Filling: The Year in Food and Drink
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Dec 28, 2007 7:20PM
This is the time of year where we sit back and reflect on what's happened the past twelve months. If you're like us, you do so with a nice spread of food and a good stiff drink laid out in front of you.
Chicagoans take few things as seriously as we do our eating and drinking. Some of us take it more seriously than others. As food and drink writers we take a particular pride in the makeup of the local restaurant scene, which can accommodate everything from 24-course, four hour tasting "tours" at Alinea to being insulted by Weiner's Circle cashiers at 5 a.m. after an evening of boilermakers. No longer is discussion of fine dining relegated to the expense account and social climber set (if it ever was). The Food Network and the weekend cooking shows on Channel 11 have made people more aware of the range of flavors and styles of cooking available to us, especially around town. Additionally, local food writers (for the most part) have been accommodating and gracious with their knowledge and passion for the local dining scene with us, as we've immersed ourselves deeper into it.
It's also been another banner year for food and drink in Chicago. We consider ourselves lucky to have had a front-row seat for much of the happenings. Following are some of the events that we found fascinating in 2007.
- LTHForum Goes Nucular: As the venerable local culinary forum marches toward its fourth anniversary, its profile greatly increased in 2007, thanks to feature articles in the Sun-Times and an in-depth podcast with Hungry Mag creator Michael Nagrant. The effect LTH members have on restaurants isn't as wide ranging as the "Check, Please" effect (although both Coalfire and El Cubanito are good examples of the site's influence), and some of the forum threads can become tedious and mundane. But there probably isn't a food writer working in this town who doesn't reference LTHforum first for some backstory on their articles.
- Mike Nagrant: A one man cottage industry, Nagrant was almost as influential as LTH this year. Between his updates at Hungry Mag and seeing his byline in nearly every major publication in the city, Nagrant has been a tireless chronicler of restaurants, cheap eats, and good food. His must-read interviews with local and world-renowned chefs are some of the best chefs profiles this side of Michael Ruhlman, without Ruhlman's tendency to focus on the culture of the celebrity chef.
- Food Writer Ethics: From Esquire's John Mariani's princely "requests", to Yelp* elite squad members being treated to a free meal, to having our own ethics questioned because one of us likes to use the word "yum" a lot, a lot of type was dedicated this year to food writer ethics, largely resulting from the uncharted waters of user-review sites like Yelp*, Menuism, et al. It's easy to read this as a result of the increase in internet-based culinary sites. That is, until one sees the folks at LTH and other local food blogs like Chicago Bites gladly paying for their meals and offering a sincere review. For us, it's also an issue that goes beyond a free meal.
- HB 429: The wine shipping bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Blagojevich ostensibly under the guise of making Illinois a "full reciprocity" state. However, wine lovers in Illinois already had access to thousands of wines via out-of-state retailers and wine clubs that will be shut out of the market when the law goes into effect June 1. HB 429 is yet another transparent play by the distributor lobby to control how consumers receive product. When the state's larger wineries and vineyards are opposed to the bill, one wonders if it will truly serve the consumer.
- Illinois' Growing Wine Industry: Even with HB 429 ready to take effect, the state's wine industry had a banner year. From Galena to the downstate Shawnee Hills region, wineries and vineyards were poised to build on their previous success. No one's going to mistake Roselle with Napa yet, but getting to a winery is as easy as studying a Metra map.
- Grant Achatz: The man behind Alinea faced the possibility of losing his sense of taste with the creativity and forward thinking that he approaches cooking. Now in remission, Chef Achatz can look forward to the autumn 2K8 launch of the Alinea cookbook.
- Charlie Trotter: In addition to his rapidly expanding business interests, Trotter's eponymous restaurant celebrated twenty years in business during a hot August which saw every notable chef in the world converge in Chicago to pay tribute to the man. That's what we call influence and respect.
- Bell's, Not Bell's: Winter came, and with it a slightly different brand of beer from Kalamazoo, albeit in name only. The Bell's-National Wine and Spirits cold war isn't over by a long shot, but it's nice to at least get our hands on some of Larry Bell's product without having to drive over state lines.
- A Half Acre and Growing: Does it matter that Half Acre beer is contract brewed in Wisconsin? Only if you're really anal. Gabe Magliaro's tireless promotion has made the beer almost as ubiquitous as "312." It's now available on draft, to boot.
- Wood-fired pizzerias: We weren't joking yesterday. Places like Coalfire, Crust, et al. have been propogating like bunnies in heat, often with fair to middling product. They truly are the new sushi bars.