If you’ve ever been to a great cocktail bar, you may have noticed how perfectly geometrical the ice cubes are. They just barely fit into the glass. In Chicago, there is a good chance the bar outsourced the job to someone else. Bars are turning to ice experts to get the job done. On this week’s … Continued
Neapolitan pizza joints have been cropping up all over Chicago the past few years, but none had opened in Hyde Park, until recently. One of Lincoln Park’s best pizza makers closed her shop a few months ago, re-opening in a brand new dorm on the University of Chicago campus, where they’ve expanded their menu. Nella … Continued
Chicago has a few old-school options for fried shrimp – we’re thinking of Calmet Fisheries, Goose Island Shrimp House and Lawrence Fisheries – but one of Chance the Rapper’s childhood favorites near Englewood is also worth a second look. Haire’s Gulf Shrimp 7448 S Vincennes Ave (773) 783-1818
When you order a cocktail in a bar, you probably don’t give much thought to the ice inside of it. But a new business on the South Side, called Just Ice, does. They are creating “craft ice,” which now sits in the freezers of more than 150 bars and restaurants in the region, including Prairie School, … Continued
Sushi bars are nothing new in Chicago, but Anaba in Wicker Park offers something different. It shares an address with the veggie-friendly Mana Food Bar at 1742 W. Division St., and like its sibling, it’s laser-focused on just one thing: handrolls.
I just returned from an intensive eating vacation that meandered through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. One of the highlights, without a doubt, were the delicious banh mi sandwiches we ate in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). To call them simply Vietnamese subs would be an insult. They begin with the greatest French bread – much … Continued
While on vacation in Bangkok, I filed a report for PRI’s The World, focusing on a particular noodle dish that’s NOT pad thai. Kuay Teow Kua Gai is a wide, rice noodle dish, typically made in a back alley, by cooks who’ve been doing it for years in woks set over blazing charcoals. Thanks to … Continued
One of the main reasons I wanted to return to Chiang Mai on my most recent trip to Thailand was for khao soi. I’ve always thought this Northern Thai dish deserved more credit than it gets. In the U.S., every Thai restaurant has pad thai or satay skewers, yet few manage to offer khao soi, … Continued
We all know how serious Chicago is about its pizza, but there’s a relatively new type of pizza making inroads here: Detroit-style. It was created just a few years after Uno’s launched deep dish here, back in the 40s, and while the Motor City’s version has some similarities with our deep style, there are plenty of … Continued
Many Vietnamese restaurants in Chicago are on Argyle Street in the Uptown neighborhood, but Cà Phê Dá in Pilsen offers Vietnamese food served at a slightly higher level. The owners of Haisous on 18th Street opened the tiny coffee shop next door, where the pastries and sandwiches are truly remarkable.
The team behind restaurants such as Alinea, Next and the Aviary has launched its first project outside of Chicago, in New York City. They’ve taken over the lobby of a mid-town hotel, and have transplanted their cutting edge cocktails, as well as their friendly Midwestern service to the Big Apple.