chicagowench

There's always board books that involve eating (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) or a charming kids plate, cup, and spoon set for your nephew.

Something on that list will appeal to my little foodie, though I guarantee you, I am not getting him a freakin petite filet. Folks who've been there, how easy is it to bust out of there fast if I find myself dealing with a meltdown? (Why yes, I do plan ahead, so that I don't ruin other people's meals). Though let me say, the thought of inexpensive quality cocktails makes my heart sing with even more joy than the thought of that glorious shepherd's pie.

I'll be up that way at my mom's in Evanston next week, with toddler in tow. We already have plans to brave Trio Atelier with an 18 month old. Ronnie, how's the kid's menu look at Prairie Grass, beyond mac and cheese? Things I never thought I'd be worried about when choosing a restaurant.

Oh, how I miss Piron in Evanston. But moving to KC has its plusses, namely, Christopher Elbow Chocolates. Holy crow. I go to La Maison every time I'm in NYC, but these are something completely different. The flavors are so pure and explosive, they're beautiful.

I have multiple pairs of Modellistas, and find the sizing really varies from style to style. For open backs, they do run fairly true to size. The closed back ones, though, all depends. The raindrop style (little cutout pattern on top) seems a bit tighter than the regular solid material style.

The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in KC has a fabulous restaurant, Cafe Sebastienne. Unbelievable, it's pretty much a destination in its own right. As for the National Gallery of Art, ahhh, Restaurant Associates, how I love and hate thee. Thine stuff looks so good, and yet is overpriced, gummy, cold, or otherwise invariably not worth it.

Oh PMS, how I hate thee. First it's the need for a rare steak as big as my head and the cheesiest, creamiest potato gratin I can manage to make. Then it's the overwhelming need for chocolate. In winter I'll bake a batch of chocolate cookies, in summer I'll make a batch of ganache to use as ice cream topping. Oh the shame. And then on day one, all I want, with ever fiber of my being, is Yung Chow fried rice. Something about it being the equivalent of a giant porky, shrimpy, starchy salt lick is precisely what my body wants.

tanabutler, I certainly can't address the more theoretical portions of your question, but I can address this (hee, especially since I was the lush confronted by Fish Spiked On A Wire). I've dined at Trio a couple of times, and at no time did it suffer from what my husband calls the Temple of Food Syndrome. The captain for our table went to great lengths to not only tell us what was in the dish (and, in some cases, the thinking behind it) but also warn us how to eat it so as not to send hot molten cheese rocketing across the table. Each time I've been, someone at the table has biffed something- a glass sloshed, a roll shot across the room when trying to butter it, something- and each time it's been handled in one of two ways: silently correcting the problem with a smile, or good humour. In the case of the roll, the captain came by and murmured, "Bread products at 20 paces, madame? Arm yourself!" as our bread was restocked. Had it been handled in an icy manner- which I've had happen some places (I'm looking at you, Everest)- it would have put quite the damper on the evening. I have to admit, the service pieces at Trio did occasionally snap me out of the 'I'm havin a great time!' mindset and into 'How the heck am I supposed to eat this, despite the detailed instructions'. Probably the single worst one was the glass tube filled with flavors which was shot out as a little 'extra' the last time I was there. My mother and I began laughing as we were instructed to 'suck' on the tube. No one batted an eyelash that there were two women having a good time. The young waiter, though, when he overheard bits of our conversation blushed an amusing shade of scarlet. I think the risk of 'Temple of Food Syndrome' depends on the restaurant- the aforementioned Everest was very icy towards any hint of exuberance. Trio and Fleur de Lys were quite the opposite.

iain, several of those pieces were in use when I was last at trio. I have to confess, we busted up laughing at the spiked pieces, as by that point we were halfway through the wines and neither my mother or I thought it was safe for us to be trying to eat off of thin, piercing wire.

I can verify that a family of 5 came into Citronelle on the Saturday of RW and was shocked, shocked I tell you to discover the restaurant was not participating in RW. They were also rather taken aback by the lack of a children's menu (though the restaurant did quite well in punting). We were the happy drunks at the next table over. We had to cancel our RW reservations at Tosca for various family reasons (man!) but did have brunch at Bistro Bis. So very good- we too loved the quiche, and their hollandaise was excellent on the eggs benedict.

My mom and I dined at Trio on Friday night. With the exception of one small flub (they had neglected to note a couple of food allergies properly, so the opening amusee would have sent both mom and I to the hospital. Whoops) which they immediately corrected, it was as wonderful and breathtaking as the last time we'd gone. We did have a lengthy conversation with our captain about the new direction, which he described as 'bistro with the Trio touch. in terms of cuisine and service'. The room will be completely redone, including a lounge area.

We're vacationing in DC in a few weeks (hrm, I should search for a thread on 'I have 4 days where should I eat), and we definitely want to go to Zaytinya. We'll have our very adventurous eater of a 15 month old with us for the first day, before his grandparents claim him. There's no way we'd inflict him on other diners at dinner, but what about lunchtime- is it really busy? Or do we say to hell with it and go there and make drunken pigs of ourselves when he's off our hands?

Not the kitchen table, but I'm flying up to Chicago for my mom's birthday on July 16, and taking her to Trio. I was more than a little surprised that I could get a reservation on either Friday or Saturday. I'm not entirely sure my husband will ever forgive me- I'll have been twice now, during Chef Achatz's tenure, and he will miss it entirely. Perhaps a promise of a reservation at Alinea come January....

I roast chicken breasts on the bone, then skin and rip into bite-sized chunks (or cut the meat up for neater presentation). Mix together mayonaise and dijon mustard to taste (I like mine heavy on the dijon), add tarragon and a pinch of kosher salt. Blanch freshly shelled spring peas, shock peas in ice water. Mix chicken, peas, and mayo/dijon mixture. If I'm being fancy, I serve this in tomatoes or endive leaves.

chefg, congratulations on your new venture. I had the pleasure of dining at Trio with my mother last September. While I'm bummed I won't be able to take my husband there and experience your cuisine in that lovely space with him, we're both looking forward to experiencing your new venture when we get back up to Chicago. I realize it's yet more work, but I think the idea of documenting the evolution of Alinea on the website is great.

My mom just called me with the news. Here's hoping they do a garage sale like they did last time. I have some beautiful pieces from when they redesigned all the serving stuff as Achatz came on board

You people are dangerous. I am now considering buying a water smoker at Home Despot. Any suggestions on correcting for wind, Chad, since you and I are in the same windy state?

We moved to our current domicile about 1 month after 40 Sardines opened, and became regulars almost immediately. They, along with the local wine store, surprised us with a beautiful bottle on our anniversary when word got out that my OB had oh so graciously (snort) decreed I could have a glass of wine. The first night post-delivery in the hospital, my husband ran over there to get me takeout, as a surprise. When they found out I'd had the baby and was no long subject to the woeful dietary restrictions women in the U.S. labor under during pregnancy, Michael Smith, who along with his wife Debbie Gold, owns the restaurant and is the head chef, hustled into the kitchen and made me things that hadn't been on the menu in months- a giant hunk of seared tuna over soba noodles and raw milk goat cheese appetizers, in short, things that I couldn't eat while pregnant. Then they refused to let my husband pay for any of it. A week later when we were in with the baby, all of my drinks were free, in celebration of my being able to drink again. They have our devotion for as long as we live here- their small gestures and kindesses have paid off tenfold; whenever friends are in town we go there, we recommend it to neighbors, we do business lunches there.

I'm glad to hear someone who had a positive experience at Lidia's KC. We've been twice- once was 'eh' and the other time was truly horrendous. Undercooked risotto, gummy pasta, and a liver dish that had not been properly deveined or degristled. Have you tried City Tavern, which is also in the Freighthouse building? And congrats to your daughter! Quite an accomplishment.

Point Reyes and Berkshire Blue. My love for the Berkshire knows no bounds. I like the roaring 40's as well, but find the Berkshire to be more useful for both straight eating and using in things like my deadly 3 cheese pasta sauce.

Hackney's for memories (Memories, all alone in the stinkin heat, eating half an onion loaf, man will my breath be baaaaaad). erwin's for tastiness. There's nothing trendy or 'new' about the burger at erwin: it is just a very good honk of ground beef, juicy as all get out, with good cheese (and great bacon if you want it), on an excellent egg bun. Granted, I can count the number of times I've had the burger there on one hand, as it always struck me as a little silly to go there and have that instead of any of the other delicious and more 'adult' things on the menu, but sometimes, you just want a really good burger.

Hi Alton, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to the eGulleters. Springboarding off of an earlier question about a cooking show for kids ages 11-15, how old were you when you started cooking? When- and how- do you think it's appropriate to start involving kids in the kitchen? I don't think I'll be handing our 1 year old the keys to the cuisinart any time soon, but just as we're introducing him to a wide array of cuisines and food, we want to introduce him to the thrill of cooking.

For those in the Chicago area, Giles Schnierle has a stand at the Evanston Farmer's Market and the Sunday market at CHIC when it runs in winter. He runs the Great American Cheese Collection, and reps oodles of artisinal cheesemakers from all over North America. If you are outside the area, he does ship, and he will happily fax his current list-o-cheesy-goodness to you. Not like we continue to get loads of cheese from him. Heh. If you're in the KCMO area, he's the supplier to 40 Sardines for their cheese course.

I'm in....Kansas. Land of BBQ, wheat, BBQ, beef, 40 Sardines, beef, beef, and did I mention beef? So, still Heartland, just not Chicago. We're on the KS side of the Kansas City metro area.

I'm your pusher. Seriously, it is a haul in from Fox River Grove, but there are all manner of tasty things along the way and in Evanston. The German market in Volo, the restaurants in scenic Evanston, the Spice House on Central Street... why not make it a day of gustatory excess and seasonal eating? And thanks for the welcome!