Food: July 2009 Archives

Mado, Rob and Allison Levitt's hyper-local Wicker Park restaurant with the constantly updated chalkboard menu, gets more love from the East Coast. Mado made Bon Appetit's upcoming list of the 10 Best New Restaurants in America (see the full list here).

• Through Sunday: Pilsen's annual Fiesta Del Sol festival kicked off last night on Cermak from Morgan to Throop. Very good eats to be had at Fiesta del Sol.
• One of the highlights of this year's Retro on Roscoe Festival is the 15th Annual Windy City Chili Cook Off. The cookoff is open to anyone over 18. No beans allowed.
• Flemings Prime Steakhouse (25 E. Ohio, 312-329-9463) is offering that burger above as part of its "5 for $6 Until 7" menu. that's eight ounces of hand-shaped ground Prime beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-seared and finished in flemings' broiler.

If you were one of the many fans of Fabio Viviani, contestant on Top Chef Season 5, you can attend a cooking demonstration and book signing at Fox & Obel tomorrow. Fabio is the Executive Chef and owner of Café Firenze Italian Restaurant in Southern California. Head here to learn more about the event and here to reserve your spot.

• Behold the outfit Graham Elliot Bowles wore while guest bartending at Pops for champagne Monday. He talks about it briefly in an interview. [W magazine]
• A nonbinding "green food resolution" proposed by Alderman Margaret Laurino includes boilerplate from Food Sanctuary, one of the proponents of the now-overturned foie gras ban. [Martha Bayne, Food Chain]
• Minnie's in Lincoln Park is gone. [TOC]

We're finally nearing the finish line for Top Chef Masters. Competing this week: Chef Hubert Keller, Chef Michael Chiarello, Chef Anita Lo, Chef Art Smith, Chef Suzanne Tracht, and Chef Rick Bayless. For the next three episodes, one chef will be eliminated until we have 3 chefs competing in the finale. The 6 previous winners enter the kitchen and get ready to rumble.

It's common knowledge that the four basic ingredients in brewing beer are malted grain, hops, yeast and water. Most breweries tend to stick to variations of a grain: e.g. barley; wheat; rice if you're Anheuser-Busch or Miller. Belgium's Bosteels Brewery utilizes a 310-year-old recipe for Tripel Karmeliet using wheat, barley and oats in the brewing. The result is a smooth and sweet Belgian Golden ale that can appeal to both serious beer drinkers and folks looking for something cool to drink on a humid day (rare as they've been this summer).

In another year of quality restaurant openings, Birchwood Kitchen (2211 W. North Ave., 773-276-2100) has become another favorite for their gourmet sandwiches made from locally sourced ingredients.

The Local Beet has a great post on the beer labels of Randy Mosher. Mosher is a legend to beer geeks: author, historian, instructor at Siebel Institute of Technology and one of the more influential members of the Chicago Beer Society. For those who buy a beer largely based on labels (you know who you are) Mosher has designed labels for Three Floyds, Two Brothers, Metropolitan, Flossmoor Station and Lakefront Brewing in Milwaukee. Local Beet's Tom Keith writes, "(Mosher) has a tremendous talent for taking the personality of a beer - which, after all, is basically just a fizzy brownish liquid - and expressing its character in a visual way that lets you know what you’re in for, once you pop the cap.".

                    

We’ve already raved about the tasty chocolates and caramels made by Katherine Anne Confections, and we buy them most weeks at her stand at the Daley Plaza Farmer’s Market. A few weeks ago, while biting into a chocolate-covered caramel, we realized that we had no idea how fancy chocolates were made. We thought it had something to do with milk and sugar and dipping, but the actual process (aside from what we glimpsed in the movie Chocolat) was a complete mystery. Katherine graciously allowed us into her kitchen to clear things up, and we have returned with photos.

        

Sunday night marked the first of Stephanie Izard’s Wandering Goat dinners, a series of “traveling dinners” that lead up to the opening of her new restaurant, The Drunken Goat, this coming winter. Tickets sold out in a matter of minutes but the lucky ones that got them were told the dinner would be at “Roger’s House.” Turns out Roger is Stephanie’s friend Roger Herring, chef/owner of Socca in Lakeview. We arrived at a large town home and shown to the spacious backyard, filled with friends, food lovers, and a notable goat piñata that we imagined was filled with truffle infused bacon mousse. (It was never cracked open so we will never know.) Three Floyd’s Alpha King and Gumballhead were on tap and an array of red and white Australian wines were offered as well.

             

A few things we learned over the weekend:

Eater.com is counting down the days until New York Times restaurant critic and "baby bulimic" Frank Bruni files his last review for the Paper of Record, going so far as to speculate who would succeed Bruni and prognosticating the odds of some favorites.

• Today: Chicago Wine School is hosting a course on Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This will include tasting a really good Pape and learning of some of the grape varietals that go into this classic French blend. (The Wine Consortium, 123 E. 23rd St., 6:30-8 p.m., $45.)
• Tomorrow: The highlight (such as it is) of Taste of Lincoln Avenue this weekend will be the Jimmy John's-sponsored sandwich making and eating competition. Recent Chicagoist podcast guest Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti, Tim "Gravy" Brown and others try to eat as many sandwiches as Jimmy John's can make. Who can forget Marcus and Stolpman's visit to this last year? Laura didn't even have a zoom lens last year and said that was too much detail. (2:30 p.m., Taste of Lincoln Avenue Montana Stage, Lincoln Avenue at Altgeld)
• Sunday: If Deep Dish and Gravy didn't spoil your appetite, head back to Taste of Lincoln, where FIG Catering will be setting up shop for the day

We're biking down to Pierogi Fest in Whiting, IN tomorrow, camera in tow. The festival starts tonight with a parade along 119th Street and one of the highlights of said march is the Lawn Mower Drill Team. Here's some YouTube video of the 2007 edition.

Another week, another Top Chef Masters. First up, we meet Jonathan Waxman who, we learn, trained Bobby Flay. We find Bobby Flay insufferable so we're curious to see what this guy is like. Roy Yamaguchi enters and Gail tells us that he is the first ever James Beard award winner. Art Smith of Table 52 enters. We try to work up some excitement at Chicago being represented. Finally, Michael Cimarusti joins the gang. He's a seafood chef and the youngin' of the crowd. (Allow us to explain why we've been calling these Chefs by their first name: Bravo labels them that way and it is easier.)

         

There are chefs who are instantly recognized by name and chefs that make amazing food who fly under the radar. One of our favorites who fall in the latter category is Mark Mendez of Carnivale. The Fulton Market restaurant, like most Jerry Kleiner properties, has an interior that is reminiscent of Lewis Carroll on mushrooms and it takes a very skilled chef to write and execute a menu that compliments and rises above the décor.

Sky Full of Bacon 11: A Better Fish from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.
• Mike Gebert visits Carl Galvan and Supreme Lobster Company, one of the country's largest fish purveyors, about the volume of seafood they sell while maintaining sustainable pracitces. [Sky Full of Bacon]
• Phil Vettel and the Trib's resident "Mayor McCheese" Kevin Pang debate pizza pie slices versus the familiar square party cut. Sorry, Kevin: we're siding with Phil on this one. [Tribune]
• Jennifer Olvera gets canning tips from Paul Virant. [Sun-Times]

We've mentioned before that local brewing is entering something of a golden age. With both Half Acre and Metropolitan planting roots with breweries, Josh Deth finishing up construction on Revolution Brewing and bringing on Jim Cibak as his brewer, there's no shortage of good local beers.

Morton's the Steakhouse recently released a cookbook and have been touring nationally to promote it.

Walmart will be hosting a “Fresh Farmer’s Market” Saturday at the site of their proposed store in Chatham, at 83rd and Stewart. Press releases were sent to local news outlets, and the Tribune’s story on the market remained on their site’s front page all day yesterday. Could it be true? Could Walmart actually be getting involved with the community and promoting products grown here, rather than in China or Mexico? Or is this just another shot in the ongoing battle between Walmart and the City Council? (Ed. Note: A Sun-Times op-ed today weighs in favor of a Walmart in Chatham. — CS)

Chefs in town sure seem generous with donating their time to charities and event. There was last week's Green City Market BBQ, of course, and this big ticket fundraiser Friday night at the Peninsula Hotel (108 E. Superior St.). Proceeds from the "Chefs and the City" event will support Vital Bridges, a non-profit providing housing, food, nutrition, case-management and prevention services to HIV-positive Chicagoans.

Remember that creepy Michael Jackson face cookie we talked about last week? After reading about commenter MissChicago's cookie price fiasco, we thought we'd swing by and see what was up. Indeed, the price has gone up one dollar to $3.95 since we first bought one on July 11th. And also, it's now called an MJ Collectors Cookie, as if someone will save it forever and sell a rotting MJ cookie face on ebay in the year 2080. We didn't. We broke it and ate it.

Hot on the heels of Stephanie Izard announcing the first dinner in her Wandering Goat Dinner Series (she actually tweeted about it just after getting off the phone with us here at the Podcast Series), we got in touch with Chicago's Top Chef herself to discuss it.

One of the agenda items left on the table when Paul Kahan and his entourage returned to Chicago from New Holland Brewing was finding a name for the biere de garde they brewed for their August 23 beer dinner at the Publican. Kahan and New Holland's Fred Bueltmann were riffing on mutual jazz musicians they were fans of, before the New Holland Knickerbocker gin and Zeppelin whisky took the riffing to a very dark-but-funny place.

"Is it true that you have a side of beef hanging in your closet?"

Garlic can work as either an aphrodisiac or a major turn-off and is on the short list of foods one should eat to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Not to mention its ability to ward off vampires.

This in from Tribune Mayor McCheese, um, "Cheeseburger Bureau Chief" Kevin Pang: Graham Elliot Bowles, who's been known to play his own music in between spins of Huey Lewis and the Clash in his eponymous River North restaurant, will be cooking for Jane's Addiction when Lollapalooza hits town in a few short weeks. Bowles will be serving Perry and company what he described as a "heartland picnic."

An infected McDonald's employee who didn't practice proper hygiene has caused a stir in Northwest Illinois. It seems the worker had hepatitis A and may have spread the disease. According to Fox, the worker was at the Milan, IL McDonald's and worked July 6 - 10 and 13 - 14. People who ate at the restaurant during those days are eligible for free treatment courtesy of the Rock Island Dept. of Health at Rock Island High School today and tomorrow. Though officials haven't confirmed if they're related, 20 cases of hepatitis A were recently confirmed throughout Rock Island, Mercer, Henry, Warren and Woodford counties. [FOX 32]

Venetian Night falls upon us Saturday, which means that the crowds coming downtown to witness the fireworks and boats on the lake will rival Taste of Chicago's. Chef Luca Corazzina's of 312 Chicago has put together a Venetian-themed menu available from tomorrow through Sunday. He's also bringing in his mother, Gabriella, to give him a helping hand in the kitchen. Corazzina lists his mother as an influence on his becoming a chef and this brings certain full circle closure to his chef's career to this point. It would also be cool to see Gabriella Corazzina walkign around the dining room, giving it a classic Italian mother's touch.

• Today: Dunlay's on Clark Street (2600 N. Clark) and 10 Cane Rum are hosting an patio party featuring a Trinidadian sugar cane crusher. guests will be able to taste fresh-squeezed sugar cane juice. 3-7 p.m.
• Saturday: Eivissa chef Dudley nieto will lead guests on a crash course in making paella. The $25 course includes samples, instruction and sangria; a take home paella kit is also available for an extra $10. (1531 N. wells, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.)
• Saturday-Sunday: The debut Taste of River North festival will be a great way to sample food from @Spot Café, Citizen Bar, PROSECCO, Zocalo, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Ai Japanese Restaurant, Italiasia, Bella Luna, Excalibur, Fleming’s, Roy’s Chicago and others. tickets for food are $1 each.

At first, we called this refreshing cocktail a “Pomegranate martini.” This nomenclature has become the standard in restaurants and bars all over the nation, as anything served in a martini glass has become a “something-tini.“ Apple-tinis, berry-tinis, chocolate-tinis; it seemed like the trend would never end, so we intended to quietly add our own to the list in the form of the “Pom-tini,” or something equally witty.

         

So yesterday was the annual chef's BBQ at Green City Market, which a few folks on twitter have called "the real Taste of Chicago." No arguments there. Not even a passing thunderstorm could keep people away from indulging in pure unadulterated gluttony.

         

My dinner companions have been insistent: "It's not Lula, don't you agree?"

• North Shore Distillery's Sonja Kassebaum writes a loving profile of graham elliot beverage manager/head mixologist Lynn House (pictured). [Thinking of Drinking]
• Baconfest news: the Publican is hosting the VIP Pro cookoff the day before the fest. [Baconfestchicago.com]
• Mike Sula cheers the return of kaiseki master Seijero Matsumoto. [Food Chain]

We like coming home to a package of beer samples on the doorstep after a long bike ride; it lets us imagine we're at the general store by Kettle Moraine after a long day on the trails.

Green City Market will be packed this evening on a picture perfect night for grilling and BBQ as they host their annual chef's BBQ. The BBQ brings together a Justice League of chefs making dishes using food procured directly at the market. Food tends to go fast and furious here; they've actually run out of some dishes at previous incarnations. Get there early.

Onward, Top Chef Soldiers. This boring season is our cross to bear. Good gravy, let's see if we'll get a spicy meatball this episode or what. Chefs include: Michael Chiarello, Rick Moonen, Nils Noren, and Lachlan M. Patterson. We learn that Rick has ADD and cooks seafood. Tom tells us about Nils Noren and we experience a sharp inhalation. He's...from Sweden.

The New York Times ran an article yesterday where they looked at the history of the Gyro in America, including "Sweet Jesus that's disgusting... and tasty!" video footage of the life cycle of a gyros cone, from birth in Kronos Gyros's Southwest side plant to drunken 5 a.m. takeout orders made across the country.

     

Surrounded by dirt, trellises, plants and happy gardeners; you would think we had wandered into a fairy tale about sustainable agriculture. Which, in a way, we had … except this storybook was set in a magical land 20 feet above the ground. On Saturday, Uncommon Ground opened America’s first organically certified rooftop garden at their Devon Avenue location, and they invited Mayor Daley to join in the revelry.

From Chicago Mag's Dish: Urban Belly owner/chef Bill Kim has signed a lease to open Belly Shack, an Asian and Latin-inspired BYOB counter service restaurant at 1912 N. Western. Think Kim's Urban Belly, but focusing on sandwiches and salads without the "Really? That much for dumplings?" price tag. Kim told Dish that he plans on having menu items at Belly Shack top out at $10.

There have been so many Bastille Day events happening around town in the past few days you'd think the original thirteen colonies rebelled from France. Since there's a seeming load of Francophiles in town we've compiled a list of Bastille Day events and prix fixe menus for you to consider.

                    

Some chefs thrive on the rush of a packed house, expediting orders, turning over covers, the heat of the kitchen giving them the equivalent of a runner's high. Then there are those who choose the equally demanding but different pace of catering, where the number of meals is already known and the challenges are adaptation and transportation. This is the path of City Provisions chef/owner Cleetus Friedman.

Alliance Bakery on Division St. has created a wonderful way to capitalize on commemorate Michael Jackson. Face cookies. That you eat. Get there quickly to get one with a good nose (really, they're all different and some are hideous.) While we found something tragic about eating Michael Jackson's face, these cookies got us thinking, are there any celebrities we would actually like to see be displayed on food items upon their death? Would you want to stretch out and chew on pink Spencer Pratt face taffy or slice and devour a Kim Jong Il face cake? Or would you feel better eating a beloved Katherine Heigl face scone? Ok. We're creeped out. No more face dessert.

Update your bookmarks: Menupages Chicago (and all the MP blogs) was re-branded this morning as Grub Street Chicago in a very beautiful redesign. The (re)launch allows parent company New York magazine to extend the Grub Street brand into other cities through corporate synergy while losing none of the knack for hard news, aggregation and criticism that made the MP blogs must-reads. MP Chicago editor Helen Rosner is still at the conn, still obsessing over Grant Achatz, and still keeping tabs for a Pat Bruno slip-up.

Those of us who've done the "make a reservation at Schwa" dance already know this scenario: you dial the number and are greeted with a stock message saying they're booking through a certain month and to leave a request after the beep, then you wait and wonder if they checked the message (or if you dialed wrong), then they — most likely Michael Carlson himself — calls to confirm your reservation. "We'll see you cats Thursday," is a favorite. The reservations are coveted even more, since Schwa only seats 26, is closed Sunday and Monday and that long-awaited reservation confirmation can sometimes take weeks.

His Elective Majesty and the Illinois Restaurant Association trotted out some of the city's best chefs and sommeliers yesterday to announce the second annual Chicago Gourmet festival, taking place September 26-27. Reader reporter Julia Thiel noted that the IRA is looking to atone for last year's inaugural edition, which was heavy on the wine and spirits. And that's an understatement.

• All Month Long: BIN 36 celebrates 10 years of business with $6 wine and food specials. Enjoy $6 glasses of their house chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and syrah, or $6 gougres or hummus with pita. (339 N. Dearborn)
• Saturday: Ale Fest goes down at Soldier Field from 2-6 p.m. Enjoy over 200 ale selections from 80 breweries. Cost is $40 for 20 selections; $10 designated drivers.
• Saturday: We already mentioned the block party Kuma's Corner is throwing to commemorate its 4th anniversary yesterday. Here's your reminder and a caveat: "free food' does not mean grazing on complimentary Mastodons all day; it's brats and hot dogs. You've now been duly warned - wear your vintage Deicide t-shirt at your own risk. (2900 W. Belmont)

A near-religious experience with Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock got us to thinking of other darker wheat beers that would be enjoyable for summer sipping. With that in mind, we set out for some good local options and looked no farther than Two Brothers. Local beer geeks know and love the Warrenville brewery's Ebel's Weiss, but it's available year-round. A run to your local liquor store is in order to pick up a bomber of Bonfire, Two Brothers' Dunkel weiss.

As if Kuma's Corner couldn't get any more packed on the weekend, now the venerable burger/beer/metal/biker kitsch bar is throwing a block party to celebrate its fourth anniversary, which should just send fans of Kuma's monster burgers into DEFCON 1 mode.

Welcome back, food lovers. This week on Top Chef Masters, we have: Chef Douglas Rodriguez, Chef Mark Peel, Chef Anita Lo or Chef John Besh. We've got James Beard winners, a Michelin star recipient, and multiple Best New Chef namings. Another impressive bunch. Oh boy, we're impressed and bored already.

Summertime: living is easy, the fish are jumping, and it's time to sit back with a long cool one and get pleasantly hammered. We have just the thing.

The smell of fresh bread baking in the morning always often brings back memories of growing up across the street from the Mary Ann Bakery in the Hermosa/Kelvyn Park neighborhood. The bakery also made S. Rosen branded baked goods and we would head to school with near-certain knowledge that if we ate a hot dog or burger at lunch, it would be served on either a Mary Ann or S. Rosen bun.

    

As the number of fancy cupcake bakeries in the city grows ever larger, it gets harder and harder for new places to distinguish themselves. Innovative flavors, eye-catching designs and unique (or controversial, if you prefer) ingredients go a long way towards setting More Cupcakes apart from the crowd, and some of their offerings are a smashing success. Unfortunately, an often mediocre quality, unpleasant staff and high prices give us pause.

We hope you had the opportunity to read our interview with MK's Tony Galzin yesterday.

Over the years we've developed a theory that brewmasters are underrated as philosophers, seeing as brewing and drinking beer are often lock-step with social intercourse. We're big fans here of Lost Abbey beers (see our "BotW" review of their "Gift of the Magi" ale). After reading brewmaster Tomme Arthur's blog posts and his sound bites of wisdom, you'll become a fan, as well.

We snuck a tiny blurb into last week's "BotW" post about City Provisions's Saturday farm dinner (we're including the entire schedule here, in PDF format).

       

We were fortunate enough to spend some time in MK's kitchen with Pastry Chef, Tony Galzin. In addition to letting us peek over his shoulder as he plated desserts, he answered questions on how he became a pastry chef, trends in the industry, seasonal ingredients and how to best incorporate and enjoy dessert. Also, tomorrow, we will feature video of Chef Galzin working in the kitchen.

        

Summer's bounty is finally upon us! This was the first week where we could do ALL of our grocery shopping at the Farmer's Market, rather than using it to enhance our regular meals. The first root vegetables of the year have come in, and the market was stuffed with carrots, onions and the first small potatoes. Lettuces, Chard and other greens continue to come on strong, but the real stars of the show were berries. Cherries, Raspberries, Blackberries - even currants were for sale at this Saturday's Green City Market.

Fancy cupcakes are a trend that won't die - and we're totally fine with that. But what if you want to do more than just buy cupcakes? If you fancy yourself the equal of Susan's, More or Sensational Bites, throw your hat in the ring and join the Iron Cupcake Challenge. Competitors bring their best cupcakes in for judgment and the winner takes home cupcake glory and prestige. This month's theme is Tropical cupcakes, so bring your best coconut/banana/passionfruit/rum icing and your favorite pastry bag! Does your cupcake reign supreme?

As if Stephanie Izard doesn't have enough irons in the fire between traveling to trade shows and events, media appearances, working on her video podcasts, making wine, writing a cookbook with Time Out Chicago's Heather Shouse in addition to opening the Drunken Goat in January (and she's already making charcuterie for that, bless her heart), now comes word that she's leading up tot he Drunken Goat's opening with a series of underground dinners.

At the time of our visit to Half Acre's new Lincoln Square brewery in April we said of the limited edition Baume' Rye Stout:

        

Taxim, the new Greek restaurant from rookie restaurateur David Schneider, takes the concept of Greek cuisine as Chicagoans know it and turns it on its head. Gone are yard stick-sized kabobs, syrupy souvlaki and middle-aged waitresses with penciled eyebrows and hoarse throats from shouting "Opa!" while setting fire to some saganaki amidst stock posters of Greek landscapes. Instead, Schneider embraces the melting pot of other Mediterranean influences, particularly Turkish, that informed pre-20th Century Greek cuisine, and does it with the deft hand of a seasoned restaurant owner.