Chicago is experiencing a brewing renaissance. 100 years ago, there were dozens of breweries in the city, but after prohibition, that number dwindled to the point where they were almost extinct. Goose Island helped spur the rebirth in craft brewing within the city in 1988, and over the past few years, a number of … Continued
I had no idea pisco was so nuanced. The colorless grape brandy produced in Chile and Peru isn’t quite as popular as cachaça, but it’s coming on fast; you can learn more about it at places like ThePiscoBook.com, but you can also learn from the pros behind the bar. I did just that recently, as … Continued
Jose Garces has been getting a lot of press since he became an “Iron Chef,” but the man with Chicago roots – and a small Philadelphia empire of restaurants – still gets back to town every now and then to fire up the troops at Mercat a la Planxa, inside the Blackstone Hotel on … Continued
David Burke’s Primehouse is jumping into Oktoberfest festivities with $5 “burkers” during lunchtime through Thursday of this week. Guests can chow down on the 40-day dry aged burgers nestled in a potato bun and tailored with Swiss or cheddar cheese ($1), bacon or a fried egg for $2, or for $3 smother it in bacon … Continued
Garrett Oliver loves to sit down with a good beer. The Brewmaster of the well-known Brooklyn Brewery has been talking a lot about his favorite subject lately: he just completed editing and overseeing the publishing of The Oxford Companion To Beer, a massive tome of nearly 900 pages, including the arcane and the historical, … Continued
If you’re free on Monday, I’m hoping you can make time to attend the 3rd Annual “Cooking Up a Cure” event taking place at Salvage One (1840 W Hubbard St.). Hosted by Cleetus Friedman, owner of City Provisions, and MC’d by yours truly, this all-star dining event will bring together Chicago’s top chefs to support the … Continued
[audio:https://stevedolinsky.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mary-Sue-Milliken-3.mp3|titles=Mary Sue Milliken] Before there was DeLaurentis and “Iron Chef” Cora, there were the Too Hot Tamales, a.k.a. Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken. The two teamed up to open Border Grills in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Las Vegas (at the Mandalay), along with a successful food truck operation. Milliken got her … Continued
I’ve always told parents of young children to head to Chinatown, because nearly every restaurant welcomes children and most offer smaller portions of easy-to-digest dishes (except for Lao Szechuan, which might be for more advanced tweens). My daughter was a regular at Phoenix when she was six weeks old, and her favorite food to … Continued
We all know by now that President Obama is quite the foodie. He took his wife to Spiaggia for their anniversary; he dined with Oprah at Graham Elliot for his 50th birthday, and he loves the food at Topolobampo so much, he asked Rick Bayless to cook a State Dinner when the Mexican president was … Continued
As much as I love the cookies, cakes and muffins from A Taste of Heaven in Andersonville, it’s the scones I would drive out of my way for (as well as the artisanal pizzas across the street at Great Lake, but I digress). The scones here are unlike their dry, crumbly brethren, and I’m … Continued
Henry Adaniya has seen it all in fine-dining. From his days at the legendary Ambria in Chicago, to his launch of Trio in Evanston, he’s worked with some of the country’s best chefs. At Trio alone, he found and nurtured chefs like Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto (the other two prongs of the original Trio); … Continued