By Gulnaz Saiyed Hapless Intern Some of my earliest memories are of shopping trips to Devon Avenue. We would travel across town and then across states to get holiday clothes (even my wedding dress last year!), boxes of sweets and most importantly, stock up on ingredients for my mom’s kitchen. We would, of course, stop … Continued
Here we go again. In what must surely be the result of another series of sleepless nights for chefs Dave Beran, Grant Achatz and the entire team at Next, the fourth iteration of that always-evolving restaurant begins this week, with a tribute to el Bulli. The ground-breaking, world-class restaurant in Roses, Spain (hence, … Continued
At the risk of sounding like an old(er) man, I’m offering up a few recommendations this week that are helpful to both the 20-something clientele, as well as the over-40 group. How is this list helpful to diners who wear stilletos to dinner? Well, for one thing, any restaurant that has a thumping soundtrack and … Continued
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
This week, we’re off to Bridgeport, just south of downtown Chicago, home to countless mayors and one of the city’s legendary bakeries. At the Bridgeport Bakery (no website, how quaint), they’re gearing up for Paczki Day right about now, but one thing you can always count on are the doughnuts. Both yeast and cake versions … Continued
If there’s one skill you need to have up your sleeve (if you ever want to be a pastry chef), it’s knowing how to make a proper meringue. At least that’s the gospel according to Keegan Gerhard. The former Executive Pastry Chef at Chicago’s Four Seasons has logged time at Trotter’s, and continues to host … 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
Merriam-Webster defines a club sandwich as “a sandwich of three slices of bread with two layers of meat (as turkey) and lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.” You can, of course, find these just about anywhere they make standard sandwiches in Chicago, but chefs today are rarely content to simply abide by the textbook definition of anything. … Continued
This week, Michael introduces us to a mega bottle from Sierra Nevada, called Ovila. It’s a unique, Abbey Quad style beer with a very unique cause behind it. If you like a little bit of caramel flavor with your beer, then this is the one to try (probably better toward the end of the … Continued
Unlike the dark ages of the early ’00s, you can now find decent fish tacos around Chicago. One of the best Baja-style versions is at La Lagartija on the Near West Side, but for the real deal, you still have to drive out to Glen Ellyn to try Chicks ‘n Salsa. If you’d like … Continued
When Adam Seger called to suggest we do a “How To” on beertails, I thought, ‘you want to tell the tale of how beer came to be?’ But the Chicago mixologist, hum creator and bon vivant was talking about combining craft beer with handcrafted cocktails, a category of beverages I’ve only recently become aware … Continued