Chicagoist: Q’est-ce que c’est? De-mystifying Chicago Restaurant Menus.

joseph_dunphy_in_chicago

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:49:29 -0600

Meteorologist: "Duck juice! Mixed with rotten grape juice (the champagne). And liver. You officially blew my mind." You might like Eastern French cooking (Alsatian, Burgundian) a little more. There is still the wine ("rotten grape juice", as you call it), but the dining experience doesn't tend to be as ... visceral.

Ingrid

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:28:57 -0600

What's fun is reading some of the menus in Chinatown. I was just there last night and the menu had an item called "Grounded Pork". (naughty, naughty pork!!)

L. Stolpman

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:12:53 -0600

Hi, Matty - Glad you like it and thank you for saying so. Let me know if there is anything you want me to touch on. I'm learning as I go, too! -L.

matty

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:51:55 -0600

I like this series. I actually never knew what duck confit was before it. It's one of those dishes you here people throwing around but are too embarrassed to ask what the heck it is. I found the side discussion on the particularities of French grammar completely useless, however.

Chuck Sudo

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:01:57 -0600

Plumbum: we can completely enlighten you on sous vide. Just be patient, we want to build the anticipation.

L. Stolpman

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:55:01 -0600

The Meteorologist - the punching babies thing cracked me up. I'll have to try West Town Tavern! Sounds very good. I love hamburgers, too. Sounds like someplace I need to try. And dead on about the duck juice. Glad to blow your mind. heh. Amy - thanks! :) Spav - making a note of chevre. Groggy - Seriously, right? (About the blood sauce.) Those pictures convinced me. But I'll be in France in about 7 weeks and who knows...maybe I'll work up the courage to go there. Michael - I never take it personally to be corrected on my spelling because 1) I suck at spelling and 2) I'd like it to be correct. :) I'll cover ceviche! Bbonen - Amen. I like to know what I'm going to eat. Especially if it turns out to be blood sauce. -L.

L. Stolpman

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:46:56 -0600

Wow. I'm laughing - who knew this would spark such good discussion? I'm glad you liked the entry! Plumbum82 - Ah, I think you're talking about sous-vide. It's a french term (which I think I'm spelling correctly, finally!) in which you you vacuum-pack a food, usually meat - and then put it in a water bath to slowly rise to the right temperature. It keeps all the moisture in the food and if you put some spices in, really flavors it. -L.

plumbum82

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:50:43 -0600

Hey, I always hear about "Souvee" (sp?). I know what it is, and I totally want an immersion cooker, but I have no idea how the process is spelled. Can anyone enlighten me? (Looking at Chuck...)

bbonen

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:45:20 -0600

Great idea. Foodie-menus are a big pet peeve of mine! I have to ask 28 questions every time Lula changes their specials...

Chuck Sudo

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:31:32 -0600

Man I love making ceviche. And thanks for the positive feedback on this series. Ms. Stolpman's gonna have some more things in store for you coming right up.

The Meteorologist

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:21:41 -0600

Holy shit, how did I miss the blood sauce stuff! That link was crazy! I thought I knew food, but seriously, what the hell? This is new to me. It's like reduced duck...juice. Duck juice! Mixed with rotten grape juice (the champagne). And liver. You officially blew my mind. Also Michael cracks me up today, haha. Ceviche is actually pretty cool stuff -- it's acid-cooked seafood!

michael

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:06:29 -0600

i meant AMY... anyway, today is obviously not my day.

michael

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:05:37 -0600

oh man. laura is totally right. i misspelled it, too. that's what i get. i swear i wasn't being an asshole, i like the idea, too. even if my keyboard/typing skills make me look even more retarded than not. anyway, today's french lesson is all about conjunctions used to ensure that the flow of words maintains a consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel pattern. hence, throwing out the extra E. anyway, everyone's a foodie-top-chef fan these days. it's good to have some enlightenment. someone should explain ceviche. i only just recently learned about it after hearing the word a million times and acting like i could gloss over it.

groggy

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:05:08 -0600

Um, I hate to turn this post into a discussion of French grammar. But I never did get the courage up to ask my French host "parents" when I was studying there, is it "qu'est-ce que c'est"?? Is it less formal to say "q'est..." Can anyone show me the light? PS. Thanks for the duck confit explanation. Thanks also for making me sure I never want to eat anything that can be described as "blood sauce."

Spav1

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:54:12 -0600

Next up: Chevre.

Amy Mikel

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:49:43 -0600

PS - regardless, i think this series is a fabulous idea.

Amy Mikel

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:46:04 -0600

oh no laura! it's actually qu'est-ce que c'est

The Meteorologist

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:38:48 -0600

Hi Ms. Stolpman. The West Town Tavern also has Duck Confit on their menu. That place is so damn good it makes me want to punch babies! Ok, well, that was a little extreme. I guess I had too much coffee. This is an aside, but at the West Town Tavern they have these ridiculously good Kobe Beef Burgers for $14 on Tuesdays. They taste like butter.

michael

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:52:47 -0600

Q'EST-ce que c'est, s'il vous plaît.