Chicago Foodies

Slow and Steady Wins the Race at Takashi's Slurping Turtle

For quite some time, the Slurping Turtle opening has been dangling in front of our faces. We came so close to those steaming bowls of housemade ramen weeks and even months ago. So when Takashi Yagihashi finally opened the doors to his new noodle hotspot, I couldn't wait long before stopping in to try it out. 

After hearing wonderful things about Takashi's namesake restaurant in Bucktown, I set the bar pretty high. When you arrive at Slurping Turtle, you'll realize why the construction took so long. One long communal table flanks the center of the restaurant, while small booths circle the outer rim.

Much-Anticipated Bar Toma and Slurping Turtle Open Downtown

Love it or hate it, you're going to be spending some time shopping downtown this month. In the consumer playground between Pearson and Hubbard, diners generally had to choose between two categories of restaurants: the generic tourist traps (here's looking at you, Pizzeria Uno!) and sceney lounges like Paris Club and Hub 51. Thankfully, homeotown heroes Tony Mantuano and Takashi Yagihashi bring two new casual restaurants to the area this week, just in time to save your holiday season sanity.

Next Restaurant – "Childhood" Teaser

Dose – River East Indoor Market

One Sunday a month food and fashion have somethings in common. They're both trendy, fun to shop for and they're both featured at River East's Dose Market. The market showcases a handful of artisinal or organic eateries as well as a number of small boutiques and vintage shops.While there is a $8 fee for tickets, these aren't the types of vendors you'll find at just any street fair.

The food vendors seemed to be trying to upstage each other. After sampling a butternut squash tea cake from Floriole,  delicious, I moved on to  a candy bar from Mayana Chocolate. I still regret not buying one of their Dose bars,  a delicate organic Twix-style creamy chocolate bar. Homemade nutella marshmallows were roasted on the spot at 240sweet. With handmade graham crackers to boot, this is one vendor definitely worth checking out.

Anne Trimbach Wine Dinner – Alsatian at the Penninsula

Penninsula Hotel Wine Director, Michael Muser has picked a great time of year to host Anne Trimbach. A cool crisp pre-autumn day is the season for Alsatian wine.

On Tuesday September 27th, the Penninsula Hotel's Shanghai Terrace Restaurant is hosting a 4-Course Cantonese and Shanghaiese dinner featuring Trimbach wines. The 13th generation Alsatian wine producer will be on-hand to answer questions and share information and stories about her family, the business and the grapes.

There will be 5 wines poured and private dining room is limited to 25 guests so act fast. Price is $125 per person. Email for reservations.

Kouzina – Food and Wine to Benefit the Hellenic Museum Sept. 21st-23rd

The Hellenic Museum will be the first Greek cultural museum in America and it will be in Chicago! This is a great chance to not only taste some unique and awesome food but to get to preview the museum as well.

Tonight begins "Kouzina", their tasting-fundraiser that spans 3 days. This evening features their Chef Tasting and includes award winning and celebrated local chefs:

Pops for Prosecco

Most people overlook Prosecco. There's wine...and then there's Champagne. Isn't that it? Prosecco is actually a delicious sparkling wine that comes from specific regions in Italy; Prosecco is made from the Glera grape and has now become the designation.  If you aren't sure if you like Prosecco, there's no better place to test out the waters than Pops for Champagne. The River North establishment is full of sophisticated sippers having intimate conversations. 

The Adami Prosecco tasting I attended definitely fulfilled my expectations - and even included some addicting cheeses. From what I had tasted previously, Champagne and Prosecco seemed fairly one note. This is not so. I enjoyed trying out a still Prosecco that tasted much like any good Pinot grigio. Brute Prosecco, while not my favorite, is enjoyed by many who enjoy a strong, sweet flavor. 

I would highly recommend Adami's Dei Casel Extra Dry. It just has a unique flavor, and you want to keep on enjoying it. It's easy to tell the softer varieties just by the smell alone. They have a much smoother mouthfeel and are easy to drink.

From asking around at the tasting, I found out that while cheaper Proseccos are definitely enjoyable, you will get a much more complex flavor by investing even in a $20 bottle. The Adami family is very precise with their bottling and the fermenting process. For a sparkling wine so labor intensive to make, it's incredible you can find it at Binny's. 

My favorite tidbit of information I learned from the evening is that Prosecco is surprisingly simple to pair with food. Prosecco with food? It's actually a great idea. Vietnamese food or Thai curries are perfect pairing options. The sparkling wine won't overwhelm the strong flavors of the food. 

Are you convinced yet? Go out and buy a bottle to enjoy at your next special dinner - or the next time you order takeout. 

--Marly Schuman

Hugo's Frog Bar – Summer Desserts... It's Not Over Yet!

The Gold Coast doesn't exactly have the thriftiest of restaurants, but they do serve up a nice ambiance, especially in the summer. And nothing goes better with some impressive outdoor seating than an impressive, large dessert. But a $12 dessert? Keep reading - it's totally worth it.

Hugo's Frog Bar features a house-made strawberry shortcake in the summer that will literally make your jaw drop. A large, flaky biscuit is cut in half, filled with fresh strawberries, strawberry syrup and whipped cream, and then topped with another layer. Ask for yours with ice cream and you won't be disappointed.

Chicago Drips in Frozen Yogurt...But Is It Healthy?

Frozen yogurt is not healthy. I know, this is shocking news, so hold back your gasps. I’m no health expert, but come on, isn’t this just common sense? We’ve been denying this fact for years, but we all know if something is too good to be true, it probably is. I’m not denying that this creamy, muli-faceted fake ice cream is delicious. We just need to stop thinking frozen yogurt is actually “yogurt.”

After the cupcake craze, the frozen yogurt fetish began – and we are right in the midst of it. With another Pinkberry location opening in Old Town and the launch of frozen yogurt truck Culture, The Yogurt Society, we’re pretty much surrounded with the sweet stuff.

Today at Lunch – The Daley Plaza Farmer's Market Chef Challenge

Thursday at high-noon three chefs square off to see who does what with the local produce at the 2011 COUNTRY Chef Challenge at the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market.

This year the three chefs include Iliana Regan from One Sister underground dining, who overwhelmingly won our reader poll, Luca Corazzina, the Executive Chef at 312 Chicago and Chris Pandel Executive Chef and Partner at the Bristol.

Judging the challenge is Val Warner host of ABC 7's Windy City Live, Bill Daley Food Critic from the Chicago Tribune and Josh Brusin the Founder and Editor of ChicagoFoodies.com... wait, what?

That's right. I'll be there live and in person. If you're at the market stop by and say hello! The challenge is similar to Iron Chef. Contestants get 30 minutes to shop and 30 minutes to cook... It starts at noon. Grab some food at the market and hang out. It should be fun!

Next Restaurant – Tour of Thailand, Not Bangkok 2060

I'm not sure where I had it in my head that the next concept from Next Restaurant was Bangkok 2060.  When I asked the waitstaff about what makes this restaurant "futuristic" they said that it's more of a tour of Thailand, not futuristic. I'll confess that I was disappointed. A big part of what really worked with Paris 1906 was the believability of that history in the food. The flavors were big and French but also conveyed authenticity and laborious techniques which are simply not done anywhere else anymore. It made it more than the Next Restaurant's "take" on French food. A restaurant set in the future, in Bangkok, when the Bangkok Post states that "the planet may be unrecognizable by 2050" –what a concept! How do you cook with no abundance of fresh water? Half of Bangkok will theoretically be underwater by then... not to mention placesettings! In any case it wasn't to be.

What is at Next now is a broader-stroke interpretation of Thai cuisine and while I'm sure I can get into a fight about just how good our Thai restaurants are in Chicago, all this said, I wasn't looking for an authentic dish.

POLL: COUNTRY Chef Challenge at the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market – August 4th

Here's a chance for ChicagoFoodies.com readers to vote for a chef that they would like to see participate in an Iron Chef-style cook-off at the COUNTRY Chef Challenge at the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market this August 4th.

Next Restaurant's Official Bangkok 2060 Menu

Fresh off their website... sound good?

The Grahamwich Gyro

I like Graham Elliot Bowles. I liked him when he was at Avenues. I liked his eponymous restaurant from the night of its soft launch. I was looking forward to Grahamwich in earnest. A gourmet sandwich place 3 blocks from my office - perfect.

Months ago when it had just opened, I waited a few days to avoid the line then went at about 1:30 for a couple sandwiches and an order of chips... which came out to over $20. On top of that the place was mobbed. It was going through some growing pains that any new place would have so the ordering process had some sorting out needed. There was no seating at the time in the place at all and what they did have boiled down to a large shared table that made seating and leaving very crowded. The place was standing room only.

The two sandwiches I had were super messy, albeit tasty (props for the plaintain bun) but all-in-all the hassle and cost were more than the flavor was worth. I chose to not write it up at the time thinking that I needed to give it another shot later.

Now (finally!) it's later. I found out that Ginza was closed for the holiday so on my circuit back to work I realized I could grab a Grahamwich and see how things were going. So I did. I didn't realize just how often I eat at Ginza.

El Coto de Rioja Paella Parade – Free Tickets to Rooftop Party Tonight

We're giving away 2 pairs of tickets to the El Coto de Rioja Paella Parade, tonight at the Millennium Park Rooftop Terrace. It goes from 6-9pm with 7 chefs competing for "Best Paella" in Chicago honors. Tickets are usually $60 a pair but if you want them tell us why on our facebook page and you just may win a pair.

El Coto de Rioja Paella Parade
Millennium Park Rooftop Terrace
205 East Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60606

2011 Taste of Chicago Map

Here's the latest map for the Taste--- Click on it for full a size version. From their website.

Next Restaurant – Paris 1906... In Pictures.

CLICK TO ENLARGE. PICTURED IN ORDER: Gougeres/Hors d’Oeuvres (assorted bites)/Potage à la Tortue Claire (turtle soup)/Filet de Sole Daumont (filet of sole)/Suprêmes de Poussin (chicken supreme)/Caneton Rouennais à la Presse (pressed duck)/Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise (potato gratin)/Salade Irma/Bombe Ceylan

At this point a review of Next Paris 1906 is a bit late. The best I can do is provide my photos from that night's dinner and say that the reserve wine pairing was worth the money. From the gougeres-amuse through the mignardises (unpictured), it was terrific. The accessibility of the meal reminded me of a meal I had at Grant-era Trio.

Goose Island Beer Dinner at the Signature Room

After the Goose Island beer dinner I attended last week at the John Hancock Tower's Signature Room, I talked briefly with a rep from Goose Island about their beers and came to this realization:  these people love their beers.  Love them.  Kind of like the way Paul McCartney loves a melody he writes.  Or the way that Sammy Sosa used to love his home runs as he trotted the bases.  And you can understand the self-love, the mirror kissing.  As the beer dinner demonstrated, Goose Island has the mainstream clout and marketability to fetch a mega-deal with Anheuser Busch and they still have the guts to experiment with some of their higher end beers.  Under such a scenario, who wouldn't puff out their chest?   And the excitement is not unjustified.

Don Q Rum Mixologist Competition

 
On Sunday evening, 14 of Chicago's top mixologists competed in the Don Q Rum Ultimate Mixoff Challenge.

The contestants competed in two categories: fancy spirited cocktails and fruit forward long drinks. Each drink needed to contain at least one Don Q rum product. A winner was chosen from each category. The victors are awarded an all-expense-paid trip to the national competition in Manhattan.

This was just one of many contests that the mixologists compete in throughout the year. The competitions are in partnership with the United States Bartenders’ Guild.

Beautiful Soba at Ginza

Yep. This was my lunch today.

If winning a Bib Gourmond is determined by the personal money spent by Michelin inspectors, then Ginza gets my version.

I spend more money there than any other restaurant, eating lunch at least twice a week. And more often than not it's on soup.

I have at least a dozen pictures of bowls of ramen, udon and soba on my phone. Today's buckwheat soba was especially pretty with the glowing tempura flake.

The iphone takes some snazzy pix. I might be able to leave the fancy camera and Leica lenses at home more often than I already do.

Ginza
19 East Ohio
Chicago, IL
(312) 222-0600