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Good Food Festival Returns to Chicago
Rick Bayless will return to the 10th annual Good Food Festival and Conference (photo courtesy familyfarmed.org) Lovers of locally-sourced food rejoice! From March 13th-15th, FamilyFarmed.org’s Good Food Festival and Conference returns to Chicago. This year’s event will be held in the UIC Forum, at 725 Roosevelt Road. In its 10th year the festival promises participants … Continued
Québecois Poutine in Montreal (PRI’s The World)
Classic poutine at SuWu in Montreal Click below to hear my report from Montreal on “La Poutine Week,” an annual bacchanal of all things covered in cheese curds and gravy.
Love Letter To Japan
Otoro nigiri at the Fish Market in Yaizu City I realize today is a day when people are supposed to express their love for other people. At least that’s what Hallmark and your neighborhood flower shop hope you’ll do. But I’m using today as an excuse to write a short note to my new love: … Continued
Congrats To Our #RaveNOLA Winner…
Congratulations to Carolyn Markov, of Lombard, IL, who is going to be joining my group in New Orleans next month along with a guest. Over the course of the contest, which began in early January, Markov logged an impressive number of raves – well over 100 – including tons of great tips and pictures; it … Continued
Seminars Announced at Tales of the Cocktail
What interesting timing. The day before I’m going to announce our winner in the RaveNOLA contest to join my group of merry eaters and drinkers, the prestigious Tales of the Cocktail comes out with its list of seminars for the annual drink conference in the very same city this summer. This year, they’re adding some … Continued
Shrimp Sandwich at Little Goat Bread
Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat Diner has been open for about a year, while the bakery next door, Little Goat Bread, has been the workhorse, pumping out all of the breads for her restaurants and serving Stumptown coffee first thing in the morning. They’ve also opened a second branch at The Chicago French Market, with a … Continued
Getting Tongue in Sendai
Gyutan (beef tongue) grilled over binchotan at Dateno Gyutan in Sendai SENDAI, JAPAN – What’s not to like about a country where they love to get tongue? The sentiment is primarily limited to northern Japan, in the Miyagi prefecture, and the city of Sendai, about 200 miles north of Tokyo (but only 1 hr. 30 … Continued
Turn Up The Heat With Cheese, Bread & Wine
Sitting at Bar Pastoral’s cheese counter is pretty sexy. There are dozens of special Valentine’s Day dinners going on next week, but for my money, I’m just as happy sipping a sparkling rosé while noshing on a runny Brillat-savarin or a salty manchego (with quince paste and Marcona almonds of course). While most places put … Continued
Ramen Museum An Umami Fest
Enjoying my second bowl of the afternoon at the Ramen Museum. Yokohama, Japan – I was expecting a “Noodle Hall of Fame” or a “Best of the Broths” lineage. I had no idea the Ramen Museum in Shinyokohama (the “new” part of Yokohama) about 30 miles from central Tokyo, would actually serve the stuff. I … Continued
Sonoma Cider Worth Sipping
The Hatchet, The Pitchfork and The Anvil all now available in Chicago. There has been a cider surge recently. In Chicago, of course, we all know about Virtue Cider, the company started by former Goose Island Brewmaster Greg Hall. His Michigan-based company is producing some seriously hand-crafted cider with influences from the best British and … Continued