ronnie_suburban

I agree and would bet that the bottlenecking described upthread will be resolved promptly. =R=

Thanks, Captain. For those who are interested, here is the link to the article mentioned above: Tonight's Special Is Paper (free subscription required) =R=

May 11, 2005... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: Welcome back...Elizabeth Owens-Schiele with the Tribune's annual preview of the area's upcoming Farmers Markets. Bold flavors of citrus dance on the tongue...Bill Daley reports on the unique character of New Zealand's sauvignon blanc. Tasting notes are included. Dandelion leaves...Renee Enna with the seasonal information. Three Floyds Gumballhead...in the Tribune's new "Beer of the Month" feature, Jeff Boda takes on Three Floyds Gumballhead. Sharpening your knife skills...James P. DeWan explains the importance of knife sharpening and provides some good information about how to do it yourself. Creating a tea buzz...Brian McCormick reviews TeaGschwendner on the Gold Coast. Memories of Julia Child infuse culinary awards...Stevenson Swanson reports from last week's Julia-infused James Beard Foundation Awards held in NYC. ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: Produce boost: Making it easier to eat fruits, veggies...food editor Sue Ontiveros reports on what grocery suppliers are doing to boost their produce marketing efforts. What's on tap at today's bars...Jennifer Olvera reports on the new wave of Chicago bar food. Tastings around town...Celeste Busk previews upcoming events at La Vita, Morton's, Adele's, Gioco, Que Syrah and O'Donovan's. What women want...Denise I. O'Neal reports on what she considers to be next Chicago restaurant specifically targeted at female diners: Butter. Also covered are a variety of upcoming industry events. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: Fight food-borne illnesses by giving bacteria the cold shoulder...food editor Deborah Pankey provides some helpful tips toward preventing foodbourne illnesses. Food and wine classes...a comprehensive listing of upcoming area food events, tastings and classes; broken out by day. ===== From the Chicago Reader...What's New section...reviews of Bluewater Grill, Sizzle on Broadway and Uno di Martino. ===== And last, but certainly not least, in this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish...Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby report on the sad news that Pasteur is (temporarily) closing after a 10-year run -- and give a "Shout Out" to eGullet society member yellow truffle for his awesome account of opening-night at Alinea. ===== =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.

In today's edition, the Chicago Tribune provides a comprehensive preview of this year's upcoming Chicagoland markets: Welcome back =R=

Owen, the broccoli stem is well-peeled and quite tender. I cannot answer your coffee questions, as we bypassed coffee service due to the late hour. =R=

Frank Bruni with a piece in the May 11th edition of the New York Times (on-line): Sci-Fi Cooking Tries Dealing With Reality =R=

Very positive ink from metromix.com (today): Achatz rockets =R=

Yes, I have the Performer One-Touch and it's excellent. I still use the chimney -- which I prefer for over the provided baskets -- for fast-grilling. Using the chimney and hardwood lump charcoal, I'm usually cooking 10-15 minutes after ignition. Also, fwiw, the baskets that come with the Performers are excellent for slow cooking -- especially in combination with the hinged grill -- as they allow for easy refueling during cooking. =R=

I don't use my gas grill much anymore but I have a Weber Genesis Silver B -- which I "inherited" when I bought my current house -- and it is very nice; it gets up to temp fast and throws a lot of heat (36k BTU, IIRC). The last time I purchased a gas grill it was a Ducane and I was really happy with it. I forgot to exclude it and had to leave it for the buyer of my previous home, otherwise I'd still own it. The Ducanes run about the same as the Webers in price but at the time I purchased mine, it produced more BTU than the Weber which was equivalent in price. The cast aluminum design of Ducane definitely has its advantages too. It's extremely durable and cools off very fast. No paint also means no flaking, etc. Ducane handles are located on the sides of the lid so you don't have to lean over the burners to open them. I don't think the same is true of the Webers. And whatever you do, don't get rid of that old charcoal weber, you'll want to have it around for those times when you have the time to use it or are entertaining a larger group. FWIW, I've refined my routine with my Weber charcoal grill and can be cooking about 15 minutes after I light my chimney -- not a lot longer than it takes to get that Genesis up to temperature. Of course, there are some clean-up and maintenance tasks with a charcoal grill which also require some additional time. =R=

For reference and convenience, here are links to listings of Farmers Markets throughout the Heartland states: Indiana Farmers Markets Iowa Farmers Markets Kansas Farmers Markets Michigan Farmers Markets Minnesota Farmers Markets Missouri Farmers Markets Nebraska Farmers Markets North Dakota Farmers Markets Ohio Farmers Markets South Dakota Farmers Markets Wisconsin Farmers Markets =R=

According to the Whole Foods web site, the store is in development with the opening date still TBA. =R=

. . . as noted in my opening post =R= ← Oh geez, it's right there. I blame it on being under the weather today. No, really. Oops. ← LOL! If it's open 2 days per week, it's worth mentioning twice Feel better =R=

Prune filling on number 4. Again, not sure about the topping. Pumpernickle puree on number 5 and yes, definitely truffle was present although, I'm not sure if it was the topping or not. Number 3 was bulgar (and garlic?) filling with a garlic chip as the topping, IIRC. =R=

The last 2 were filled with prune and pumpernickle puree respectively. I'm sorry but I cannot remember the toppings/garnishes for either of those 2 at the moment. =R=

Here's a link that will take you to a few threads about brisket. Now, back to "Prime" Rib . . . =R=

. . . as noted in my opening post =R=

Even though I've heard amazing things about it -- and have a visit planned for this summer -- because I've never been there, I felt a bit weird about recommending it. But now that you did, I don't have to Thanks, Kurt, for the link. Please feel free to add any others that come to mind. =R=

Before we get too "off topic" with discussions of restaurant theory and philosophy, etc. I want to remind everyone that this thread is designated for discussion of Alinea and I will keep it pruned accordingly. Of course, brief discussion of some tangential aspects is bound to pop up, but I don't want it to dilute the focus of this thread. The larger discussion, while quite interesting -- and possibly even important -- is one that should take place on a thread of its own, in our General Food Topics forum. Thanks =R=

We're less than 2 weeks away from the opening of the season and I can hardly wait. After a winter of blah salads, endless cauliflower and assorted root veggies it's great when the weather rolls around and the Heartland gets to showcase one of its strengths: Produce. The biggest news is that the Green City Market will be open for business 2 days per week this year, starting on Wednesday May 18. The GMC will also be open on Saturdays and will run through October 29. You can view a press release about the GCM by clicking here. A brief update on other markets of note: Oak Park Farmers Market kicks off on June 4. Evanston Farmers Market starts up on May 21. For a listing of venues where Nichols Farm & Orchard (arguably one of the best suppliers in the Midwest) will be selling their goods, click here. At last report, the CHIC market was still looking for a new venue. For a comprehensive listing of Farmer's Markets in IL, please click on the following link: Illinois Farmers Markets And for additional reference here are links to our Farmer's Market discussions from the past couple of years (please be aware that while the discussions in these linked threads are quite useful, many of the links therein are no longer valid): Farmer's Markets - 2004, It's just about time... Evanston Farmer's Market, opens Sat. May 17 (2003) Twin Cities Farmer's Markets (2003 & 2004) And please if you have fresh information about any area markets that are worthy of note, please post it here. =R=

The serving piece was made of glass and it has glass balls as the feet. ← I think M. Ruhlman is correct; it's a votive candle holder from C&B. =R=

My sources say yes. =R=

Before hitting the sack, I'd just like to add that I doubt the descriptions of how the food tasted will be very satisfying to those who haven't been to Alinea. I think the early consensus is that it tasted great. Still, what's that worth if you haven't tried it yourself? Shed your frustrations and go to Alinea. Without doing so, no amount of reading descriptions -- no matter how eloquent they may be -- can possibly satisfy on the same level as actually eating the food. And this isn't just true of Alinea. If you've never had an italian beef sandwich from Mr. Beef, Al's or Johnnie's, no amount of description is going to help you understand what it actually feels like to eat one. The satisfaction that comes from eating great food cannot be replaced by words. . . . and just to touch on the "time frame" issue, our meal took approximately 5.5 hours from start to finish. =R=

It's late so this installment will be brief (and I will be back to elaborate when time allows), but I thought the food tasted great. There were so many dishes (and so much wine) that it's really hard to sort it all out right now. The thing about chefg is that his flavor combinations and concepts are incredibly innovative and so original that, for me, they barely have reference points. It's all basically new territory and therefore, analysis is more difficult to come by (for me, anyway). For example, who knew that rose water and horseradish would create such a fantastic flavor combination? Sounds impossible, yet it worked. Completely. PB&J was, of course, delicious. It's hard to harsh on a peeled grape dipped in peanut butter and wrapped in a razor-thin blanket of toasted brioche. Other "bites" like Sour Cream were not only thought-provoking but seriously tasty. That one in particular was fun because of its initial frozen state, which translated into several phases of flavor. It was cool and creamy at the start, purely herbal at the finish with several other notes played in between. One bite, yet complex, multi-faceted and delectable. Some of our favorites were the succulent Lamb Neck with the fat atop it nicely crispy. I was delighted that my SIL was full by that point. I ate mine, we swapped plates, I ate hers. The Frog Legs blew us away. The sauce was rich and savory, the frog meat was unbelievably tender and the morels were a perfect element because they sopped up and carried so much of that fantastic sauce directly into my mouth. I loved the tender Beef with flavors of A-1 and the stuffed and lightly-fried Artichoke bite will likely join the now retired Black Truffle Explosion in the "legendary" category. The Turbot was out of this world and was surrounded by an outer bowl of hyacinth blossoms onto which hot water was poured to create an emotionally evocative aroma -- it was reminiscent of spring time. There were no dishes that didn't taste good, most were excellent and even with 28 courses, the portions were quite large. I also have to say, with no disrepect intended to anyone at Trio (pre-Atelier), that the desserts at Alinea were transcendant and I felt matched the meal way better than most of the desserts I remember from the closing menu at Trio. They were boldly flavored but, for the most part, light in body. Ethereal would probably be a good description. The Pineapple was like a dream, the Sassafrass Cream was a tasty and sweet adventure on a plate and the Sponge Cake . . . well, it was so good that even though it was the last course, we were all sucking dry the glasses in which it was served. Wine service was exceptional with pairings designed to match the menu almost step by step. Sparkling, white, red and fortified all contributed to a fantastic journey which I never could have even begun to imagine on my own. What a treat! It should go without saying that the overall level of service was about as good as it gets -- but I'll say it anyway. Without already knowing it, it would have been nearly impossible from our vantage point in the dining room, to discern that Alinea was only on its 4th day. So much more to say but not only is it late, the words are hard to find. I don't think I've felt this lucky to live in Chicago since the Bears won Super Bowl 20. =R=

On the 7.5 hour issue, I don't want to officially speak on Yellow Truffle's behalf but I was with him last night and he indicated that his party's own preferences contributed greatly to that time frame. They savored, they chatted, they lingered, etc. I hope he'll come back and elaborate on that a bit. Our reservation is in just over 4 hours, so I hope to be back with my own report before the weekend is up. =R=

Anthony, Thank you for the thorough post and the sensational photos. I can barely wait until we go to Alinea tomorrow night. Having enjoyed the Tour de Force at Trio (when Grant was there) in just over 5 hours, I too am wondering about the duration of your meal. Can you elaborate a bit? =R=