ronnie_suburban

Great stuff, 6ppc. It definitely looks like it was a busy day. Btw, for stuffer information, look here: Sausage stuffers - what to look for?, Recommendations, please =R=

There's a nice, informative piece in today's Chicago Reader about Alinea's fantastic expediter, Trinna Schramm: She Makes Alinea Run =R=

You'll only be a couple of miles from Chinatown and the south loop, where there are lots of options. =R=

This thread also contains some decent suggestions. =R=

Fantastic pics, Eliot! Having just recently been to Binkley's for the first time, I have to say that I wish I lived a bit closer to it. It's the closest thing to Alinea that I've ever experienced and yet, Kevin has such a decidedly different aesthetic than Grant. The food at Binkley's is beautiful, thoughtful, whimsical, unique and -- most importantly -- delicious. I love the emotional element of the food chef Binkley is putting out but if it wasn't absolutely delicious, that element would be completely wasted anyway. In that regard I l believe that he and chef Achatz have a lot in common. As for the specific X's and O's of their work, they are traveling 2 different paths through the same forest (or desert, as it were). I'll be back to post about some of details from our meal tremendous meal at Binkley's asap. =R=

Here's this season's schedule for the Chicago area's big 3 markets: Chicago's Green City Market opens its season at 7 am on Wednesday May 16, with a demo by chefs Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris from Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook. The GCM is located at the South end of Lincoln Park between 1750 N. Clark and Stockton Drive and is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Evanston Farmers Market opens at 7:30 on Saturday May 19. It's open every Saturday through November 3 and is located at the corner of University Place and Oak Avenue. The Oak Park Farmers Market appears that it will open on Saturday June 2 and run every Saturday through October 27. It's located at the corner of Lake and Elmwood Avenues. =R=

Like so many great folks here, Elie's contributions are distinctive, compelling and remarkably varied. He cooks just about everything under the sun and he bakes, too. He's also an accomplished charcutier, an astute and informed shopper, an adventurous eater and a helluva writer, on top of it all. Not only did I have the pleasure of volunteering here alongside Elie for several years, but I recently had the chance to meet him in person and he is every bit as engaging and charming in person as he is 'on-line.' Elie, I've learned a ton over the years via your instructive and informative posts. I hope that I'll continue to have the pleasure in the future. Don't be a stranger. Please keep in touch and keep us up to date on whatever you're working on. Take care, =R=

Thanks, BRM. That's a beautiful thing! =R=

This week's Time Out Chicago selects Quince as one of the "five best holiday brunches in town." It sounds absolutely delicious =R=

I'm definitely still here hacking away at all things land and sea-faring. I became totally obsessed with cold-smoked salmon (lox) over the winter (when conditions made it much easier to produce safely) and probably made about 10 batches. I think I've really perfected it but now, yet again, it's almost impossible to eat the store-bought stuff because it pales compared to what I can produce myself. It was great being able to cure the fish outside on my front doorstep and then cold-smoke it when the air temp was in the neighborhood of 10 F. But now, with warmer weather just around the corner I'm trying to figure out if I can somehow continue to produce it on a regular basis. I have a few ideas but all of them will require some retro-fitting of my smoker. I've also been continuing to produce bacon and even got a great lamb and candied fennel sausage recipe from a chef/friend of mine that yielded a delicious final product. Again, with warmer weather coming, I do plan more sausage in the coming months. This has really become a way of life and it's mostly repetition which keeps me from posting about every single project I work on. But I'm still loving it. =R=

I too, really loved the salametto but I received samples of it and had no idea about the price. My guess is that it's up to the various retailer to set their own prices but that's just a guess. In either case, the product was simply outstanding. =R=

Big shout out to one of the good guys, congratulations on Food and Wine top 10 Chefs. Couldn't go to a more deserving team. ← I couldn't agree more. Chef Virant is so deserving of this honor. A few months back, I listed Vie as my favorite Chicago-area restaurant of 2006 and I'm happy to see that the folks at F&W again agree with me. It's also nice that they didn't limit themselves to more well-known chefs, within the city limits. And seeing them again recognize yet another Chicagoland chef with this honor is fantastic. Now, I'm not sure I'd count him as a 'new' but if it makes Chef feel any younger, then I'm all for it. =R=

I'll bet that Rick Bayless is smiling about this. =R=

In case anyone missed it, Lisa Shames wrote a great piece about Michael Carlson and Schwa, which appeared in the March 27 edition of NewCity Chicago: The Sultan of Schwa =R=

The '07 KfP, 12-ounce cans are now available in the Chicago area!! I kicked off the season by purchasing a couple of cases. I was also delighted to see an expiration date of December 2007 on the bottoms of those cans. With Passover just around the corner, it's nice to know that I could potentially go long enough to carry me to Hannukah. I don't think I'll take quite that much inventory but a few more cases are certainly on the radar. =R=

Sounds good, 6ppc. For fatback, I usually order from Niman Ranch, on-line. They sell it in 5# increments, iirc. I cut it into 1/2# pieces, vacuum seal them, and store them in the freezer until I'm ready to use them. I have a great local butcher and even he has trouble sourcing fatback; especially of Niman's quality. =R=

Both the spherical roll that was served with the Chanterelle dish and the 'cracker' base for Morel dish were made with Spanish, smoked paprika (not sure what variety), which provided a very distinctive note. =R=

Also have to say that the Monkish (3 ways) was stupendous. There was a medallion cooked en sous vide, some tail (battered and fried crisp) and a mousse of monkfish liver. Wow!! =R=

As always, fantastic images, Anthony. Thanks for sharing (again). Looking back, which you have facilitated so wonderfully, I really loved the Venison in Savory Granola and the Manchego Transparency. Also, the Orange and Olive Oil dessert was fantastic. It was all delicious and beautiful-looking but those courses really stood out for me . . . along with a bunch of others, too =R=

Anthony, without your continual and expert assistance, the Alinea Project wouldn't have been nearly what it was. Thank you for your amazing eye and unending dedication. Your understanding of the territory lent a level of insight to the project that I could never have provided on my own. =R=

I did find this but it's nearly a year old. =R=

Great stuff, Elie! Thanks for taking the time to upload the images. Your report makes one thing perfectly clear: it's been far too long since my last visit to Green Zebra. =R=

Thanks, edsel, for the heads up. Here are a few additional Heartland nominees, from the Media categories: Journalism Category: Newspaper Feature Writing Without Recipes Elaine Cicora Cleveland Scene Soul Kitchen 2/1/06 Category: Newspaper, Newsletter or Magazine Columns Dara Moskowitz City Pages, Minneapolis Take the Cannoli, The Importance of Burgers, Weirded Out by Wine 4/12/06, 5/17/06, 10/18/06 Category: Newspaper Writing on Spirits, Wine or Beer Dara Moskowitz City Pages, Minneapolis Asked and Answered 11/8/06 Category: Newspaper Section Carol Mighton Haddix, editor Chicago Tribune, Good Eating Category: Multi-Media Writing on Food, Beverage, Restaurant or Nutrition William H. Daley Chicago Tribune Winter's Kiss 12/6/06 Monica Eng with Chris Brown and Geng Wang Chicago Tribune Mastering Ethiopia's Injera 3/16/06 Broadcast Media Category: Television Food Segment, National or Local CBS 2 - Chicago Host: Vince Gerasole Network: WBBM-TV, CBS Producer: Vince Gerasole Category: Television Food Special Living on the Wedge Host: Mariana Coyne Network: WHA-Madison, WI Airdate: 8/10/06 Producers: Mariana Coyne, Gaylon Emerzian Category: Webcast Spatulatta.com (Evanston, IL) Hosts: Olivia Gerasole and Isabella Gerasole Web site: www.spatulatta.com Producers: Gaylon Emerzian, Heidi Umbhau =R=

Again, thank you all, for the kind comments. One great thing about the Heartland forum is that it encompasses so much territory. Because of that, I've had the opportunity to meet -- and eat with -- so many great, food-loving folks who I might not have met otherwise. Last summer, when my family and I took our first-ever road trip across the midwest, we had the pleasure to meet up with enthusiastic hosts in every city we visitied. For a food lover like myself, nothing is more special than someone sharing their favorite place(s) with me. I feel so much richer for the experience and know that, in spite of my stepping down, the food camaraderie we've cultivated will continue to grow. =R=

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a friend's 34-course birthday dinner (one course for each year) at Alinea last Friday night and all I can say is WOW! As many time as I've been to Alinea, this particular meal was a true show-stopper. This was a satisfying and emotionally provocative mix of items from the current menu, a few old favorites (even a trace of Trio) and some new items too. Wine service was typically wonderful, with some great pours and a special birthday bottle of Vega Sicilia 'Valbuena 5' Ribera del Duero, 2000. Here's a copy of the menu we enjoyed . . . As produce season approaches here in the Midwest, one can't help but wonder what's around the corner at Alinea. New lines of thought from Chef G -- the premise upon which the restaurant was named -- are continually being introduced. The process of constant refinement is a joy to experience, as a diner. I don't get the sense that the team at Alinea is never satisfied with what they accomplish, but it's clear that they don't rest on their laurels, either. Even with the all the spectacular reviews, global honors and the restaurant booked solid nearly every night, they are still continually pushing themselves in what seems to be a quest for perfection. Is it actually achievable? I'm not sure it matters because the process of trying to get there is what actually distinguishes and defines Alinea. =R=