- 'Tis the season for Extreme Dining. (Tribune)
- Kim Severson on the death of the entree. (NYT via Ruhlman)
- The Most Interesting Wine stories of 2007 (Fermentation)
- Larry Bell on the return of
Bell'sKalamazoo beer to Chicago. (Chicagoist) - Advocacy groups want McDonald's to leave the bribes-for good-grades to the parents (MSNBC)
- Latkefest 2007 (Menupages Chicago)
We received a press release a couple days back announcing that New York Burger Company, "praised by AOL Cityguide, Time Out New York and New York Magazine" is launching a franchise program after the success of their two stores in Manhattan. Isn't that putting the cart before the horse a little bit? At least Pinkberry opened a few dozen locations before they looked to Howard Schultz for venture capital and a blueprint for total domination.
Although we have to say that the "Chicago Burger" on the NY Burger Company web site looks damn tasty, we'll be happy if Patty Burger can finally get it right.
LTHForum is the most comprehensive resource for neighborhood dining in Chicago, but sometimes we peruse the forum threads there and feel a palpable feeling of preaching to the choir.
To wit, this thread on the impending closing of John Bubala's Timo, which went from lamentation to a discussion on "what is overworked pretension" that's notable for its lack of irony.
While we're thinking of it, best wishes to Chef Bubala. He's had a rough year.
Sun-Times: Just in time with the addition of lunch service Pat Bruno gives two-stars to A Mano in River North, saying that the extensive menu put together by the chef Jon Caputo (including Neapolitan-style pizzas, which are the new black), is a continuation of the "artisanal evolution" of local Italian dining that started at Quartino two years ago. (S-T)
Tribune: In a three-star review Phil Vettel is amazed that the "odd couple" pairing of Le Francais veteran Roland Liccioni (he would be Felix Unger) and former Yvette owner Bob Djahanguiri (Oscar Madison) works so well at Old Town Brasserie. Now we know what Liccioni's golden parachute was when Le Francais abruptly closed last spring. (Tribune)
Chicago Magazine: Dennis Ray Wheaton somehow managed to get a reservation at Streeterville's Table Fifty-Two, a nigh-impossible feat now that Oprah's army of couch-bound housewives have been mobilized with orders to visit her personal chef Art Smith's tiny restaurant. But the smiles brought to diners' faces by a deviled egg amuse bouche make it all worthwhile. (Chicago Mag)
Time Out Chicago: David Tamarkin gives four stars to Fahrenheit in west suburban St. Charles, saying that chef Peter Balodimas, who grew up in St. Charles, is its "boy done good" for his fusion of seasonal ingredients and contemporary cooking techniques. (TOC)
Fresh off his successful Friday night food-meets-fashion collaboration with Joui Turandot's Vagadu debut, 24 Below head Efrain Cuevas' December 16 dinner will feature the waterfowl organ meat whose name we dare not speak within the city limits. RSVP here if you're interested in attending.
"Fxxx Gxxx in West Town" (Chefrain.com)
We've been hearing from acquaintances on the East Coast that Lucid absinthe is being heavily marketed there. Here in Chicago you can find it on the back bar at Lumen, Violet Hour and Delilah's. But don't start thinking you'll get to trip on wormwood extract just yet.
Nacional 27 General Manager Adam Seger, who just brought in a couple bottles of Lucid to "play around with", said that correspondence he had with the FDA indicates that they'll only allow thojone, the active ingredient in wormwood, to be under 10 parts per million. in other words, Lucid is just Absente with new clothes.
Seger was gracious enough to share with us a couple recipes for making your own absinthe, since the FDA allows wormwood extract to be sold as a dietary supplement. We're including the second recipe for your enjoyment; please make at your own risk.
Absinthe #2
1 tsp crumbled wormwood
1 cup vodka
2 Tbsp chopped peppermint leaves
1 piece of lemon peel, 3/4"x2"
1/3-1/2 cup sugar syrup
Steep
wormwood in vodka for 48 hours. Strain out and add peppermint leaves
and lemon peel. Steep for 8 days, strain and sweeten.
Now we take a look at what's happening on the coasts:
San Francisco: Samba Rooms tries to have its cake and eat it, too. This Brazilian/Italian restaurant in Ghirardelli Square is taking baby steps, but id offering both pizzas, Brazilian sandwiches, and baked goods as it rounds itself into shape. (~ESF~)
New York: Roy Liebenthal's Pop Burger opened early in Midtown, and from the photos we've seen it's ready for its closeup. (~E~)
Photo by Allen Lin.
We sometimes like to scour the reviews at Yelp* Chicago so you don't have to in order to find a quote that best summarizes the seriousness with which members of the popular user-review site take their collective responsibility.
Today's quote comes from Yelp! Elite Squad member Amy R., who had this to say about the prosciutto plate at Quartino in River North:
"The only thing I struggled with was exactly what to do with each of the accompanying foods. Do I combine them, eat them separately, by hand, (or) by fork?"
Sounds like a question for Heloise.
They also have a long-standing hot dog special at $3.45 (for two, including fries) that has local employees from the Department of Transportation lining up in the cold to enjoy.
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It's been close to a month since Nate at Burrito Bracket announced he was taking a week-long break because he'd "fallen behind on some 'real life' work." With his "Burrito Bowl" scheduled for tomorrow, we're still waiting on the results of the Tecalitlan/Irazu showdown. Daddy's got $100 riding on Tecalitlan to take it all. (Burrito Bracket)
