Quick Bites

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Feb 28, 2008 2:00PM

• McDonald's is giving away free McSkillet Burritos today and tomorrow, which elicited responses from Yumsugar readers ranging from "Yuck! No way." to "Do they come with chorizo?" We say "eat at your own risk."


• Who knew Dolly Parton had a fucking cookbook? Proceeds from sales of Dolly's Dixie Fixins support her Dollywood Foundation's Imagination Library, which distributes free books to preschoolers in 43 states and Canada. Parton told Dave Hoekstra, "These are recipes of fancy and country and simple," like the accompanying spaghetti pie recipe Yee-HAW! She can't do worse than Paula Deen.


• The Trotter brand keeps expanding. Both the New York Times and MenuPages Chicago had bits about the 80-seat restaurant Trotter is planning at Madison and 23rd in Manhattan. Adam Peltz at MP Chicago even posted a photo of the in-progress tower of Babel that will house Trotter's maiden Big Apple venture.


• Pig round-up: Mike Sula weighs in with an update on the Reader's pet mulefoot, Dee Dee, on her journey to her academic fate. Meanwhile, the Tribune printed a story of Wauconda farmer Bob Wargaski, who plans to block the construction of a water tower by starting a pig farm. Due to concerns over water contamination, state law prohibits the operation of water tower wells within 400 feet of a pig farm. Incredibly, some of Wargaski's neighbors support his plan of packing 50 pigs like sardines in a 100'-by-45' metal pole barn, seeing water towers as an eyesore and not for the practical purpose they provide.


• Our dinner date last night at Agami reflected on how she felt she missed out on the golden days of the "Chicago Way." Turns out we should have dinner at Natalino's in the near future. Heather Shouse reported on the TOC blog last week about the windows being shot out at Natalino's in West Town in retaliation for owner Michael Genovise hiring away his chef from competing trattoria Piano Piano. When Shouse pressed Genovise to answer if he believes the folks at Piano Piano was responsible he replied, "Well, it seems pretty coincidental, doesn’t it? $15,000 worth of coincidence." All the same, we'd be checking for guns taped behind the toilets at Natalino's, if we were you.