A friend offered us a ticket to Saturday's sold out Baconfest Chicago 2011. At the time we were content with letting Anthony handle the coverage, but he's been neck-deep in all things related to Next and the Aviary, so we decided to shoulder the load here. The UIC Forum made for a much better fit for this year's version over the Stan Mansion in Logan Square, indicative of the promotion and growth of the festival in a few short years. The expanded space also meant that attendees didn't leave reeking of bacon for days like last year. The chefs, for the most part, brought their "A" games to the event, with dishes ranging from Phillip Foss's chicken meatballs wrapped in Neuske's bacon in red wine sauce (which he dubbed "Coq in Balls") to a amazing pastrami cured pork belly Reuben from onesixtyblue and Old Town Social's Tijuana Dog: Jared Van Camp's take on the Sonoran. Paddy Long's took it to the extreme with a whole Berkshire hog wrapped in a bacon weave that was long gone by the time we got around to try it. more ›

We stopped in at Fish Bar to check out Michael Kornick's latest creation and snap a few pictures. We left full and happy. more ›

Reviewing m. henry more ›

Sometimes a Sunday calls for heading out for brunch. This past Sunday called for getting messy in the kitchen. We had these chicken breasts that inspired us to get our chicken and biscuit on. But we didn't want just any chicken biscuit. We wanted some inspiration. more ›

We stopped into The Publican on Monday night for dinner and were graciously allowed to step back into the kitchen to snap some pictures. This impromptu visit means that all of our pictures aren't labeled but we think you'll get a good idea of the offerings at this popular restaurant. Enjoy! more ›

On Tuesday, we took a look at some food from Viaggio and Chef Victor Perdue ("Uncle Vic"). Today, let's take a closer look behind the scenes. more ›

God bless the day we stumbled into Viaggio, just blocks from our home, and discovered a new favorite. During our first meal, we politely inquired if we could go into the kitchen and take pictures. By our second visit, we'd been down into the basement to watch Chef Victor Perdue (known as Uncle Vic) make fresh pasta. You'll have to wait for Thursday for those pictures. But today, enjoy some pictures from the Italian kitchen of Viaggio. Menu description and price included in the captions. Enjoy! more ›

During the cold winter months, we often walked under Block 37 - from the Washington Blue line to the Red line - and and it was there we discovered Beard Papa's. Starting in Japan in 1999, Beard Papa's spread throughout Asia before making its way to Canada and the U.S. For this, we're grateful. We decided to stop by and snap some pictures of the awesome cream puffs and other treats. Enjoy! more ›

We spent Sunday marveling at the sudden heat and eating, of course. To kick it off, the Food and Drink Writers of Chicagoist met up with our fearless leaders (F&D jefe Sudo and Jefe jefe Gilmer) at The Southern before the Blackhawks kicked some Shark tail. Enjoy some pictures from our brunch at The Southern - included in each caption is the menu description and price. more ›

Whenever a beautiful and complex dessert arrives at our table, we are in awe. How did they get all those bits to line up so beautifully? So, when we get a chance to go behind the scenes and watch a great pastry chef, we always jump at the chance. Last week, we got to watch Jove Hubbard, pastry chef at David Burke's Primehouse. We'd previously thought of Primehouse as a great place for steak (naturally) but after this visit we'll be stopping in for dessert. more ›

With all the tastings, tappings and events happening around town related to Craft Brewers Conference, it's wise to formulate a plan of attack. The first step to putting together a successful plan is to recognize you aren't going to hit every event. Your wallet and liver will thank you later. Blackbird put together two sold out special beer dinners this week. Last night's beer dinner featuring the beers of Stone Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin and Norwegian brewery Nøgne-Ø (pronounced "Noon-yeh") made the list for three reasons - 1) It's Blackbird. that's always money well spent. 2) Chef de Cuisine and Food & Wine 2010 Best Chef winner Mike Sheerin's revamping of the Blackbird menu has been nothing short of astonishing. 3) The most intriguing brewery of the three was Nøgne-Ø. Brewmaster Kjetil Jikiun intimated last night that they're pretty much the vanguard for Norway's craft beer movement. That these three disparate breweries became comrades speaks volumes about the way good beer — like music, art and food — can bridge seemingly unbridgeable gaps. more ›

With a name like "poutine" it's easy to assume that the diner staple of French fries, cheese curds and gravy is French in origin. You'd only be off by about 3,390 miles. The origins of poutine (pronounced "POO-teen") began, as most great creations, as a happy accident. The most often cited story: a Quebecois named Fernand LaChance was asked to pair the three ingredients together at the behest of a customer. LaChance replied, "ça va faire une maudite poutine" ("it will make a damn mess"). The fries tend to be medium cut so that they're soft inside while crisp outside. gravy is typically chicken, turkey or veal with a solid pepper note to it. We prefer our poutine with a sharp cheese curd, like cheddar. more ›

Last Saturday we visited the newly opened and packed-to-the-gills downtown French Market at 131 N. Canal. Here are some photos from our trip and apologies for the quality of some, as we used our iPhone. more ›

Whenever we order a dessert from a talented pastry chef, we marvel at the complexity and beauty of the final product. Ingredient after ingredient, brushed and balanced and sauced just exactly right, over and over again. How do they do it?? more ›

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. more ›

That is all. more ›

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. more ›

Spiaggia (aka President and Mrs. Obama's favorite restaurant) gets the food pr0n treatment over at Menupages Grub Street Chicago today with a series of Stolpman-level photos from Carolina Bolado. The photo essay is also running to commemorate chef Sarah Grueneberg's one-year anniversary as Tony Mantuano's chef de cuisine. [Grub Street Chi] more ›

We are looking to you, dear reader, to let us know where you'd like us to visit for our Food Pr0n series. Any restaurants in particular have you curious? Comment below or Twitter lstolpman. Here's a reminder of where we've been: more ›

News that Nightwood (2119 S. Halsted, 312-526-3385) opened last night spread like widlfire throughout twitter feeds and other blogs almost as soon as Jason Hammel announced it on his Facebook page. Since it's only a bridge over the south fork of the Chicago River away from home, we decided to check it out. more ›

We paid a visit to one sixtyblue (1400 W. Randolph) to see some of the new menu items by Chef Michael McDonald. Chef McDonald has worked under Jean Joho at Everest as chef de cuisine and most recently as executive chef at C (the Charlie Trotter restaurant in Los Cabos, Mexico) and executive chef of Restaurant Charlie, Trotter's seafood restaurant in Las Vegas. one sixtyblue offers $5 wood-fired pizzas on Friday evenings. You can stay informed of their specials via their Facebook page. more ›

The food and drink staff here are huge fans of Schwa. Part of the reason is the space is so small that the attention diners receive is very personal. It's standard at Schwa to have chef Michael Carlson bringing the dishes to you and responding to your approval of the food with a simple reply: "Word." As a BYOB place, we've also been able to pair a few wines listing at under $10 with the meal. more ›

Had so much fun doing some food pr0n with Rachelle Bowden at the Publican that we decided take an encore bow. "Chicagoist Prime" contacted Marcus and me the other day and asked if we wanted to run some photos of a dinner she was going to that night. You don't turn down good photos and you always find a way to accommodate the founding editor of this here site when necessary. "We've never done anything regarding May St. Market," Rachelle said. Sad to say that's true, as I've long been a fan of Alex Cheswick's cooking. more ›

We're back with some more pictures from moto's kitchen. Take #1 explored some dishes, Take #2 showed the mad scientist side of Chef Homaru Cantu. This time we'll show the technique behind the new bagel and lox menu item, as well as get a sneak peek of a dessert by Pastry Chef Ben Roche not yet on the menu. Enjoy!
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Alright, maybe we did tweet some of it ourselves, but bunch at the Publican lived up to the short-notice hype yesterday. Today we're pleased to present photos of some of the dishes on the menu, captured in their fresh-from-the-kitchen glory by none other than Rachelle "Chicagoist Prime" Bowden. more ›

There's the kind of food pr0n that Stolpman and others embrace, with beautiful shots of carefully crafted dishes. I like to call that "culinary erotica." Then there's the food photography equivalent of Hustler's "Beaver Hunt," with a little bit of snuff film added, for good measure. more ›

As we noted in yesterday's entry, Chef Laurent Gras allowed us into L2O's kitchen to take pictures of his beautiful creations. Apologies that all do not have descriptions; food flies out of the kitchen more quickly than I can snap it. Also, see some of the other pictures from the shoot. Enjoy. more ›

Chef Laurent Gras graciously allowed us into L2O's immaculate kitchen on Friday night. We compiled our favorite pictures of food prep for your enjoyment. There is something very rewarding about watching the diligence and precise care that went into each dish that left the kitchen. We hope you enjoy these. Tomorrow, we will bring you pictures of dishes. more ›

We were graciously allowed to visit the kitchen of Chef Michael Kornick's restaurant, MK, to capture pictures of their food. Our only regret was not catching a shot of the signature pommes frites served with truffle cream (do yourself a favor and order the extra truffle cream from the start...you won't be sorry). Enjoy! more ›

We made our way to Kohan to capture some of its food and drink for your eyes. While known for its sushi and teppan grill dishes, it also serves authentic Korean food, as well. Martinis are $5 (1/2 price!) all day Friday and Saturday. [Previous Chicagoist coverage of Kohan: 1, 2] more ›