• Cinnamon buns at Ann Sather
• The French Toast Orgy at Toast
• Transcendent chocolate cake at Green Zebra
• One of the top five meals of my life at Schwa, the quail egg ravioli from which (pictured above) was probably the best single bite I've taken all year.
I hope you enjoyed the carpetbagging! Helen should be back soon.
We've got some pretty big news around here: New York Media, the parent company of New York Magazine, has bought MenuPages. It's a natural partnership, and we're very excited about the whole deal, as it should give us more resources to better cover our markets.
For more information, check out the New York Times article about the deal. We've included the press release after the jump:
Continue reading "Change Afoot: New York Media Buys MenuPages" »
Hello. My name is Helen Rosner and I'm the new kid.
It's an understatement to say that I'm excited to be stepping into the very brilliant, very funny, very large shoes of Adam Peltz, your guide through the last 15 months of MP Chicago. I'll be posting here every day, keeping up the old features and gradually rolling in some new ones. We'll be staying on top of openings and closings, chefs on the move, evolving menus, cheap eats, expensive eats, reviews, reviewers, the reviewed... pillorying and glorifying as necessary. Got tips? Ideas? Hot news? Drop me a line!
So who am I? I'm a Chicago girl, born and bred. I spent those long years from birth to legal voting age in Hyde Park and then down the Metra line in Homewood-Flossmoor (hey there, south side), teething on shu mai from Thai 55 and driving all the way up Western Ave in high school for late-night chorizo tacos at Arturo's.
More importantly, though, as far as I'm concerned, I don't eat enough. Not by, you know, nutritional standards -- I do quite well by caloric intake, thanks. But take a finite span of time spent here on Earth, and divide that by a near-infinite panoply of dim sum carts, churrascarias, morel-mozzarella s'mores, egg-and-cheese counters, gyros cones, wheels of manchego, pickle barrels, and just-picked strawberries -- just to name a few -- and the resulting sum is a big flashing arrow pointing to the fact that the three-square-meals-a-day plan falls woefully short, and next thing you know the only thing standing between me and The Scary Dark Abyss is that next great plate of food.
When I'm not thinking about what to eat, I spend a lot of brainpower overanalyzing pop culture, grammar, and what to wear each day. I have a weakness for tuna tartare, will buy almost anything that has a robot on it, and threaten to get a puppy on a regular basis. I have horrible taste in music, I stop the car for garage sales and street fairs, and last night I made a paella that was so delicious that it is currently providing me with enough confidence to buoy me through my first-day jitters.
Here we go!
Thai 55 [MenuPages]
Arturo's Tacos [MenuPages]
[Photo:"Welcome to Chicago" via chicoivan's flickr]
What could I say that would do justice to the last fifteen months of keeping this blog? Probably nothing that wouldn't be self-aggrandizing (my favorite posts) or partisan (my favorite Chicago food writers) or alienating (what food categories New York does better than Chicago [bagels, Burmese]) or entirely inappropriate (my favorite Chicago restaurants).
So, thank you for tolerating this carpetbagger and the opinions he formed largely from reading other people's opinions. For those of you who've written things that I've loved, thank you for writing them! For those of you who've written things I've excoriated, well, you should have tried harder! (Just kidding; I'm sorry!) And a special thanks to the flickr community, without which this blog would have been a visual wasteland.
For everyone else, I hope you've enjoyed reading half as much as I've enjoyed writing, and I will miss it (and you) immensely.
But don't worry your pretty little heads! An estimable force will be taking over the MenuPages Chicago blog mantle in the form of Helen Rosner, a.k.a RSGo. She grew up in Hyde Park (as opposed to my mere attendance of school there), and she may be even more ruthless than I am (she hides it better, so watch out).
Okay, well, I guess this is goodbye. Remember: when it comes to food, try everything.
Goodbye!
To the dismay of local MenuPages fans, Adam’s services are needed in other menuniverses this summer. Though his food rhetoric won’t die off completely, he’s enlisted a group of menu aficionados to fill in. I’m one of them.
Like you, I rely on the MenuPages blog to beef up my morning procrastination routine. Upon arrival at the office I check email, the weather and the MenuPages blog to catch up on all things edible in Chicago before doing any actual work. To ward off any unwarranted guilt I may have over this delay in corporate obligation, my morning routine will now include posting; a productive, “for fun” activity according to Adam. Indeed. A morning at the farmer’s market is way more fun than doing my real job. Take a look at the goods:
Asparagus, $2 a bunch from Stover’s Farm Market, Berrien Springs, MI.
Chicago PD and honey bears guard Stover’s Farm jams and nut butters, $4.95.
Make the jump for cherry-filled strudel, herbs and more.
Continue reading "Farmer's Market Is More Fun Than Morning At The Office" »
It's time for a little break. We're turning some age and going some place for the next few days. A clue to our whereabouts:
Yes, that cheeseburger is sticking its spicy tongue out at you. Ha!
There will be national content for the remainder of the week, and we'll be back atcha on Monday, aka Cinco de Mayo. Enjoy your break from us, and we will do the same.
[Photo: green chili cheeseburger, peabirdwoman/flickr]
And one of those times is now. Please enjoy the forthcoming syndicated posts, and see you Monday!
Our biological clock has been ticking madly the past few days, and we finally figured out why: our very first post was on March 26th, 2007. A whole year of us and you together...it has truly been a pleasure to serve. And looking forward to many more.
[Photo: awww! Butterfly Sweets/flickr]
When a restaurant first shows up on MenuPages, its popularity will often spike past the regular strong performers as people search for what they're reading about in the papers and on the blogs and what have you. But, say, two to six months in, if a place is still showing up in the top ten, it means it's got some legs.
And so, we salute:
• Brasserie Ruhlmann, in 1st place Downtown! It's a definitely a big-name restaurant, but such a distinction was not preordained; they earned it with their consistently delicious and innovative French fare
• Crisp, in 3rd place on the North Side. Impressive for a little, insider-y Korean fried chicken place, no?
• The Balanced Kitchen, tied for 3rd on the Northwest Side. It's way the hell out there in North Park, and it's vegan, but never discount those niche clickers!
[Photo: Raw Plate (organic raw cashews made into cheese; served with flax seed crackers; and an assortment of dehydrated fruits & vegetables) at The Balanced Kitchen]
Don't know about y'all, but we have the day off. Something to do with Christianity, apparently. There will be some thoroughly enjoyable national posts later on today, but we're out of here. Have a good weekend!
The food was always hit or miss; it was a good idea to steer clear of any dish that required "flavor" to work. But the waitresses were incredibly indulgent, and it was hard to beat the people-watching at those hours.
In fact, the grand prize winner is none other than Nookies in Lincoln Park. If that's not a cold-driven choice, we don't know what's wrong with the world. After that, the North Side runners up are Sapori Trattoria in second and Panes and Anteprima tied for third. Those are kind of classy, actually.
It is totally tack-tastic for us to toot our own horn, but check this out anyway: TIME named MenuPages the #6 website of 2007! We swear on foie gras' grave that we had no idea this was in the works. Take that, every other website except for the top five! (And never mind that we'd only heard of one of them.) Anyway, exciting!
We mentioned last Friday that we'd be blogging for part of this week from New Mexico, and indeed we have been. Well, we're taking the next two days off, and we'll return with all-new material on Monday morning. In the meantime, we've decided to put up some classic posts from the early period (let's say April and May) that virtually none of you are likely to have seen. They'll be coming online at random intervals on Thursday and Friday. Enjoy!This little family-run business understands quality. The owner and her husband wait tables and answer phones and are both nice as can be. And the food is among the best Chinese in town. My favorites are their egg drop soup, egg rolls, and either the Sesame Beef or Green Pepper Beef.Okay, here are the clues: 1) inside info on restaurant ownership 2) calling a place "the best" 3) relatedly, a 5/5/5/5 rating 4) no criticism/balance 5) use of the word "gem" 6) two great reviews for the same place on the same day. Now, any of these things could be coincidences. But taken together, we're suspicious enough to axe it. Next!
I love having this little gem in our neighborhood!!
I highly recommend this great place. The atmosphere is cozy and the service is the best. We once catered from them, for a church gathering and the delivery was just splendid. Their food is EXCELLENT, I recently took a trip here for my Birthday!! I give them a two thumbs up.The clues: 1) "church gathering" is a weird construction 2) who goes to a little falafel joint for their birthday? 3) two special events named in one review 4) 5/5/5/5 rating 5) "'a' two thumbs up" is just illiterate 6) no restaurant gets more shills than Baba Pita. If there is a real life Rosa who went to BP for her birthday, our condolences.
...not for what it never tried to be in the first place. not every restaurant can or should be a five star dining experience. i think it is an amazing feat to install a thriving fusion of fast food and healthy food, of soul food and home-style indian food, of cafeteria formatting and courteous, generous service in the heart of chicago's south side. the patronage is as diverse as the neighborhood it calls home. there is a high sensitivity to vegetarians and vegans, which should never be taken for granted. the owners are exceptional people who make an effort to make everyone who walks in the door happy.Okay, sometimes it is this easy. We feel sympathetic for this reviewer, because "anon" was honest in intention, and the review seems reasonable. We couldn't let it on the site on principle, but hey, he/she got a mouthpiece on the blog anyway. By the way, an anonymous user alias is no more suspect than a simple, capitalized first name designed to lull us into a false sense of security. That's right, shillers: we are on to you!
the food is great. you can get combos, where they put together a meal for you with a little bit of many things, and that can run between 8 and 12 dollars. or you always have the option of getting whatever you want, in whatever sizes you want - many people walk out of there with a yummy, filling lunch for under 5 bucks.
the very sweet woman who makes the samosas has been doing so for 16 years. you can say hi to the nice lady who folds the to-go boxes around lunch time. ask the owners how their son is doing, or what the effects have been of the businesses across the street being kicked out of their building.
everyone is welcome at this lovely restaurant.
signed,
someone who's worked there and misses it every day!
hey allDamn, "Indian guy" totally stole our band name, punctuation and all! And "non sense talks" was going to be the title of the first album. Oh well; it was worth it in the end. By the way, if we see either of those phrases on Pitchfork in the next few years, we're going to be angry. (Lady Escape, what with predating this post and all, has a partial exemption.)
reading this
this post
"Posted by [redacted] on [redacted]/[redacted]/2007
Best Food in a long time!" is posted by manager himself. U guys can go and see on ur own. I have been there lot of time. It is a good restaurant with delicious food. But service is not that good. An indian lady with a smile comes to u when u r eating ur food and starts all bulsh[*]tting and non sense talks. this is the most annoying thing about the restaurant. Again I must add the food and price are very reasonable.
Try Kheer or gulab jamun overthere . Never try mango kulfi, Samosa(as they make it sour somewhat but it is not supposed to be). Try Paneer makhani, Chicken Tandoori, Seafood is also good..
!! ESCAPE FROM THE LADY!!
Yes, your Mom, but also, MenuPages South Florida! (Click through, by the way, if you care to get the title joke.) Covering nearly 4,000 restaurants from North Palm Beach to the Florida Keys, MP:SoFl is the newest addition to the MenuPages "collection," which, in case you've forgotten, includes New York, Boston, San Francisco, LA, DC, Philadelphia, and one other place that keeps slipping our mind...oh, right, Chicago. MenuPages South Florida (and its soon-to-be launched blog) is mercilessly edited by Carolina Bolado, a University of Chicago graduate (us too!) and former Editor-in-Chief of the Chicago Maroon. Think of the many people MP:SoFl will be useful for: you on vacation, your grandma Ethel, crusty old fishermen, wealthy girls in South Beach, and millions upon millions of the well-tanned residents living on the warmest stretch of Atlantic coastline in America. Yes, a veritable boon.
Today you are witnessing the birth of an institution. MenuPages Chicago, your go-to guide for all things menu-related, is launching a new daily blog. I (more on me momentarily) am here to bring you all the pertinent and timely information you can handle about the Chicago dining scene. That is to say, restaurant openings and closings, menu overhauls, chef migrations, dining trends, hearsay, gossip and scandal will all be documented religiously for public record and your perusal. Also, expect to see features like neighborhood spotlights, event listings, round-ups, review highlights, and so forth. Plus, in an added twist, I'm taking any and all questions about the dining scene in Chicago, and answers with universal appeal will be posted.
So, why should you trust me? Well, surely you won't right off the bat. That would be naive, and you are nothing if not canny. But anyway, qualification number one is that I created and maintain our Chicago site. This means I'm wise to even the minutest of fluctuations in the Chicago restaurant continuum. I am also largely responsible for all those typos on the menus (sorry!)
Qualification two is less about my eligibility than about the urgency of my mission: to stoke interest in the new, the obscure, and the exotic, so that everyone (who reads this blog) can enjoy Chicago restaurants as much as I do.
Anyway, I am very much looking forward to sharing my passion for Chicago dining minutiae with you. Oh, but you don't know my name! It's Adam Peltz. Did you notice that the middle letters spell MP, like MenuPages? I just noticed that.
