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On the Web Fri Jul 06 2012
New Food Writing
Chicago is a food city, as much as it is a literary destination and lately, those local interests have popped up in tandem. Three new food publications are helping to define this particular unity:
More about experiences surrounding food than food itself, Graze Magazine, came out with Issue 1 in April. It's one to keep your eye on, deftly fusing literary interest with the colorful language of food. The mag has also already managed to organize two events that rival those coordinated by well established publications. Most recently, it put together a conversation with local food writers that featured the likes of Martha Bayne, moderator and creator of Soup and Bread, Louisa Chu of WBEZ, Steve Dolinsky from ABC7, Modern Baking magazine's Maggie Hennessy, Ed Marszewski of the beloved Maria's Packaged Goods and Community Center, Heather Sperling from Tasting Table, Time Out Chicago writer David Tamarkin, and Julia Thiel of the Chicago Reader. It's safe to assume the magazine will not stop there.
There's The Snackpot, too, which brings together consistently funny snack reviews that discuss matters ranging from the orange tinted to all-natural fare, and well drawn personal essays. Jacob Daneman is managing editor and Keith Ecker of Essay Fiesta fame had a major role in getting Snackpot going, plus he has a running column.
There's also Mash Tun Journal, which focuses on craft beer and the community that produces it. Like The Snackpot and Graze, Mash Tun is as much concerned with the way craft beer enriches lifestyles and possesses its own aesthetic values, as it is with the elixirs themselves. The journal is available at Quimby's and Maria's Packaged Goods and Community Bar (owned by journal editor Ed Marszewski).