On this week’s show, a deep-dive into the suburbs of Toronto, where a veritable United Nations of eating exists, in places like Scarborough and Markham. Eating around the world in pretty much one place. All you have to do is bring an appetite, eh?
Chicago has several good doughnut shops, but I sniffed out yet another good one, this time in the Cragin neighborhood on the city’s Northwest Side. It’s a family-run operation led by Cambodian immigrants who’ve been shaping, frying and glazing for more than 30 years.
On this week’s show, a discussion with the Food Editor at The New York Times, Sam Sifton, about how the business of food coverage has evolved, and how digital, social media, even virtual reality may play a role in how you consume food news from a national newspaper. Then the paper’s Restaurant Critic, Pete Wells … Continued
Catering is a tough business, but one local caterer decided that it had the right team in place, and the know-how, to create a new restaurant, adjacent to their catering facility. The result is Eden, a restaurant with high ambitions that manages to pull it off.
There are plenty of Middle Eastern joints in Palos Hills and Bridgeview, but nothing quite like Al-Sufara Grills, which sits almost hidden in the middle of a strip mall, near 103rd and Harlem Avenue. (In this week’s Extra Course Video: I talk about the two very different kinds of baba gannoush they offer). Extra … Continued
There are dozens of chicken sandwiches in Chicago, some fast food, others more elaborate. There’s a truly unique and delicious one, in West Fulton Market where classically-trained chefs have taken a completely new approach to this southern staple.
In 2015, Tucson joined a pretty prestigious list of more than a dozen cities from around the world to become the only place in the U.S. designated a “City of Gastronomy” by UNESCO. On this week’s show, I report from this desert, which is at the forefront of resuscitating a long-lost agricultural movement that goes back … Continued
One of the Bridgeport neighborhood’s favorite British cafes has moved to Pilsen, greatly expanding its offerings. Now, more of a formal British pub, you can eat – and drink – pretty well, almost all day long.
We all know that Chicago has an enormous Polish population. But where does someone go if they want to buy the smoked sausages, breads and soups that remind them of home? You could certainly walk up and down North Milwaukee Avenue or down South Archer, but for one-stop shopping, you need to travel to one of … Continued
By Kristine Sherred Mardi Gras, for some, is more of a Jeudi Gras. In densely populated Polish neighborhoods from Chicago to Milwaukee, Buffalo to Cleveland, and Grand Rapids to Detroit, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday welcomes the throes of thousands of pączki with open arms year after year. Oak Mill Bakery, one of many bakeries … Continued
By Kristine Sherred Though high-profile chefs earn plenty of accolades, there are many more folks – many of them first, second or third-generation immigrants – working hard behind the scenes. They are the ones who keep kitchens (and our bellies) full and dining rooms buzzing. North Pond Chef and Owner Bruce Sherman has spearheaded a soup … Continued