I was expecting Day 1 (Monday) at Publican Quality Meats to be busy, but not THIS busy. By 1 p.m., there were already people lining up to buy grass-fed beef from Wisconsin and homemade boudin blanc. An assortment of salumis at one case had a few guys taking rapturous nibbles from the free samples placed … Continued
Thank god it’s not BYOW (bring your own Wetnaps), because you’d need a truckload if you were headed to the 13th annual WingFest on February 26th. Problem is, if you haven’t bought your tickets yet, you’re out of luck; the 2000 tickets are already gone. Sold out. But you still have a chance to … Continued
Looking to embrace your inner carnivore? Chef Allen Sternweiler of Butcher & the Burger is going to start teaching butchery classes on Monday nights, starting in February. Classes are held at 7:30 p.m. in the chef’s prep kitchen at the Lincoln Park restaurant, located at 1021 W. Armitage Ave. In February, classes will … Continued
By Gulnaz Saiyed Hapless Intern Pick up a chicken labeled “fresh” at the supermarket. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, it has never been kept at temperatures below 26 degrees Fahrenheit. Touch it through its cool, vacuum-packed plastic. The product won’t feel ice-cold and rock-hard, but will feel supple under your fingers. … Continued
Greg Hall is sporting his usual (ahem, casual) look: untucked shirt, full beard, slightly disheveled hair, but make no mistake, he’s 100% focused on his next project. The former Brewmaster of Goose Island – the company his father, John started – left the company after it was sold last year to Anheuser-Busch, and started … Continued
There’s been quite a bit of discussion lately, at least among people who do what I do for a living, that the era of fine dining in Chicago is coming to an end. After years of seemingly unlimited expense accounts (and the credit card balances that supported them) there has been a wave of closings … Continued
Are you a pork fan interested in going whole hog? Back after popular demand, Chef Nathan Sears and Chef Amber Blatt of Vie Restaurant will be dishing on all details of preparing a hog, from butchering to making sausage, bacon, pâté and more. The three-hour afternoon classes include lunch and and lots of take-home … Continued
I had never heard of Roncesvalles, but apparently, it is to Toronto what Logan Square is to Chicago: a bohemian ‘hood on the verge of gentrification. My friends were planning to take me and Max with their kids to a relatively new barbecue joint there called Barque Smokehouse on Sunday night, which, appropriately enough, was … Continued
Not that long ago, Hannukah presents for my kids included Fisher Price games and Lego Star Wars. It’s funny how the older they get, the more elaborate the gifting becomes. But let’s be frank: Hannukah is not about the gifts, and never really was. It’s a Jewish guilt response to Christmas. Certainly, growing up in … Continued
For some reason, I keep hearing more and more about Montreal-style smoked meat lately, and thankfully, I keep running into it. Last month, in Brooklyn, I had lunch at Mile End, and along with the imported bagels and poutine, they also made a dynamite smoked meat/pastrami that took me right back to the legendary Schwartz’s … Continued
There are some traditions in Chicago that need no explanation. The home openers at Wrigley and The Cell, the dyeing green of the Chicago River and the nearly annual parade of government officials being hauled off to jail. These events mark the passage of time and will endure for generations to come. But there’s another … Continued