Gridskipper Looks at Local Dining to Middling Results

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jan 29, 2008 8:27PM

The Gawker-affiliated travel site Gridskipper took a look at the local dining scene yesterday. Laura pointed out to us - and after reading the post we concur - that the tone of the post strikes the balance between "yeah, that's about right" and "this is why people in New York shouldn't write about Chicago." Seriously, they consider moto to be overrated, when we found it to be the most fun we've had in a restaurant in years. And Violet Hour is so six months ago, according to them.

We find ourselves in agreement in acknowledging the wood-fired pizzeria craze of 2K7, but they say the farm-to-table movement is the next big thing locally. Actually, the localvore movement has had a supportive home among chefs in Chicago for years; it isn't a recent development.

If they want to spend some time here, they'll see what we're seeing. We think the new big trend is in barbecue joints. The recent success of Smoque and Honky Tonk is proving that there's a demand for it in the city, and new places like Risque Café are aiming to fill it.