Coffee goes seasonal in this week's Reader. We certainly knew that coffee tastes better when beans are freshly roasted (an amazing week we spent in Addis Ababa taught us that much), and we knew we like some beans more than others, and we knew that it feels right when it's Fair Trade, but the article woke us up (pun!) to the fact that different regions harvest and ship coffee beans at different times. Two places that the Reader thinks might help you keep up on the freshness are Metropolis Coffee and Intelligensia Coffee. That chart is incidental to freshness, but relevant to our boys and girls at the CBOT (even though it's NYBOT).

• Batali does something semi-intellectual at Blackbird [Chicago Foodies]
• A breezy meditation on being a gaijin chef at an izakaya (jealous!) [Drive-Thru]
• High-end box wine for your inner egalitarian [Sun-Times]
• Celebrate your New World-iness, soup to nuts [Tribune]
• It's a banner day for canine rights. You? Less lucky [cbs2chicago]

If all goes as planned, John Bubala will open Baccala, his Piedmont-inspired restaurant, in his old Thyme Cafe space on Milwaukee Avenue at around 6pm tomorrow evening. To those of you who remember Bubala primarily from his Thyme days and wonder what he's been up to, pay better attention! He's been running Timo to some acclaim for a while now, and Baccala appears to be the final step in transforming his restaurant empire from nouveau French to rustic Italian. To accomplish this, he chose the cuisine of the Piedmont region, whose ingredients, flavorings and cooking philosophies are not so dissimilar from what Bubala has worked with in the past. Check out the write-ups at Metromix and Time Out; we'll be watching this one.

Baccala
1540 N Milwaukee Ave | Btwn N Honore St & N Damen Ave
773-227-1400

This is not breaking news, but I was browsing through the list of nominees again, and I was amazed by just how many nominations were picked up by Chicagoland chefs and other food professionals (it's fifteen). I mean, I'm not so amazed, since Chicago is a global center of cuisine and deserves all the recognition it gets...maybe it's more like pride that I'm feeling. Except in the "Best Chef: Great Lakes" category, because that's just a gimme. Anyway, a full list for you, after the jump:

Category: Newspaper Section

Chicago Tribune, Carol Mighton Haddix

Category: Television Food Segment, National or Local

Host: Vince Gerasole
Network: WBBM-TV, CBS
Producer: Vince Gerasole

Category: Webcast

Spatulatta.com
Hosts: Olivia Gerasole & Isabella Gerasole
Website: spatulatta.com
Producers: Gaylon Emerzian, Heidi Umbhau

Category: OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEUR AWARD

Richard Melman
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
5419 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60640
773-878-7340

Category: OUTSTANDING CHEF AWARD

Jean Joho
Everest
440 S. La Salle Street,
40th Fl.
Chicago, IL 60605
312-663-8920

Paul Kahan
Blackbird
619 W. Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60606
312-715-0708

Category: OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT AWARD

Frontera Grill
Chef/Owners: Rick and
Deann Bayless
449 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60610
312-661-0381

Spiaggia
Chef: Tony Mantuano
Owner: Compass Group
980 N. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
312-280-2750

Category: RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR

Graham Elliot Bowles
Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel
108 East Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-573-6754

Category: OUTSTANDING PASTRY CHEF AWARD

Mindy Segal
Hot Chocolate
1747 N. Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647
773-489-1747

Category: OUTSTANDING WINE SERVICE AWARD

Bin 36
Wine Director:
Brian Duncan
339 N. Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60610
312-755-9463

Category: OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

Tru
Owners: Rick Tramonto, Gale Gand, and Richard Melman
676 N. St. Clair Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-202-0001

Category: BEST CHEF: GREAT LAKES

Grant Achatz
Alinea
1723 N Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60614
312-867-0110

Carrie Nahabedian
Naha
500 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60610
312-321-6242

Bruce Sherman
North Pond
2610 N Cannon Dr
Chicago , IL 60614
773-477-5845

Oh yeah, and winners are announced May 7.

Actually, that characterization is somewhat unfair; rediscovers would be more accurate, since the Sun-Times remembers eating them growing up in the Midwest, when hearty food was eaten non-ironically. It seems to me that short ribs started showing up on big city menus five and a half years ago, when people really needed comfort food (or maybe I'm just making that up). Since then, short ribs appear to have shown up on any menu where they wouldn't be a hideous aberration. I did a quick survey of the MenuPages database and found no fewer than sixty-two (!) restaurants in the city which serve short ribs. New York, by comparison, has one hundred fifty-two restaurants with short ribs on the menu, although this works out to a very similar short rib penetration density (I am the type of person to use phrases like "short rib penetration density" in everyday conversation. Aren't you glad you don't have to talk to me?)

The article helpfully points out that one reason short ribs are so popular (aside from their inherent deliciousness) is that, like tofu, they absorb flavor profiles really well and can be used by virtually any cuisine. After all, they spent the 80s and 90s hibernating on Korean BBQ menus, and now run the gamut from New American (Magnolia Cafe) to Soul (Edna's) to Pan-Asian (Aloha Grill) to Mexican (El Cid), and back again (Kagnam). Furthermore, how can anyone not like meat braised in wine? And they're good for lunch, too: I am eating some kalbi right this very moment.

• The ivory tower of high-end dining [Accidental Hedonist]
• Mourning the loss of Meyer Deli [Food Chain]
• Shilling for Gardenburgers (TM) [Sun-Times]
• Fresh blood at Chicagoist Food [Chicagoist]
• Chefs recommend what B to BYO [Tribune]

This story from the Chicago Tribune made me laugh at first, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. I'm not an evil person; I laughed because of the headline that the Trib used ("Mom's beef puts son's sperm count at stake"). I was sure the story was going to be about some angry mother suing a fertility clinic for miscounting her son's sperm, and how it would have been even funnier if they had used "steak" instead of "stake," but no. Instead, we learn that the hormones and pesticides we've been pumping into our cattle since the atomic age are being passed from pregnant mothers to their children, and that for women who ate beef at least seven times a week during pregnancy, their sons had an average sperm count almost 25% below normal. Obviously, these women were eating too much beef. But even occasional beef-eaters, beware: the article reports that second-generation sperm count decreases are proportional to beef frequency increases. No wonder Europe doesn't want any of our beef: they're all experiencing negative population growth as it is. I suppose the moral of the story is, your local farmer is trying to kill your babies! No, it's to moderate your indulgences during pregnancy, and eat organic whenever possible. Tastes better anyway.

I know this happened yesterday, but I thought I would least clue you in to this sort of event. The University of Chicago holds a surprising number of food-related lectures, discussions and workshops - the crowd favorite is the annual hamentaschen vs. latke debate that happens around Hannukah time (not around Purim; a subtle bias? Also, I am aware that they spell the name of the triangular cookie differently than I do. Take it up with your rabbi). But I find the subject of this workshop somewhat more intriguing, in that it is not a deliberate farce. You can imagine a lawyer saying, "but your Honor, my client copyrighted oregano years ago!" In my head, the lawyer is British, and wearing a wig, and pronouncing it or-e-GA-no.

Yesterday, Chicagoist gave us a sneak peak of Carbón, a new "Live Fire" casual Mexican restaraunt in northeast Bridgeport. You'll note on the menu that many of the offerings are fire grilled, fire roasted, and so forth. Makes sense, given that al carbón means "grilled over charcoal." This joint seems accessible and promising for Bridgeport's gentrifying crowd, what with its mango avocado salsa and specialty bottled sodas. I sure hope that they're at least using ethanol.

Carbón
300 W 26th St | At S Princeton Ave
312-225-3200

Hey, listen up, especially those of you who have dining interests both here and in New York: Terrance Brennan, of Artisanal and Picholine fame, is coming to town to promote his new cookbook, and guess where? With his buddy Charlie Trotter, at Trotter's To Go!

You know what it means when two chefs of this caliber get together? No, not a bloodbath; you wish. In fact, they're doing a tasting and book-signing at the store from 6pm-7pm tomorrow, March 28. No need to make a reservation; you can just show up. I'll tell you what, I've had Brennan's signature cheesecake at Artisanal and it was like the end of the world. The man knows how to instruct his kitchen staff to bake.

Rest assured that Chuck will be hawking his own book, too.

Trotter's To Go
1337 W Fullerton Ave | At N Wayne Ave
773-868-6510

In the current era of eco-veggie-friendliness, it is occasionally worth considering the culinary possibilities of intestines. The more adventurous national cuisines subscribe to the notion of "waste not, want not," which led to their consumption. Originally this had a lot to do with poverty and subsistence, then stubbornness, and then nostalgia, but through it all ran a spongy tube of utility: edible wrapping!

Haggis comes to mind when we think of intestinal treats, but that's more of a heart/liver/lungs inside the stomach sort of thing. Ditto tripe, which is usually cow stomach, but sometimes pig. The stomach and intestines must be somewhat related, and it raises the question of how one tastes vs. the other, but that is really the subject of another post (although haggis lovers should take pride in the fact that Chicagoland is the American capital of haggis production).

The best bet for finding intestine is in Chinatown, which may not come as a shock. Every restaurant has its own preparation, but it is possible to divide your options into two main categories: fried and non-fried. I love frying for its ability to take away all texture and flavor native to the food item, and in the case of intestines, this may be desirable. Try out Ken Kee, Penang, Shui Wah, or Spring World for the crispy variety.

But if you're willing to have your entrails boiled, sautéed or baked...first of all, you're my kind of eater. Second, here's where you should go, after the jump:

Mountain View Chef prepares theirs with sour cabbage (what a killer combo!); and Lao Sze Chuan has a dish that's twice cooked and spicy (twice cooked means tender, and when they say spicy, it's for serious).

Finally, if you still need to be sold on intestine, consider this: scientists at Purdue have discovered that a derivative of pig intestine can be used to treat incontinence, among other ailments. This is not irony, but damn close. In the next installment, chitterlings!

Yesterday, we received an inquiry from a new resident of Bridgeport who's heard a lot about Polish buffets on the Southwest side and is ready to hop the Orange Line towards that end. Sadly, our favorite SW side Polish spot, Tatra Inn, closed late last year (don't let the cheerful and out-of-date website fool you). But don't dispair! There are still tons of Polish places around - especially on this stretch of Archer Avenue. In fact, we think a day can be made out of Polish-restaurant-hopping; this will help work off the kielbasa, anyway. Take the Orange Line to Pulaski and walk over to Szalas, where you can try some herring in sour cream (would you want it any other way?) A few feet west-southwest on Archer is Bobak, a restaurant and deli, where one would be remiss to skip the cold cuts. Finally, two miles down the road is Orion, where you may end up spending the rest of the day and night (it's open until 2am). Plates of pierogis and vials of vodka ad infinitum ought to do it. Too bad LOT doesn't fly out of Midway...