Food: November 2007 Archives

After cooking our Thanksgiving dinner from scratch while holding our toddler, we’d like to never see the inside of a kitchen again. Thankfully, Chicago is rife with take-out deliciousness. Our new favorite is Ta Tong, a local Thai and sushi dive in Lakeview. Most Chicago neighborhoods have one: a hole-in-the-wall place that serves up some awesome Asian food. Ta Tong makes one of the best Pad Kee Mao ($6.95) dishes we’ve eaten in Chicago. We...

Every last Friday of the month, the bartenders and servers at Kuma's Corner donate their night's tips to a worthy cause. Tonight, it's all going to Windy City Roller Tahira "Tequila Mockingbird" Johnson, who's still recovering from her injury over the summer. If you find yourself gorging on the "Hatebeak" or "Goblin Cock" this evening, please tip better than you usually do. Just in time for Hanukkah, local food writer Leah Zeldes will give a...

What? You didn't think you'd go a day without reading something from us, did you? Anyway, we were cleaning up our inbox when we came across a press release trumpeting the Monday opening of Uncommon Ground's new eco-friendly Edgewater location. The space at 1401 W. Devon will feature rooftop solar thermal panels, wood table tops made using reclaimed wood from Jackson Park, a 100-year-old art deco bar and eventually a rooftop will be utilized as...

Hearts all across Chicago were broken last January when Zephyr closed its doors. We walked past its former space a few days ago and wouldn't you know, construction workers were busy building what looked to be another restaurant. Alas, it won't be Zephyr 2.0 but rather an Irish-style bar and restaurant (pictured), opening in March 2008 (to their best estimate). The workers didn't know what it was going to be called. New York Times writer...

When the weather turns, we tend to switch up our beer choices. Colder weather typically calls for heartier brews: monster ales, porters, and stouts. Now we love a good stout as much as anyone, but as someone with not a drop of Irish to be found in our genealogy, we like to explore the darkest of beers. Often, the sweet flavor and clingy, slightly sour finish in stouts comes from the addition of lactic acid...

Bridgeport's treated us well. As we've written numerous times both here and elsewhere, the neighborhood grew on us. When we first moved out south eight years ago we never would have thought that we'd have lived here as long as we have; we just thought of Bridgeport as a stop-gap to moving back to the north side. Now it seems like others are clued in to what we knew long ago: this neighborhood rocks....

It's Tuesday, it's cold, we're broke, and the 4-day holiday weekend already feels like it happened months ago. We need some cheering up 'round these parts. Luckily there are two excellent events that should warm our spirits without breaking our collective wallet. Cleo's on Armitage has been pushing their iTuesday events for a while now -- the idea being that local artists come in and iDJ for a while, followed by patrons with pre-loaded playlists...

We love a good bottle of wine almost as much as a great beer. But we're the type of person who buys a bottle, places it on the wine rack in our kitchen, and forgets about it. We have a much harder time keeping beer in stock. Last week we veered from the Thanksgiving norm and fixed ourselves a rare sirloin for dinner with caramelized onions, rosemary home-fried potatoes, and a red wine reduction (and...

We haven't had a school night in close to twenty years. But if we did, we'd still be tuning in to Channel 11 at 7:30 this evening to catch "Foods of Chicago: A Delicious History" (the program will also air at 9:50 this evening). If you want to find out where chicken vesuvio, saganaki, the cafeteria, and the brownie were created, then this is the program for you. Host Geoffrey Baer (and you can still...

If you were around the Belmont and Clark epicenter yesterday with a hankering for sticky buns that couldn't be sated because Ann Sather was closed, fear not. 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney and his crew are in the process of moving the long-standing restaurant a few storefronts east. In an article in today's Sun-Times, Alderman Tunney expressed confidence that Ann Sather's flagship restaurant will be open for business in its new location at 909 W....

Thanksgiving came at the perfect time for Topps Beef. Two months after the second-largest beef recall in history (over 21 million pounds), the company filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey last week; any other time and the news would have been bigger. In the filing, Topps listed assets and debts totaling nearly $100 million each, and over 10,000 creditors lining up for what's theirs, including high-ranking executives at Topps. Seeing as how the recall...

This week has been all about finding a good turkey, ordering that dinner to go, or cooking at home. But Chicago's intrepid food bloggers were still all over the place this week. Bridget Houlihan and Tammy "Zesmerelda" Green at Chicago Bites took the time to head to Devon Seafood Grill in the Gold Coast. Both of the ladies enjoyed the meal immensely, but to get the full effect, you should listen to their podcast. Meanwhile,...

Or, in honor of the start of holiday shopping season, we should probably christen this week's installment the "Black Friday Buffet". Anyway, let's get to it. West Lakeview Liquors weekly tastings will focus on Christmas ales (tonight) and whiskies (tomorrow). The French Wine Society is sponsoring a wine and cheese tasting at Taste Food & Wine in Rogers Park from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Cost is $30 for Wine Society members; $35 all others ChicaGourmets and...

One never needs an excuse to drink a selection from Unibroue. We're on record with our claim that the Quebec brewery is the best in North America, and it's because the quality of their brews is unsurpassed and of the highest standard of all we've sampled. Even their entry brews, like La Fin du Monde, would be considered a reserve line for another brewery. Maudite is one of our favorites. We're sticklers for balance: we...

With the new damp chill in the air, we’ve found ourselves craving a cup of hot tea. With a baby on our hip, however, we’ve been less excited about something dressy at the Drake and more nostalgic for sweats in Grandma’s kitchen. Enter Suzi’s Tea and Cafe. This former Lakeview resident is back after a few years’ hiatus in Long Grove. Occupying the former location of Las Tablas on Lincoln, the owners have remade this...

In our experience, most people who eat at Costello's Sandwich and Sides get the same thing every time. It's their Costello's Match. Former Chicagoist editors Scott Smith and Erin Shea love the Heartland and Smokin' Turk, respectively. Our boyfriend's favorite is the Italian Grinder. For us, our Costello's Match is the Turkey Focaccia. Generally speaking, the Turkey Focaccia is a basic turkey sandwich — turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomato, vinaigrette. But what makes this sandwich...

Last year, perhaps a little earlier, we gave you a quick run-down of where you could buy yourself a turkey and at what cost. We felt that it would be nice of us to do that again for you ... not to mention the fact that we haven't had time to get a turkey for ourselves. So, without further ado, a decidedly skewed to the north side turkey roundup. Dominick's located at 6009 N Broadway...

Last week we wrote of 24 Below Chef Efrain Cuevas' plans to host a goat dinner where he was to personally slaughter and butcher the goat, and how state officials, the USDA, and the po-po advised against doing so. As you can see from the video above the goat, who was named Tony, was indeed slaughtered, just not by Cuevas' hand. Instead, he took Tony to Halsted Packing House and had them do the...

A huge, golden brown turkey coming steaming from the oven. Piles of fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes. And a pumpkin pie, perfectly set in its pan. Also, a kitchen full of dishes precariously piled on top of each other and one or more exhausted cooks, too tired to do anything but sit down and watch everyone else enjoy the day's feast. Sound like your family? If so, there is an easier, less messy way to give thanks. It's called take-out. And it doesn't mean scrimping on the savory and sweet tastes you know and love. It just means everyone can enjoy the day, and the only clean-up is putting the to-go boxes in the trash.

Check, Please! just launched an interactive video-based website today where visitors may send in restaurant recommendations and audition for the show. The site also contains over 300 reviews from the show's run, the one-minute segments that began running on NBC 5 on Tuesdays and Fridays (NBC 5 is a partner in the site). Now you can look up recent reviews in case you missed a recent review or just want to view a truncated...

In what's become an annual feature here at Chicagoist and a personal favorite, we canvassed the staff for some of their best recipes and put together a potluck of amazing proportions to fascinate your taste buds, amaze your family (even the ones entranced by the football games), and bring about peace on earth - or at least in your family - for a few hours through the miracle of tryptophan, simple starches, and sugar...

Today's Sun-Times has an interesting article on restaurateur and Chicago native LaVan Hawkins, who's opening Nancy's Pizza and Al's Italian Beef franchises even as he's set to go to prison on corruption charges. The biography of Hawkins is a true rags-to-riches, rise-and-fall-and-rise-again story starting with his early years running in a gang and battling drug addiction, then from working his way up from the lowest rung at a McDonald's to commanding a fast-food franchise empire...

This month we were originally going to look into one of the cheese readers recommended in October. But then we had all this apple pie to eat. And we had one of those zap-zippity-zap brain moments where we connected the dots and came up with the quite-brilliant plan of picking a cheese of the month that also complemented the apple pie recipe we shared with you last week. So we we went to the new...

This week's listings kick off this evening at Merchandise Mart with "Chill: an International Wine & Culinary Event" sponsored by Luxehome and Wine Spectator. Proceeds from the event benefit the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. The event runs from 5 - 8 p.m. Chicago Professionals for Youth is committed to improving the lives of local underprivileged youth through literacy and mentoring programs, college preparation, job training and career skills assistance. Saturday they're hosting...

The Reader's Guide to Late Night Dining is now online, and there's the expected eclectic mix of diners, hot dog stands, taco joints, upscale pub grub, and places where only the fearless dare enter. Even better is that the range of offerings encompasses a wide stretch of the city and connecting suburbs (big love for Gene & Jude's Red Hots in River Grove!). If you're at the stage in life where "I'll sleep when...

It's easy to forget that, with all the hype recently bestowed to the Violet Hour since it opened months ago (much of it warranted, we'll preface), that this city was already teeming with master mixologists before Toby Maloney blew back into town. Case in point, at the recent "Chicago Iron Bartender" competition, Sepia's Peter Vestinos beat out a packed field including Nacional 27's Adam Seger, Tim Lacey of Spring Restaurant Group, and Otom's James Macknyk...

Last week we had a hankering for some lamb. We get this craving with some frequency, most often while in nice restaurants. But we have a problem with cooking certain kinds of meat at home. When at a restaurant we don't hesitate in ordering something medium rare and - when the cut of meat warrants it - even straight up rare. However, we have a hard time recreating those meat conditions when in the comfort...

Last week we had a hankering for some lamb. We get this craving with some frequency, most often while in nice restaurants. But we have a problem with cooking certain kinds of meat at home. When at a restaurant we don't hesitate in ordering something medium rare and - when the cut of meat warrants it - even straight up rare. However, we have a hard time recreating those meat conditions when in the comfort...

Many Wicker Park commuters are feeling a little less caffeinated these days since Half & Half (under the Damen Blue Line stop) closed up shop. Owner Debbie Sharpe told Metromix that the quality of the building is to blame. The good news is Sharpe also owns the Goddess and Grocer down the street, and Half & Half's delicious commuter sandwiches and pastries will be available for purchase there. LTH commentors prophecy its space may become...

There's a wonderful video at Crain's website, under their "Entrepreneurs in Action" section, on Englewood-based organic wholesaler Goodness Greenness. Goodness Greenness provides organic produce to scores of stores and restaurants throughout the area. Goodness Greenness also has a handy feature on their website that makes it easier for those of you who want to eat organic to find stores and restaurants that carry their produce. Simply enter your ZIP code and enter a search...

Yesterday Del Rey Tortilleria issued a voluntary recall of their flour tortillas after an outbreak of illness to schoolkids in Racine, Wisconsin was connected to their products. Del Rey officials aren't certain that their products caused the outbreaks of nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps, but they're playing it safe, just in case.

If there's one thing we brought back to Chicago with us after our six years down south, it's certainly our love for smoked meats. We'd always loved ribs as far back as we can remember, but exposure to true Southern BBQ raised our expectations to a whole new level. We learned that meat is meant to be lovingly smoked for hours in order to achieve the perfect symphony of tastes and textures.

$25,000 in new equipment and $75,000 in remodeling is all it will take for McDonald's across the country to begin serving specialty coffees. The Oak Brook-based company announced that it plans to roll out specialty coffees, smoothies and frappes at the company's annual analysts meeting yesterday. McDonald's President Don Thompson announced, "We want to move from beverages as an accompaniment to beverages as a destination," which is funny only to the extent that one can imagine hopping on a plane that's heading to "beverage" as a final destination (we bet there are delicious alcoholic drinks served for free on that flight).

Since splitting from the Ghetto Gourmet, Efrain Cuevas has fashioned a cottage industry for himself. Between "Cook the Vote", a "singles only" underground supper club, private catering and cooking classes, and his own "Ghetto Gourmet"-style undergorund dining club 24 Below, Cuevas has become increasingly busy on the local dining scene. A dinner Cuevas planned two weeks ago brought about some backlash. Cuevas planned a birria dinner involving a goat he would personally slaughter and butcher....

In August we wrote about the possibility of Deerfield-based Fortune Brands Inc. losing the marketing rights to Absolut Vodka when the Swedish government eventually puts the state-owned distillery up for sale. At the time, it was a very strong possibility that Fortune Brands would lose the rights to a competitor as they were just beginning to pay down the debt accrued from the acquisition of 25 major brands from Allied Domecq. If Fortune Brands does...

The Hyde Park Co-operative Market has faced some trying times recently. They closed their 47th Street location in 2005, but are still paying rent on the empty store space due to a lease in which they're locked in until 2023 that's held by Certified Grocers, who also serves as the co-op's supplier. While they've been paying rent on the 47th street location, they're a year behind on rent at their 55th Street store (note: Adam...

There's a fun little story that's been making it's way around the internet over the past few days. Blogger Rob Donaghue went to hear bigtime Chicagoist crush Anthony Bourdain speak last week in New York. Bourdain, ever-wry, suggested that the best way to find a great restaurant in today's internet savvy age, is not to read Zagat or Michelin guides, but rather, to provoke the nerds. He writes, His answer was to take the city...

Yeah, people knew how to fly the friendly skies on November 21st, 1965, when the menu above was served on a United Airlines flight from Denver to San Francisco. This and 380 other menus from airlines, ocean liners, and railroad lines are available for perusal online at the Transportation Library archives of Northwestern University. The archives hark back to a time when multiple course meals were de rigueur not only for first class passengers,...

Today's New York Times has a profile of Tom Nauman, a mushroom hunter in downstate Magnolia who also owns a store dedicated to morels with his wife. The story tracked the Nauman as he searched the woods in search of edible mushrooms. It wasn't really news that edible mushrooms grow in Illinois. The story did prompt us to ask why we don't hunt for mushrooms ourselves, with the Forest Preserves nearby? A couple calls to...

The Tribune's Phil Vettel wrote on The Stew this morning about the just-released 2K8 AAA Restaurant and Hotel ratings. Chicago leads the way with more five-diamond rated restaurants than any other city. Furthermore, there are no surprises on the list, since it's identical to last year's awardees. Congratulations are in order to Alinea, Arun's, Avenues, Charlie Trotter's (his fourteenth straight year with a five-diamond rating), Everest, Seasons, and Tru for setting the standard in local...

We mentioned last week that Pinot Days hits Navy Pier this weekend. There are some auxiliary events in conjunction with the grand festival, running from 1 - 4 p.m. tomorrow. 312 Chicago is hosting a winemakers dinner this evening from 7 - 11 p.m. The $120 price tag allows diners access to sample 18 different award winning pinots, including a four-course meal (each course paired with two different pinots) and the chance to ask burning...

Last year we told you about our apple picking and subsequent experience making applesauce. We thought we'd pick apples again late last month, though we knew it was past proper apple picking season. We went to Royal Oak Farm Orchard where, chagrined but unsurprised, we learned that there weren't many apples left on the trees. Those that remained were, much of the time, unreachable to our five foot five self. We persevered and collected a...

Monica Eng at the Trib must be helping Chicago win its title of "most caffeinated" city; she tried 32 different coffees for a story in today's paper about which coffees taste the best. Coming out on top are cups of coffee from Metropolis, Intelligentsia, Coffee Beanery Ltd., Whole Foods, Cafe Colao, Illy, Peet's Coffee (our personal favorite), and Julius Meinl. She also recommends picking up the banana cream tart at Fox & Obel to...

Bell's beer fans don't start celebrating just yet, but Larry Bell himself weighed in on the Beer Advocate forums yesterday about a possible return to Chicago. "Bell's continues to work on a way to return to Illinois... I have had discussions with other wholesalers and there is a possibility that we would return, but not with any brand we currently produce... Chicago is my home town and I would love to sell beer there again....

The cover story to today's Sun-Times food section deals with inexpensive substitutes for fancy kitchen tools that you can find at the hardware store, which is something we've been down with since we started using the kitchen for more than beer-pong and a mechanic's station for bike repair. We typically use paint brushes to marinade roasts and meats, to butter pastries and to clean out the coffee grinder. We also have a mini-propane torch for making creme brulee and meringues and have been known on occasion to use a rubber mallet as a meat tenderizer when our standard one just isn't enough.

A couple weeks back we had the opportunity to sit down for a few beers with Jon Cadoux, founder of Peak Organic Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, at the Streeterville Elephant & Castle. Like many craft breweries, Peak evolved from both Cadoux's home-brewing hobby and commitment to organic and sustainable agriculture. He was in town making the rounds, help his distributor place his beers into some new accounts. He was pretty successful: in addition...

There is ham, and then there is French Madrange Ham. There is cheese, and then there is Swiss Gruyère. There is bread, and then there is organic Bretzel Bread. Which brings us to Hannah's Bretzel. Hannah's has a lot of things going for it before you take the first bite. The local sandwich shop features a green retail space, a wall of exotic chocolates, and a friendly staff, but the Sergio Special is where it's at.

If you're in Greektown this morning and see a bunch of people milling about at the Halsted/UIC Blue Line station, just go about your normal business. Those folks are from the Think Outside the Bottle campaign staging a protest demanding that Coca-Cola reveal the sources it uses for its Dasani brand bottled water. Bottled water has come under intense scrutiny lately, from a proposed tax on bottled water by City Council being considered to bridge...

This week Chicagoist received an email from the Chicago Department of Public Health, announcing the immediate closing of The Great American Bagel at 1248 W. Belmont. The list of serious violations included cockroach infestation and the serving of spoiled food. That's bad, obviously, but what's worse is that we have actually eaten food from this establishment! We felt kind of "eeeww" after our egg and cheese sandwich; now we realize how worse we could have felt.

It's 10 a.m. in Chicago. Do you know what temperature the meat you are going to eat for lunch was stored at as it made its way to your sandwich? Probably not, says CBS2, which aired an upsetting investigative segment on meat safety violations last night. Among the findings: "spoiled or thawing meat, cross-contamination and a lack of food inspectors to monitor the way it is handled during the shipping or delivery process." Makes us...

In his new memoir/cookbook Tastes Like Cuba: An Exile's Hunger for Home, author and playwright Eduardo Machado spins a nostalgic account of the Cuban exile experience, framed by meals he remembered as a child in Cuba, as an exile entering the States during the Peter Pan airlifts, as a young actor and writer and, later, on return visits to Cuba as an adult. "All my life I've been trying to get food to taste like I remembered it as a kid", Machado told Chicagoist in an interview last week. "To me, the smell of food like roast pork and tamales is my childhood."

We always appreciate when the New York Times Travel Section takes time out of its busy day to come and visit our little Midwestern city. The last time they stopped by they discovered that the West Loop is cool! This time, they send "the frugal traveler" to answer one of life's big questions: Is it possible to spend a weekend in Chicago and spend less than $500? The answer, of course, is not only that...

The November 10 dinner at Bonsoiree sponsored by the International Wine and Food Society's Northern Illinois Chapter we listed a few weeks back is now sold out. Shaw's Crab House will be serving Nantucket Cape Scallops beginning this month. The highly regarded scallops are only available for a limited time. Cyrano's Bistrot has just added a early bird/pre-theatre fixed price special for autumn. enjoy an appetizer and entree or entree and dessert for only...