Chicago Foodies

Ipswich Steamer Clams... Union Oyster House

I don't like oysters or clams very much. I had a terrific dinner at MK two nights ago and the first plate we saw had an oyster with strawberry on top. I wasn't into it. My co-diner even less so. There was a certain irony when I called her the next night from Boston waiting for a seat at the Union Oyster House oyster bar.

The Union Oyster House is the oldest continuously serving restaurant in the U.S. It opened in 1826 and has been serving ever since. Only three families have ever owned the establishment. Isaiah Thomas published the first newspaper in the U.S. upstairs, "The Massachusetts Spy." It wasn't about basketball. It's an old place with a very old oyster bar.

Buckhorn Supper Club - WI Prime Rib

Wisconsin food in general seems to be under the radar--people talk about Wisconsin cheese but what they don't mention is the prime rib.  Stuck in an incorrigible time warp, Wisconsin supper clubs have several key staple items:  one is the ubiquitous Friday night fish fry, and another is the prime rib.  Almost all supper clubs have the prime rib special, and I can't exactly explain why, other than the fact that many kitchens inside these establishments have their own slow cookers specially designed for prime rib, many of which are built by a Wisconsin-based company called Alto-Shaam, where the meat often cooks for twelve-plus hours in moist, air-tight conditions. 

Best of all unlike pricey downtown steak houses, prime rib in supper clubs is very reasonable, and you can get a monster-sized piece of meat including potato (almost all supper clubs give you a choice of baked potato or fries) and salad (with traditional choices like blue cheese and thousand-island dressing as well as balsamic vinagrettes) for somewhere around the $20-$25 range.  I remember places would offer "oil and vinegar" as a salad dressing, and it was often vegetable oil with Heinz vinegar.   

Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - Drink of the Week

OK... I'm getting backlogged with Drink of the Week options so they may be a couple drinks of the week, especially since most of them are acquired tastes.

The Summer Shandy from Leine's is actually pretty good. I think they were dropped off as a "gift" because they weren't liked. That's just fine for me since I actually like 'em.

A shandy is half beer and half lemonade (or ginger ale, etc). It's a chick drink. The bonus here is that it's not a half-alcohol drink. It's a regular beer – 4.2% even. So if you're one of the few ordering Shandies at a bar this should double you up.

The first time I had this was a surprise. I was given the beer rundown in a Wisconsin BBQ joint and at the end there was an "Oh yeah or a Shandy." I thought it would be funny to order one. The rest of the table hadn't had one but we've all had red beer... so when the packaged bottle arrived I was disappointed.

All considered I think I would prefer a weiss beer with a lemon... but it's tasty even if it's reminiscent of a malty bacardi drink.

I'm assuming it's another seasonal offering from Leines(.com) and while the berry weiss makes me cringe this is definitely worth a try.

RJ Grunt's: Pulled Pork Done Right.

As a man who has spent the last part of his life living in Louisiana, I was nervous about ordering a pulled pork sandwich in Chicago. I mean, no offense, but this is the North. I’m from the North originally myself, but having tasted the difference I know that sometimes Northerners mistake “pulled pork” for “pork with some BBQ sauce on it”.

The Bacon Air Freshener

Just when you were getting sick of French Vanilla the McPhee company is selling a car air freshener that smells like bacon. I see the uses now. On the school bus, in taxis, carpooling with vegetarians.

I'd go as far as saying that there's nothing bacon can't make better... Bacon Ice Cream? I'd try it. And now we can enjoy the wafting fresh fragrance of bacon coming out of your 1987 Chrysler LeBaron.

Mmmmm. That's not the car engine.

This unlikely Bacon Air Freshener is the perfect way to brighten any carnivore's day. Put one up in the family room and everyone will have a sudden craving for a BLT. Each has a handy string for hanging and measures about 4" tall.

Terrible News for Grant Achatz

Quote from Grant Achatz on Egullet:

I wanted to personally report that I have been very recently diagnosed with an advanced stage of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the mouth. I have consulted several prominent physicians and will likely begin aggressive treatment within the next few weeks. I remain, and will remain, actively and optimistically engaged in operations at Alinea to the largest extent possible. Alinea will continue to perform at the level people have come to expect from us -- I insist on that. I have received amazing support from friends, family, and everyone who has thus far been told of the disease, and I look forward to a full, cancer-free, recovery.

Grant Achatz just won the James Beard for Best Chef in the Great Lakes Region... His restaurant, Alinea, was Gourmet Magazine's 2006 the top restaurant in the country. His style of food is non-traditional to say the least and while his dishes may be challenging in their preparation and presentation, his flavors make his dishes succeed. He is pictured in the Sous vide post below.

A speedy recovery.

Sous Vide – from Botulism to those new Glad Bags to Katrina

I was in the grocery store this past week and was staring at the new Glad steaming microwave bags. I immediately wondered if they would melt in a pot – they would, if I could vacuum seal them – you can't and if I should retry my attempts at sous vide – I probably should. It's the new foam.

It's one of the mainstays of the molecular gastro thing and then some, the picture is from a Grant Achatz sous vide demo. This is somewhat funny since it makes the most sense and was invented for simple cooking. If you were at a 4 star hotel and someone ordered room service salmon you could have the bell-hop grab a bag from the pot and it would theoretically be cooked perfectly.
While it might burn, if the bag was in water at the temperature you desired for your product it would never get any hotter and would never dry out as it was sealed.

The Glad bags are vented so they're out... but they answer the safety of plastic bags in the microwave question.

This is why when cooking for 400 Hurricane Katrina evacuees D.C. chefs used sous vide. It sounds like a great meal. From the Washington Post:

This was a nine-course menu served for three nights recently at the D.C. Armory that included such elegant entrees as braised beef in balsamic and black pepper sauce, blanquette of monkfish, roast poussin stuffed with wild rice, grilled salmon with Cajun cream sauce and vegetarian ratatouille raviolini.

The evacuees and crisis workers who lined up for the sumptuous meal gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "I've never had five-star meal in my life," said Clarence Robinson, one of the evacuees.

So how did the chefs pull it off so quickly?

The answer: sous vide .

The big problem is the lack of oxygen and the increased time it takes to get to your optimal temp is the perfect recipe for BOTULISM!!!!

The Dog (Food Network) and Pony (BRAVO) Show Continues

Is The Next Food Network Star going to be Rory or Amy? They've got Emeril giving away a Mercury family truckster to the "Next Food Network Star." Flay is handing the envelope to Emeril. Longest drumroll ever... The self-serving quality is numbing. They keep asking the two finalists for comments. They keep giving the same responses.

It's the only show where all of the contestants tried to do well without any of the back and forth you see in Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef, etc. And the winner was.... do you really care?

< –––  The one without the hat.

Rosemary Manchengo: Another great cheese from Pastoral

I can't say enough good things about Pastoral...I was happy to hear plans of opening a downtown location, though part of me hopes that another great concept will not morph into yet another boring chain.  What made me equally happy was a quarter-pound of their Rosemary Manchengo.   

Sura – Space-Age Thai Tapas

Just next door to the Bamee Noodle shop (where you can get bang-up udon noodles btw) is the new trendy face of Lakeview, just south of Boystown. They're serving food on the weekends until midnight? 2am? I'm not sure how late but late... The interior is all white and very modern circa 1977... so it's retro-modern? Saarinen-type stuff. There's a digital DJ turntable rig. The room was fairly cold (chilly) and the club music was playing. Waiters were plentiful (no waitresses).

I was really worried that this place was style over substance. I bet myself that the website surely played music... check and find out.

Golden Pacific – Northside Asian Market

Come and walk through the gates of Golden Pacific, an Asian market in the Edgewater neighborhood. Here you will find various foodstuff that cater to Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Indian cuisines. What draws me to this store over any of the stores in Uptown's Argyle neighborhood, is the very pristine nature inside.

Detroit Coney Dogs

With Chicago trying to absorb a large number of immigrants from Michigan escaping harsh conditions in metro Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids, it leaves a lot of assimilating folks struggling to adapt to Italian Beef, Deep Dish Pizza, and hot dogs with vegetables other than beans and onions.  I asked the chef at Moto and he said "Beat it, buddy".  I stumbled into Alinea and he furnished a Greyhound ticket to Detroit when I asked him for some delight on a bun.   
    So I turn it to you, good folks: Where can I find a good Detroit coney dog in Chicago?   I see "M" flags outside numerous taverns for the hard working Michiganois to absorb their sorrows with a beer after they send checks back home to their families back home.  So please, folks, they need a place with some genuine Michigan street meat and also some Vernor's soda, Mackinac Island fudge, and Traverse City cherries.

Salmonella at the Taste of Chicago

I eat at lots of restaurants that many people might not visit. I've been lucky and never, to my knowledge, been afflicted by food poisoning.  Hearing about this past outbreak of  Salmonella at the Taste of Chicago sent me a mixed signal. Sure, outside in the heat bacteria thrive but at the same time I worry that people will extend a newly fueled fear of food poisoning to any ethnic eatery. While in no way do I condone filth in a restaurant it should be noted that no matter where you are eating there is a risk. Your meal is literally out of your hands and in someone else's and hopefully they've washed them.

Pierogies!: Pierogi Factory

According to Wikipedia, a “pierogi” is a Slavic dumpling, either boiled or fried, stuffed with various goodies, originally from Poland. The “Pierogi Factory” is a small, casual dining restaurant in Lincoln Park that dishes out these sumptuous treats. I had the chance to try out both the restaurant and their titular dish last night, and enjoyed both.

Pairing Cocktails With Dinner

Top Chef tonight has a quick fire challenge pairing food with cocktails. I hope this is a new trend. I think an evening at Sola a year ago turned me on to good unique cocktails with food. The Share Our Strength event a few weeks ago reinforced this with 30 mixologists, a word that might as well get used since I can't see myself, drunk, pouring my heart out to these folks. Leading the pack was Tony Abou-Ganim (pictured). He's the guy who has been touting the mojito and seems like he's getting his wish. It certainly is a hot drink.

The 30 were charged with creating drinks to go alongside dishes made by everyone from Avenue's Graham Bowles to Boka's Giuseppe Tentori. If you're out at a fine restaurant ask the waiter for a cocktail with dinner. I'd be curious as to what they recommend woth the fish or the chicken.

White House Chef: 11 Years, 2 Presidents, 1 Kitchen

I must confess that I'm a political junkie and was surprised that I never really thought about the head chefs at the White House. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush's White House chef, Walter Scheib, has put out a cookbook full of interesting anecdotes, from the fact that W. like his hot dogs boiled, not grilled to details about Chelsea's high-school rooftop parties. There is no mention of Willie Nelson being there.

Chiu Quon Bakery – 4th of July BBQ Pork Buns

I wanted to celebrate Independence Day with some barbecue, but alas! I had no grill or deck or any of the other key elements of good barbecue.

So instead, I popped down to the Argyle Red Line stop and picked up a few BBQ pork buns for lunch. I've been hitting up the Chiu Quon Bakery for a couple years now and its never let me down. For 75 cents a piece, you can buy these massive steamed pork buns (a.k.a. "bao"s).

Kwik-E-Mart in Chicago

7-11 is running a great promo where they are turning 12 lucky 7-11 storefronts into Kwik-E-Marts... Luckily Chicago can claim one of the stores, unfortunately it's 6700 block west and 6500 block south.

You can get Squishy's and Krusty-Os, Buzz Cola and Radioactive Man comics... not sure if they can be had in any 7-11 but I'll find out. First the Pimp-Cup and now this! Whoooo Hooooo!

Here's a link to the website.

Taste of Chicago – 2007

Download TasteMap07.pdf

I'm including a reference to the Taste this year as last year. This year I may even attend  – though I have no specific reason. It seems like more of a music event than a food event.

This year's map indicates that it's largely the same food as last year. Short of going down the list, restaurant by restaurant, I only notice Vermilion and Deleece as new options. I would guess there are others but amidst the local downtown beefereys like Ricobene's, Billy Goat, Buona, etc. I haven't caught anything else. Below is the complete list from the city website of what's being served since for example Buona is serving canollis and not beef, etc.

Granted the street food element is paramount but why would so many restaurants that are blocks from the Taste be the mainstay year after year? Let's get rotating pavillions of food not performers. The Mexican FOOD pavillion, the Greek Town FOOD pavillion... short of sushi in the heat there could be really neat annual changes instead of the same old stuff.

It reminds me of Milwaukee's Summerfest – Kenny Loggins every freakin' year. We need a main stage with some serious food.

Dairy Queen: Peanut Buster Parfait

What else could I think of on a beautifully cool 73 degree summer day. As a kid I remember going to Dairy Queen for the Peanut Buster Parfait. I remember them having a top that you could remove and then snap on to the bottom and it would become the base of the parfait container. Pretty genteel for a 3rd grader. It's been a loooong time since then and since then I've become lactose intolerant and moved pretty far from any DQ so when I heard that my non-lactose intolerant roommate had never had a Peanut Buster Parfait I said well you have to have one. We threw the dog in the car and drove about a mile north to Howard to find out that the DQ was closed. Thus the quest had begun.