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April 30, 2007

Right This Second: Food In The Chicago Blogosphere, Vegetable Edition

Vegetables seem to be on the brain today, since everyone's got a piece about 'em (some in more figurative terms than others). To whit:

• Martha Bayne passes along a press release from MorningStar Farms (a divison of Kellogg) that urges us, the consumer, to participate in their vegetable-related video creation contest, whose grand prize is a trip to that tomato-throwing festival in Spain (actually, that's pretty awesome, although tomatoes aren't vegetables). Unfortunately, this whole scheme reeks of VeggieTales, so we cannot condone it [Food Chain]

• Vital Information has some surprising information on proper vegetable storage: did you know that if you wrap carrots or beets or whatever root vegetable you have around in damp paper towels, seal them in a plastic bin and keep them in a controlled temperature environment (a basement, if you have one, would do nicely), they can last for several months? Months! This will be useful when the apocalypse comes. In the meantime, use the greens from the top of the veggies in your salad, or steam them [Vital Information]

• Chuck Sudo profiles the new president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, who is none other then Sheila O'Grady, Daley's former chief of staff. The vegetable in this case is not O'Grady herself (though time will tell), but the foie gras ban: she wants to lift it. Other things that were accomplished under her watch include the midnight razing of Meigs Field. This is a woman who does not screw around (allegations of institutionalized corruption and criminal neglect aside). Chicago, prepare to eat all the engorged liver your bodies and souls can withstand! [Chicagoist]

[Photo: VeggieTales on Wikipedia]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/30/2007 at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Food Media | Roundups

Opening: Alhambra Palace

So epic it doesn't even get made fun of in the title, Alhambra opened to much fanfare this past Friday night. The Stew was even kind enough to put a up a video of the gargantuan, Orientalized space, with room for 1300. We have been to the actual Alhambra in Grenada and it doesn't hold that many people (not true). When are 1300 people ever going to go to Alhambra simultaneously? It's definitely in a class by itself in Chicago, both in sheer size, and to a lesser extent iat that price point for Middle Eastern cuisine

(Samah Lounge, maybe?) We're somewhat excited at the prospect of an entire convention taking over the place for dinner (the American Legion, State of Illinois, mens' conference has 1200 participants, for example), and making a time of it, with the belly dancing and hookah and hooplah.

Anyway, what everyone wants to know about it is the menu. Up through last week, Alhambra had no visible website, and would not send us a menu (we asked nicely). This morning, we were checking our Daily Candy when, lo and behold, there it was. So we clicked and it brought us to Alhambra Hacienda Restaurant, located just around the corner in Cusco, Peru. Ha! Meanwhile, they've since corrected it on their website, so no harm done. And yes, Alhambra's offcial site does have their full menu, but what good does that do you when they're not serving it until next week? Here, now, is the actual menu of what they're actually serving this week: they're calling it an Epicure menu, and it's populated by the standard mezzes and kabobs of any south-of-the-Med restaurant worth its salt. Pricey? Sure, a little, but very close to what the regular menu charges. We are intrigued by the Alhambra platter, which is intended to be split eight ways for $120. That's $15 a person, which is not bad - perhaps for the next time you and your caravan are peckish.

Alhambra Palace [MenuPages]
Alhambra Palace [Official Site]
Alhambra Palace set to open doors in West Loop [The Stew]
Samah [MenuPages]
Samah [Official Site]
Too Much Of Everything [DailyCandy]

[Photo: Alhambra Palace dance floor. Boogie woogie.]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/30/2007 at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: West Side | Openings & Closings

Blog Reviews: Week Of Carol Moseley Braun

Chicago's intrepid food bloggers were all over the damn place last week, in alphabetical order by restaurant
carol moseley braun.jpg

• The Cornish hen (Farouj) on offer at Al-Khayameih is pretty freakin' awesome [Eat Chicago]

• High-low, spot-on comfort food at lunch spot Brown Sack, where the Reubens are always moist [Chicagoist]

• If you ever see a 22-ounce, French cut, bone-in ribeye with sauteed vegetables, bleu cheese and a balsamic demi-glace on the menu at Cafe Bionda, order it without a moment's hesitation [Chicagoist]

• The mussels and beer at Hopleaf sure beat their equivalent at Wrigley Field [Drive-Thru]

• Get to know Taiwanese cuisine at KS Seafood, which mercifully employs an English-speaking waitstaff. No tofu is too stinky for this place [The Stew]

• Accessible and delicious sushi joint Midori serves margaritas with its fish and beef sashimi offerings. You may even have leftovers [Chicagoist]

• The namesake at Patty Burger
aims for haute fast food, but ends up at passable food service (like what you'd get at the zoo) [Chicago Burger Project]

• Sometimes, bakeries make the best sandwiches. Red Hen Bread does a particularly good job with turkey, which works as an ideal lakeside snack [Chicagoist]

• Now that it's warm(er), time to head to Windy City Sweets for ice cream and candy and chocolate and bliss [Drive-Thru]

[Photo: Chicago Public Library; you know that CMB was mugged, right? Awful!]

What If There Were No More Menus?

City councilpeople in New York introduce all sorts of crazy bills with some frequency (like this plan to fine pedestrians $100 for listening to their MP3 players in crosswalks), but a piece of legislation announced yesterday really caught our attention for reasons which will become clear momentarily: Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) is calling for a ban on the distribution of menus (and other fliers) to homes and apartment buildings with "no menus" signage. The fee for violating this law, suggests Felder, could start at $50. Evidently, if menus and other promotional materials build up outside an entranceway, the Department of Sanitation can fine the homeowner $100 for the mess.

We agree with this legislation in principle and practice. First of all, everyone hates spam, and that's exactly what this addresses: physical spam. Having an opt-out clause for promotional materials is practically a civil right these days. Second, these fliers waste an incredible amount of paper and generate tons and tons of trash, whose cleanup is ultimately paid for by us, the targets of the advertising. Finally, and most importantly, if people didn't get menus shoved under their doors, everyone would have to use MenuPages. Hahahaha! We're calling our Alderman as we speak.

Invasion of the iPod Snatchers [NYSun]
NYC councilman wants ban on circulars [Yahoo]

[Photo: No Menus Please, an award-winning short film]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/30/2007 at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: MenuPages News

FYI: Governments, Fast Food Industry Almost The Same Thing

• China loves money more than our precious pets' well-being [NYTimes]
• KFC and Taco Bell are shelving trans fats, tastiness [Tribune]
• Latest fast food marketing angle: healthy, beefy, cheap [Adweek]
• USDA undersubsidizes organic farmers relative to conventional [Reuters]
• Regressive grocery taxes are harmful, stupid and mean [Decatur Daily]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/30/2007 at 08:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Chains | FYI

April 27, 2007

Hugh Grant Baked My Beans, And All I Got Was This Lousy Roundup

Forgive us for the size of that...depiction, for it is the last post of the week, and we will do what we damn well please. Unfortunately, so will Hugh Grant: as everyone knows by now, our little jewel threw a plastic tub of baked beans at paparazzi Ian Whittaker. He's already out on bail, no charges filed. The beans will have their day in court, though, having been made to commit battery. Or at least those that survived, since it's almost certain that there was lossage sometime during their flight (if not, it would make a good commercial for Tupperware or whoever sells plastic containers these days. If people knew the right people, that ad could be on YouTube by nightfall). Mourn the loss of the beans (whose provenance remains unknown) at one of these fine baked bean dispensaries:

• Fat Willy's in Bucktown has a side of baked beans for $2.50. This is fairly expensive for baked beans, but you know you're getting quality.

• Bar-B-Que Bob's in Rogers Park sells their beans by the 1/2 pint ($1.75) and the full pint ($3.00). Please do not eat a pint of baked beans. Or throw them, for that matter.

• Hecky's in Old Town charges $1.85 for all their sides, baked beans included. We think that sort of price uniformity means from a can, so we called to check. Boy was our face red - made from scratch, and shame on us for doubting.

• Eat & Run down in Auburn takes the prize for the cheapest beans on the list, at $1.25 for six ounces. The discount is because the staff gets to watch you run around in circles while you eat your meal. Did you think the name of the restaurant was a joke?

Hugh Grant arrested after alleged 'baked beans' attack [Sun-Times]

[Photo: Baked Bean Museum of Excellence. Seriously! The photo came from Ken Dickenson of Britain, naturally. Evidently, photos of Hugh holding the beans over his head ran in the Daily Star there on Wednesday. Anyone with access to them should drop us a line.]

Imbibing: Permit Us To Call It "The Savory 16"?

Basketball is not something we normally pay attention to, since it falls into the category of sports. Nevertheless, we are happy when Chicago's teams do well, because maybe the city's dominance help us get the Olympics? Or, whatever, it's just nice to win. And this year, the Bulls are doing just that: 2-0 so far in the playoffs, the team is only 14 straight wins away from the championship. On second thought, we don't think that's ever happened in the history of the NBA. But you can dream, starting tonight at Sluggers, which is showing Game 3 on God knows how many of its 40 TVs. They're selling Blue Moon beers for $3 a pop (also Michelob Ultras, same deal, ick) tonight, and for Game 4 on Sunday, $3 Jumbo cans of Old Style, which we think means tallies. You know you love it.

Sluggers Bar & Grill [MenuPages]
Sluggers Bar & Grill [Official Site]
NBA Playoffs 2007 [Official Site]

[Photo: nba.com]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/27/2007 at 01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Side | Drinks & Drinking | Events & Promotions

Opening: Sura Thai Bistro

Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today marks the birth of a new breed of Thai food in Chicago: the flashy New York import. The people who brought Peep, Spice, and Sea to Earth now wish to extend their benevolence to the Second City with Sura Thai Bistro, currently serving lunch in Wrigleyville. Think of it as a curvy, groovy lounge for exploring the newest trends in Thai fusion, and also boozing. Sura, in Thai, means liquor, and they have a full bar to back it up (no BYO in fusionland).

The menu is tapas-y, and the small plates, with items like seared scallops with fruit salad and whole grain mustard reduction running $4-$6. They also have entree portions, including some very strangely worded offerings like braised duck in Pinot Noir, one-eye son-in-law with tamarind soy reduction ($14). We sincerely hope that's some sort of expression in Thai, and not evidence of foul play. Also confusing us is the face towel noodle with shrimps, squids, egg and tomato chili paste. Just what kind of operation are they running, exactly? Well, one that's open late - until 2am on the weekends! But the best part is clearly those swinging chairs. Come on, that's cool.

Sura [MenuPages]
Sura [Official Site]

[Photo: Sura]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/27/2007 at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: North Side | Openings & Closings

Review Revue: Reader @ Baccala, Boka, HB Home Bistro

The Reader does a triple dip today, offering up shortish reviews for these three restaurants whose names are dominated by the letter 'B'.

First up is Baccala, whose opening we documented at the end of March (the blog looked a bit different back then; check it out!) They've been...recalcitrant...about sending us their menu, but we will have it soon enough. Patience is one of our chief virtues. Anyway, the review: Mike Sula swoons over Piedmontese menu, which is populated by rich and "deeply satisfying" dishes from the sophisticated rural region of Italy. Expect a lot of pork (fatty cuts of shank, butt and belly), but also the namesake baccala (dried cod), pastas, and braised lamb tongue (sweet!). Sula's only complaint is the traditional Piedmont breadsticks are inadequate to the task of soaking up all the delicious sauces.

Next, Sula's off to Boka, which picked up a new chef last month from Charlie Trotter's. Giuseppe Tentori's menu contains a host of unusual combinations (grilled Hamachi with broccoflower, kalamata olive, pickled garlic and shrimp dumpling) and preparations (ash baked eggplant white polenta, leek, laura chenel goat cheese), which speaks to his time with one of the most innovative and influential chefs in the country. Or a particular madness, either way. But the important part is, does the food taste good? Most of the time, Sula thinks. The virtuosic pairings sometimes overwhelm the kitchen, but the good more than made up for the bad.

Finally, Anne Spiselman checks out the changes at HB Home Bistro, where the "HB" no longer stands for Hearty Boys. Yup, they sold the joint to their chef, Joncarl Lachman, who has added his own twist on the hearty fare patrons have been lapping up for years. What's not to like about roasted duck breast on champagne-braised cabbage with smoked sausage, duck leg confit and caraway crème fraiche ($19)? The regulars have adapted well to the shift, and are still loving the BYO policy. For further reading, check out our coverage of HB from earlier this month.

Slow Food Piedmont Style, a Radical Revamp at Boka, and a Home Bistro That's Still Hearty [Reader]
Baccala, with pictures [G Wiv/LTHForum]
Boka [MenuPages]
Boka [Official Site]
HB Home Bistro [MenuPages]
HB Home Bistro [Official Site]

[Photo: Yo Chicago, Boka]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/27/2007 at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Side | West Side | Review Revue

FYI: Competence, Stewardship In Short Supply

• Pet food scandal up to the office raiding stage [MSNBC]
• Organic baby food sales jump 22%; we're surprised it wasn't even more [Ft Wayne Journal Gazette]
• Will the Senate update the USDA standards for school food nutrition? Maybe if there's money in it [Consumer Affairs]
• "Food Stamp Challenge" Gov. discovers poor people can't afford organic [Eugene Register-Guard]
• Daley: "we're not quite as backward a city as some people think" [Tribune]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/27/2007 at 08:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: FYI

April 26, 2007

Closing: Brett's Cafe Americain

Brett's Cafe Americain, verily a Roscoe Village institution, will be shutting its doors on Sunday, April 29th. In its place will be another Orange, which people seem to like. But the real story, which is documented on Brett's blog and reported on by Phil Vettel, is that Brett's off to Mexico to open up an Indian hotel and restaurant. How's that for ya? Evidently, after a year of traveling around India, she got the fever and decided to run with it. Indian food adapts really well to whatever environment it's placed in (like Chinese and Thai), and we can only imagine what happens when curry meets mole. Good luck to everyone involved.

Brett's Cafe Americain [MenuPages]
Brett's Cafe Americain [Official Site]
Shanti Marg [Brett's blog]
Restaurant Notes [Tribune]

[Photo: Shanti Marg, Brett's Ganesha]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/26/2007 at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Side | Openings & Closings

There's More Than 10 Ways To Slice A Pizza

Gridskipper checks in with a post about the many types of pizza on offer in Chicago. In fact, they found ten distinct species, including deep dish, neighborhood style, kosher, stuffed, artisanal and "topped with illegal fois gras" (this last one at Connie's, of all places, and infrequently available for obvious reasons). We certainly appreciate blog posts that focus on breadth rather than depth, so rather than simply supply more options in the categories that G'skip enumerated, we will add our own categories. Keep in mind that our list isn't complete, either:

Cook Your Own: At HomeMade Pizza Co (locations in Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Hyde Park, and two in Wrigleyville/Lakeview), they make the pizza, but you bake it. Everything is assembled at the store, and then you bring it home and pop it in the oven. It's a nice compromise between the post-cooking lag of delivery, and the crapitude of frozen.

Californian: Tacky, but too extant to deny, California Pizza Kitchen is its own thing, and it's here (in Streeterville, River North, and Lincoln Park). These are the people that brought us the Thai Chicken pizza - pieces of chicken breast marinated in a spicy peanut-ginger and sesame sauce, Mozzarella cheese, green onions, bean sprouts, julienne carrots, cilantro and roasted peanuts. Say what you will, but where else in Chicago can you get that? Oh, right, at CPK ASAP, their new fast service chainlet. Double your pleasure!

Argentinean On a sad note, The Penguin, which had some of the best gelato in the Midwest, as well as cheap and amazing little pizzas with ham and roasted red peppers, bursting empanadas, and more character than any storefront restaurant could possibly ever use, has closed. The owner, Julio, sold it to some guys who couldn't make it happen, and Chicago is quite bereft as a result. The story is well-covered at LTH.

Pizza 10 Ways In Chicago [G'skip]
Penguin to Change Ownership [LTHForum]

[Photo: HomeMade Pizza Co]

Review Revue: Tribune @ Brunch, TOC @ Blu Coral & Smak-Tak

This week (actually, for the past few months), Vettel & Co. span out across the grid to bring you not just the best, but practically the entirety, of brunch options in Chicagoland. There are 24 web pages of listings, so this is a real keeper, although the layout could use some work. Don't get discouraged by the very suburb-heavy first third of the collection; it gets back to the city quickly enough.

Three things jump out at us as we scanned through the list. First, ethnic restaurants, especially higher-end ones, serve brunch much more frequently than one might think. Do keep in mind that MenuPages has a filter for brunch, so you can search by cuisine, and then narrow it by meal (for example, click here for a list of Latin American brunch spots). Second, and on the same topic, the list completely misses out on dim sum! If you've never had dim sum for brunch, there very well might be something wrong with you. Finally, one of the best things about this guide is the information on reservations. Many of the listed restaurants take reservations for brunch, a much appreciated service after one too many hours waiting in line for eggs Benedict.

* * *

Over at Time Out, Heather Shouse rolls her eyes a bit at Blu Coral, a not dissimilar reaction to its last review. After reminding us that what we don't like about Big Sushi (blandly minimalist decor, loud and crappy music, unknowledgeable service, the fact that it's really more about the scene than the food) pretty much describes Blu Coral to a T, Shouse allows some mild admiration for Mackerel Madness maki (Half mackerel covered with marinated white seaweed and chopped cucumber on top of chef's specially seasoned vinaigrette rice. Splashed with special sweet sauce, $16) for its willingness to not be like every other roll we've ever had. Otherwise, the diner is in for few surprises. We do think that the location (Milwaukee, Ashland and Division) is blowing up, though.

Meanwhile, David Hammond heads way the hell out to Norwood Park in order to drum up support for the oft-empty, but brilliantly named, Smak-Tak. One of the few Polish restaurants without a buffet ("'With a buffet,' [owner] Piotr says, 'the food is not so good, so here, we make everything fresh.'"), Smak-Tak suffers from its lack of a liquor license. One thing we don't understand is why people aren't happy to bring their own beer and wine for much, much less than they'd pay if the restaurant were serving it. BYO works for every cuisine at every price point. Anyway, if you go, expect all the Polish classics, including Warsaw-style tripe soup for $3.50. And there's a liquor store a few blocks south on Milwaukee, so your Zywiec can be ice cold.

The ultimate brunch guide [Tribune]
New Review: Blu Coral [Time Out]
Blu Coral [MenuPages]
Blu Coral [Official Site]
Save this restaurant: Smak-Tak [Time Out]
Smak-Tak [MenuPages]
Smak-Tak [Official Site]

[Photo: Smak-Tak!]

Dine Out For Life: Fighting AIDS The Delicious Way

Whoever said capitalism and philanthropy are mutually exclusive clearly has not been around for the past 40 years of corporate donations to charitable causes as part of marketing campaigns. The newest thing is profitable charities, like commercial microfinance. While the ethics of using charity to drum up business and make profits is occasionally questionable, the end result - the flow of money to where it's needed - often justifies the means. This is certainly true today, with almost 80 Chicagoland restaurants joining in Dining Out For Life, an annual fundraiser for AIDS research. It's a pretty simple deal: go to one of the participating restaurants for lunch or dinner, and a portion of your check will go to fight HIV/AIDS. The event is taking place in 40 cities around the country, and this is DOFL's 14th year in Chicago.

It's one of those rare occasions where everybody wins: researchers get an infusion of cash, restaurateurs get to do good (and a reputation for doing good), and you, the diner, get to feel involved in helping fight the global AIDS crisis without additional expenditure of money, time or energy. We say, make it a double: after your meal, sign up for an AIDS marathon and burn off those calories!

Dining Out For Life [Official Site]
DOFL Participating Restaurants [Official Site]
AIDS marathon [Official Site]

[Photo: Dining Out For Life]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/26/2007 at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Events & Promotions

FYI: Trust No One

• China to restore trust by inviting over U.S. food inspectors (who we don't trust) [ABCNews]
• In an effort to restore that trust, Durbin makes a scene about the FDA [CQ Today]
• UNFAO: just what are the global poor going to do when food prices are pegged to oil prices? [Reuters]
• Is that champagne you're drinking really from Champagne? Now, science can prove it! [TimesOnline]
• Food and beverage industry stepping gingerly into online advertising [Market Wire]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/26/2007 at 07:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: FYI

April 25, 2007

Light Reading: The New York Times Food Zeitgeist

Normally, the NYTimes dining section is pretty NY-centric, but today, they pulled out all the stops with a special focus on organic/local/healthy. These are all good buzzwords that often go hand in hand in hand (as long as local doesn't mean the megafarm down the road, for example), and they certainly capture the country's culinary mood. Plus, they are written with more than the normal amount of whimsy associated with the section. Maybe you've already read them, but here they are, for the record:

• Old Prince Cha-arles had a farm / e-i-e-i-o. And on that farm he made organic jams and crackers / e-i-e-i-o. Seriously. Apparently, HRH has been championing the organic, back-to-nature cause since the 80s, and this has won him the approval of the influential Bay Area organic farming set. In 2006, his farm's Duchy Originals products grossed $80 million, with profits going to charity. We suppose that farmer king is almost as good as philosopher king. [NYTimes]

• Guess who's on Rachael Ray tomorrow? Yup, that's right, it's Bill Clinton. The two have teamed up in the fight against childhood obesity, somehow combining Ray's easy and healthy recipes with Clinton's clout in every aspect of American policymaking. We think Ray is just a hotter and more talented version of Monica Lewinsky. [NYTimes]

• The race is on to discover an ethical way of making foie gras. This is quite relevant to our lives, so if you only read one of the articles, this should be it. Evidently, a Spanish company figured out a way to get geese to engorge their own livers, naturally, through pre-migration grazing, with no tube necessary. Such a method would probably pass muster with animal rights activists, or at least the ones that are okay with eating meat in general. But the claim is being treated like cold fusion - no one will accept the results until they're independently verified. We will be watching this one. [NYTimes]

• Red, white, or green? You're not going to get asked that the next time you're at a liquor store, but organic and biodynamic wines have been gaining prominence in recent years. As people start shying away from anything that's not environmentally sound, the market for "green" wine has been rapidly expanding. But people won't buy the stuff if it isn't good, so many of the major players are not actively advertise their organic and biodynamic status, and instead, selling the bottles simply on their quality. May this become a trend in marketing! [NYTimes]

• Finally, little Alex Witchel, ever the contrarian, pens a paean to Wonder Bread, with which she was obsessed as a child. Yes, do let's all reminisce about the olden days, that golden age between when everything was organic by default, and when everything was organic by choice. By all means, revisit your fond memories if you got 'em; we're just happy that we don't. [NYTimes]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/25/2007 at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Food Media | Food Trends

Review Revue: Sun-Times @ Plan B & Brief Thoughts On Catfish

Denise O'Neal is out on the town at Plan B, which is so hip it has its own MySpace! Anyway, the fancy bar food menu was designed by Jason Paskewitz, formerly of SushiSamba Rio, and the kitchen's run by Jesus Baupista, formerly of Iggy's (which closed, so no link), who competently turns out sandwiches, fondues, and classics like baked mac & cheese ($7). The atmo is chill, which is really necessary if you're going to try to eat something like "The Heart Attack" (1/2 lb grilled beef burger with fried ham, bacon, swiss cheese, topped with hot sauce, $9). Plus, it's open quite late.

In this week's Swap Shop, Sandy Clark investigates catfish, mentioning a recipe for beer-battered fried catfish that she found from Chicago fisherman J.R. Brevin. Yes, Chicagoans love their catfish, but we had no idea how much until we searched around our database for restaurants serving the bottom-dweller. Would you believe that over a third of the restaurant we list for the South Side (which comes out to more than 100) offer catfish? That is a lot of catfish! We wonder how much of that isn't fried...

Never too late to go to Plan B [Sun-Times]
Plan B [MenuPages]
Plan B [Official Site]
Swap shop: Don't hide from fried [Sun-Times]

[Photo: ChicagoEye/flickr, from a hand-painted Chicago billboard]

Right This Second: Food In The Chicago Blogosphere

• Phil Vettel shares some funny anecdotes about frauding, marauding, and otherwise misanthropic restaurant customers. We think that the dry cleaning scam is pretty clever, and we bet it's profitable most of the time. Incidentally, what's up with the Stew's timestamp problem? Part I was posted at 11:15pm, and Part II followed at 11:45am, all today? We don't think so. [The Stew]

• Chuck Sudo continues on his crusade to enlighten Chicagoans about their better beer options. Closing out Ska Brewing month, their Pinstripe Red Ale is a winner for pizza pairings, with its sweet taste and citrusy nose cutting effortlessly through the grease. Sudo's declaration on the brewery's output: not mind blowing, but pretty good. [Chicagoist]

• In further beer news, Bryan breaks it to us that Hopleaf has better beer and food than Wrigley Field (gasp!). While drinking insipid American beer and eating crappy brats is all part of what makes baseball enjoyable, sensible people balance this out with fantastic mussels and Belgian ales (in this case, De Koninck Bolleke; worth clicking for the sweet logo). A bit more nutritious; a lot more delicious. [Drive-Thru]

Invading A Small Town: Plano, IL

Sometimes, the maintenance of sanity requires a brief escape from the urban and suburban. Here, we offer a suggestion for an afternoon jaunt to a small town just outside of Cook County. Trust us, it's therapeutic.

Everyone and their mother has gone on the Frank Lloyd Wright architectural tour in Oak Park. The effect of seeing so many architecturally significant private homes strung along the pretty, shaded lanes of Oak Park is quite shocking, and represents one of the greatest collections of buildings in the country. But as we said, been there, done that (we trust you didn't buy the t-shirt). What else is out available?

Well, this is as good of a time as any to mosey on down to the Farnsworth House in Plano, around 55 miles southwest of Chicago, by Aurora. One of Mies van der Rohe's most important works, the 1951 Farnsworth House is considered a masterpiece of modernist design with its four glass walls and few enclosed interior spaces. When built, it communed fluidly with its then-rural surroundings. The building was landmarked and turned into a museum in 2003 after being threatened by abandonment and development, but controversies over the house extend back to its birth: a new play about the tensions between Mies and Edith Farnsworth, who commissioned the house as a rural retreat for her poetry translation hobby, got a write-up in this week's New Yorker. Evidently, Mies seduced Farnsworth into letting him build whatever he wanted, but when the arguably unliveable house (glass enclosures without interior walls or ventilation get very hot and very public) was finished, Mies fled back to his girlfriend and forbade Farnsworth from ruining the "purity" of the piece with her own art or furniture. Livid, Farnsworth sued, Mies countersued, and no one was happy.

No one, that is, but us intrepid day-trippers out for a bit of culture, relaxation, and gawking at the locals. Tours of the house run Tue-Sun, 10am-3pm, and cost $20 (keeping 60 acres preserved for art's sake is not cheap). Also, you will have to take your shoes off before you go inside.

All this running around builds an appetite, and sampling the local cuisine is at least half the fun of leaving the city. We have three ideas, depending on your fancy:

• Mio Amore, the only restaurant in Plano with a website, is an Italian steakhouse doing it old-school style with dishes like Clams Casino, baked ravioli and veal parm. On Tuesdays, they do dinner for two for $25! (11 W John St, Plano, 630-552-9100)
• Blackforest Cafe/Wurst Kitchen is a little German restaurant with great word-of-mouth, if little web presence. The Wurst Kitchen part of the establishment is a branch of the more famous (not by much) one in Aurora (12 W Main St, Plano, 630-552-1770)
• The only thing we know about Uncle Lar's Pizza is that they have a taco slice which locals swear by. If you're into comparative pizza operations, this might be worth checking out (108 W Main St, Plano, 630-552-3535)

Isn't it cute that they all use the same phone exchange? We recommend eating after visiting the Farnsworth House so you don't foul it up with your greasy fingers and bodily emissions.

Farnsworth House [Official Site]
Mies van der Rohe [Wikipedia]
Sex and real estate [New Yorker]
Mio Amore [Official Site]

[Photo: Chicago Bauhaus. Just think: you can be one of those people, someday]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/25/2007 at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Outside The Area | Roundups

FYI: Too Many Fat Kids, Not Enough Regulation

• Are TV ads for junk food making kids fat? You betcha! [Medical News]
• How to turn your child into a food snob from the comfort of home [Sun-Times]
• Of course the FDA knew about vegetable contamination before we got sick [cbs2chicago]
• Contaminated pet food moving up the food chain, via swine [Tribune]
• On the "eat local" movement, which in Chicago means lots of corn [NYTimes]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/25/2007 at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: FYI

April 24, 2007

Viewing Pleasure: Medianoche @ Cafe Marianao

As distasteful as we find doing the same feature two days in a row, we simply could not resist bringing you the 411 on the medianoche sandwich at Cafe Marianao on N Milwaukee. The "cafe" is more of a little shack at the corner of W Prindiville, where Cuban sandwiches and coffee are served over a counter to the hungry masses, and consumed on car hoods as much as anywhere else. Somewhat like the relationship between yesterday's Kubba Mosul and the kibbeh, the medianoche (or midnight, named after its popularity as post-theater snack in post-war Cuba) is a variant of the Cubano. It has the same basic ingredients, but it's served on a smaller and sweeter yellow egg dough roll. In the picture, you can see the layers of ham and swiss cheese, ever-so-slightly melted, brushed with mustard and press-toasted to perfection. All this for $2.75. Yes, you read that right; they're banh-mi cheap. Wash one down seventy-five cent Cafe Cubano some Sunday morning, and you'll be dreaming of Old Havana (just don't act on it).

Cafe Marianao [MenuPages]

[Photo: G Wiv/LTHForum]

We are, as always, in LTHForum's debt

Imbibing: Two Brother's Brewery Beers @ Sola

Neat, a beer pairing: tonight at 6:30 (soon!), Two Brother's Brewing Company is teaming up with sola to show the world that beer (microbrewed beer, anyway) is a sophisticated enough beverage to be thoughtfully matched with new American dishes. Plus, it's all local: Two Brother's is located in Warrenville, IL, in the shadow of Fermilab. We are imagining particles of malted barley, hops and yeast being accelerated to near light speed before they are directed towards a bottle of carbonated water, and BOOM! Thermonuclear beer. Anyway, menu is as follows:

• Mahi roll with Ebel's Weiss
• Bacon-wrapped chicken with Domaine DuPage Ale
• Short ribs and mac and cheese with Cane and Ebel red rye ale
• Pear sorbet with pear cider
• Humboldt Fog goat cheese with Bitter End Pale Ale

Tables are booked, but there's seating at the bar. The dinner will run you $55, which is pretty reasonable for sola.

Two Brother's Brewing Company [Official Site]
sola [MenuPages]
sola [Official Site]

[Photo: Two Brother's Brewing Company]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/24/2007 at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Side | Drinks & Drinking | Events & Promotions

Light Reading: Farm Subsidies, Obesity, And Calorie Restriction

We've uncovered some longer pieces around the web that deserve your attention. As a bonus, we've related the material to your life in Chicago!

First up, Michael Pollan squeezes out another polemic about the tensions between Big Food and public health for the NYTimes Magazine. This one is on the myriad unintended consequences of the U.S. farm subsidization program, with a focus on the impact of extremely low-priced calories on lower-income obesity levels. When government money makes corn cheap and plentiful to a degree entirely out of sync with market pressures, people without a lot of resources to expend on food end up consuming a lot of high fructose corn syrup, and get fat. Pollan argues that we may want to pay attention to the farm bill this year, and maybe get some subsidies for healthy things, like fresh produce.

All this is true enough, but if you're wondering what Pollan thinks about how corn-based ethanol affects subsidized corn prices, so are we. Pollan mentions how a price spike owing to ethanol sparked a tortilla crisis in Mexico, but does not attempt to justify what seems like a cognitive dissonance between subsidized low corn prices and ethanol-fueled high corn prices. We will be thinking about this paradox, but in the meantime, some figures:

• Illinois received $1.5 billion in U.S.D.A subsidies in 2005 (NYTimes)
• Illinois produces 1.5 billion bushels of corn a year, 20% of which is used for ethanol production (Illinois Corn)
• Illinois ethanol production alone has increased the price of corn by 25 cents a bushel (Illinois Corn)
• Illinois ranks 23rd in adult obesity nationwide (23.2%) and 7th in low-income children (14%) (Healthy Americans)
• Illinois spent $272 per person on medical-costs related to obesity in 2003, totaling almost $3.4 billion (Healthy Americans)

Second, Kate Taylor delivers a two-parter on Calorie Restriction in Slate, examining the contention that the extreme diet is an eating disorder not unlike anorexia. The diet, which has been shown to slow the aging process in mice, is considered controversial because of just how little its participants end up eating; some CRONies, as they call themselves, suffer from side effects like decreased libido and osteoporosis. Taylor argues that the psychological mechanisms immanent to anorexia - control issues, obsessiveness, euphoria from starvation - are also present in people who practice extreme forms of CR, and that the supposed health benefits of the diet ought not serve to mask what is, in essence, a type of eating disorder. Incidentally, The Awakening Center in Wrigleyville is one of Chicago's only clinics devoted to the treatment of eating disorders of all stripes.

And America's vexed relationship with food gets ever more vexing.

You Are What You Grow [NYTimes]
ICGA Annual Report [Illinois Corn]
Ethanol Fact Sheet [Illinois Corn]
Obesity Report in Illinois [Healthy Americans]
Eating for Fewer Than One, Pt. 1 [Slate]
Eating for Fewer Than One, Pt. 2 [Slate]
Calorie Restriction Society [Official Site]
The Awakening Center [Official Site]

[Photo: UMich class project]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/24/2007 at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Food Media | Food Trends

Best Of MenuPages Reviews: Hong Huah & Riccardo Trattoria

We may not do our own reviews at MenuPages, but our legions of users have it covered. Here are two of the best from the past week:

This review for Hong Huah came in on April 18th from Anonymous (one of our most prolific contributors). We, too, like restaurants where the chef's family is afoot:

I have been going here since the first week they opened. John is a wonderful host and I have watched his family grow.. But what keeps me coming back is the food. Its my benchmark where ever I go. I think I have had almost every dish on the menu. The pot stickers--- homemade are the best you are going to get in chicago. The day after chinese New Year they had just run out and he insisted on going in the back to make a new batch against my protests. The quality is great and the food is always consistent. Consistently good. Some favorites, Mu shu chicken, mu shu anything, the "skins" are as thin as parchment and fresh crunchy tasty filling, Shrimp with lobster sauce, Willow Beef, Salt and Pepper shrimp, ah the list goes on and on. Trust me if you appreciate high quality authenic schzewan chinese, this is the place. What you do not get is the kind of chinese that is all starchy thick flavorless sauces. If its a special night order the steamed fish. Portions are good and the price is right. The beer is also good and cold. They have a wide delivery range, as far as Oak Park. And they are fast to deliver.

* * *

We're 70% sure that this April 22nd review from Bruno for Riccardo Trattoria is legit, but even if he's a shill, he's at least a good writer (and so effusive, he got cut off at the end):

I do not claim to be an expert in the culinary arts, but I am in a business that demands a great deal of travel and, by sheer force of necessity, I have been fortunate enough to sample a wide gamut of American food, from Huate cuisine to street food and almost everything in between. Again, I am not an expert, but I do know what I like and I really liked Riccardo Trattoria. I have also noticed (and this is the case with almost any food that claims a disticnt ethnic origin) that there is clear difference between Italian restaurants and "Italian" restaurants. In my travels I have noticed some annoyingly recurring themes in restaurants that claim to be Italian. At Riccardo's there was no option to "add chicken" to a pasta dish for an extra $3. No one hovered over me in an attempt to ladle obscene amounts of parmesan cheese on my plate. I was never - not once - offered a side salad with a neet dollop of ranch dressing. Instead, Riccardo Trattoria's menu offered delightful proportionality and balance. You can actually have courses - remember those!? Some people may think my above comparisons unfair, as Riccardo Trattoria is not trying to be one of those Italian restaurants in quotes and the "Italian" restaurants certainly do not aspire to be Riccardo's. But for those of you who either live in or travel to Chicago, Riccardo's is a oasis in a desert of mediocrity and it can now count itself amongst the best Italian restaurants in Chicago.

Some highlights from the menu: My dining companions and I greatly enjoyed the Pizzaccia with Proscuitto, Mozarella (unctuous, but not to the point of overpowering the flavor of the proscuitto)

I cannot stress this enough, the orecchiette with wild boar sausage was amazing. In my opinion, this was the evenings best offering. The interplay between the rapini and sausage was right on.

One of my guests swore by the peppered tuna and our waiter, a dapper young Milanese man, suggested a good wine.

* * *

"Proportionality," formerly belonging to the disciplines of mathematics and international relations, is now property of food writing. Bravo!

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/24/2007 at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Side | Northwest Side | Review Revue

FYI: The Gov't Goes Where Angels Fear To Tread

• House hearing today to examine why our food is killing us and our pets [ABC News]
• Inc'd commodity prices dampen U.S. Gov't contributions to soup kitchens [Des Moines Register]
• "C.S.I. for agriculture": the hunt for the missing bees continues [NYTimes]
• Alinea and Trotter in top 50 restaurants in the world (duh) [Restaurant Magazine]
• Suspected fast food robber captured near South Side Wendies [Tribune]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/24/2007 at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: FYI

April 23, 2007

Viewing Pleasure: The Best-Named Restaurant In Rogers Park

Big Buns and Pita is an Iraqi restaurant in Rogers Park that opened last summer and has steadily been gaining attention among locals and foodies. Assyrian cooking is sort of like a mix of Middle East, Turkish and Persian cuisines, and, unsurprisingly, is one of the oldest cuisines in the region. Most of the food on the menu here consists of variations on familiar Middle Eastern dishes, included the Kubba Mosul, pictured above. Not entirely unlike the Chicken Chips that we described in the previous post, this is a flattened version of the more common kibbeh ovoid. Kibbeh, as we're sure you know, is made from minced lamb, onions and bulgur, stuffed into a bulgur crust, and fried. The Mosul variant has a much higher surface to volume ratio, allowing for much more fried goodness per unit of lamb. Also, think of the spreading possibilities: one could dollop hummus and tabbouleh and eat like a pizza (or lamaçun if you're cool like that).

Big Buns and Pita [MenuPages]

[Photo and Discourse: G Wiv/LTHForum]

Marketing: New Ways Of Selling You The Same Chicken

We were innocently browsing some industry publications this afternoon when we came across ads for two unrelated - but similar and equally frightening - new chicken items from Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride. Both products are essentially versions of the same thing: flavored, breaded chicken breast filets. Now, where would we be in the world without breaded chicken breast filets? We would have no chicken parmesan, no nuggets...suffice it to say, we'd be bereaved. What would the children eat?

For the purposes of this discussion, by the way, we are treating natural and reconstituted chicken breast filet as more or less the same thing. From a home cook's perspective (or from the perspective of anyone who lives to eat, rather than eats to live), this is nonsense. One is normal and usable, and the other is an abomination unto the fowl. But for Big Food, they're approximately the same, give or take a few pennies a unit. And when it's spiced, breaded, frozen and unfrozen, damned if you'd know the difference.

The consensus has come down from Corporate that America is not eating enough breaded chicken. Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride are not in the business of steady sales; the m.o. in the chicken biz is expand or die (this is even slowly becoming true for the cages). Each company had a single, possibly brilliant idea, of how to draw some attention to themselves and their products without actually changing anything.

Tyson took a very simple concept - cut a nugget in half, breadthwise - and advertortured it into a frightening new product: Chicken Chips. The marketing material is designed for harried food service administrators, and is granted the insidious URL of kidslovechickenchips.com. You, the canny reader, are not fooled by Tyson's cheap ploy of using the positive where the normative is appropriate, but as you stare off into the distance, it becomes brutally clear that kids will love Chicken Chips. Why? They will be reminded of the universally loved potato chip, of course, but the secret is in the surface to volume ratio; that is to say, there's almost twice as much fried per unit of chicken in a Chicken Chip than in a nugget. If you cut a nugget in half, which is what's going on here, then you have two new surfaces to smother in batter. Kids may like reconstituted chicken breast alright, but they love fried bits of fried.

We have much more respect for Pilgrim Pride's gambit to up their chicken sales. What they actually did - add spices to the breading - does not represent a culinary revolution. It's the name they came up with that we love: Filet-Vors! Yes, PP went on a FlavorQuest, scouring the planet for such exotic seasonings as "Salsa Mexicana," "Spicy Asian," "Mediterranean," and "Orange." Maybe orange didn't need quotations, but we wanted to maintain our incredulity. In fact, this seems like a much better product than the Chicken Chips, in that it entails an actual change in ingredients and taste. But nothing excites the taste buds like a good pun, especially a risky one that puts "Vors" all out there on its own after the dash.

Ultimately, as queasy as it makes us, we think these are both good gimmicks that will probably sell well in the institutional market, and we wanted to keep you "abreast" of the situation. Incidentally, registration just began for a chicken marketing seminar at Lake Tahoe this July. Why did the chicken cross the country?...

Tyson's Chicken Chips [Official Site]
Pilgrim's Pride Filet-Vors [Official Site]

Chicken marketing seminar [Meat News]

[Photo: Tayto Roast Chicken Chip, which were there first]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/23/2007 at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Events & Promotions | Features | Food Trends

Blog Reviews: Week Of The Olympics Decision

Chicago's intrepid food bloggers were all over the damn place last week, in alphabetical order by restaurant

• Bureks (a meat or cheese-stuffed phyllo extravaganza, 9" for $5.50) and other Serbian specialties on offer at the Beograd Meat Market where bakery and cafe serve as ethnic hangout [Chicagoist]

• All your favorite meats are given the charcoal treatment at Brasa Roja, where you can scarf down your chicken or skirt steak with YOB [Chicagoist]

• Nothing special at Five Star, a frat bar & grill in Ukie Village, which at least has cutesy names for its standard issue pub grub [Chicagoist]

• Fantastic brunch at M. Henry, especially the Fannie’s Killer Fried Egg Sandwich (toasted sour boule layered with two over medium eggs, applewood bacon, sliced tomatoes, gorgonzola, and fresh thyme, served with house potatoes, $7.95), but for the sake of the world, don't bring your kids [Chicagoist]

• High-end Indian at Marigold is tasty and refreshing, but you may be paying for the atmo as much as for the food [Drive-Thru]

• Everyone's favorite Uptown Pakistani take out joint Shan Foods has added additional seating area and an Ethiopian menu! [The Stew]

• More happy thoughts on Smoque BBQ, still packin' 'em in, but servin' 'em fast. Their half-brisket, half-pulled pork sandwich compromise is a Godsend for the indecisive [Drive-Thru]

• The blueberry pancakes at Su Van's apparently "astonishingly good," and the best part is the inexplicable lack of brunch crowds [The Stew]

• Vegan fast food at Veggie Bite in Beverly, for some reason. Because sometimes, you need your vegetable matter deep fried [Drive-Thru]

[Photo: Media Bistro. The 'TM' is tacky]

Imbibing: Monday Is A Good Day For Award-Winning Wines

Lest anyone think we have a thing against LEYE restaurants, here's the scoop on the very expensive Stag's Leap Wine Cellars tasting tonight at Wildfire. When we say very expensive, we mean $125 for five courses. Not end-of-the-world expensive, but pretty ballsy for a Monday night. One can assume that, for the price, the Monday night seafood blues will not apply to the wood roasted halibut with coconut, ginger broth and steamed manilla clams (the first course, to be paired with SLWC "Karia" Chardonnay '05). And there will be roasted beef tenderloin, artisan cheeses, and chocolate cake, none of which should surprise the reader with a passing familiarity of Wildfire's competent culinary conservativism.

But before you roll your eyes and move onto the next thing, there's a reason why this event is so pricy; Stag's Leap Wine Cellars is one of the most renowned wineries in Napa Valley. Remember when we discussed the Judgement of Paris last week? That was the wine tasting in Paris in 1976 where American wines bested French in a blind taste test. Well, placing first in the Judgement was SLWC's 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon (a bottle of which is kept in the Smithsonian). At tonight's tasting, an '04 Cab will be paired with the beef, and an '03 with the cheeses. So if you go, you're paying for the wine, but it's a bargain: that 2003 Cab - the one with the cheeses - retails for $80. Feel free to ask for a top off.

Wildfire [MenuPages]
Wildfire [Official Site]
Wildfire Events [Official Site]
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars [Official Site]
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars [Wikipedia]

[Photo: SLWC Shop]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/23/2007 at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown | Drinks & Drinking | Events & Promotions

FYI: You Are What You Eat

• Italians think aspartame is carcinogenic; rest of the world disagrees [Food USA]
• The history of food, now in book form (and an excellent read, at that) [Hungry Magazine]
• Bumpy road toward Halal certification legislation in Illinois [Tribune]
• Whiny college kids at forefront of dietary finickiness [NYTimes]
• Ore. Gov. to demonstrate expense of food and meagerness of social welfare [Yahoo]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/23/2007 at 08:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: FYI

April 20, 2007

Through Pain, Pleasure

Yes, as we were saying, the French are special. This is courtesy of Suicide Food, which is so Right Now that we can hardly believe it. Eat your sausage, and have a good weekend.

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/20/2007 at 04:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Other | Photos & Clips

Eggs-Traordinary Mole-Gas With Hervé This

Remember how Hervé This gave a seminar at the Union League Club this past Saturday? Well, Hungry Magazine was there, soaking in all the glory. For those of you with short attention spans (especially today), This is the godfather of mole-gas, and he has been tinkering with the chemical and physical properties of food since the 80s. Among This's early discoveries - a method for creating a cubic meter of meringue from one egg. Holy crap! What would the chickens think? His demonstration at the seminar was also egg-related: he whipped up, and then microwaved, some mayonnaise, evaporating the water and creating a mayonnaise cake. Just like that. And one can imagine frying it in strips, and putting it on bread with liquid bacon with tomato foam and lettuce gel, and...so forth. This gives seminars like this every month in Paris, for free, all in the name of advancing culinary science; incroyable! His new thing is a theory of "culinary constructivism," which you can (try) to read about on his website: in a post-Derrida world, it is incumbent upon us to use the techniques of mole-gas to make food that's interesting and enjoyable, not just to disassemble food into its componenents, is what we believe he's striving toward (our French is a bit rusty). It is empty, he implies, to simply be virtuosic, using the mole-gas for a "wow" factor and little else. We think this commitment to cause is admirable, and particularly French. We're also going to try microwaving mayonnaise when we get home.

Honey, There's a Scientist in the Kitchen [Hungry Magazine]

[Photo: Khymos]

Posted by Adam Peltz on 04/20/2007 at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Events & Promotions | Food Trends

Review Revue: Reader @ Azucar & Blu Coral

Well, we can't seem to