Grab a recycled bag, Green City Market (GCM) opens Wednesday. Local farmers from Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Illinois flock to the south end of Lincoln Park between Clark Street and Stockton Drive to bring you fresh produce and specialty foods.
Starting May 14, every Wednesday and Saturday (7 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.) through October.
Slate magazine has an article up on how food is addictive titled, "Is Food Addictive?"
It's an interesting piece especially since it's not presented as a question. Apparently food is addictive. Considering what would happen if we simply gave food up...
I always worry that I have too many pots and pans. I hear it all the time,"Where are we going to put that?" and "You can't buy that; you have nowhere to put that." Looking at these pictures I realize that I have many more pots to buy and when the cupboards fill up I can simply start stacking. All I need to do would be to find my old Lego people to live in the new skyscrapers.
For his exhibition at the Asian Art Museum, Wang has selected rocks from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, alluding to the nineteenth-century Chinese immigrant experience of mining gold during the California gold rush. Both the actual rocks and their stainless steel versions will be exhibited. The artist will also create a topographic San Francisco cityscape–one of his “urban landscape” series– using steel rocks, mirrored surfaces, silverware, and stainless steel pots and pans.
The city of San Fran was done by Beijing-based artist Zhan Wang. Read the article on Ethicurean.com
Wang's work is on display at the Asian Art Museum in San Fransisco. Here's a link to that site.
Here's the Dim Sum menu from Furama. Click here to see full size.
May 19th StarChefs will be hosting a party celebrating Chicago's rising star chefs. You can get tickets at StarChef's website.
The tasting gala has all dishes paired with wines. It's hosted by Frank Brunacci but I'm not sure if the event is in 16 or a separate Trump room. In either case it sounds like some seriously snazzy stuff, from the site:
"enjoy high-concept food from up-and-coming culinary stars from the top restaurants in town. All dishes are paired with ultra-premium wines selected by the Rising Star Sommelier."
I can do the "ultra-premium" thing. Tickets are $150 ($200 for the VIP thing) but with the talent participating and being recognized it should be worth the dough.
I don't know if the dishes will be the recipes listed on the site but all the better if they are. Pictured is Mike Sheerin's Wood-Grilled Sturgeon with Rye Gnocchi, English Peas, Oyster Mushrooms, Guanciale and Mustard Consommé. Here's the recipe.
For the past 6 years Gourmet magazine has been hosting this annual event to benefit the American Institute of Wine and Food. As they are dedicated to culinary education it should be a great night. Demos from Achatz, Moulton, Cantu and Paskewitz should be very interesting.
These "functions" (that's a misnomer) are a great opportunity to get a sampling of a wide variety of food and wine. For $100 it's a steal which is likely why it's sold out.
The field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive
May 15th 6– 9pm
Just across from Thai Pastry on Broadway in a part of town that's known for Vietnamese and Thai is a nice Chinese spot to get Dim Sum. Lots of the enormity and pomp you expect from Chinatown is right there. From the huge dining room to the linoleum and throwaway plastic tablecloths to the validated parking, it's an experience that I'd expect from Chinatown. Granted the decor, if you even call it that, would be subsistence-non-porous... cheap-o but the food was pretty good and in a pinch it's Dim Sum without the drive and it's legit.
It used to be when you walked into Bob San on Division the sing-song greeting “irasshaimase” would bounce off the celery walls and land on the cement floor at your feet. A pioneer since 2000 on a strip of Division that now boasts a yoga boutique, a chocolatier and a parade of restaurants and bars, Bob San didn’t draw a crowd, initially.
The Wine Enthusiast event held Thursday night at the Field Museum appeared to be well attended, completely filling the main floor of the museum. Wine was definitely in the spotlight with over 60 wineries represented. So many that for someone who does not know much about wine it was very overwhelming - so I turned my attention to the food. A lot of great restaurants were represented with some good and some bad results.
Continue reading "Wine Enthusiast Toast of the Town Event" »
Being from Wisconsin and also being loyal to the the state's professional football team, I found it a bit uneasy stepping inside Mike Ditka's restaurant. However, it was tempting given the rave reviews we have heard about the place.
Can you remember the name of this wine? Branding generally is not common with French and German wines in particular, which is not entirely a bad thing. The modern wine world is full of gimmicks and ways to try to get you to remember their brand. On the flip side, try to remember this one when you are in the aisle of your wine shop. Zind Humbrect, like a lot of Alsatian producers, tends to produce a variety of styles under nearly identical labels or "cuvees". One of them was a real charmer: in their 2005 Herrenweg de Turckheim we tasted rose petals, peaches, and green apples as well as a concentrated stony, gravelly quality.
2005 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Herrenweg de Turckheim
Binny's Beverage Depot stores
Between Ethiopian food, Indian food and raw fish I've been accused of eating everything. So it wouldn't stand to wonder why I like Kashi cereal. Considering all the fat, cholesterol and calories in some of these write-ups it might be the change of pace, it might be the change of flavor or it might be me rationalizing the health aspect of this cereal. Never-the-less I do enjoy the fiber twig.
Events like this are always awesome. Check out the list of invited wine and spirits providers.
Wine Enthusiast is hosting Toast of the Town at the Field Museum. Their Atlanta and San Fransisco events have sold out so act fast. Over 500 wines and food from dozens of restaurants for $95 is a steal. There is an auction to benefit America's Second Harvest food bank but I'm not sure if the tickets are to benefit the charity.
Thursday • May 1, 2008
VIP Tasting* 6pm $185
Grand Tasting 7-10pm $95
The Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
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It's one of those things that are snotty to no end. It's a basic sugar sauce made with reduced vinegar and pick your sweet-poison. This time I used apple cider vinegar and peach preserves, some pepper and had me some awesome duck breast and flame broiled pineapple. Starting with a quick shallot saute would add lots of savory depth to this. A dribble of tondo, reduced balsamic cream, went nicely (I think I'll be putting that on my lactose free Breyer's tonight).
The gist is you can use any combo of vinegars and jellies. You can even reduce down fresh fruit if you're ambitious. I tried a peach and modena balsamic but it was too much. If you don't reduce it for a bit it is very pungent. Experiment with the proportions. I use a bit less that 1/3rd parts vinegar. It's to taste for me. You can even use it as a glaze for a quick finish to an ordinary piece of chicken.
Bottom line, the good or bad thing is that you can call it a gastrique... or just call it a sauce.
This is about the third time I've taken apart a duck and this time it was three ducks. I have to say that any time I'm do something like this I have my copy of the New Professional Chef out (fifth edition) on the counter as I work.
Frozen ducks are real goldmines. The gold being the rendered fat. Considering I'm preparing for Passover this weekend it will go to good use. I'm using the fat primarily to confit the legs and wings. The breasts are to be part of a small course about 1/3rd of breast served on top of a date and cashew pate with a candied fruit and nut topping... haven't figured it out yet.
I confess that I eat at the Drive-Thru. I've actually seen studies that show something like 90% of the people out there eat in their cars. Now I can hope that it's granola and bananas and thermoses of soup but somehow I know that it boils down to the drive-thru and if you talk to these people I would suspect that the holy grail of drive-thru is breakfast. McDonald's has been playing with the all-day breakfast option. Lunch-Time Breakfast Burrito! We'll be getting fatter as a nation.
I had discovered West Egg over St. Patrick’s Day when downtown revealed too many bars and not enough restaurants. It was packed with patrons spilling over in the “waiting room” at the adjacent building. We were seated quite efficiently and proceeded to eagerly pore over the menu.
Just an update that the comment function is finally functioning again.
Thanks to you readers who let me know!
As far as I know the only Laotian restaurant in Chicago is the recently opened Sabai-Dee on Broadway. I enjoy Thai food a bit more than Vietnamese and find Laotian food to be a good mix of the two for my tastes. It seems a bit more Thai-leaning and the fish sauces are pretty light. the upside is that they still integrate tons of fresh herbs and use rice in terrific ways.
Continue reading "Sabai Dee: Chicago's Laotian Restaurant" »
It's back..yaaay! Starting Monday Schlitz has it's long-lost gusto back. I'm a tweenie of Schlitz drinkers: old enough to remember the last years of Schlitz's heyday, but too young to actually drink the real stuff. When I was young I remember Schlitz was well-promoted: there was the motorized Schlitz can in the local parade, and bars advertised Schlitz heavily just as they did Pabst, Blatz, and Old Style. Then in 1969 Miller was bought out by Philip Morris, who expanded the business aggressively. Anheuser-Busch used aggressive marketing to build a base in Wisconsin.
Continue reading "Schlitz: The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous" »
I've been to several Ethiopian restaurants and while the sour injera leaves my hand sort of dry and the dining process is really neat, I've never really had a craving for Ethiopian food. Maybe it's a change of taste, maybe it's a revved up appreciation for something different or maybe it's the food and atmosphere at Ras Dashen that has me looking forward to more frequent Ethiopian dinners.
Japanese designer Nobuhiko Arikawa has made edible tableware... As seen at de zeen.
I think a tortilla and a couple of breadsticks can cover this as well but there is something to be said for the simple aesthetics of bread.
Ginza is around the corner from my office and I've mentioned it here before (and here) and I know udon is kind of pedestrian but recovering from an illness sucks, especially the first day back to the office. What better way to temper the unbearable congestedness of being than with a steaming bowl of soup. Especially when you get the red pepper powder container to liven up the proposition. I went with the tempura udon. It's a nice bowl where they toss in tempura shrimp, potato and eggplant, right into the soup. It does get soggy but I've gotten used to it. I do ask for a side plate and take them out ASAP. That breading comes off completely otherwise. It hit the spot and I did start to hanker for some salmon, so I left before I could rack up that bill.
The additional fact that you automatically get a cup of green tea in lieu of water is another reason for the infirm to enjoy.
On a particularly lazy Sunday afternoon, my roommate and I decided to leave our couch and go on a mission to find us some cupcakes for breakfast. Hailing from the west coast, we had high expectations for ridiculously-priced cupcakes. We realize it's just a fad and a complete waste of retirement money, but the promise of a piece of heaven throws all rationale out the window.
We did some half-hearted online searching and landed on Molly's Cupcakes in Lincoln Park. The minute we walked in, the decor put a smile on my face. Brightly colored furniture and wooden swing sets captured my attention, as well as the big smiles behind the counter. I immediately zoned in on the Red Velvet cupcakes and the anything-filled-with-chocolate-on-chocolate cupcake, with hot chocolate on the side.
Breakfast of the champions.
This was an interesting recipe to follow, from Kitchen Sessions by Charlie Trotter. I don't think it was too obscure and not very hard either. At least not like Keller's short ribs from the French Laundry cookbook which is next on the list, as soon as I get a line on some good marrow bones (I have a good line but it sounds like a good excuse, no?).
The browning of leek, garlic, jalapeño, granny smith, and yellow onion created a wonderful aroma. Dumping in a bottle of Zin, thyme, sage and coriander seeds certainly added something. Plunking the ribs into the marinade, I did a very hard thing, I tossed it into the fridge for the night.
Continue reading "Kitchen Sessions: Trotter's Braised Short Ribs pt.1" »
Wow. That's the sexiest Maytag I ever seen. Obviously it's a concept range, right? Maybe slated for release in 2010? Actually you can get it right now! If you live in Europe.
Maytag here looks like this:
Big Difference.
It obviously costs more too but why don't they sell these here?
They aren't cheap coming in around $2 thousand pounds - that's roughly $4 thousand bucks.
I did try to figure out why the American products are so different (polite way to put it) but corporate Maytag had nothing to say and knew of nobody who could answer the simple question:
Why are the Maytag products from Europe "different" from the ones in the U.S.?
I'll admit, I am looking forward to it. Until the NHL playoffs start it will be my guilty pleasure. So I am looking forward to seeing how the three Chicagoans do. Yes, three.
Apparently the first contest will be to "spin" the Chicago-style pizza.
I don't know if having Chicago play host to Top Chef will be good or bad. It could be good. As is constantly mentioned the diversity of the local ethnic food is second only to the quality. We are home to not one or two but several of the nation's top destination restaurants. It's definitely a pissing-contest of sorts when you get into how cities stack up against each other food-wise.
Continue reading "Top Chef Chicago: Ahem, 3 Chicago Contestants?" »
I am beginning to find that German, Alsatian (French), and Austrian wines are among my favorite whites: From bone-dry Austrian Gruner Veltliners to sweeter German rieslings, I find that the overall practicality with food and, for German wines in particular, generally low alcohol percentages, make a bottle of wine with dinner for two a practical option. (Sorry, wine pumps don't always keep wine well even when stored air-tight. They may, at best, prolong the life of a wine for a week.)
Continue reading "2004 Spatlese – Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt" »
As it gets mentioned here often, charity food events are a great way to compare dishes, restaurants, enjoy special dishes and ingredients and get a chance to taste dishes prepared by chefs from other cities and countries.
March 17th, from 6-9pm, Common Threads is hosting their 3rd annual World Festival at the MCA. Celebrity chefs include Tom Colicchio, Govind Armstrong - both California folks... Colicchio by way of television I suppose. Belvedere is providing a vodka bar to go with the caviar... and premium ticket holders are included in an after-party at the James where John Legend will give a performance.
The best part is that it's to benefit Common Threads who's mission is to educate children on the importance of nutrition and physical well-being, and to foster an appreciation of cultural diversity through cooking.
Better late than never, right? My first trip to Aigre Doux and why not get a prix fixe. I'd say upfront that
it's not generally a good way to evaluate a place. That said I had a very good meal and even though we were a fairly large group up against the back kitchen-wall, I did find the place to be nice and comfy. Then again it could have been the girl drinks.
The other thing to note is that 3 cosmos has the tendency to make any night a remarkable night. The menu option of braised spare ribs made any decision a formality. I've been on a braised meat kick lately and was excited. The haricot vert was a great starter... what better to go with a cocktail. Technicolor.
For a while a friend of mine has tried to pursuade me to visit Lush Wine and Spirits. Tucked away in Roscoe Village, it is a bit out of the way for me geographically so I never stumbled upon an opportunity to check it out. Finally we met up for a free Sunday wine tasting.
Continue reading "Sunday Wine Tastings: Lush Wine and Spirits" »
On Saturday night, the Chicago Beer Society at Goose Island Brewery will present Night of the Living Ales IV. It's already sold out, but this is one of the rare moments to give beer lovers the chance to enjoy cask conditioned ale. Those who have spent time in England or Wales may rememberr the hand-pumped "warm beer" with low carbonation, low alcohol, and a taste unlike bottled or typical draft beer. Forty casks of real ale will be sampled in this event.
Continue reading "Night of the Living Ales IV: Goose Island" »
They've given away 500 Friday and are doing another 500 today.
I spoke with them at 11:15 Friday and there were 350 remaining.
They ran out at 12:45 on Friday. We're projecting availability to last until 1pm Saturday.
Portillo's - Chicago, Illinois
100 W. Ontario
Chicago IL 60610
312-587-8910
Continue reading "Free Hot Dogs at Portillo's - Saturday's Batch" »
I feel like I sold out a friend by including Hagen's Fish Market before The Fish Keg. It's nearly perfect. The first time I was there two 70+ ladies were trying to get their oysters double battered and were not making any headway with the young guy upfront. They asked for a gentleman in particular. If I remembered his name the story would gain in authenticity but I don't.
Let's just call him Harold.
My first warning probably should have been the "all-you-can-eat sushi" for only $16.99. However, my hole-in-the-wall-lovin' self worked up an appetite as we descended to a basement in Lincoln Park, revealing a small space adorned with wooden furniture and a sushi bar wedged in the corner.
I deliberated over the menu and like all my prior "all-you-can-eat" experiences, secretly vowed NOT to roll out of the door in discomfort by the end of the meal. Their menu had a decent variety of appetizers, nigiri sushi and their special rolls. My friends jumped on the appetizers as I carefully made my choices of the special rolls.
Looking around for reservations resulted in menus that seemed good to great. For some reason I went into Primehouse expecting one steak option and, I dunno, some fish and pasta options. The menu was fantastic. A choice between a bone-in filet and a Delmonico ribeye or Shrimp... sweet! The appetizer choices of a cold seafood plate– two shrimp and two oysters was terrific and the lobster bisque with a large lobster tempura crisp was consumed so quickly I didn't get a chance to even ask for a taste.
You go to certain restaurants and you start to notice patterns... Gunthorp Duck, blood orange reduction, etc. Everything needs a fancy variation, right? Justifies the price and your finickiness... dates are just dates, right?
Well, I have always secretly thought, "Yeah, they do look like little roaches." They have that crispy sort of papery husk of a skin and a mushy center. And they're a bitch to pit. Medjool is on the right and common date is on the left.
Medjool dates are hard not to buy at a glance. They're bigger and plumper. They don't look like dead insects and have a lovely purple hue to them, instead of the date-brown. They are a bit more expensive but honestly dates aren't cheap to begin with and you're usually using them for something fairly elaborate so the extra buck should be worth it for the visual benefits.
I guess for many reasons, there are no wine shops left in the Gold Coast. You can pick a few bottles at the Goddess and Grocer, and there's Treasure Island supermarket, but that's it. Gold Coast's lack of wine shops bring me to Old Town where House of Glunz is located on Wells just North of Division. In terms of aesthetics, it's my favorite shop. The shelves are old wood, there are empty bottles going back generations, with old barrels of sherry and family heirlooms, and the dusty, worn feel reminds me of some of the older European wine shops. Paintings of grapes and stained glass make it a cathedral of wine shops.
Continue reading "House of Glunz: Old World Wines in Old Town" »
Lito's Empanadas is an extremely tiny place located on Clark St. in Lincoln Park, and it was love at first sight. When I was on the bus on my way to getting my haircut, I thought I have to stop at this place. Lito's sells nothing but eight styles of empanadas, including a choco-banana empanada for those with a sweet tooth. It's a great place for street meat food at street meat prices, which range from $2.09 to $2.29.
My wife, as an interior designer, was fortunate enough to get an invitation to get a sneak preview of Sushi-X. I admit I have not been to Sushi-X's original location, on Chicago and Milwaukee in East Ukrainian Village. One of the first thoughts I had was that this is a bold move for them: there are quite a few sushi places around Lincoln Park and Lakeview, anywhere from more "old school" styles with bright lighting and lots of bamboo to trendy, hip places. Sushi-X aims for the trendy and hip segment of the sushi market, with its dark colors, dark lighting, Japanese anime, and techno. Maybe this is good timing as there have been more of the "trendy" places opening around Lakeview, and surprisingly, a few signs around Lincoln Park as well.
Found a neat site where someone found a good way to solve the ever present spice rack problem. I have a spice cabinet and for some reason I can never find anything except achiote and cotton candy flavoring... damnit.
Follow the link to see how a magnetic dry erase board, some containers and a labeler gets you organized. I think you all can piece it together...
Apparently Alton Brown has a similar contraption but don't we all...
Restaurants and Institutions Ivy Awards aren't as well known to Chicagoans as the James Beard Award is. Especially since it seems that at least Rick Bayless gets one every year. Now in addition to his past employers, Trotter's and The French Laundry, Grant Achatz seems to have taken the mantle. Congrats. Per Se also gets one as well as Bartolotta's Vegas restaurant. For a closer bite check out their Milwaukee restaurant, the Lake Park Bistro.
German food seems to have very slowly fallen out of favor, and every once in a while there will be news that a German restaurant or pub is closing. Maybe I'm wrong, or maybe I don't see a trend in the opposite direction, and to be fair there have been a few German-themed bars, such as Prost, in Lincoln Park, opening. But for the most part the German places around town generally tend to be older. One of these is Laschet's Inn, which until very recently was run by Germans. The current owners have vowed not to change anything, except add tables in front during the summer and a biergarten in back.
My vegan friends in Vermont sent my wife and me some delicious vegan chocolate champagne truffles, and they were so good I felt compelled to write. Made in England, these delicacies contain nothing but dark chocolate, coconut oil, corn syrup, champagne, along with a cocoa powder coating. It's a quirky brand with not only organic and vegan labeling but also a "never sold in supermarkets" tag. These truffles can be bought online at their website http://www.boojabooja.com.
Over the holidays, a friend of mine who loves to cook turned me on to a very affordable tagine from Sur La Table. As a fan of cooking and experimenting with new foods, I thought a tagine would be a perfect addition to my kitchen-arsenal and I figured for the price (~$20), it would be a great idea for my Christmas list. Sure enough my husband bought one for me but unwrapping the gift was just the start of my adventures in tagine cooking.
Honestly I had not heard about Terragusto until two days before I ate there. We received a recommendation from someone I just met, and it was convincing enough for us to want to go there. The fact that the restaurant was BYOB made it very easy to consider, and I promptly went to one of my favorite wine shops, Que Syrah on Southport, and picked out a traditional Italian dolcetto (a red wine from the Piedmont region). It seems that lots of people know about this place, too. I was told that 5:00 dinner on Saturday was impossible so I had to settle for Sunday.
Continue reading "Terragusto: Wonderful Homemade Pasta at BYO Prices" »
Though we've never been, for Valentine’s Day my wife and I went to Carnivale as it's had received good reviews. When we walked in right away we felt the place was over the top, yet awe-inspiring with generous use of primary colors, high ceilings, Cuban music, and lots of energy. Coming in there was someone handing out free samples of Spanish olives. Carnivale is mostly pan-Latin but does throw in Spanish dishes like manchengo and zamarano cheese as well as the ever-tasty jamon Iberico. The other thing we noticed was the people patronizing the establishment, were very eclectic and perhaps not a typical West Loop club crowd.
Continue reading "Carnivale: Pan Latin Food in a Theatrical Setting" »
For Valentine's Day I decided to open a bottle that had been hanging out in the house a couple years, none other than from J Winery in the Russian River Valley appellation of Sonoma County. I don't drink a lot of champagne and defer to others with much more expertise on the topic, but J seems to exhibit a lot of the Champagne characteristics. It has a sort of yeasty mustiness that I quite enjoy in French champagne, and it has characteristics of green apples and a hint of lime. I bought it direct from the winery but found a Non-Vintage (NV) at Sam's for $31.99--I cannot comment on the non-vintage but the 2001 is superb if you can find it in Chicago. The 1999 wine is for $42.50 on their website (www.jwine.com)
Today when I ordered my coffee, I couldn't resist buying a delicious fresh store-made macarons from Sarah's Pastries & Candies. Macarons (sometimes spelled Macaroons) are credited as being a regional specialty of a town in Northeastern France, but are popular throughout France.
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