I’ve been stumping a lot of bartenders lately. Not just the ones from places that have more TVs than cocktails, but even some of the more seasoned pros behind the bars at The Drawing Room and GT Fish & Oyster. “Have you tried Root yet?” I’ll ask them. When I see their puzzled faces, I … Continued
Valentine’s Day might be over, but you now have another excuse to make plans to eat out: the 5th Annual Chicago Restaurant Week. Beginning tomorrow, and running until the 26th, more than 130 local restaurants will be offering a set, prix-fixe, three-course menu for $22 at lunch, and $33 or $44 at dinner. Participating eateries are as … Continued
This week, The Hopleaf’s Michael Roper heads to Quebec (where I’ll be eating smoked meat in a few days) for a fantastic beer from one of my favorites – Unibroue. If you’ve heard of Éphémère and Maudite, then you’ll probably adore their Don De Dieu as well. It’s crisp and refreshing, and still a … Continued
Every Sunday, I look through the New York Times’ Magazine, always making a note to check out the food column. I’ll typically save the issue if it’s something interesting, but I rarely get around to actually making the featured recipe(s). A few weeks ago, however, I hung on to the January 15th issue and made … Continued
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – St. Charles, IL might as well be the boonies when it comes to culinary innovation. A few years ago, Pete Balodimas and his family tried to change all that with Fahrenheit, a cutting edge restaurant some 40 miles from downtown Chicago. But the restaurant didn’t last, and Balodimas soon moved up and … 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
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