Results tagged “frenchlaundry”

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.

What have the intrepid local food writers and bloggers of Our Town and elsewhere been up to this week?

Normally, the last thing Chicagoist wants to do on a hot Saturday afternoon is put on “business-casual attire” (that basically goes for any Saturday afternoon, really). But when it’s for a champagne reception at Charlie Trotter’s, it’s not a problem. And when said reception includes the opportunity to see some of the most influential chefs from around the world, well, we’re there. In case you haven’t heard — with all the media hype going on,...

Alinea Chef/Owner Grant Achatz

Author Michael Ruhlman

Sharp eyes around these parts may have noticed a lack of restaurant reviews lately. That's because it's been cold, y'all. This recent spate of bad weather has reacquainted us with the simplicity of making pancakes. It's even easier when you're working from a pre-made mix. During our weekly visit to Lush Wine & Spirits this weekend, we picked up a twenty-ounce bag of pancake mix from the Sour Mash Bourbon Bread Company, a company co-founded...

Color us not too shocked. Monday night's James Beard Awards were handed out in New York City, and Chicago's Shawn McClain took home the Best Chef: Midwest prize, beating out Naha's Carrie Nahabedian for the coveted award. McClain won for his work at Spring. Other Chicagoans weren't so lucky. Poor Grant: Danny Meyer over at NYC's The Modern beat him out for Best New Restaurant and Thomas Keller's famed French Laundry whupped both Jean Joho's...

As we've seen in the past, Chicagoist has an affinity for certain types of produce. You know about our love/hate relationship with the glory of homegrown heirloom tomatoes and our unbridled lust and fervor for fresh picked apples, but we have a secret zeal that we’re only now willing, and dare we say, strong enough to reveal: sunchokes rock. If you’ve never heard of a sunchoke, also known as a Jerusalem artichoke, don’t be alarmed....

New American cuisine served within the lush, feminine confines of what was once Green Room, Butter offers the West Loop a casual yet sophisticated dining experience. Walking into Butter, Chicagoist got the sense that it looks to accomplish two things: 1) appeal to the hipsters while maintaining a dignity that best befits a chef who cut his teeth at The French Laundry and Le Francais; and 2) be a place to be seen but not...

After 3 years as Executive Chef at Trio, the 5-star restaurant in Evanston, Grant Achatz is leaving to open his own restaurant. Grant, who has worked in the kitchens of many of the country's top restaurants such as French Laundry and Charlie Trotter's, was the recipient last year of the esteemed James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef Award. The Chicago location of the new restaurant hasn't been set yet but the name has. Alinea, which Achatz says is an ancient typographical symbol stating the beginning of a new train of thought, is hoped to be open by the beginning of the year. Achatz says the food there will be an "evolution" of the culinary style he developed at Trio.