Chicago Reader: Food & Drink

Fresh From the Oven

mail@chicagoreader.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

Thirteen recommended bakeries Alliance Bakery 1736 W. Division | 773-278-0366 $ BAKERY, COFFEEHOUSE | 7 Am-9 PM Sunday, other days 6 AM-9 PM Formerly a Polish bakery, Alliance was sold to a French pastry a few years back and is now turning out wonderful-looking (and affordable) French pastries in addition to offerings like quiche and, in a nod to the neighborhood, kolacky. Strong Intelligentsia coffee and espresso drinks are available, in addition to Naked juices, hibiscus lemonade, and a few upscale sodas. The…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Slow Jam

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

Hours go into every jar of Elizabeth Madden's Rare Bird Preserves. by Mike Sula Elizabeth Madden regularly puts students from the French Pastry School to work in the Oak Park commercial kitchen where she makes her Rare Bird Preserves. "A lot of those students are like, 'What? You want me to cut apples for four hours?'" she says. "You can tell they want to do plated desserts and work in restaurants. I did have one assistant who got bored juicing lemons and zesting them, and she went to Trotter's and they had her juicing…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Food Issue

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

Rare pigs, vexing cheese, heirloom grains, black pepper gelato, farming for the city, and the best new restaurants of 2009 by Mike Sula The five major food groups provided the loose organizing principle for our annual food issue. It's an elementary concept, and maybe even corny, but also pleasingly broad, leaving room for a wide range of stories on developments in Chicago's culinary scene that reflect the larger culinary culture. Mike Sula's piece on a local effort to raise rare Mangalitsa pigs spotlights the growing farm-to-table movement and ongoing interest in local, artisanal, and sustainable agriculture, as does Lisa Shames's piece on Wisconsin's…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Food Issue: Meet the Mangalitsas

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

Local chefs invest in a rare breed of pig said to be the Wagyu of the pork world. by Mike Sula One early morning last month, a dozen Chicago chefs crowded into Stan Schutte's kitchen, listening to the stocky, buzz-cut farmer talk about the owls, hawks, and coyotes that harass his animals. "Coyotes I'm not so friendly to," he said. "I will kill a coyote. They're not so bad this time of year, but once it gets cold they'll start coming in closer and closer, and that's when they start to get a little bit greedy." Schutte said he didn't so…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Food Issue: Ambassador of Pepe Nero

mail@chicagoreader.com (Anne Ford) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

A gelato-smitten entrepreneur brings the unconventional Paciugo chain to Chicago. by Anne Ford One chilly Wisconsin evening in 2007, business consultant Ani Poddar walked into the Madison outpost of the Texas-based gelateria chain Paciugo with his wife and spotted a flavor called pepe nero—black pepper and olive oil. Poddar, who'd emigrated from India in 1998 to study manufacturing systems and industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin, was a man who took his sweets very seriously, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It didn't help that "I had had a bit…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Food Issue: My Mozzarella

mail@chicagoreader.com (Julia Thiel) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

Fast, easy, inexpensive, and delicious to make at home? I beg to differ. by Julia Thiel "I don't think it's going to work," I finally admitted to my friend Emily as I tried for the dozenth time to stir the mess of milk solids in the bowl together into cheese. It was supposed to be easy: several sources had assured me that nothing could be faster and simpler, or produce more delicious results, than making fresh mozzarella. Of course, a couple Web sites I'd come across had warned that making mozzarella was an advanced project that,…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Food Issue: City Farm

mail@chicagoreader.com (Lisa Shames) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

From a Chicago couple, a Wisconsin organic farm that understands its urban customers by Lisa Shames Bob Borchardt's family goes way back with food. His great-grandparents owned a store that sold produce, meat, and dry goods in Pilsen in the 30s and 40s, and his grandparents ran a restaurant and bar where his grandmother made hearty midday dinners of braised meats and spaetzle for the truckers coming in and out of the nearby South Water Market. In the 90s Bob took over his father's company, which serviced restaurants with specialized tasks like maintaining professional stove hoods.…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Food Issue: From Amaranth to Job's Tears

mail@chicagoreader.com (Anne Spiselman) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

On local menus: creative preparations of rare and unusual grains by Anne Spiselman Amaranth, barley, farro, quinoa, and other ancient grains are making a comeback these days, finding favor with chefs who appreciate their earthy flavors, chewy textures, nutritional benefits, and novelty value. On the local scene, chefs are dreaming up new preparations, seeking out rare varieties, and even helping to resurrect grains that have become almost extinct. Brian Enyart, chef de cuisine at Topolobampo (445 N. Clark, 312-661-1434, rickbayless.com/restaurants/topolobampo.html), says amaranth was widely used in Mexico until the conquistadors virtually eradicated it,…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Food Issue: The Best New Restaurants of 2009

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

From Browntrout to Zebda by Mike Sula I hate the casual arrogance implied by those two words—the best—particularly when they're applied to the infinite universe of food, but really when they're applied to anything at all. You could spend a lifetime reading, listening, watching, eating, and chances are you still wouldn't have read, heard, seen, or eaten nearly enough to know what's "the best." And in a year when the relentless tide of new restaurant openings barely slows despite the crappy economy, it only becomes more improbable…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

What's New

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

Reviews of Old Town Social, Gemini Bistro, and Orvieto--a charcuterie destination, a comfort-food bistro, and the new pizzeria/wine bar at Green Dolphin, all marred by flat-screen TVs by Mike Sula The airspace in the open, multilevel faux-Victorian sports bar Old Town Social is so thoroughly and discordantly saturated with flat-screen TV signals I'm convinced the design scheme is intended to simulate the internal torments of a schizophrenic. Some sight lines are so crowded by moving images that it's almost like being in a fun house hall of mirrors. It's a painfully annoying environment to have to endure to get a taste of chef Jared Van Camp's terrific house-made charcuterie. Van…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

New Too

mail@chicagoreader.com (David Hammond) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

New reviews of recently opened restaurants including Blue Ocean, Ch'ava Cafe, Dolce, Folklore, Havana, Knew, and La Mediteranee by David Hammond Blue Ocean 4650 N. Clark | 773-334-6288 $$$ ASIAN, JAPANESE | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: MONDAY-SATURDAY TILL 1 | BYO With the street appeal of a low-lit neighborhood lounge, Blue Ocean is a middling sushi joint that aspires to be an excellent bar, promising a range of Asian-influenced beverages and dozens of sake selections. At the moment, Blue Ocean is BYOB, and some of the more desirable menu options seem to be appetizers and salads engineered to work…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

In His Element

mail@chicagoreader.com (Anne Spiselman) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0500

A local entrepreneur and his custom-made energy bar company score on TV's Shark Tank by Anne Spiselman Before September 13, the night Jonathan Miller appeared on the reality show Shark Tank to pitch his year-old custom energy bar business, Element Bars, Inc., his Web site got about 200 unique visits a day. That night it racked up 25,000. The next day brought another 20,000. Less than two weeks later sales had soared from 1,000 bars a week to 10,000 bars, and Miller had hand-signed 1,500 notes apologizing for the backlog that had delayed deliveries. On the show—which…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Crunch, Crunch

mail@chicagoreader.com (Holly Greenhagen) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0500

Sixteen vegetarian and/or organic restaurants by Holly Greenhagen Alice and Friends Vegetarian Cafe 5812 N. Broadway | 773-275-8797 $ vegetarian/healthy | Dinner: seven days The name refers to Alice in Wonderland; the menu consists primarily of vegan versions of pan-Asian food—Almond UnChicken, Korean BBQ, Japanese Don Ka Su—plus items like a veggie burger and UnChicken Drumsticks. Most entrees come with rice and salad; there's a large selection of appetizers, drinks, and vegan desserts. The interior was renovated earlier this month, and there are plans to start lunch in…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Xoco vs. Mercadito

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0500

Rick Bayless's Mexican street-food joint far outshines a nearby upscale-Mex New York interloper. by Mike Sula Anyone putting off a visit to Xoco because of the daunting lines that have become an unintentionally ironic hallmark of Rick Bayless's "quick-serve" Mexican street-food joint should know that the Chef Who Can Do No Wrong provides plenty to think about during the wait. For optimists there's engrossing, if agonizing, reading material—the chalkboard menu hung high on the wall lists a half dozen caldos and nine or ten tortas (from the wood-fired oven or the griddle), all made with bounty…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

More Upscale Mex

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0500

Eleven contenders in Chicago's burgeoning upscale Mexican scene. by Mike Sula Chilam Balam 3023 N. Broadway | 773-296-6901 $$ MEXICAN, SMALL PLATES | DINNER: SUNDAY-MONDAY, WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED TUESDAY | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11 | BYO | cash only Twenty-three-year-old Chuy Valencia is only the latest—and possibly the youngest—graduate of the School of Bayless to come out of the Frontera/Topolobampo kitchens and stake his own claim. After a pit stop as chef de cuisine at Adobo Grill, in late August he opened Chilam Balam, a cramped but not…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

New Too

mail@chicagoreader.com (David Hammond) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0500

Reviews of ten recently opened restaurants, including Ciao Amore, Cosina Grill, and Kyu Sushi. by David Hammond Ciao Amore Ristorante 1134 W. 18th | 312-432-9090 $$$ ITALIAN | LUNCH: TUESDAY-FRIDAY; DINNER: SUNDAY, TUESDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED MONDAY | byo Ciao Amore, a somewhat out-of-the-way place with lots of ambition and space to grow, is still getting its act together, though it promises to be quite a show. The cardboard-stiff Italian bread we started with and the cold coffee we closed with were sad, but what came in between was consistently delicious and at times exceptional. Chef Cesar Pineda…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

What's New

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0500

Bayless proteges in Lakeview and Logan Square and felicitous dining at the Hotel Felix by Mike Sula Twenty-three-year-old Chuy Valencia is only the latest—and possibly the youngest—graduate of the School of Bayless to come out of the Frontera/Topolobampo kitchens and stake his own claim. After a pit stop as chef de cuisine at Adobo Grill, in late August he opened Chilam Balam, a cramped but not claustrophobic subterranean spot offering a small-plates menu along with a list of monthly seasonal specials—mostly more antojitos plus a few larger plates. It was a dish from this changing list that…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Books for Cooks

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0500

A history of curry, a guide to local mushrooms, Violet Hour cocktails, and more by Mike Sula Here's a roundup of locally written books on food and drink, in no particular order. Curry: A Global History Colleen Taylor Sen (Reaktion Books, $15.95) The latest in the Edible series of easily digested food histories distributed by the University of Chicago Press, this one is by local Asian food specialist Sen. Curry may have its origins in India, but she scrutinizes the effect British colonialism had on the dish—the word itself is an Anglicism—and from there charts its progress…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Around the World in Curry

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0500

Ten restaurants offering curry dishes, from Jamaican to Japanese by Mike Sula Anjin Mamiri 2739 W. Touhy | 773-262-6646 $ ASIAN | LUNCH, DINNER: Sunday, Tuesday-Saturday | closed monday | alcohol prohibited At this, Chicago's only Indonesian restaurant, the menu doesn't seem too hung up on regional specificity, with the exception of coto makassar, a beef tripe soup from South Sulawesia, where owner Muhammed Rukli hails from. It's an interesting bowl, the base of which is peanut sauce mixed with the milky water that's been used to soak rice. But what brings…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Mexican Hot Dog Moves On Up

mail@chicagoreader.com (David Hammond) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500

In Little Village, a longtime cart vendor of Mexican hot dogs goes legit. by David Hammond In Hot Dog, culinary historian Bruce Kraig posits that the classic Chicago-style dog is a reflection of the city's early-20th-century demographics, incorporating the tomatoes of Mediterranean Italians and Greeks as well as the mustard and pickles of German and Jewish immigrants. And Bob Schwartz, in Never Put Ketchup on a Hot Dog, suggests that the Louisiana sport peppers and celery salt are the contributions of African-Americans who came north during the Great Migration. These are now canonical condiments on the…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Hot Diggity

mail@chicagoreader.com (Martha Bayne) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0500

Twelve Chicago hot dog stands by Martha Bayne The Dog Joint 350 W. Armitage | 773-687-9573 $ AMERICAN, BURGERS | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | Open late: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 4 New hot dog stand also offering burgers, Italian beef, and skin-on french fries. While it normally closes at 8 PM Sunday through Thursday, it stays open till 11 PM on nights when there's a show at the nearby Park West. Cash only, with an ATM on the premises. Drew's Eatery 2207 W. Montrose | 773-463-7397 $…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

What's New

mail@chicagoreader.com (David Hammond) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0500

Featured reviews of the Bridgeport breakfast-and-lunch spot Nana, Jerry Kleiner's theatrical 33 Club, and River West's The Red Canary by David Hammond During the first weeks at NANA, a busted computer made for Homeric wait times. Then city workers cracked a gas pipe, forcing a lunchtime evacuation. Such mishaps were exacerbated by slowish service. Fortunately, waits are decreasing, due in part to whip-cracking servers like ours, who was heard querying the cooks sarcastically, "You want me to come over there and help you out?" Cafe 28 pastry chef Maria Solis (aka Nana) and her sons, Omar and Christian, preside over this genuinely…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

New Too

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0500

New reviews of ten more recently opened restaurants by Mike Sula The Bad Apple 4300 N. Lincoln | 773-360-8406 $$ BAR/LOUNGE, BURGERS | LUNCH: SATURDAY-SUNDAY; DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: EVERY NIGHT TILL 2 | RESERVATIONS FOR LARGE GROUPS ONLY Craig Fass and Mandy Franklin (Menagerie, Cooper's) opened their beer and burger bar the Bad Apple a scant half block south of the venerable Jury's, and while that institution attracts a decidedly different crowd, its burger is formidable and has been justly recognized as such for years. Now, with the Bad…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

An Iconic American Food, Japanese-Style

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0500

At Gabutto Burger in Mitsuwa Marketplace, a foreign twist on the hamburger by Mike Sula You won't often catch me enjoying sweet potato and mayo on my pizza, but I do get excited when skewed foreign incarnations of American fast foods slingshot back to the States—as they have at the purveyor of the aforementioned delicacy, the chain Cheogajip/Pizza and Chicken Love Letter, whose wild success in South Korea prompted it to stake out a toehold in a Niles strip mall in early 2008. But even more than straight versions of ethnic cuisine, these hybrids seem…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Between the Bun

mail@chicagoreader.com (Mike Sula) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0500

Eleven good bets for burgers by Mike Sula Between the Bun The Counter 670 W. Diversey | 773-935-1995 $ BURGERS, ICE CREAM | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11 | RESERVATIONS NOT ACCEPTED Latent anti-west coast bias initially led me to smirk at the idea of a bunless "burger bowl," what the folks behind exploding Santa Monica burger chain the Counter call what is essentially a burger salad. But the two I sampled, belonging to a pair of carb-conscious but pleasure-loving eaters, were…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]