ronnie_suburban

He doesn't drive an Edsel? =R=

I've added this to the Google Shopping Map. =R=

Ron, That map has an error in locating Piron Belgian Chocolatier (which is a terrific one, BTW, great recommendation). The address shown (509 Main Street) is correct, but for some reason the pointer on the map shows it at Asbury Avenue. In fact, the shop is located on Main Street just east of Chicago Avenue, about half a mile east of where the pointer on the map shows it. ← Hmmm...that may be because the address is actually is 509A Main Street. Upon double checking, using the the 'a' or not, Google maps seemed to have a problem with that particular address. Thanks, Ken, for letting everyone know about this. I'll send a note to Google Maps, just to let them know. =R=

I'm sorry to take such a hard line but I think gas grills are pretty much worthless. I didn't always feel that way but mine's been collecting dust for years. Actually, it makes a great outdoor storage cabinet. To anyone who feels that cooking over charcoal doesn't add flavor, all you have to do is taste product cooked over charcoal and product cooked over gas side by side and you will be forever dispelled of that notion. For example, charcoal cooking turns beef tenderloin into something nearly edible but cooking the same cut over gas does not produce results that are even close to as palatable. =R=

Updated lists . . . Thursday Dinner at Blackbird =R= +4 Alchemist newbie21 tammylc* + 1* jesteinf +1 edsel prasantrin* +1* Jean Blanchard +1 santo_grace +1 HOLLY_L NancyH +1 Nina C.* +3* nyokie6 +1 nsxtasy +1 yellow truffle +3 joiei* Sam Iam +1 Elrushbo stuart_s daniellewiley +1 Amy Viny +1 white lotus +1 cat lancaster ricain + 1 (officially in, due to cancelations) -47- (38 definite, 9 probable) 1 spot remains for Thursday's dinner, although it's likely that some who have signed up will drop out, as we still have 9 "probables". Thursday Drinks at The Violet Hour =R= +4 HeatherM Alex tammylc* +1* jesteinf +1 edsel tino27 +1 Lady T prasantrin* +1* Marmish* +1* newbie21 Nina C.* +3* Jean Blanchard +1 santo_grace +1 HOLLY_L NancyH +1 nyokie6 +1 nsxtasy +1 yellow truffle +3 joiei* moreace01 +1 Sam Iam +1 LuckyGirl +1 Darcie B kasw* +1* stuart_s* daniellewiley +1 Amy Viny +1 Aaron Deacon white lotus +1 cat lancaster ricain + 1 -59- (47 definite, 12 probable) Only 1 spot remains for Thursday's cocktail session Updated list for the Friday night dinner at Lao Sze Chuan: =R= +4 prasantrin +1 torakris tammylc +1* CaliPoutine Alex Sam Iam +3 Fresser NancyH +1 nsxtasy +1 jesteinf +1 kasw* +1* tino27 +1 HeatherM santo_grace +1 Kerry Beal edsel Cathy2 yellow truffle +1 nyokie6 +1 stuart_s HOLLY_L white lotus +1 LuckyGirl +1 LAZ +1 daniellewiley +1 karen m hsm +1 Amy Viny +1 Fat Guy -53- (50 definite, 3 probable) 27 spots remain for Friday night's dinner at Lao Sze Chuan Updated list for the Saturday dinner at Immanuel Lutheran Church: =R= +4 NancyH +1 torakris edsel LuckyGirl +3 Alchemist CaliPoutine Alex tammylc jesteinf +1 nsxtasy +1 Kerry Beal Marmish +1 moosnsqrl +1 Osnav +1 prasantrin* +1* tino27 +1 Sam Iam +3 nr706 +1 hsm +1 joiei Jean Blanchard +1 newbie21 moreace01 +1 HOLLY_L santo_grace +1 daniellewiley +1 kasw +1 dls* nyokie6 +1 Nina C. +1 LAZ +1 maggiethecat +1 Elrushbo Darcie B white lotus +1 Fresser cat lancaster HeatherM Lady T yellow truffle +3 Amy Viny +1 Aaron Deacon sweintraub* +1* karen m +1 ricain + 1 elfin +1 Fat Guy -86- (81 definite, 5 probable) Only 4 spots remain for Saturday's group meal Again, please take a look at the above lists and let me know if I have failed to record your status accurately. Thanks! =R= p.s. Happy 4th of July, everyone!

I'm really looking forward to trying my friend Eliot's place, even though it will require a dedicated trip from IL to AZ to do so. I know how passionate he is about food, and how much work, thought and diligence he has put into developing Noca over the past several years. Apparently, I'm not alone in that knowledge, as it was echoed recently in a column by Michele Laudig that appeared at Phoenix New Times.com: Eliot Wexler is banking the success of Noca on his food knowledge and local connections Good luck, Molto E, although, as you have demonstrated quite thoroughly, luck will have very little to do with your success. =R=

LOL . . . if only the pay were better! =R=

Words of wisdom, my friend, words of wisdom. =R=

Tammy, I'd like to provide some bbq. I'm not sure exactly what yet but if that's ok, please put me down for a bbq course. Thanks, =R=

As promised, below is a link to an interactive Google map of food/beverage-shopping venues that are near the church. Of course, this map is not all-inclusive but I tried to include as many viable places as I could think of, that were at least somewhat nearby: Shopping Map - eGS Heartland Gathering 2008 =R=

As promised, here is a link to a Google map of all the common venues for weekend. I did not include hotels because it seems like people will be staying all over the place. As things develop further, I'll update the map accordingly. eGS Heartland Gathering Map - 2008 =R=

Poutine, As I recall, you're the lawyer in the crowd. Are you offering to handle negotations?? ← Trust me on this one. They quoted us over $2,000 to use the space for Saturday's event and many of the supplies we needed for the meal (like tables, chairs, tableware, etc.) would not have been included in that quote. There was even some possibility, due the nature of what we are doing, that we'd have to provide our own insurance, too. Of course, this was all discussed back in the middle of winter, so it is possible that they'd be more negotiable now. That said, I got the distinct feeling that, because they are a relatively new business, they'd rather have the space stay vacant than let it go for less than their target price. Even with the lure of great publicity as part of this (including possible media coverage), even though it'll be a weekend day in August (i.e more likely an "off" day for a professionally oriented venue) and even though I told them exactly what the church was going to charge us, they came in about 4x higher than the church did. =R=

This is the first location I approached about hosting the Saturday event and while the location was excellent in many regards, the price was prohibitive. =R=

Thanks, Marmish. I'm sure I'll come up with something and I'll be in touch shortly. =R=

Ronnie, what does that 1 p.m. mean? I hope we'll have access to the church kitchen before then. With all the shopping and prepping and cooking, much of the meal itself won't be until well after that, I'm pretty sure. Is that the start of noshing time? ← Alex, It's unlikely we'll have the church much before 1 pm because they have other activities there in the a.m., etc. We'll shop at the market and other assorted vendors, beginning at 9 am. It's possible that we'll have access to the church a bit earlier than that but it's not too likely. But as Tammy mentioned above, in previous years, after shopping, we will likely want to grab lunch and then head over to the cooking venue. I think that even a 1 pm start should give us more than enough time. So, a couple of points . . . If possible, everyone who is able should bring a cooler or some other means to keep their purchases at safe temperatures between shopping and prep. This is especially important this year because the church has fairly limited refrigerator space (especially in light of the number of attendees this year) and many of us will need to keep our stuff cold on our own, even after we occupy the church. Simply put, there will not be enough fridge space for all our stuff. So, if you're local or driving into town, please do your best to bring a cooler or 2. Of course, sharing of cooler space (and other resources) is always encouraged. Regarding Saturday's lunch and shopping, hand-outs will be provided to everyone, listing places to shop and have lunch. Additionally, I and other locals will be happy to make driving runs to various shopping venues beyond the market. Based on previous years, this is something I think we can simply improvise on Saturday morning. Speaking of Saturday lunch, eGS member nr706 has very generously put together this awesome interactive Google map, which lists a whole bunch of places in Evanston (and nearby) to have lunch. My hope is to provide similar maps, listing both shopping venues and event locations for the weekend (in addition to the handouts). A short list of nearby vendors can be found here. Is everyone getting excited? =R=

I'm sorry but the software won't allow me to pin it to the top of the thread. I'll post the details here, though . . . If there's someone here who is adept at creating Google interactive maps, it would be most helpful if they could create one with this information and post the link here. Thanks Thursday August 7, 2008 Dinner Blackbird Restaurant 619 W Randolph, Chicago, IL 60606 312 715-0708 Start time tbd, approximately 6:30 pm CT Cocktail Session The Violet Hour 1520 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60622 773 252-1500 approximately 10:30 pm CT (30 minutes after dinner ends) Initial post about Thursday's events ===== Friday August 8, 2008 Dinner Lao Sze Chuan Chinatown Square Mall 2172 S Archer Ave Chicago, IL 60616 312 326-5040 7:30 pm CT Intial post about Friday's dinner ===== Saturday August 9, 2008 Shopping Evanston Farmers Market Intersection of University Place and Oak Avenue Evanston, IL 60201 9 am CT Group Meal Immanuel Lutheran Church 616 Lake St Evanston, IL 60201 847 864-4464 1 pm CT Initial post about Saturday's events and the weekend in general ===== Sunday August 10, 2008 Walking tour of Maxwell Street Market led by David Hammond 500 W Roosevelt Rd Chicago, IL 60607 312 922-3100 10 am CT Initial post about Sunday's event ===== =R=

Where do I begin? Who am I to bash the man who, 20 years ago, put Chicago on the world's culinary map; the great Charlie Trotter? What gives me the right? After all, I'm just some rube from the suburbs, so what could I possibly know about fine dining? Oh well, here I go, in spite of myself . . . In 1996, through a series of frustrating missteps, my first attempt to dine at Trotter's hit a brick wall. After a couple of unreturned phone calls, I gave up and decided that the table I wanted wasn't worth the amount of effort I was being required to spend obtaining it. Life is long, I thought. Sometime down the road there will be another chance, a more reasonable way, and when it comes along, I'll be sure to take advantage of it. Flash forward 12 years and my friend Gypsy Boy (whose toes I am probably stepping on by penning this account), who'd had a less-than-positive experience at Trotter's in February of 2008, generously asked if I'd like to join him on his return visit (the return visit was actually prompted by a reply he received from the restaurant to a letter he'd written about his February meal there). "Absolutely," I said. "I've always wanted to dine there." The reservations were made, and for the 10 weeks that followed, the anticipation built as I anxiously looked forward to our meal. Finally, I thought, I'd journey to the original epicenter of Chicago's nationally-recognized culinary scene . . . and they'd be ready for us. Even though it is normally an imposition for me to don any clothing beyond my boxers, when the day of our reservation finally arrived, I happily put on a blazer, slacks and shoes that required tying. This, in spite of the intense humidity and temperatures in the high 80's. It didn't matter. I was going to Trotter's and I was excited. Our experience began inauspiciously. We left our car with the valet and, as we'd arranged, waited outside the restaurant for our friends. I told the doorman who greeted us that we were waiting for our friends, whom I mentioned by name. He told me that they had not yet arrived. So, we waited. Nearly 15 minutes passed and with the exact time of our reservation now slightly past, we decided to get out of the sticky heat and head inside. Up the stairs we climbed, past the prominently displayed Relais Gourmandes plaque on the wall, and into the restaurant's waiting area where, we discovered, our friends were actually waiting for us. I was perturbed by this because, even though our friends explained that they'd arrived and entered while the doorman was away from his post, I assumed that he would have checked before telling us that they had not arrived. He didn't and we'd waited outside needlessly. No worries, though, because that was now behind us and we were all together, and heading upstairs to our table. Table service started out most excellently, with champagne being poured for 3 of us and a non-alcoholic bubbly being poured for one of us. This was done without request, as the restaurant was well aware of the non-drinker's preference. After briefly perusing the menus, 3 of us ordered the Grand Menu with the standard wine pairings and one of us ordered the Vegetable Menu with no pairings. I'm not going to spend a lot of time describing the food. Our reactions to the courses were mixed but mostly favorable. There were some consensus hits and misses, and some dishes on which we didn't all agree. I only tasted one dish from the Vegetable Menu, a tasty artichoke soup, but my favorite savory course from the Grand Menu was a delicious and well-executed crispy quail preparation, which was accented by a rich, chicken liver-based sauce, and chorizo, which had been turned into a delicate ribbon. IMO, the highlight of the meal was the desserts. They were inventive, thoughtful, distinctive and delicious. As our meal progressed, some conspicuous service issues emerged. I'm not sure what exactly was going on but our primary server seemed sullen and unhappy. Gypsy Boy, who is far more understanding than I, was convinced that she was new, even though I'm not certain that it should matter. If she wasn't capable of properly waiting tables without being trailed, she should not have been entrusted with the task. In any event, she was relatively unfriendly and not very helpful, either. At one point, when we asked her if a French chardonnay we'd been served was oaked, she responded with only a "yes" and immediately walked away from the table. Her descriptions of our dishes were perfunctory and barely audible. It seemed to me that she was simply going through the motions. Her lacking manner may not have been so obvious, save for the fact that during a later course, another server came to our table and eloquently described what we'd been served. Her manner was entirely different. She spoke to us like she actually cared, and she provided salient details about our food, at an audible level. This made me realize that we had probably ended up with an unfortunate draw. But other service issues arose that had nothing to do with our primary server. At least twice, plates arrived at the table with the food upon them toppled over. Somehow, between the kitchen and the table, these platings did not survive as the kitchen executed them. Had it happened only once, I would have figured it was an anomaly. But it happened to multiple plates on multiple courses. Given the venue and its reputation, this reflected a notable level of carelessness. Additionally, at various times, my and other water glasses sat empty on the table. Early in the meal, when GB asked for a copy of the menu, so that we could follow along, a long time (2 courses, iirc) passed before it was brought to him. When I got up to use the restroom, I returned to the table and found my roughly folded napkin sitting on the table, exactly where I'd left it. During dessert, one of my companions waited too long for a coffee refill and actually had to ask for it -- as a server glided past our table -- rather than having it offered to him. The most ironic and possibly egregious error of all happened after our meal, when the check was brought to the table. I was not aware until that moment that the house automatically adds an 18% service charge to the bill. That, in and of itself, does not bother me in the least, although given the quality of the service that had been provided, it was pretty bemusing. I have to say that even when service is poor, I generally tip 20%, so I was delighted that on this evening, I only had to tip 18%. You want your 18%? Fine with me. I was happy to oblige. However, a careless mathematical error was made on Gypsy Boy's portion of the bill and the service charge added to it was $230, not the $60 it should have been. He pointed this out to one of the hosts, who apologized and returned shortly thereafter with a corrected bill. This dining experience was, unfortunately, a comedy of errors that was certainly not befitting a restaurant that counts itself as one of the finest in the world. I wasn't offended or outraged by anything that happened, just stunned by it, relative to my other fine-dining experiences. And for $663 (the bill for my wife and I), I do expect far more. Had any one of the gaffes occured singularly, it would have been minor but add them all together and our experience was verging on disastrous. When my wife went to the restroom, she witnessed a heated 'discussion' between members of the service staff because some plates were out and ready before a table's wine had been poured. Perhaps this was a hint of the level of chaos that was going on behind the scenes. Unfortunately, the service we received didn't belie this incident, but instead, merely provided additional context for it. Maybe the hot, humid weather had something to do with it but on this night CT's reminded me a bit of Brennan's in New Orleans; an overrated, over-the-hill restaurant riding on its reputation and resting on its laurels. The service charge aspect drove home the feeling that the venerable Charlie Trotter's has become a something of a tourist trap. I do wish I'd gone there when it was still fighting its way up the hill rather than after it appeared to have hit the 'coasting' stage. Who knows . . . maybe it was just a bad night. But, considering that they knew that Gypsy Boy had service issues during his previous visit, I was really surprised by the experience we had. This meal was essentially their response to his letter and he actually felt like the service during this visit was worse than the service which prompted the letter in the first place. Is this what a great, world-class restaurant is supposed to be? For the sake of Chicago's culinary reputation, I certainly hope not. =R=

Done! Updated lists . . . Thursday Dinner at Blackbird =R= +4 Alchemist newbie21 tammylc* + 1* jesteinf +1 edsel prasantrin* +1* Jean Blanchard +1 santo_grace +1 HOLLY_L NancyH +1 Nina C.* +3* nyokie6 +1 nsxtasy +1 yellow truffle +3 joiei* Sam Iam +1 Elrushbo stuart_s daniellewiley +1 Amy Viny +1 white lotus +1 cat lancaster ricain + 1 (officially in, due to cancelations) -47- (38 definite, 9 probable) 1 spot remains for Thursday's dinner, although it's likely that some who have signed up will drop out, as we still have 9 "probables". Thursday Drinks at The Violet Hour =R= +4 HeatherM Alex tammylc* +1* jesteinf +1 edsel tino27 +1 Lady T prasantrin* +1* Marmish* +1* newbie21 Nina C.* +3* Jean Blanchard +1 santo_grace +1 HOLLY_L NancyH +1 nyokie6 +1 nsxtasy +1 yellow truffle +3 joiei* moreace01 +1 Sam Iam +1 LuckyGirl +1 Darcie B kasw* +1* stuart_s* daniellewiley +1 Amy Viny +1 Aaron Deacon white lotus +1 cat lancaster ricain + 1 -59- (47 definite, 12 probable) Only 1 spot remains for Thursday's cocktail session Updated list for the Friday night dinner at Lao Sze Chuan: =R= +4 prasantrin +1 torakris tammylc +1* CaliPoutine Alex Sam Iam +3 Fresser NancyH +1 nsxtasy +1 jesteinf +1 kasw* +1* tino27 +1 HeatherM santo_grace +1 Kerry Beal edsel Cathy2 yellow truffle +1 nyokie6 +1 stuart_s HOLLY_L white lotus +1 LuckyGirl +1 LAZ +1 daniellewiley +1 karen m hsm +1 Amy Viny +1 -52- (49 definite, 3 probable) 28 spots remain for Friday night's dinner at Lao Sze Chuan Updated list for the Saturday dinner at Immanuel Lutheran Church: =R= +4 NancyH +1 torakris edsel LuckyGirl +3 Alchemist CaliPoutine Alex tammylc jesteinf +1 nsxtasy +1 Kerry Beal Marmish +1 moosnsqrl +1 Osnav +1 prasantrin* +1* tino27 +1 Sam Iam +3 nr706 +1 hsm +1 joiei Jean Blanchard +1 newbie21 hjshorter moreace01 +1 HOLLY_L santo_grace +1 daniellewiley +1 kasw +1 dls* nyokie6 +1 Nina C. +1 LAZ +1 maggiethecat +1 Elrushbo Darcie B white lotus +1 Fresser cat lancaster HeatherM Lady T yellow truffle +3 Amy Viny +1 Aaron Deacon sweintraub* +1* karen m +1 ricain + 1 elfin +1 -86- (81 definite, 5 probable) Only 4 spots remain for Saturday's group meal Again, please take a look at the above lists and let me know if I have failed to record your status accurately. Thanks! =R=

Done, done, done and done! Updated lists . . . Thursday Dinner at Blackbird =R= +4 Alchemist newbie21 HeatherM Alex tammylc* + 1* jesteinf +1 edsel Lady T prasantrin* +1* Jean Blanchard +1 santo_grace +1 HOLLY_L NancyH +1 Nina C.* +3* nyokie6 +1 nsxtasy +1 yellow truffle +3 joiei* Sam Iam +1 Elrushbo stuart_s daniellewiley +1 Amy Viny +1 white lotus +1 cat lancaster ricain** + 1** -50- (39 definite, 9 probable, 2 waiting) Only 'wait list' spots remain for Thurday's dinner, although it's likely that some who have signed up will drop out, as we have 9 "probables". Thursday Drinks at The Violet Hour =R= +4 HeatherM Alex tammylc* +1* jesteinf +1 edsel tino27 +1 Lady T prasantrin* +1* Marmish* +1* newbie21 Nina C.* +3* Jean Blanchard +1 santo_grace +1 HOLLY_L NancyH +1 nyokie6 +1 nsxtasy +1 yellow truffle +3 joiei* moreace01 +1 Sam Iam +1 LuckyGirl +1 Darcie B kasw* +1* stuart_s* daniellewiley +1 Amy Viny +1 Aaron Deacon white lotus +1 cat lancaster ricain + 1 -59- (47 definite, 12 probable) Only 1 spot remains for Thursday's cocktail session Updated list for the Friday night dinner at Lao Sze Chuan: =R= +4 prasantrin +1 torakris tammylc +1* CaliPoutine Alex Sam Iam +3 Fresser NancyH +1 nsxtasy +1 jesteinf +1 kasw* +1* tino27 +1 HeatherM santo_grace +1 Kerry Beal edsel Cathy2 yellow truffle +1 nyokie6 +1 stuart_s HOLLY_L white lotus +1 LuckyGirl +1 LAZ +1 daniellewiley +1 karen m hsm +1 -50- (47 definite, 3 probable) 30 spots remain for Friday night's dinner at Lao Sze Chuan Updated list for the Saturday dinner at Immanuel Lutheran Church: =R= +4 NancyH +1 torakris edsel LuckyGirl +3 Alchemist CaliPoutine Alex tammylc jesteinf +1 nsxtasy +1 Kerry Beal Marmish +1 moosnsqrl +1 Osnav +1 prasantrin* +1* tino27 +1 Sam Iam +3 nr706 +1 hsm +1 joiei Jean Blanchard +1 newbie21 hjshorter moreace01 +1 HOLLY_L santo_grace +1 daniellewiley +1 kasw +1 dls* nyokie6 +1 Nina C. +1 LAZ +1 maggiethecat +1 Elrushbo Darcie B white lotus +1 Fresser cat lancaster HeatherM Lady T yellow truffle +3 Amy Viny +1 Aaron Deacon sweintraub* +1* karen m +1 ricain + 1 elfin +1 -86- (81 definite, 5 probable) Only 4 spots remain for Saturday's group meal Again, please take a look at the above lists and let me know if I have failed to record your status accurately. Thanks! =R=

And remarkably Maggie, I'm still only 40! =R=

A big congrats to Chef Nahabedian -- and the entire NaHa family -- on her big win tonight, capturing the 2008 Beard award for Best Chef Great Lakes . . . Grant Achatz wins top Beard honor, Outstanding Chef; Nahabedian grabs Best Chef: Great Lakes =R=

A big congrats to Chef Achatz -- and the entire Alinea family -- on his winning the 2008 Beard award for Outstanding Chef, a well-deserved honor. The news broke just a short time ago . . . Grant Achatz wins top Beard honor, Outstanding Chef; Nahabedian grabs Best Chef: Great Lakes =R=

There is a detailed discussion about Graham Elliot, including comments from the chef about the wine list, here. =R=

Yes, Solga is another excellent choice, IMO. =R=

Great write-up, Josh and one with which I thoroughly agree -- top 5 for sure. I posted my impressions about opening night at L.20, along with some images, here. =R=