The Purple Pig’s Jimmy Bannos Jr. tied for Rising Star Chef in the U.S. Last night’s James Beard Awards in New York City honored the accomplishments of some of the greatest female chefs in the country. Outstanding Chef in the U.S. (Nancy Silverton), NYC (April Bloomfield) and Restaurateur (Barbara Lynch) were among the highlights. But … Continued
Bacon-wrapped prunes with Armagnac honey, one of the many dishes at Untitled on Mother’s Day. There’s no better way to let mom know you appreciate her on Mother’s Day than by taking her out to a nice brunch. This year, a few Chicago-area restaurants are making it easy for you to say “thanks,” by offering … Continued
Eataly and Spacca Napoli will be serving up Neapolitan-style pies for a special, one-night-only menu. Call it an Italian response to way too much Corona and guac on Cinco de Mayo, and forget the deep dish. On Monday, May 5th, Eataly Chicago and Spacca Napoli are coming together for one night only, to celebrate Neapolitan-style … Continued
Though Chicago has no shortage of up-and-coming craft breweries, odds are you can’t hit all of them in the span of 10 days. But thanks to Chicago Craft Beer Week, now you can. The fifth annual beer week, presented by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, will take place from May 15th to May 25th throughout the … Continued
This week, The Hopleaf’s Michael Roper is heading west, to San Francisco, home of Anchor Brewing. The legendary brewer has recently come out with its first India Pale Ale (IPA) and he says surprisingly, it’s more subtle than a lot of its west coast brethren. Partly, that’s due to additional malt, which lends a tad … Continued
Click here to read my profile of Vikram Vij, Chef/Owner of Vij’s in Vancouver – in my opinion, the best Indian restaurant in North America.
Vikram Vij in his namesake restaurant (photos: Julia Pelish) Last Sunday, I wrote about Vancouver’s Vikram Vij, a chef who has spent the past 20 years re-educating Canadians about the nuance of his beloved cuisine, butter chicken be damned. When I was out there, I also recorded a great interview with him, where he … Continued
#1 in the world. Again. LONDON – For the second year in a row, the top three restaurants in the world have pretty much stayed the same. At a gala reception last night here at The Guildhall in Central London, Copenhagen’s Noma returned to the top spot, knocking El Cellar De Can Roca from Girona, … Continued
Next Thursday night, Rick Bayless and yours truly, along with our Editor, Matt Cunningham, will be speaking at the Apple Store on North Michigan Avenue, talking about our new podcast, “The Feed.” We’ll be there from 7 – 8 p.m., talking about how the podcast is produced, what type of equipment we use (you’ll never … Continued
Salt beef on a beigel at Beigel Bake on Brick Lane, London. LONDON – I love that no matter where you go in the world, if there were Jews there at one point, there’s likely to be cured meat and smoked fish (and occasionally bagels). As I learned last weekend – sandwiched between three consecutive … Continued
This week, The Hopleaf’s Michael Roper is returning to an annual, seasonal beer from Dogfish Head, the pride of Milton, Delaware. It’s called Noble Rot, and if the name sounds like something along the lines of a late-harvest wine, well, you’re sort of on the right track. The brewers use grape must from viognier, which … Continued