Old Town Oil
This may very well be the Holy Grail for wine lovers with a sweet tooth. I’m talking about Wine Cellar Sorbet, a company out of New York that’s churning finished wines into delicious treats. The wines used in each sorbet are hand selected by the company’s “Sorbet Sommelier” (Um, do you think they’re hiring?).
Current flavor offerings include:
•Champagne N.V. California
•Riesling 2005 New York
•Rosé N.V. New York
•Sangira Rojo N.V. Spain
•Pinot Noir 2005 New York
•Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 California
Unfortunately, Wine Cellar Sorbet isn’t sold in Chicago (yet), but you can have your order shipped overnight on dry ice. Available in packs of 4, 6 and 12. Just don’t overdo it—the sorbet contains up to 5% alcohol by volume.
Sometimes when I open my Outlook calendar, I see the adult equivalent of a grade school cafeteria lunch menu. Depending on the meeting du jour, I can do a fair job predicting the day’s mid-day meal.
While my options tend to fare better than, say, corn dog with peas and Jell-O, or pizza bagel with curly fries and, um, Jell-O, certain boxed lunches are definitely “regulars” in the rotation. I’ve eaten Corner Bakery’s Harvest Salad (you know, the one with the pleasant but predictable combination of apples, dried cranberries, candied walnuts, and bleu cheese) so many times that I’ve taught myself how to duplicate their signature, somewhat goopy, but oddly addictive balsamic vinaigrette at home.
What interests me is whether places like Corner Bakery, Sopraffina, and California Pizza Kitchen monopolize the lunch meeting market in the Loop -- or just in my office. What boxed lunch have you been served every Wednesday for four years? Or do you work for a company that thinks outside the box at lunchtime? Is there a dish you’d gladly never eat again because you associate it with a particularly difficult project, team or client? Or do you look forward to Cosi Thursdays with the same zeal as my eight-year-old self anxiously awaited the monthly appearance of Thanksgiving Dinner lunch (featuring the world’s most amazing pumpkin bread) on the St. Thomas More Hot Lunch Menu?
Comedian Patton Oswalt may not ring a lot of bells in your head, though you may know him as the voice of Remy, the rodent gourmand of this past year's Disney eye-candy Ratatouille. One of the highlights of his stand-up is a culinary description at the opposite end of the taste spectrum -- an almost painfully hilarious take on the KFC Famous Bowl. Or, as he calls it, a Failure Pile in a Sadness Bowl. (If this isn't ringing any bells either, for goodness sakes, get yourself up to speed.) Genius.
During last week's Project Runway challenge (clothing made entirely in items gathered from the Hershey's store in Times Square), my friends and I suddenly started craving candy thanks to the strategic, but far from covert, product placement. Enter the sugared and salted licorice Swedish Fish.
Licorice already occupies a space low on my totem pole of things I like to eat as does most candy, Swedish Fish included. But I was intrigued, and my friend's nondescript warning ("They're interesting.") wasn't going to satisfy me. So I dove in.
The words I'd like to use to describe these wretched morsels of mouth pain aren't appropriate for the generally congenial tone this blog maintains. While they did begin as interesting, the more I chewed the more I wanted the whole night to go away, never to haunt my memories again. All I can say is that if you don't already love, and I mean love the sweet peppery candy on its own, there is little chance that you will enjoy it coated in a layer of sugar and salt.
A lot of smokers are lamenting the statewide ban on smoking in public places that takes effect January 1. On the other side of the coin, I've been away for a long time from the bars in this fine city. Why? Because I don't smoke and have a low tolerance for cigarettes. Despite my attempts to live and let live, I just can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke and its ability to stick to everything it breezes by. A night of gallavanting at the bar meant that I would emerge smelling like a walking advertisement for a Marlboro. Otherwise, I like bars, but would have to wear clothes that I didn't mind stuffing into a garbage bag to wait out the next visit to the laundromat. Why live like this, I ask?
Apparently, a lot of people are worried that the ban will hurt businesses, but I think the opposite is about to happen. I've been dying for a good drink in a smoke-free environment that isn't my apartment. Let's make that dream a reality January first. And if you think that the smoking ban will be as laughable as the foie gras ban, I'm ready to fight for a smoke-free cause. Word is bond!
While flipping between 24 hours of the The Christmas Story and other random holiday programming, I saw a commercial for Comcast Take Out Menus On Demand. Take out menus on TV? Could this be the ultimate in food-related laziness? I flipped to channel 888 out of curiosity. The featured menus? Brown's Chicken and Cold Stone Creamery. Cold Stone? I'm still scratching my head in confusion over this one.
I first saw this creation on an episode of the Barefoot Contessa. A friend of Ina Garten's assembled it for a cocktail party at the summer opening of an art show, but I was immediately struck by how perfect such a centerpiece would be for a holiday party. You'll need a styrofoam tree form (which can be obtained at any craft or floral store), toothpicks, basil leaves, cherry tomatoes and bocconcini, or small balls of fresh mozzarella. The amount you'll need depends on the size of the tree form, but I recommend buying 2 pints of cherry tomatoes and 2 pint-size tubs of bocconcini for a 9-inch tree. You can use as much basil as you like, either tucking the leaves in at the base to line the plate or sticking them in between the balls of cheese and tomatoes for decoration.
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."
Thanks to our Drive-Thru sponsor last week: Chicago Public Radio! We appreciate their support, and hope you'll consider buying a coffee mug (or more) from their new store.
Two-dollar Monday night burgers, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
Your convenience and efficiency are the perfect ending to an otherwise plodding and difficult day.
I never tire of your sides -- regular fries, sweets, Tater Tots, even salad, you always know what I want.
Bun-free, you are a low-carb dieter's delight.
For just three shiny quarters, you gussy yourself up with succulent grilled onions or mushrooms, decadent bacon, or luscious cheddar, swiss, provolone or bleu.
Beer never tastes as good without you.
You are the ultimate cheap date.
p.s. I can't wait to see you tonight at Waterhouse. Where can we meet up next week?
Drive-Thru is proud to participate in this year's Menu for Hope foodblog fundraiser. Organized by Chez Pim originally to help raise money for victims of the 2002 tsunami, last year Menu for Hope raised more than $62,000 for the UN World Food Programme. WFP is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with over 1,000 other organizations in over 75 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people to become self-reliant so that they escape hunger for good. Money raised by this year's fundraiser will be earmarked for a school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa.
Foodbloggers across the country have donated prizes ranging from cooking classes to specialty foods to gift certificates at restaurants. The staff of Gapers Block: Drive-Thru is donating luxury chocolate and coffee from Chicago: a pound of Costa Rica Tres Rios whole bean coffee from Metropolis Coffee Roasters and a Vosges Chocolates exotic truffle collection. You can see what other Midwest region foodbloggers have donated at Kalyn's Kitchen.
Here's How to Participate in A Menu for Hope
1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at Chez Pim.
3. Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form. You must write in how many tickets per prize, and use the prize code. (Each $10 you donate will buy one raffle ticket toward any prize.For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02.)
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win.Your email address will not be shared with anyone. Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday, Jan. 9 for the results of the raffle.
The more you donate, the more chances you have to win -- so donate early and often!
According to the Sunday Trib, the world's largest truffle on record was sold at auction Saturday for $330K. The 3.3 lb earthy treat was auctioned simultanously in three cities and purchased by a casino owner in Macau. Here's hoping the casino restaurant has plenty of Barolo on hand as well.
There were quite a few food-related items on the Oprah's Favorite Things show, which aired today.
Perfect Endings Cupcakes from Williams-Sonoma
Melamine bowls and measuring tools from Williams-Sonoma
Artisan Stand Mixer from KitchenAid
Breville Ikon Panini Press from Williams-Sonoma
HDTV Refrigerator from LG (which retails for a whopping $3,799)
Blood Orange Sorbetto from Ciao Bella
Dairy is one of my favorite things. Deep-fried dairy sends me over the edge. As a transplant from our cow-mongering neighbors to the north, I've always appreciated Chicago's taste for the fermented curd. And while cheese palaces like Pastoral's new downtown shop warm my heart, sometimes I'd just rather clog it with breading and deep-fat frying. Enter the cheese curd, Wisconsin's gift to hearty eaters and cardiologists everywhere.
Usually difficult to find outside the borders of my homeland, there are a few Chicago enclaves that make at least an attempt at deep-fried cheese curds, though they're often of the sadly sub-par fresh-from-the-freezer variety. (And mozzarella sticks do not count. Period.) So the surprise of tucking into a truly well-crafted basket of curds at SmallBar - Drive Thru's apparent bar of the week - last night was both delicious and noteworthy. Details, descriptions and a few more local purveyors below the fold.
A few days ago, a friend gave me a gallon-sized Ziploc baggie filled with about a cup of what looks like flesh-colored glue. In fact, it is a bread starter that ostensibly originated with the Amish, who reportedly are the only people in the world who have the recipe for the goo in question. In what essentially amounts to a chain letter made out of yeast, baggies of this starter are cultivated by one person and then passed along to three others with whom they want to share the joy that is Amish Friendship Bread.
It goes like this: the baggie comes with instructions to tend the starter for five days, feed it on the sixth day, tend to it for several more days, and ultimately bake a delicious, double batch of cinnamon-y sweet bread on the 10th day.
Die-hard Bears fans have a weekend to recuperate from what’s so far been a lackluster season, and I have a sure-fire recipe to kick-start their team spirit: pop in some VHS highlight tapes from ’85, and kick back with a big bowl of tortilla chips and Mike Ditka’s Hall of Fame Salsa. The label alone is inspiring, featuring Da Coach himself, glowering from under the brim of a giant sombrero.
This stuff’s made in Downers Grove (Downers Grove?), but don’t worry – the recipe was “born in Mexico over 100 years ago.” Honestly, it’s not bad. I’ve got a mean cold, so I chose the !Hot! variety; a combo of habanero and serrano peppers delivered on that promise.
Even better, I got mine BOGO at Jewel on Ashland and Wellington this week. And if you’ve got a soft spot for football vets, you’ll be glad to know a portion of the proceeds benefit the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, a charity near and dear to Ditka’s heart.
Not to spoil the fun or anything, but um, what? As if there needs to be a national day designating it as one in which men should take the reins, or rather cooking utensils, in the kitchen. Doesn't that mean that women are expected to prepare dinner the rest of the year? I find the day rather insulting, and can't understand why anyone wouldn't. But, I am also perplexed by things such as Bush's second term and why Jello desserts were ever popular.
A rename suggestion: National People Who Don't Usually Cook Dinner Make Dinner Day. It's catchy, right?
I recently received a delivery menu for the Byron's hot dog stand near my office. Fairly standard, run-of-the-mill menu, really, until I flipped it to the back. There, in small type so it'd fit on the half-page, was a poem. An ode to "The Friendly Frankfurter."
The gentle frank all red and white, I love it with all my soul.
It gives me meat with all its might to eat upon a roll.
It's tasty, toasted - It's racy, roasted - It's full of iron and phosphorus.
It's the favorite ration of all our nation.
And mustard is the sauce for us.
The frank's the friend of every man, proud,
It's curve is pure American, and full of eating beauty!
Thanks, thanks for excellent franks.
That are practically always digestible.
The dickens with chickens or steaks on planks.
The frankfurter's my comestible!
This masterpiece was unsigned, which is a shame, for it is a poem for the ages. Almost makes me hungry for a hot dog.
We've been eating out of pockets a lot lately in my house. Last week I found a recipe on Epicurious (under quick & easy, which it wasn't) for homemade empanadas. I went to my local Jewel and bought two packs of empanada wrappers; I boiled eggs, grilled some fake ground beef with olives and raisins, combined it with the boiled eggs and filled the little empanada disks with the mixture. They were a big hit with my family, and as we ate we talked about the different names for this same sort of food: pierogis, pot stickers, dumplings, ravioli, and so on.
Farmers Market season is winding down. This is the last week for several Chicago markets, so if you haven't already walked through rows of produce tents brimming with seasonal offerings, maybe you ought to skip your weekly trip to the Jewel's this week. It's going to be a long, cold winter before you get the opportunity again, so pick up some fresh seasonal fruits at anyone of the city's neighborhood markets.
When I'm trying to see if a restaurant is worth the travel and expense, I head to LTH Forum to see if any of their dedicated posters has written about the place in question. If you aren't familiar, this website forum is a great resource for finding (and posting) restaurant reviews in and outside of the city, as well as a place to talk about recipes and, well, food. Their annual "Great Neighborhood Restaurants" award recipient list was released today, with over 20 new additions to the elite group, (predictably) among them Smoque and Kuma's Corner, as well as some little-known places that are sure to become highly sought after as a result of LTH Forum's recommendation (similar to the "Check Please! Effect").
An article in this past weekend's Wall Street Journal discussed the ethical issues surrounding restaurants offering free meals to Yelp reviewers, bloggers and other amateur food critics. The article led off with a story about Dine, a hotel restaurant in Greektown, spending about $1,500 to give 100 members of Yelp a multi-course dinner and open bar. As a result, the restaurant's Yelp star rating rose significantly; it's half a star behind the acknowledged best restaurant in the city, Alinea, and is even with Charlie Trotter's and Moto.
The event that garnered all the positive reviews occurred in August of 2006 (not this year as the article seems to imply). The majority of Dine's Yelp reviews are based on the event, and to their credit, most reviewers acknowledged that fact (though not that it was free). Their ratings were entirely four or five stars; the six reviews since average out to 3.5 stars, including a five-star review written by a semi-professional critic who was previously employed by one of the restaurant's managers, based on a media luncheon. Take out that review and the post-event average drops to 3.2.
To celebrate the new fall television season, TV Guide (remember them?) will be hosting a "Free Coffee Friday" tomorrow. Several coffee shops will be offering free regular-sized coffee and copies of TV Guide from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Here's the lucky places: Letizia’s Natural Bakery (2144 W. Division St), Whispers Café Inc. (1031 N. State St), Ennui Café (6981 N. Sheridan Rd), Gallery Café (1760 W. North Ave), Mercury Cafe (1505 W. Chicago Ave), Alliance Bakery (1736 W. Division St), and Janik’s (2011 W. Division). If you miss it, the next opportunity will be October 5.
Sausage superstore Hot Doug's already has a theme song. Its website offers three versions -- rock, techno and hybrid -- that you can download to your iPod and rock out to while chomping down on a your favorite encased meat. Now, according to this Craigslist ad, the band behind the song, bee, is looking for fan-made videos of people rocking out to the song. They're going to splice the results together for the official video of the song. No compensation, except to be eternally associated with the greatest hot doug store in the universe.
Chef-author Anthony Bourdain created a mock menu of the dishes and techniques he thinks are the current most abused and overrated right now. Among the suspects: truffle oil, "free range" and "cruelty-free" ingredients, salt flights and chocolate martinis.
What ingredients, trends or tropes do you wish were banished from local restaurants?
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.
There are worse ways to wake up than to a radio story about the origin of the Chicago hot dog. WBEZ's Adriene Hill had a piece on this morning explaining the ethnic origins of our city's signature food. This is how she and food historian Bruce Craig claim it breaks down:
Meat: German by way of Ashkenazi Jews
Yellow mustard: German
Celery salt: German
Onion: Polish
Relish: German -- or maybe Italian
Pickles: East European
Hot peppers: Mediterranean
Tomatoes: Mediterranean
Ketchup: Neverland
For months, I've been contemplating whether or not to spend $20 on a water bottle. But after destroying a pretty nice cell phone and nearly drowning its replacement (twice) when my cheap plastic water bottle opened up in my bag, I decided it would be worth it.
1. They don't spill. Really. I tried shaking mine, turning it upside down, knocking it around a bit in my bag, and everything stayed dry. Awesome.
2. You can fill them with beverages other than water.
3. They're super stylish.
4. They keep your drink cold. Really cold. I filled mine up with cold water in the evening, and early the next morning, the bottle was still cool to the touch.
Is this t-shirt image cute or what? What would be even cuter is one of these on your kid. The shirts come in kiddie sizes, girly tees and guys' tees and can be ordered online.
Gwyneth Paltrow will be at Macy’s on State Street on August 17, promoting the new fragrance Pleasures Delight. What does perfume have to do with food? Jessica Simpson addressed this question a few years ago, when she launched her Dessert line of lickable beauty products. Now, Estee Lauder promises to bring “irresistible gourmand food elements into the world of fragrance.” Among the top notes, middle notes and base notes described on Estee Lauder.com are whipped strawberry meringue, caramel cream and fluffy marshmallow. If it sounds sickening, fear not. There are elements of patchouli to balance out the creamy gourmand feeling. And, according to the press release, this stop in Chicago is Gwyneth’s “only appearance in a department store” in the U.S. this year.
I've been a fan of Hoosier Mama Pie Company ever since my mom (a Hoosier mama herself) brought a few of their pies to our house for a party. She's promised me a few more for a barbeque we're having this weekend, and while perusing their site to determine what flavors I could look forward to, I noticed they have a page dedicated to their favorite quotes about pies. There are some great ones up there, all of which will certainly put you in the mood for pie (if you're not in the mood already). A couple to whet your appetite:
As you know, in preparation for the Simpsons movie, which is opening this Friday, several 7-11 stores nationwide were picked for a temporary facelift into Homer's beloved Kwik-E-Mart to promote the film, among them the store at 6754 West 63rd Street, near Midway Airport (aka Nowhere Near My Place). I headed down there this past weekend to soak in the atmosphere and eat donuts.
Word on the street is that the Bravo TV show Top Chef will be filming its next season in Chicago later this year. If you have got what it takes, start preparing for your open call audition, which will be July 29 at Rock Bottom Brewery (located at State and Grand). Click here for details.
As we approach the thirty-year anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, I'm sure we are all going to be subject to excessive media tributes to the King of Rock and Roll, but no gesture will honor Elvis's contributions more than the sugar-laden Collector's Edition Reese's Peanut Butter and Banana Creme "Elvis Cups."
Nick Digilio has asked me to come on his show tomorrow night and chat more about our Gapersblock alternative food fest coverage. Yea! Tune in to WGN radio 720 am Sat night at 9pm (I'll be on about 9:07) and hear us chat chow. You can also stream live at wgnradio.com.
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.
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.
It's summertime in Chicago, which means the visitors are out in full force. Right now I have two of them occupying a space in my tiny apartment. I've decided that this year, instead of being terrified of the mythical in-laws, I'm going to flaunt Chicago's food offerings like I was Dick Cheney and Chicago's food offerings were my total disregard for accountability and all things ethical. We've mainly stayed in the Lincoln Square neighborhood, showing off that we can walk every where we need to be. On the agenda is a walk down Devon to pick up some spices for my mother-in-law to take back to the small, Florida town they live in (broadband only just became available last month) and a stroll through a farmer's market or two. And speaking of favorite barbecue spots, I'm trying to convince them to let us take them to Smoque, although my husband doesn't want them to go back home and forever be disappointed by their (former) favorite BBQ restaurant in Florida.
So, where do you take family when they come to town?
You may have heard of reading tea leaves, but what about looking for clues to the future in a cup of coffee? Today's Daily Candy lauded the talents of Chicago's own Jorianne, the Coffee Psychic. Evidently, her special brand of fortune-telling involves reading the "steam, cream and bubbles" in your mug of coffee. You can book her for parties, weddings, and corporate events, so there's really no reason not to see what the stars (or the grounds) have in store for you.
So, you prefer not to buy your produce at Jewel, Dominick's or other large grocery stores; you instead opt to shop at Stanley's, farmers' markets and your local ethnic grocer. If you're anything like me, you sometimes buy more produce you can use before it begins to go bad, making you feel really guilty about starving children in the developing world as you reluctantly toss that over ripe avocado into the trash. This is especially the case with stores like Stanley's and Mexican groceries. It's cheaper, but it tends to be on the ripe side, meaning it has to be used right away.
What I've had a lot of trouble with, is salad greens and fresh herbs. That is, until I read this blog post over at Bon Appétit! I love to have fresh greens and herbs around, but I find it a bad idea to buy them unless I know exactly for what dish I'll use them. I tried this, and it really works. If you remember from 2nd grade science class, plants "breathe" in CO2, hence if you don't deprive them of it, they'll last a little longer. At least, I think that's why it works!
I met some friends at McGee's Tavern earlier this week. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but it was just fine — decent food, attentive service, and at lunch the number of drunken DePaul students was at a minimum.
As good as my chicken sandwich was, I was alarmed to see a "Tilapia Reuben" on the menu. It might be super tasty, but the thought of fried fish topped with sauerkraut, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing just didn't sound appetizing at all.
And "Porker McGee?" I'm a little afraid to put something by that name in my mouth &mdash' it sounds a little... slutty.
What questionable menu items of ridiculously named dishes have you come across in Chicagoland restaurants?
I couldn't believe my eyes. While Emeril was frying up catfish, simmering chicken 'n' dumplings, and doing his regular schtick, I thought the musical guest looked oddly familiar. Much to my disappointment, I realized that the delectable John Corbett was indeed fronting a mediocre country band on Emeril Live. He's still attractive, despite some most unfortunate mutton chops, but he's not the sexy Aidan (Sex in the City) or reflective Chris Stevens (Northern Exposure) I remember. How sad. To further complicate things, Bo Derek is in the audience, but never really speaks as a guest. Peach bourbon ice cream looked mighty tasty though. Set your TiVo for a rebroadcast of this oddball episode Friday at 2am CST.
As is recommended, I drink a lot of water, especially in the summer. These days, I've been adding some mottled mint or sliced cucumber. When feeling really adventurous, I'll add both. Any way you go, it's more fun than the simple lemon with water and rather refreshing.
If you want your water really cucumber-y or minty, add the extras to a pitcher and keep it covered in the refridgerator. Don't let it sit more than a day though.
Two interesting sites with video came across my browser in the past couple days; one bridges the divide between music and food, the other between top Chicago chefs and us.
Cooking with Rockstars is pretty much what it sounds like: rock'n'rollers demonstrating how to cook their favorite meals ...or, well, meals anyway. So far the only Chicago videos are sort of tangentially related; Neal Pollack used to live here and write for the Reader, and Enon is on Touch and Go Records. Stay tuned for more solidly local rockers, hopefully.
Now that grilling season is in full swing, my hubby and I have been looking for a great low and slow recipe that let us enjoy the summer weather. What we discovered was a fantastic attachment for our Weber charcoal grill; a rotisserie! Naively, I thought that you could only spit roast on a gas set up, but Weber makes this nifty machine that sits right on top of your charcoal grill and plugs in to a nearby outlet. Your lid fits neatly on top for a reliable, air tight seal. We've already roasted a stuffed leg of lamb and an insanely good safron and orange marinated chicken with delicious results. This guy was especially tasty with a Chateau Grand Cassagne Rose 2006.
Add some wood chips on the coals and you've got a makeshift spinning smokehouse. There's even a clever counterweight to help balance the heavier side of larger cuts of meat or birds.
Only downside is that the unit has an oddly short power cord. Best have an extension cord on hand for grilling at a safe distance from any walls or windows.
I hate doing dishes as much as I love taking bubble baths. Someone over at Mrs. Meyers must have felt the same way when they developed their lavender scented dish soap, cause it's about the only reason I'm plunging my hands into a sudsy sink. This dish soap smells so good, I find myself filling the sink part way up with warm water and a couple of drops of soap even when there aren't any dishes to wash, just to make my kitchen smell good! The good news is this soap really works — you can take your two-day-old pesto crusted food processor and give it a spa-like soak and the crud will come right off! It's easy to forget that a big part of cooking is the clean up, so thanks Mrs. Meyers for a bit of help.
If there is one thing that you purchase for your kitchen this summer, I hope that it is an electric ice cream maker. Like a certain Shins song, it could totally change your life. Or, at least your summer ice cream-eating habits. Two years ago, while browsing an assortment of appliances and odds and ends spread out on a blanket at a yard sale, I came across a Cuisinart ice cream/sorbet maker that looked as if it had never been used. It hadn't, it turned out, and my trusty machine's previous owners sold it to me (along with a gorgeous, bright orange tea kettle) for a total of $5.
Under new ownership this little machine has churned more sorbet, ice cream, iced soy "cream" (or whatever you'd call it), frozen yogurt and frozen custard than its old owners could have ever dreamed of. The best thing is, my arm has never become achy and tired from cranking for 30 minutes straight and there is no mess from the rock salt!
Inspired by the repurposing of newspaper boxes into book-swap receptacles and art pieces, Craig Berman proposes a food box, where unwanted leftovers, canned goods and other food can be left for homeless or other needy people can pick them up. A great idea that I hope sees fruition (no pun intended).
Back at the turn of the millennium, I lived in an apartment building in Buena Park that had a bus stop right outside. More than one household had turned the bus bench into a "donation bench," where we'd leave unwanted leftovers; nine times out of ten what was left would be picked up by one of the residents of a nearby SRO or halfway house, and hopefully enjoyed. This takes the spirit of the donation bench a step further.
I was well on my way to posting a short piece about some tasty fish-n-chips I enjoyed at the newly opened (and super crowded) Gage on Friday night when I noticed that my young Flickr account was taking on a definitely golden brown hue. I was about to complete a coveted deep-fried blogging hat trick! First, the flaky rich empanadas from Nandu, second, a crispy tempura battered soft-shell at Shaw’s, and to complete the cycle, a plate loaded with deep fried cod and thick and tasty French fries! My pants were starting to feel tight around my waist.
Although May is barely the beginning of soft shell crab season, these tender crustaceans are making their way onto menus across Chicagoland...pictured here is a beauty served up at Shaw's tempura style (they were offering a tasty sauteed version as well). As delicious as they are, soft shells can pose a struggle to even the savviest home cook (unless you don't have an aversion to removing a creatures lungs and face). If are looking for soft shells around town (whether from your upscale grocery options, seafood specialists, or Asian groceries) triple check to make sure they look and smell fresh, and ask the person behind the counter to dress them for you. Personally, this is one treat that I am happy to leave in the hands of experts. You'll find soft shells appearing on menus all spring and summer long, their season stretches into September.
However, if you do want to enjoy them at home, just dust with a little flour and Old Bay or other seasoning, pan fry in butter, and serve on a crusty roll with a lemon wedge and a side of coleslaw - simple is better!
On Monday night the 2007 James Beard Awards were given out in New York. Local kids showed well with Tru picking up the medals for Outstanding Service and Frontera Grill snagging Outstanding Restaurant. Chef Achatz bested Chefs Nahabedian and Sherman for Outstanding Chef: Great Lakes. Oprah's personal chef, Art Smith was given the Humanitarian award for his work in establishing Common Threads. Right on.
Sichuan cuisine may seem intimidating, but while some of the dishes are very labor intensive (the crispy smoked tea duck mentioned below comes to mind), some of the flavor combinations are actually pretty easy to achieve -- if you have the right ingredients. Try picking up some Sichuan peppercorns and some chili bean paste. These two ingredients can be used to make the simplest stir fry with some minced ginger, soy sauce, and green beans; and of course you can easily extend a stir fry to include other vegetables, meats, tofu, etc.
A walk by Swank Frank earlier tonight revealed that it is closed. As we all know, the prime real estate that Swank Frank and its neighbor Filter inhabit is being turned over to a distinctive and desperately needed establishment to be opened in the future. The windows were papered over, and small signs posted indicated that the hot dog stand is moving to Logan Square. Swank Frank's new address was not posted, but I'm sure it will be located nowhere near this place.
Oh boy. This story made me snort coffee out of my nose this morning. What do you suppose the penalty is for skipping out on your check five times (other than being forced to pay for your meals, of course)? Also, how did the restaurant manage to let this guy get away four times?
A few weeks ago, the Golden Apple Foundation announced the winners of its annual awards for excellence in teaching in Chicago area schools. Meanwhile, this past weekend's episode of This American Life (originally run in 2000) presented 24 hours in Chicago's Golden Apple Restaurant. (Download the podcast for free all this week.) Meanwhile, check out this list of all the "Golden" food establishments in Chicagoland.
I have a love/hate relationship with Time Out Chicago; I used to love it, now I hate it. This week's issue features the First Annual Eat Out Awards, a completely frustrating, if not perplexing, 13-page section on the "best" eateries in Chicago as determined by TOC's food critics and its readers. The majority of the critics' choices are restaurants you can afford if you have a decent paycheck for your PR job in the Loop. How many times are we going to have to read about how innovative Alinea is? True, I might be bitter that I've never been, and likely will never have saved enough money to blow on dinner there, but I think I'm just longing for the days (i.e. TOC's first year of publication) when they wrote about 19 cent falafel more than they fawned over $19 personal pizzas at Spacca Napoli.
I even blame TOC for the ghastly outcome of the Readers' Choice awards, because the "choices" for which readers were to vote were rather out of touch. Smoke Daddy as an option for "Best Barbecue"? Give me a break! Smoke Daddy is merely okay in a pinch for barbecue, and it certainly doesn't hold a candle to the nominees with which it was listed. It won (?!), but I think that's due to a large Wicker Park readership who hasn't bothered to make the trek to any of the other nominees (Fat Willy's, Honey 1, Lem's, Smoque and Uncle John's).
Last week's feature was titled "Vs", and it claimed take Chicago "classics," make them go "head-to-head," and determine the outcome "in the ultimate citywide smackdown." What it really did, however, was pit apples against oranges, and then they closed their eyes and pointed to one, making for a read that left this reader saying "huh?" so many times, you'd have thought I was doing trigonometry. Spacca Napoli competed with Pizzeria Uno (for "Best place to eat a pie for dinner") and Goose Island Brew Pub (for "Most delicious homebrew"). I think it would have made more sense if Pizzeria Uno was against another Chicago-style pizzeria (some pizza experts don't even call that pizza!) or Spacca Napoli went head-to-head with Pizza D.O.C. (and you know how I feel about that). Likewise, Goose Island isn't really a "homebrew" because it distributes its beer. Comparing it with another local brewery (Two Brothers, perhaps?) would have made more sense.
I'm not about to cancel my subscription, because even with the annoying food coverage, I look forward to each new issue's arrival on Wednesdays. I do think that the "Eat Out" staff needs to take a week off, go to one of those spas the magazine raves about and do a little bit of reflection on the direction of their section––for at least as much time as I put into that last sentence.
I used to drive across Iowa on Interstate 80 quite often, and no trip passed without a visit to a great soda fountain in the eastern edge that was located about 20 minutes off the road. I only knew about that place because of a friend's high recommendation, but for my future trips, I'll be using RoadFood.com, a searchable state-by-state database of restaurants, complete with user reviews and pictures that is a handy starting point for planning menus while on the road. While performing test searches for areas I've previously lived in, I was pretty impressed with the results -- a mix of local favorites that ranged in size and price.
I read this article in last Saturday's Tribune with great enthusiasm. Author Sandra Jones lamented the absence of local businesses from the Mag Mile area, and that mega-retailers like H&M, Nike and Gap, who currently have prominent spaces on Michigan Avenue, are "more interested in building their brands than building local character." I couldn't have agreed with Ms. Jones more, having just returned from a the Memphis airport, where I ate the best barbecue in years while waiting for my flight home.
It closes in an hour, so get out your wallet: an Ebay auction to be a guest chef for a day at Moto (valued at $300.00). The winner would eat dinner with the staff, then assist chef Homaru Cantu as he whips up his signature cuisine. But you know for all the dough you've paid, you know you're just going to end up making copies of menus with avocado foam ink written on edible paper.
If you enjoyed a pint (or 2) of Guinness last weekend in celebration of St. Paddy’s Day you might enjoy knowing that this stout is lighter on calories and packed with nutrients. A pint weighs in around 198 calories which is less than low-fat milk and orange juice in addition most other non-light beer. Guinness is high in iron and contains all of the B vitamins except B12 and is full of antioxidants. Research has shown that the antioxidant properties in Guinness work similarly to taking an aspirin a day to reduce clotting activities in the blood. These antioxidants may also have other affects like protecting against blindness and yes guys, even impotence. However, these benefits are negated by over consumption so it’s a good thing no one we know tossed back more than their share and danced the jig on a table...oh never mind.
The Irish Oak on Clark is a great place to go for a pint of Guinness and even live Irish music on occasion.
Tuesday's glorious weather made it a fine time to be lunching outside. Office workers in mass brought their lunches to the Art Institute's south garden - a semi-private square set just far enough from northeast corner of Jackson and Michigan to perhaps make one forget for a moment that they're downtown. Lunch-takers sat on stone ledges surrounding a regular pattern of trees whose branches seem to come together into a single screen above. Set your calendar for lunch here in a couple of weeks and hope it's warm again. The garden is free. And Thursday evenings from 5:00 to 8:00 the museum is, too.
You have until Sunday, March 11, to vote in Time Out Chicago's 2007 Eat Out Awards. The categories may be somewhat predictable (do we really need to go over which is the best steakhouse again?) but it's a fairly good barometer of the tops in each realm, from Mexican to Italian and best celebrity chef. And hey, you could win a t-shirt.
In celebration of Fat Tuesday, (otherwise known as Mardi Gras — the literal French translation) people all over Chicago were consuming paczki — pronounced poooonch-key. What is a paczki you ask? Oh come on... really? They were the inhabitants of the unmarked white pastry boxes people carried on the train Tuesday. Those Polish "donuts" were also the reason for the smiles and enthusiasm surrounding the staff break room. There is just something about these little nuggets of sweet sweetness that is completely devoid from your common crueler.
Next weekend, a lot of couples will go out to celebrate Valentine's Day with a romantic dinner. Many are in love, some are just in like, and some are just pals in search of a nice night out. Regardless of... Read this feature »
Necco conversation heart candies have been a part of Valentines Day since the late 19th century and can be seen as a reflection of the times. These sweethearts have evolved from the original saying "married in white, you have chosen right," to the 80's message "fax me" and now to the latest pop culture reference "tweet me."
I saw a story last night on the 
If you'll recall, two Drive-Thru readers won our 
Today's not just a day to reuse, reduce, and recycle--it's a day to think about the earth and how you can make it a better place. One way would be to start a home edible garden, right? But a lot of us don't know where to start--what to buy, what grows best, etc.--so to boost your interest, we're giving away TWO sets of garden kick-start supplies (a planter, dirt, trowel, a $10 gift card to purchase seeds and a list of "edible garden essentials") that have been generously offered by the 
Chef and author Anthony Bourdain 
Local artist Lucy Knisley recently went to 
I know that this week has done some serious prying into you and your family's personal life with questions like what kind of dog to buy for Malia and Sasha, who cuts your hair, and will your wife be as much of a style icon as Jackie Kennedy. But I read intently when it came to your preferred foods. You visit 
To start your day...via 
Today, as most of Chicago rejoices over the election of Barack Obama, we need to extend an olive branch to those whose shoulders hang a little low today over the defeats of their candidates (and looking at the 
Sampling cheese needs instructions? Isn't it as simple as, open mouth, insert cheese, repeat until ill or otherwise immobilized (or, worst case scenario, out of cheese)? Apparently there are cheese manners to be observed -- particularly on the farmer's market circuit, where all manner of grubby hands are grabbing after the goods. Imposing some routine structure and discipline in cheese-handling is the least our local cheese mongers can do.
Because it's 
A lot of smokers are lamenting the 
Drive-Thru is proud to participate in this year's 
Foodbloggers across the country have donated prizes ranging from cooking classes to specialty foods to gift certificates at restaurants. The staff of Gapers Block: Drive-Thru is donating luxury chocolate and coffee from Chicago: a pound of 
Farmers Market season is winding down. This is the last week for 
When I'm trying to see if a restaurant is worth the travel and expense, I head to 
Chicago t-shirt company, 
As you know, in preparation for the 
As we approach the thirty-year anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, I'm sure we are all going to be subject to excessive media tributes to the King of Rock and Roll, but no gesture will honor Elvis's contributions more than the sugar-laden Collector's Edition Reese's Peanut Butter and Banana Creme "Elvis Cups."
