Chicago Foodies

Chickpea and Spinach Stew Recipe

One of my favorite things about cooking is that certain ingredients can transcend seasons, cuisines and price barriers. They don't follow a strict recipe, yet they always taste delicious.

This chickpea and spinach "stew" is exactly one of those flexible recipes. I've actually never made it before, but I imagine that you could add in any number of ingredients and it would still taste great. 

I did an Italian take on this dish by adding basil and garlic. Just by altering the spices and seasonings, you can change it up to have a more Mediterranean or Indian flair. Serve it with herbed chicken skewers and a side of hummus in the summer, or add some coriander or cumin and pair with basmati rice. Here's my version. 

Easy Appetizer Bites Two Ways – Mushrooms & Spanakopita Recipes

I've always thought that homemade anything tastes better, and I can usually feel better about eating something when I know exactly what's in it. Appetizers are easy enough to grab from the freezer aisle. Resist the urge. For your next Superbowl party, holiday gathering or dinner party, try your hand at this simple concept. Buy some frozen puff pastry dough, arm yourself with a few mini muffin tins, and you're ready to go. 

I made a mushroom and caramelized onion version as well as spanikopita. Spanikopita can be a pain to perfectly fold in phyllo dough, so this method was much easier. These don't need to follow an exact recipe and can really follow your personal taste. With these proportions, I used all of my puff pastry and nearly all of my filling. 

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Capers and Shallots Recipe

I've never understood why brussel sprouts have such a bad rap. They can be smoky, sweet and incredibly delicious. Then, I ate some raw. And defrosted. Then I realized what the rest of the world is afraid of. They're bitter, and if you microwave them your kitchen will smell like a mixture of feet and rotting garbage.

But if you make them right, brussel sprouts are pretty much the most amazing vegetable. Roasting them in the oven makes the individual leaves amazingly crispy, while the sprouts are soft and chewy. Plus, this vegetable just screams Thanksgiving and warm winter side. I've cooked my fair share of brussel sprouts in my day, and this is definitely my favorite recipe. When I served these at my Thanksgiving dinner, I converted a lot of brussel sprout haters - hopefully for good.  

Spaghetti Squash, Swiss Chard and White Bean Gratin Recipe

Cooking is a learning experience. This sounds obvious, but the trial and error in the kitchen is especially important if you are a vegetarian. I've never been satisfied eating the same things over and over. It's easy for us to get into that rut of buying the same foods every time we go to the grocery store. In fall, my rut is squash. I could end up eating it for every meal. 

I decided to change it up a bit by making something with all of this squash I had on my hands. I had a recipe for a spaghetti squash gratin from awhile back, so I decided to tweak it and then change it into a lasagna. If I had to go back in time, I would'nt have layered the ingredients and would have stuck with the gratin. Plus, the bread crumbs I added on top really were'nt necessary, so I left them out. Here's the revised recipe: 

Do We Eat Too Much Meat & Dairy? Obviously.

This should come as no surprise to anyone. The American diet, and increasingly the global diet, is too meat/dairy focused. I have a really tough time thinking about a sit-down meal that doesn't revolve around a protein which would make up more than 50% of the bulk of the meal.

From brisket and Thanksgiving turkey to Bacon Double Cheeseburgers, cheesy pizza or meatball subs on the run, egg platters for breakfast, bowls of ice cream for dessert. We are thoroughly engaged in our meat and dairy. It's not healthy. There are studies done ad nauseum that corrolate diet to cancer risk and universally they demonstrate that there is a link. One such study "Meat Intake & Mortality" surveyed over half a million people and concludes that there is a link to "death". Not cancer, death. This includes heart failure and other illnesses we as a society assume are unavoidable. The study done in 2009 suggests that it would be avoidable.

Gluten Free for You and Me

'Tis the season for Christmas stollen, holiday cupcakes, and rum cakes, too. Now many people who cannot tolerate gluten can grab a cupcake with friends or enjoy an easy dinner out in Chicago. Luckily there are many great resources and eateries for those who have Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance.

A few suggestions around Chicago include the following: Chicago Diner (www.veggiediner.com) in Boystown offers a vegetarian menu, but also has an entirely gluten free menu. Swirlz Cupcakes (www.swirlzcupcakes.com) in Lincoln Park makes at least one flavor of gluten free cupcakes each day of the week. My favorite blog for gluten free recipes and ideas is www.tamaraduker.com . The blog is rife with humor, honesty, and creativity in gluten intolerant cooking!

Mana Food Bar

The Mana Food Bar on Division comes highly touted. It's a vegetarian spot in Wicker Park opened by the DeCero and Sushi Wabi owners. They have a full bar and their by-the-glass offerings include a few sake options (one sparkling). It took me a bit to think through this place. Eating with Tammy and Bridget from Chicago Bites, and our own Crystal Cun ensured that we tasted plenty of the menu.

First is from the cold menu. Pictured is the veggie maki. It's a maki roll made of blanched collards and filled with raw veggies: enoki mushrooms, asparagus, carrots, other green things... and dipped in ponzu sauce.

We also tried the assorted picked veggies: cauliflower, cabbage and okra as well as the chickpea salad with hearts of palm among other things, the beet dish with apple salad, and a lovely quinoa dish with raw corn and a light touch of chipotle.

The hot options included sesame noodles, mushrooms sauteed and served over polenta, the lentil soup special, a blue cheese tart, bi bim bap, pumpkin tamale, and finally, mushroom and brown rice sliders.

It's hard to knock Mana. Everything was good. Across the board the seasoning is light. I'd say bland but it seems like the intention is to let the ingredients be themselves. The lentil soup tasted simply like lentils... the pumpkin tamale was also light on spice but not on heat. I tasted the pumpkin. The sesame noodles also had more heat than flavor. But the beets were very pleasantly salty. The sliders were a disappointment here. The expectations for the mini-sliders that looked so very much like White Castle were high...  but they didn't have any deep flavor. The side cup of pickle slices tasted mildly sweet and cucumbery. That said I clearly tasted the mushrooms and brown rice but here I wanted more.

I Dream of Falafel... and Chicken Sharwerma

I Dream of Falafel on Franklin near Jackson St. is a foodie’s lunchtime dream come true. Mediterranean quick-service competitors Roti and Benjyehuda are nearby, but patronize those locations for excellent salads and crispy fries, respectively. I Dream of Falafel will transform your lunch hour if you are craving smooth hummus, firm falafel, or flavorful shawerma.  

The I Dream of Falafel menu is a simple three-step process to chicken shawerma, beef shawerma, and falafel heaven. My favorite way to enjoy their culinary delights is with a bed of hummus topped with chicken shawerma and falafel, finished with tahini, lettuce, tomato, and cucumbers.

Soul Vegetarian East

Chicago is popularly known as a hot dogs and pizza kind of town, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. But there comes a time in every closet-hippie's life where one feels the itch to listen to Enya, free Tibet, and stuff one's face with a tempeh reuben sandwich. In other words, it was time to take a trip to a vegetarian restaurant.

I'd tried a few places around town, and unfortunately hadn't been particularly taken with any of them. Then there was the legendary Soul Vegetarian. The rumors started innocently enough. Soul Vegetarian, the whispers murmured, you won't regret it. But it's on 75th, I said, that's such a long trek! Do it, the whispers insisted, or else you will drown in a pool of tahini-ginger-flavored regret. And so I found myself and a few adventurous compadres biking down to 75th St on a warm summer evening.

TVP: Textured Vegetable Protein

Who says eating healthy is expensive. TVP is the great equalizer. The problem is where to get it? Dominick's may have it but nobody seems to know what it is. The Devon Market? Of course they have it. I  was on hold listening to Ambrosia's "That's How Much" while they found it. It's 14oz of Soy Salud, "Textured Soy Strips" for $3.99  which hydrates to 3-4 pounds?  It's the most cost effective substitute out there. You read online about it and unfortunately get sci-fi descriptions...

Veggie Bite: Fast Food Vegan

Sometimes restaurants take a while to open. Blame it on the city, blame it on folks when reserves run dry. Hell, I don't know who to blame it on, but I do know a sign in the window promising food doesn't equal a restaurant open for you and me. It's been slow moving for fast food at Veggie Bite, the neon affair on the corner of Milwaukee and Paulina. Lots of signs, no food. This week you can go bite the veggie, they're finally open.

The concept: fast food for vegans. Chili dogs, Philly cheese steak, gyros, cheese burgers, buffalo wings--you name it, they've substituted it.

Alice and Friends

Alice and Friends is a vegetarian restaurant on the north side in Edgewater. I've been there several times and have never had a bad meal. I'll go as far as saying that it's not only my go-to veggie spot, it may be my favorite restaurant in Edgewater. It's also almost entirely vegan.

The un-meat selection consists of beef, duck, chicken alternatives and my dinner companion questioned how it was possible for someone who doesn't eat meat to make food that tastes like meat. How can the chefs be vegetarians? Who knows but the bottom line is that the different pseudo-meats are disturbingly close to the genuine article.

Green Zebra: Veggies in East Village

Green Zebra has been referred to as an “edgy veggie” restaurant in some review somewhere a couple years ago. My best friend from college is a vegan and doesn’t always have the chance to have vegan entrees in a fine dining restaurant. The atmosphere is sleek and contemporary, definitely not your neighborhood hippy-dippy vegetarian restaurant. The concept is wonderful and sorely lacking in meat-centered Chicago.

Before I make any commentary on this restaurant I’d like to say that this was my second time visiting (I was there a year and a half ago), and when I visited Spring (Sean McClain's the other restaurant) almost two years ago I had one of the most incredible meals of my life. I haven’t been to Custom House but had a positive impression at both Spring and Green Zebra.

Green Zebra

It's tough to get a table at Green Zebra. I was able to swing a day-of reservation but at 5:30. I happened to have my camera that day and, lucky me, I was able to get into the kitchen and snap some pix.

Zebra serves mostly vegetarian dishes. Some meat exceptions and plenty of dairy/egg dishes are also on the menu. The plates are small and broken up into three sections:  light, semi-light and main course-ish though all are small plates. They're priced roughly between $9 and $15 and the menu changes often. The restaurant is stark, seating about 40 (guessing). The tables aren't too close together and the service is attentive, well informed, and helpful.

It's the type of place that serves dishes so specific and unusual it's very hard to describe them with any success and impossible to figure out every component or ingredient. I was surprised that the flavors and ingredients were so unusual and that most of the dishes were quite challenging.

Chef de cuisine - Christine Kim is pictured.

Karyn's Cooked

After the francheezie I figured I would take it easy at lunch and go to Karyn's Cooked, a vegan restaurant and sister of Karyn's Bistro. It's billed as "conscious comfort food." The idea of a large steaming bowl of macrobiotic is not really that comforting to me. Especially having to walk past Fogo De Chao en route, Luckily that wasn't what I got.

I confess when I go to a vegetarian restaurant and see items that try to be the veggie-version of something I tend to cringe. Karyn's offers spaghetti and meatballs, a slab of ribs, and a steak sandwich. I was just glad they didn't italicize the faux part of the item.

Free Range Studios: Store Wars!

Peel the farm Cuke!

You must use the ways of the farm if you're to join the Organic Rebellion. This is a hoot!
Click on the image to experience the Store Wars flick!

The Fruit Factory: Fresh Alternatives

Is fruit the new "it" food? You've likely tried or at least heard of Orange's daily Frushi selections.  Debuting over a year ago, they're fun bite-sized morsels of fruit, flavored syrup, and rice sure to delight the most wearisome out-of-town guests.  However, The Fruit Factory recently opened in the Loop and coupled with Jamba Juice's success I wonder if fruit is more than just natural candy, it maybe leading a new food trend. 

Everyone knows they should be eating more fruit but is there a market to sustain a delivery & catering business?  Well, The Fruit Factory thinks so - see delivery menu.  All they sell is fruit and fruit based drinks, and they will deliver their natural goods all around the Loop. 

Think of lunch meetings with big fresh fruit plates instead of the standard deep dish Chicago-style.  "Johnson, your forecasts suck and you're fired!  But damn, isn't this the most succulent honeydew you've ever tasted?"

Blind Faith Café

I think I'm the only person who hates going out for Sunday brunch.  The thought of getting up and first thing in the morning stuffing myself with a butter soaked omelet, lard coated hash browns or sticky sweet french toast is completely unappealing.  If I'm going to expend calories I want a Gorgonzola cream sauce over pasta, chicken, beef, potatoes, just about anything will do.  Also, if I'm going to spend money on food I'd like it to be something mildly adventurous.  I've been able to make flap-jack's and scrambled eggs myself since the 6th grade.  I do make an exception however, and happily, for brunch at the Blind Faith Cafe in Evanston.  When I invite people to go to Blind Faith, and then tell them it is a vegetarian restaurant, they are immediately turned-off.