ronnie_suburban

June 21, 2006... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: Glory days...Bill Daley reports on the glorious feeling midwestern chefs experience when they -- and the produce they love -- come out of hibernation for the season. Sticking with it...in this week's Prep School installment, James P. DeWan provides tips for producing optimal skewers. Savoring the Southwest...in the Bookshelf feature, Robin Mather Jenkins focuses on a trio of new books which focus on Southwestern cuisine. Food facts worth digesting...Renee Enna takes a look at Lorraine Bodger's Eater's Digest: 400 Delectable Readings About Food and Drink. The power of oak...in a self-rebuttal to last week's piece about the fading popularity of oakey whites, Bill Daley explains that when it is applied judiciously, oak can transform a wine from ordinary to transcendant. ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: Sweet dreams...Maureen Jenkins spends some time at Laura Cid Perea's Bombon Bakery in Pilsen. Burger sandwiched in donut is hit at ballpark...Dave Hoekstra reports on the much-ballyhooed Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger, also known as "Baseball's Best Burger," which is served at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL. Tastings around town...previews of upcoming events at Salud Tequila Lounge, Peppercorns, Galleria Marchetti, Scoozi, Zapatista Cantina, Opera, Flight, Stained Glass Wine Bar, Carnivale, and Le Titi de Paris. Food news...Denise I. O'Neal wraps up the week's industry news. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: Blame mom: She snagged him to put dinner on the table...in this week's Chef du Jour installment, Leah Zeldes profiles chef Dave van Dornick who has been cooking at Don's Fish Market Grill & Tavern in Skokie for the past 16 years. Homemade treats help you beat the heat...food editor Deborah Pankey reveals how to beat the heat with home-made, frozen treats, many of which evoke memories of childhood. ===== The June 16 edition of the Chicago Reader's Restaurants section features a 'What's New' round up of "Fancy Pizza, Small Plates and Small Batches." Note: .pdf pages at the Reader's web site load slowly but they do eventually load. ===== In this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish, Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby report that after 17 years, Lombard's Bistro Banlieue will 'close' at the end of July and reopen with a new theme (American fine dining) and a new name (still undetermined). ===== =R= <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some Chicago media outlets, which do not 'go to press' on Wednesday mornings, will be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or digester who will be happy to do it for you. <><><><><>

I too, have now eaten at the Chef's Bar and at a regular table at Avenues and I prefer the Bar, with the one caveat being what Josh mentioned: it's hard to chat with your whole group when you're sitting in that configuration. OTOH, I loved being closer to the action and asking questions of the chefs while the cooking was happening. Doc, thanks for the great pics! I'm remembering our awesome meal all over again. I've been on vacation with very limited access but I will come back shortly and add some more comments about our most recent experience there. =R=

I'm proud to be a trendsetter! =R=

Light can also adversely affect the quality of cured meats (fats tend to go bad faster), so that's another good reason to store them in the fridge. =R=

Thanks, Ted. =R=

A big congrats to Chef Eric Villegas on winning a regional (Michigan) Emmy. From a press release I received earlier today: =R=

She is the NYC Pastry Chef from Eleven Madison Park and she is an egullet member. ← Yes, that I know. Was wondering more about who gave the awards, if there's a monetary prize awarded too, if the awarding entity has a web site or press release, etc. =R=

Not exceptionally current, but there are some thoughts about both Blackbird and Avec here, here and here. My last experience at Avec (mid Feb 06, iirc) was quite positive with a couple of standout dishes that I would definitely order again. Not sure if they're all still available but my guess is that the house-cured olives and house-made charcuterie are always on and they are great. I also loved the pan-fried oysters that night (so nice, we ordered it twice) but I thought that the brandade while tasty, was too loose for my liking (almost soup-like) and that the shortrib prepartion was somewhat of a missed bet. Still, my experience is that the flavors at Avec are spot-on even when the specific preparations are somewhat unconventional. And I definitely appreciate it when chefs take chances. =R=

You may also want to check out these threads -- some relatively current -- about St. Louis dining. =R=

. . . and the second largest Polish population of any city besides Warsaw. Chicago also has large Mexican and Thai populations and, as such, offers fantastic cuisine in those categories as well. =R=

LOL! Mark, I'll say that I'd definitely just brush it off and eat it. After all, I ate that green jowl bacon. I guess that I'm up for just about anything. =R=

I believe they are attending the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, CO =R=

Wonderful things, I assure you ← I completely agree. Was there with doc and a few others and am working on my post as well. It was a fantastic and delcious experience. =R=

I have never completed a tear-free run with sheep casings (in 4 or 5 attempts). OTOH, all those casings were from the same supplier and same package. Based on other runs I've completed successfully using hog casings, my guess is that another package from another supplier (or even the same supplier) could produce better results. That said, even my butcher tells me that they (sheep casings) are the bane of his existence and that F-bombs have been known to drop when he tries to fill the breakfast links in his shop. =R=

June 14, 2006... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: Oak falls down...Bill Daley reports on the backlash against overly oakey Chardonnays and how the market is changing in response to it. Entertaining in the neighborhood...Jennifer Carnig files a brief review of Provenance Food & Wine in Logan Square. Real Men cook--and inspire...Donna Pierce takes a look at the annual Real Men Cook Celebration which has been gaining steam since its inception in 1990. Carrots...Joe Gray with a useful guide. Shrine to the sea...Michael A. Lev reports from Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market in Tokyo, the world's biggest fish market. ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: How to stretch your food dollar...Leah A. Zeldes goes 'inside the cart' and provides a variety of strategies for extending the grocery budget without sacrificing on quality. Sweet parade...Sandy Thorn Clark recaps the All-Candy Expo which took place in town last week. Food news...Denise I. O'Neal reports on chef Jimmy Bannos' continuing efforts to aid relief in New Orleans. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: French chef owes it all to Grandma with an assist from Michael Jordan...in this week's Chef du Jour installment, Leah A. Zeldes (who also has a piece [listed above] in this week's Sun-Times) visits with Martial Noguier, who has been the driving culinary force behind one sixtyblue since 2001. ===== The June 9 edition of the Chicago Reader's Restaurants section reports that Chuck's Southern Comforts Cafe, in Burbank has reopened, following the fire which closed them down last September. Note: .pdf pages at the Reader's web site load slowly but they do eventually load. ===== In this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish, Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby chat with Alinea's soon-to-be-former pastry chef, Alex Stupak, who will be moving to WD-50 in NYC at the end of July. ===== =R= <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some Chicago media outlets, which do not 'go to press' on Wednesday mornings, will be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or digester who will be happy to do it for you. <><><><><>

I agree with what pedrissimo says above. Hickory works great in certain cases. For me, those are primarily with beef, pork butt or more heavily-spiced sausages (with the exception of andouille). For bacon, my favorites are apple, cherry or a combination of the 2. The combo has pretty much become my default fuel for most pork and smoked sausage. The differences imparted upon finished product by the various woods is surprisingly profound. Not only do certain woods seem to pair better with certain foods, but I think there's also a sensory memory aspect to a successful pairing as well because we get used to certain aromas accompanying certain foods. When they change, it can really affect our satisfaction levels. As this applies to our own projects, finding the right wood is part of "perfecting" a recipe and it can definitely be a challenge. =R=

Beautiful, Doc. I do have a source for really good, canned Spanish tuna. I'll have to give this recipe a whirl. It looks delicious. =R=

Those stuffed trotters sound amazing. I hope you'll share the results here even if they're not optimal. Less than perfect attempts are just as important to learning as the perfect ones -- maybe even more so. Good luck, Abra. =R=

Congrats, Chris, on the new gig. Food Network will definitely benefit via your experience and the genuine care you put into finding great, off-the-beaten-path cuisine. If you'd like any direction or assistance for when you come to Chicago, please let me know. I'll be glad to help you out in any way that I can. =R=

Had another awesome meal at Alinea this past weekend and happily, got to try a few new items which are still evolving their way onto what will become the Summer menu. I really enjoyed the newly-minted Bison dish which, aroma-wise, was quite satisfying even before I had a chance to taste it. Tender nuggets of bison resided under a pile of ultra-thin toasted pumpernickel shavings, grated gruyere and pickled ramps. Alongside was a special condiment -- pumpernickel and onion salt -- which could be applied to the dish at the diner's discretion. This was absolutely delicious. I loved the Tomato dish too. It featured small red and yellow roasted tomatoes, a delicate and crispy length of fried bread with licorice and basil. The tomatoes were sweet and lightly caramelized and were a natural fit with the fried bread and the licorice and basil accents. This dish was summery and delicious. Another new favorite of mine was the Langoustine with litchi, Vacherin and ginger. This was an ample 'one-biter' in which the individual elements combined into a potent and synergized combination. The tender langoustine, crunchy litchi and pungent Vacherin -- combined with the savory and aromatic accents -- had me wishing for more. It was absolutely delectable. The new Corn course was another wonder. This combined savory-sweet custards of corn and coconut which were somehow fused together into a 1-bite cube then topped with beautiful and meticulously-placed accents of cayenne pepper and lime. I loved the initial flavors and the long, long finish too. It was great to experience the corn and coconut in this completely new light. Very cool. I also thought the new Zucchini course was great too. It was served on the antenna -- micro bites of zucchini cake, goat cheese and angelica -- taken in one, hands-free bite. Again the combination of flavors was terrific and rich. I loved the way those flavors continued to work together as the bite faded away slowly on my palate. The Squab with wild Oxalis pods (which had been caramelized) strawberry (sauce and berry), long peppercorn was also terrific. This dish featured perfectly cooked, rare breast along with leg meat and confit. The oxalis pods, which are foraged by hand, were uniquely crunchy and tasty. Again, the elements here combined into something much greater on the palate than the sum of its parts. I'll have another, please! The Cream Cheese course -- a small puck of cream cheese custard filled with tart and aromatic guava puree and accented with tamarind (sauce and dried chips), black sesame seeds and cachaca rock candy -- was sensational. The tartness of the fruit played perfectly with the creaminess of the custard. The tiny bits of rock candy were crunchy and delicious little gems which provided a wonderful textural contrast to the custard. Wow! Of course, several items with which I was already familiar also appeared on the menu, in their continually evolving forms. Hot Potato, Cold Potato is, for me, approaching Black Truffle Exlplosion territory. Although, we were informed that it won't be on much longer. 2 dishes which I've had a few times -- Dungeoness Crab and Spring Peas -- had been merged into one. The blanket of sauce covering the succulent bites of crab was no longer vanilla or passion fruit. This time it was made from the peas. And fresh peas -- perfectly taut/tender spring peas -- were just another transcendant element of the dish. Yuzu and lavender accents sent this new combined incarnation completely over the top. As is always the case at Alinea, Joe Catterson's wine pairings were inspired and glorious. I have tasted and enjoyed more wines which I would have never even had the chance to try because of the work Mr. Catterson does, and for this I am truly grateful. He has an amazing knack for creating pairings that bring out the best in the food and the grape. That's no easy task with a 20+ course menu which is constantly changing. The service was immaculate. Bradley, Craig and the entire crew made us feel so welcome. They're knowledgable and friendly without ever being pretentious or intimidating. I just cannot believe that Alan Richman recently referred to Alinea's food as safe. One of my companions theorized that what he actually meant by that is that the dishes are unquestionably delicious. To be unsafe would, perhaps, be to create combinations that do not necessarily work on a flavor level. Of course, Chef Grant's food is, for all its innovation and artistic presentation, safely delicious. If the food doesn't work on flavor level, it never finds its way onto the menu. I suppose that in that sense, Alinea doesn't represent much of a risk. But Chef G's certainly up on the highwire. The fact that he's mastered it -- and resides there so comfortably -- doesn't make what he does less risky. It does the opposite, in fact, and makes what he's accomplishing all the more amazing. =R=

Welcome, thomasevan, to the eGS and to this thread. Very nice to have you with us. That chorizo looks especially terrific. =R=

Not Chris here, but I do think it helps tremendously. As Melkor posted waaay back upthread, it makes cranking the stuffer (is that what the kids are calling it these days? ) so much easier. I was skeptical and decided not to use it the first time I used my stuffer. Big mistake. The second time I did use the lube and the cranking was monumentally easier. So, not needed, but it will be a big help. You can probably just use a little shortening if you can't find the exact stuff. =R=

Mark, that's a nice inventory you put up. And like a true charcutier, I see that you've got that raw butt ready to go, alongside the curing items. Very nice. =R=

re: dry ice, since it doesn't really store well in a consumer freezer, it'd be an extra stop before every sausage run and that could become inconvenient. It would be interesting to try, though. That said, I know that at certain places, the final ingredient isn't (1 C of) ice water, it's actually nothing more than the same amount of crushed ice. A few commercial places I've spoken with do it this way. =R=

The resistance is gearing up. In case anyone is interested, our own chefperkey (Chef Chris Perkey of the Sierra Room in Grand Rapids, MI) and several other well-known chefs, including Beard award winners Paul Kahan and Shawn McClain, are holding a Freedom of Choice Foie Gras fundraiser in Chicago on July 11. Details can be found here, on the eGS Calendar. =R=