Food: October 2009 Archives

LUPEC, the Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails, is having the prohibition-era equivalent of a pub crawl. The Chicago chapter is led by Sonja Kassebaum of North Shore Distillery, and with a slogan like "Dismantling the Patriarchy, One Cocktail at a Time," what's not to love? On November 12, LUPEC is hosting "Women Helping Women," an evening of shopping, drinking and charity. Participants (ladies or gentlemen) will take a tour through the fashionable shopping of the West Loop, visiting boutiques like Bess and Loie, 2 Sisters and Smitten. At each of the twelve stops, enjoy shopping and try one classic cocktail.

Today's exercise in plausible deniability comes courtesy of Will County Associate Judge Robert Livas. Last year Livas sentenced 24-year-old Darrius Logan to 100 hours of community service stemming from misdemeanor battery and criminal trespass charges in Joliet. In August Logan told Livas he completed the terms of his sentencing by working 100 unpaid hours at Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken — their three locations at 8211 S. Cottage Grove, 8601 S. Stony Island and 10210 S. Vincennes, for those interested.

Our biggest issue with pumpkin beers is an imbalance between the flavor of pumpkin and spice, usually favoring the latter. Ideally a pumpkin ale should bring to mind memories of good pumpkin pie. You know, with the graham cracker crust and all, some gingerbread or some cloves balanced delicately with the flavor of pumpkin. In short, If you're going to make a spiced ale, make a spiced ale. we want to taste pumpkins in our pumpkin beers. Southern Tier gets it right with Pumking, one of Karl's favorite beers this time of year. Pumking will blow your mind, you'll ask for ice cream for an a la mode.

One of our more versatile wine rack staples is Sofia Mini Blanc de Blancs 187ml cans. The beauty of these little beauties is it allows you to dole out the right amount of bubbly without worrying that you will be left with a half empty bottle that may go flat.

                     

There's more to Lynfred Winery than being the state's largest and oldest continuous operating winery. Its expansion eight years ago involved expanding their tasting room and retail operations to include a bed and breakfast that makes for a beautiful daytrip. Marketing Director Christina Anderson-Heller took me for a tour of the operation while we waited for Winemaker/GM Andres Basso to show me the winemaking plant.

Here's something you can do without having to leave your desk. Kendall College Dean Chris Koetke will host a chat on artisan Cheese with John Brody of Sargento Foods and Chef Ulrich Koberstein, Executive Chef of the American Club in Koehler, WI and a chef ambassador of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

After years of dining out, few things can throw me for a loop. Strange or inattentive service, exotic foodstuffs, unbearable dining rooms - all these just make for good stories later, once you’ve survived the experience. But I still remember the first time a waiter asked me if I wanted bottled water with my meal. It was slipped in so nonchalantly - as if anyone who dined at this august establishment wouldn’t dream of touching the simple common stock of hydrogen and oxygen molecules. People like us, the place seemed to silently scream, deserve something better. No other option was given to me, which conjured up the threat of dying a thirsty death if I didn’t agree to order the water.

Wine dinners abound throughout the city. 312 Chicago is hosting a dinner tomorrow night at 7 p.m. featuring the latest release from Hewiston Wines' "Mad Hatter" shiraz. It's part of a national tour promoting the 2006 vintage just hitting restaurants and wine shops right now. Winemaker Dean Hewiston will be in attendance.

               

"We had a booth at the Windy City Wine Festival last month and I told plenty of people who don't own a car how easy it is to reach the winery by train," said Lynfred Winery marketing director Christina Anderson-Heller as we met at the Roselle Metra stop. "Almost all of them asked, 'What train?'" And it is a fairly painless trek, although navigating Union Station during morning rush is something out of the Divine Comedy. When my train stopped at Roselle, Anderson-Heller was there waiting to drive the final mile to the winery. I've long had an open invitation to tour Lynfred's facilities, and last week they received a 30-ton shipment of petite syrah grapes. "Would you be interested in seeing the grapes being processed? Maybe help out in the winery and taste out some barrels?" Anderson-Heller asked.

It's been over two years since Lincoln Square's Delicatessen Meyer closed its doors and the building purchased by the Luszcz family of Gene's Sausage Shop fame. Chicago real Estate Daily reports that the Luszczes are finally ready to re-open Meyer as "Gene's Sausage Shop at Delicatessen Meyer" on November 7 (insert your "Jim's Mario's Restaurant" reference here).

         

"Have you ever been to one of our family dinners?" Rob Levitt of mado asked us Monday night at the LTHForum GNR awards dinner. Allowing that we hadn't, Levitt's eyes lit up. "They're fun and, with this one, you're gonna be in for a real treat."

                

Baconfest Chicago proper won't be for another six months, but if Saturday's VIP pro cookoff is any indication organizers Seth Zurer, Michael Griggs and Andre Pluess might want to have some ambulances at the ready. Or at least some Lipitor. We won't get into another debate about how played out the bacon meme is; haters will hate, lovers will love. But there was a sense of fun among the crowd Saturday. As vocal as the pro- and anti-bacon folks can be, the overall vibe was lifted from Alfred E. Neumann: "What? Me Worry?" Few took themselves seriously at the cookoff and levity reigned. So did excess.

It was only a couple weeks ago that Big Star was announced as the name of the Paul Kahan taco joint in the old Pontiac Café space. Now there's a firm opening date: November 9.

    

Lovers of Lula, rejoice! Yet another alum has taken her place among Chicago’s great executive chefs. Nicole Pederson, former sous chef at Lula (who has also cooked at Gramercy Tavern in New York) has taken over the helm at C-House. Owned by Marcus Sammuelson, the chef-owner of Aquavit, C-House primarily focuses on seafood, with a well-stocked raw bar and a selection of eight different oysters.

• Tonight: Blue Sky Inn's annual "A Taste of Success" fundraiser is being held at the Flat Iron Building's Around the Coyote gallery (1935-1/2 W. North Ave.). Enjoy signature cocktails by Southern Wine & Spirits and the United States Bartenders Guild, hors d'oeuvres created by Blue Sky Inn's Albany Park bakery and café, cocktail jazz, a live auction featuring "Dream Job Opportunities" including: trainer at the Shedd Aquarium, chef at Tru, Food & Wine Critic at Time Out Chicago, craft beers by Two Brothers Brewing Company, and artwork created by the youth who benefit from Blue Sky Inn's programs. $45.
• Tonight: Shaw's Crab House kicks off its annual Oysterfest with its tent party at the downtown Shaw's (21 E. Hubbard). $10 suggested donation, 3:30-11 p.m.
• Saturday: The Chopping Block's Lincoln Square location (4747 N. Lincoln Ave.) is featuring a cooking class on Japanese-Style grilling. "Backyard Benihana" will focus on preparing Miso Soup with Grilled Sake-Marinated Tofu; Grilled Shiitake Mushroom Salad with Gingery Ponzu Dressing; Chicken and Vegetable Yakitori with Honey Soy Glaze, Spicy Sesame Dipping Sauce and Mustard Dipping Sauce; Authentic Salmon Teriyaki with Sticky Rice. 7-9:30 p.m., $85.

       

Thanks largely to his win on "Top Chef Masters," Rick Bayless is riding an unprecedented wave of popularity that shows no signs of cresting soon. At present, Bayless is arguably the most recognizable chef on the planet, if not the United States, putting in 15-hour days between the kitchens of Topobolampo, Frontera Grill and XOCO. Anticipation for XOCO, Bayless's paean to Mexican street food, was already at a fever pitch before his winning "Top Chef Masters" turn with his usage of Twitter. While we were able to get in and out on XOCO's opening day — XOCO opened on the same day as the Oprahcalypse on Michigan Avenue — subsequent days haven't been so fortunate. Diners heading to Bayless's Frontera compound on Clark Street have been subjected to an average 2-hour wait time to any of the restaurants.

Time Out Chicago's David Tamarkin tries to write a humorous piece about our obsession with bacon — he thinks it's much ado about nothing — but comes across sounding like Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino." Thanks, David. You just gave us an excuse to run another shot of our recent pantry meat experiment. [TOC]

      

The iPhone and Urban Spoon aren't your only option for finding dining near you on a mobile phone. Poynt is a free mobile application for your Blackberry that we've found very helpful in locating restaurants, mapping their locations and reading reviews. Here's how it works.

The Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance has put together an impressive program this weekend looking at the evolution of beef production in the Midwest over the years at Kendall College. "Beef: From Plains to Plate" includes a butchering demonstration; a visit to Naval Culinary "A" School at Great Lakes Naval Station, which is scheduled to close early next year; seminars on feedlots, animal husbandry, and the past, present and future of beef production; consumer confusion over certified Angus beef; the re-discovery of the benefits of grass-fed beef; an oral history on the Union Stockyards; an overview on the differences between kosher and halal-certified beef; and an overview of how ground beef became a household staple.

For the squash novice, we recommend trying the Acorn variety. They are firm, dark-green, and about the size of a cantaloupe. Here are two methods of preparing Acorn squash.

• Sky Full of Bacon's Mike Gebert offers up his Rules for Dining (inspired by/apologies to Michael Pollan) [SFoB]
• Chicago Eats TV launched this week, promising "hot and fresh videos about some of the most unique places around." So far their curioaity has taken them to Yak-Zies, Jake Melnick's, McGee's Tavern, Cans and Redhots and Fries. Way to take the road less traveled. [Chicagoeatstv.com]
• Bleeding Heart Bakery starts a bread co-op this Saturday with Polenta Asiago Roasted Garlic Bread. Orders must be received no later than 7 p.m. every Friday (order by calling 773-327-6934 or via e-mail) and will be ready for pickup 1 p.m. Sundays. And it's only $5 a loaf. [Inbox]

Pop-open the bubbly - It’s Wednesday! The holiday season is upon us and in typical true-blooded American fashion we begin the season of over-indulgence - more food, more booze, larger waistlines. We also take the opportunity to pick up an extra bottle of something special - maybe a nice bottle of bubbly.

If there was a world without beer (perish the thought) and we had to drink wine all the time, we'd go with a good rioja all the time. Well, most of the time.

A few weeks back at Chicago Gourmet, we heard Mindy Segal, the chef/owner of Hot Chocolate, expounding the virtues of cookies to the audience. She particularly plugged her bacon chocolate-chip cookies. It's possible that an audible gasp escaped our mouth at this revelation, and we determined to try them at once!

Our nose was assaulted by the scent of apples and spices from the moment we opened a bottle of Two Brothers Avalon. It was the olfactory equivalent to hearing Christmas carols in October, but much more pleasing. Avalon is another in Two Brothers' "Artisan Bottling" series — Bonfire Dunkle Weiss is part of that series. get past the nose of this beer and you'll immediately pick up a pretty serious hop flavor to Avalon. Most beers or ales brewed with apple cider or must err on the side of malt. Since there is a fair amount of spices in Avalon, the hops work to complement that aspect of the taste profile.

          

Monday night we attended LTHForum's fifth annual Great Neighborhood Restaurants Awards dinner at Marie's Pizza and Liquors in the wunnerful Mayfair neighborhood, itself a previous winner of a GNR. 13 restaurants, 1 bar and 4 bakeries were added to LTH's already expansive list of GNR recipients; you can download their pocket guide here.

If you were crazy enough to make the Tiki on Acid after we posted about it then chances are you've still got a bottle of green chartreuse in your liquor cabinet. The magical green elixir has such a potent kick that a little goes a long way, and there aren't many cocktails in standard rotation that even try to incorporate its intense herbal flavors.

Last week we attended a preview of the new menu items at Wiener and Still Champion (802 Dempster, Evanston, 847-869-0100). Many of the new additions are former off-menu items owner Gus Paschalis would serve to frequent customers; the country fried gyros were one such item. But nothing prepared us for the phallic monstrosity pictured above.

Chicago is overflowing with fantastic food, a majority of which is not conducive to maintaining a healthy weight or preventing cholesterol from clinging for dear life to the inside of our arteries. Contrary to the reputation of a dietitian, we cannot easily conjure the name of a single food that we would forbid from touching our lips. That said, eating a healthy diet is necessary to preventing disease, avoiding weight gain, and feeling happy and energetic. Here are a few strategies to help you navigate your way around Chicago’s equally glorious and treacherous culinary landscape.

    

Back when we visited Half Acre's Lincoln Square brewery in April, one of the construction projects still in progress was the buildout of a retail space. Gabriel Magliaro's plans were to have an in-wall draft system featuring Half Acre selections, special brews and guest beers; bottles and merchandise.

The Dow may have jumped over 10,000 points but budget-conscious Chicagoans are not buying into any talk of "recovery." Understanding our love for good local food and an affinity for the beauty of our city, the Bluebird has teamed-up with local artists Mary Livoni and John Coyle Steinbrunner to create Sunday dinners dedicated to painting a picture of our great city in good times and during this downturn.

   

We work during the day near downtown Evanston, so we've become familiar with the available lunch options. The suburb seems to be turning into a new center for good burgers using quality ingredients. Readers got a glimpse of Edzo's Burger Shop a couple weeks back; Ed Lakin and crew are now open for business. We've also extolled the virtues of Wiener and Still Champion in the past. Best known for a good hot dog and owner Gus Paschalis's willingness to deep fry anything once, WaSC also makes an amazing burger. There's another burger joint we've been enamored with recently that does its best to put out a good burger, if not rise to the level of Lakin and Paschalis.

In anticipation to its proposed mid-November opening, the Metramarket at 131 N. Clinton announced an additional 16 vendors to the 20 already onboard today. We've included the full list after the jump. [Inbox]

Crain's reports that Kraft is in talks to sell its Maxwell House brand coffee to Sara Lee. This is part of Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld's ongoing efforts to raise enough capital to increase its bid to purchase confectioner Cadbury. That bid now stands at over $16 billion. Kraft has until November 9 to raise $9 billion in financing and make a formal offer for Cadbury to the British Takeover Panel. [Crain's]

• Today:Don't Forget that tickets are still available to Nourish: Meals on Wheels annual celebrity chef ball, 6-10 p.m. at Macy's on State Street.
• Saturday: Lycée Français de Chicago's Fall French Market takes place from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Sunday hours are noon-4 p.m.). Experience the tastes, sounds, art and antiques of a traditional French marketplace. $10 per child or $15 per family with a recommended maximum of two hours. (Lycée Français de Chicago, 613 W. Bittersweet Place)
• Sunday:The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is hosting a benefit wine tasting at Geja's Café (340 W. Armitage) from 1-5 p.m. The wine tasting will be moderated by Patrick W. Fegan of Chicago Wine School. $50

Tickets are still available for tomorrow night's Celebrity Chef Ball to Benefit Meals on Wheels Chicago. the annual benefit, held at Macy's on State Street, brings together 80 of the best chefs in the city in a culinary hoedown of epic proportions

Every year, we look forward to the Christkindlmarket. This is because, despite all appearances to the contrary, pops is part German - hence the last name. The same last name that caused my blond haired college roommate's startled look when we met for the first time, clearly not expected the Korean looking girl in front of her. But,...we digress.

We've been receiving a few e-mails and instant messages from readers asking if the warehouse sale at Sam's Wine and Spirits was still a go, especially in light of the news last week that Binny's agreed to buy Sam's.

Underneath his public image as a barbeque taskmaster, Gary Wiviott's a tender soul who's earned the nickname "Gentle Bear." And Wiviott will remain a gentle bear so long as you stick to his five-lesson plan for perfect barbeque.

Alright, we'll admit it - a lot of the time, we think collard greens are boiled to death. We know that some collard purists are going to get angry with us, arguing that the traditional way of cooking greens is the only way and that "pot licker" is the nectar of the gods. That's fine for them - we like our greens with a bit more bite.

• food 52's Tournament of Cookbooks features Grub Street Chi's Helen Rosner choosing between Eugenia Bone's "Well-Preserved" and "Babycakes" from Erin McKenna. [food 52]
• Lula Café is turning into a zombified version of Hot Doug's for Halloween. We don't know what jumped the shark here. [TOC]
• A new website, Beer Menus, is working to list the beer menus of Our Town's best watering holes. [Beer Menus Chicago]

You can always count on mado to go where few other restaurants will go in their quest to adhere to serving all things head-to-tail. Lately Rob Levitt's been on a mutton kick that will continue for the foreseeable future. Mutton — older, mature lamb &3151 is noted for its richness in flavor. Because it's a tough meat, however, mutton is best cooked long and slow.

This being the harvest season, we'll be dedicating the next three weeks selections to brews that reflect in-season fruits or flavors. One of those flavors that we live for this time of year is honey crisp apple. Anthony even showed readers how to incorporate honey crisps into a cocktail. Honey Crisps also make a damn good cider.

Cities like New York, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles are lauded for their street food scenes, and rightly so. Here in Chicago we have the Maxwell Street Market, the tamale men, sno cones, elotes, a couple vendors at farmers markets and the stray hot dog cart. Otherwise what constitutes street food here is sorely lacking. As with most things, city ordinances restrict what food carts and trucks can and cannot do, limiting their presence to not much more than roach coaches serving warmed and pre-cooked product.

Maureen Barrett, 52, of Willow Springs created just the right blend of beans, meat and sweet heat to win the International Chili Society’s 43rd World's Championship Chili Cookoff in Charleston, W. Va. this past weekend. Barrett won $25,000 in the red chili category beating out 160 chiliheads, people who travel the country competing in events that serve as qualifiers for the world's championship. She’s been competing for 13 years but is still considered a newbie to most chiliheads. She said that she added a little more jalapeno sauce from a green bottle to clinch the victory. As chili lovers, we hope that she will post her award winning recipe here soon. [NBC 5]

In case anyone hasn’t gotten the memo, the economy sucks. In our beat, that usually means more coverage of expensive restaurants closing their doors, but there is a larger world beyond the reach of truffles and foie gras. Visits to the Greater Chicago Food Depository are up 35% this year, as more and more people need help to feed their families. Some of Chicago’s best chefs have decided to do something about it - and you can help them out. Plus, you can get some pretty amazing food. What could be better?

Michael Kornick has released the menu for his upcoming burger bar concept with David Morton, DMK Burger Bar (2954 N. Sheffield, 773-360-8686):

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, The average commute in Chicago lasts 31.6 minutes. That's among the nation's longest and, if we're "average" in any way, usually means that coffee is necessary whether you park, lock your bike, or leave the train or bus.

Early this year Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea stirred up some controversy over how they produced single-cup coffee orders. To wit: the local coffee purveyor had begun to switch how they brewed single cup coffee for patrons, abandoning the drip coffee method for a more labor and time intensive brew in the $11,000 Clover machine. That system, which was deployed in all but the Monadnock store resulted in a pricier cup of coffee and a longer wait. Fast forward seven months and Intelligentsia is again making changes in their stores.

Paul Kahan's beer and tacos joint in the old Pontiac Café space now has a name. Big Star is set to open in the next month or so. Big Star is largely influenced by Depression-era Bakersfield, California. that means there's gonna be a lot of Dust Bowl country music, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens being spun by Danny's Tavern and Reckless Records.

• Tonight: The Store (2002 N. Halsted) is hosting "Martini Madness," benefiting Cabrini Connections, an organization that provides mentoring and tutoring to children living in Cabrini Green. $40, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
• Saturday: VeganMania, a festival of all things vegan, takes place at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse (1419 W. Blackhawk) from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Best thing about this is it's free.
• Sunday: The Publican's monthly beer dinner will feature selections from St.Feuillien. Cost is $40 for the family-style dinner, $15-$20 extra for the beer. (837 W. Fulton Mkt., 5-10 p.m.)

Marcus isn't the only one taking a breather this week. Grub Street Chicago's Helen Rosner is also doing some much-needed decompressing.

Last night the Tribune broke the story of Binny's Beverage Depot agreeing to buy Sam's Wine and Spirits for an undisclosed sum. We can't say that this wasn't unexpected. Our most recent visits to Sam's have been funereal, if not downright depressing. It also ends with a whimper the aggressive competition between the two big-box liquor wholesalers that was waged for almost six decades.

The Andersonville Development Corporation is sponsoring its 4th annual dessert crawl Sunday from 2-5 p.m. A celebration of all things sugar, spice and everything nice, the crawl is divided into two routes. "Sugar" consists of participating businesses like Ann Sather's,George's Ice Cream and Sweets, Hamburger Mary's, In Fine Spirits, La Cocina de Frida. The "spice" route includes Andie's, Big Jones, Charlie's Ale House, Fireside, M. Henry and others. It's also a good walk along either route, so all those sweets don't go to your, um, wherever.

We created a monster here at Chicagoist on July 13, 2006 with a review of Trumer Pils, which we cheekily dubbed our "Beer of the Week." It's a series that shows no sign of stopping soon due to the sheer breadth of brew options available to us. But Trumer will always hold a spot dear to us for being the beer that kicked off the series.

Tickets to Stephanie Izard's Wandering Goat dinners are the most coveted in town, with the first two dinners selling out almost as fast as they went on sale. For the next dinner, Izard and Red Eye are giving three lucky people a chance to cook with Izard.

• Casting is underway for the next season of "Top Chef." If you have serious kitchen majicks get to Wells on Wells (1617 N. wells) from 10a.m. - 2 p.m. on October 26 with these forms. Oh, and have a valid passport; if you're chosen, you might have to go abroad. [Inbox]
• "The Jungle" - 21st Century Edition. A harrowing New York times story on e.coli tainted beef. [NYT]
• The food at greatest risk for e.coli? Greens. [Tribune]

The Arts of Life is a non-profit community that uses art to assist developmentally disabled adults discover personal growth. On November 7 at 5 p.m. Arts of Life, Half Acre Beer Company, Nice Cream and Chicagoist will host a chili cookoff to benefit Arts of Life's programming.

From the time the monks of St. Francis of Paula brewed the first doppelbocks in Bavaria, it's been a custom for breweries to end the names of their "liquid bread" in "-ator." Abita named their Helles Doppelbock, Andygator, a "creature of the swamp." Unlike many doppelbocks, Andygator is brewed to have a dry finish and emphasize a balance between hops, a pleasant light citrus flavor and bready yeasts. It pairs well with hearty sandwiches, like a blue cheese-crusted burger we made last week at home. Andygator should also pair well with anything cajun-related, blackened and fried. It's also a wonderful departure from the everyday Abita releases.

Continuing its year-long celebration of ten years in business, BIN 36 is serving $3 cheese flights throughout the month of October. The promotion also coincides with the rollout of BIN 36's new cheese menu.

One aspect of the farm-to-table movement lacking from the Local Beet's coverage of all things localvore is a roundup of restaurants, grocers, bakeries and caterers. The Local Beet is more policy and example-driven, which is great for the home cook and farmers market enthusiast. For the localvore who's looking for a restaurant, however, there really isn't a one-stop guide.

Taxim, the Wicker Park restaurant that has received overwhelmingly positive reviews (in our opinion it's probably the best new restaurant to open this year) for its innovative take on Greek cuisine, is teaming up with one of Greece's best wineries to put together a dinner that, on paper, is going to blow diners away.

This time of year is probably the most bountiful for our farmers markets, with a litany of in season fruits and vegetables available for purchase before the weather truly turns. With pumpkins and other gourds ripening, apples and pears available by the bushel, and root vegetables ready for the spotlight it's also an exciting time for home cooks.

            

A really excellent Caesar salad is a dish that separates the decent home cook from the great one. We've all had the bad Caesar - pre-cut lettuce from a bag, brown at the edges, drowning in a sauce with too much mayo and not enough flavor. Never again! If you can take just a few ingredients and treat them very nicely, you can make a starter that will have your friends and family glowing with happiness. Or, you can scarf it all down yourself. The instructions are in the photo captions, but a quick opening note: This salad can be customized any way you like. In the style of an authentic Caesar, we used an egg (boiled for 1 minute), rather than mayo. We did not add anchovies, as the original recipe uses Worchestershire sauce, which has anchovy paste. If you want to bulk the salad up, feel free to add some homemade croutons. Most of all, keep tossing - a great Caesar must be well blended.

Re-opening tomorrow is Club Lago (331 W. Superior, 312-951-2849). The 60-year-old River North Italian mainstay has been closed since March after your standard "chimney from another building crumbles and destroys the kitchen" accident. Not content to simply rebuild the kitchen, owners GianCarlo and Guido Nardini did a whole overhaul of the restaurant.

He's made sink meat and limoncello, so it's logical the next step for our Food & Drink Editor Chuck Sudo would be to make his own bread. Luckily, this time he didn't just photograph it, we got a whole video.

Sad news food writing wise on two fronts today. First comes news that the venerable Gourmet magazine will be shutting down operations as part of a cost-cutting move spurred by a decline in ad revenues by parent company Conde Nast. A Gourmet byline is a holy grail among food writers and, under the editorial leadership of Ruth Riechl, some of the magazine's content was simply poetic. The loss of Gourmet's print concern leaves a void. A Conde Nast memo indicates that Gourmet's tv programming, book publishing, and recipes on epicurious.com will remain unchanged.

Michael Morowitz of the Local Beet tipped us to this commercial for Sunsweet prunes featuring Waukegan's native son, Ray Bradbury.

              

(Last month we arranged to have our "Properly Sauced" tag team of Anthony and Rob tour North Shore Distillery. North Shore's Sonja Kassebaum told us that today is the distillery's fifth year anniversary. We hope you enjoy this recap of Anthony and Rob's tour.)

So we didn't get the Olympics? Relax! People still gotta eat and, regardless of the outcome, supporters and opponents of the bid would have had a reason to drink tonight. Here are some events coming up in the next week of note.

Oktoberfest formally ends tomorrow, but that isn't stopping Rick Gresh from celebrating a few days after. The Executive Chef at David Burke's Primehouse is also an avid homebrewer and he'll be featuring a few of his creations at a Sunday dinner kicking off Primehouse's "OktoBEERfest." The selections Gresh and the Primehouse staff will be pouring include I-PAC (an IPA infused with chamomile); a wheat ale brewed with Seedling Farm peaches called "Stoned Wheat" and one beer Gresh calls "Working Man's Champagne."

• It's apple season. Here's a recipe for apple pear crisp .[Stresscake]
• Chicago's Downtown Farmstand is giving away free apples from Seedling to mark its one-year anniversary. [Inbox]
• Mindy Segal bows out of the Elysian Hotel project to focus on Hot Chocolate. [The Stew]