This year we have begun a new fertility program through AgriEnergy. I have wanted to try this program that is based on scientific data, but never felt we could afford it previously. They begin with a soil sample from all fields. Following analysis they mix specific fertilizers to meet the specific soil requirements. This is a dry formula. Then we have two different liquid mixes that we can run through the irrigation. One is beneficial microrganisms to build soil health and vitality and the other is a fertilizer based in fish emulsion, kelp, guano, and chicken manure. All their products are organic and Omri approved. So, my request is to add your input to my observations on weather our crops this summer are improved as a result. I have always used an organic mix, but never with such specifics. It has always just been a generic blend.
Hi! I'll be travelling through Chicago this summer on Amtrak. I'd love to be able to hop off the train and hit a farmers' market or a restaurant serving local foods. Can you recommend things near the Amtrak station? We won't have a car with us.
Cincinnati locavore Valereee posted this in a comment, but it was in a post from over a week ago, so I'm not sure who will see it. It's a good question, so I made a new post.
Valereee, you will find that the train station is within walking distance of Chicago's downtown ("the Loop") as well as very convenient to public transportation to get you where you need. The key thing would be the day of the week you hit town (and to some extent, how long you have).
There are farmer's markets in the Loop several times a week. I'm assuming that the schedule will be the same as in the past, Tuesday's there will be a market at Federal Plaza (Dearborn and Jackson). Thursday's there will be a market at Daley Plaza (Dearborn and Randolph). There's been in the past, a market at the 311 S. Wacker building; that would be five minutes from the train station, but I am not sure if this market will exist, nor its date. You should be able to find the list of Chicago farmers markets all over the 'net soon (soon, not quite yet).
If it's Wednesday or Saturday, you may want to consider, if you have the time, the Green City Market. It leans more organic than some of the other markets, although some of the vendors at Green City can also be found at the downtown markets. I'm not an expert on the Chicago bus system but I believe there's a bus that goes from Union Station to where Green City Market is located (south edge of Lincoln Park). You can also take the Clark Street bus from the Loop.
In the Loop, there's a Chef, Dean Zanella, that focuses a lot on local food--and word in the street is that his restaurant, 312 Chicago, will be even more local driven starting this Spring. Not quite cheap, but not a fortune either.
If you are looking for a different version of Chicago local food, you may want to consider one of the most local of foods (as in Chicago's about the only place you can find it), and that's the Italian beef--see this link for details. About a mile west of Union Station is Al's Italian Beef. It's about the priciest beef meal, but it's considered one of the top two or three of its genre in the world. I should note that Al's has a distinct (and different from other IBs) that a small but vocal group is not keen for. A lot closer to Union Station is a place I like a lot, but is also a place that shares the distinction of being one of the few places to get turned down for an LTHForum Great Neighborhood Restaurant award, that would be J&C Bombacigno's. TheirItalian beef is more conventional, but the spicing is actually closer to Al's than most IBs. Both Al's and J&C have great versions of fried potatoes.
Finally, if you want something even fancier, there's Blackbird, a small walk from the train station (619 W. Randolph). It's one of Chicago's best restaurants, and there's a strong, but not exclusive focus on local foods. The cooking here is stellar. If it's crowded, you can eat at the bar.
Wait, one more thing. In the Loop, there's a cheese store, Pastoral (53 W. Lake), it's at the opposite end of downtown from the train station. They do not have a very local focus for their stuff, but there will still be a few good Wisconsin cheeses you might not now.
Have fun!
A while back, my wife made an apple pancake for weekend brunch. Should I take a picture I asked. "Document it" she said. Here's the apple pancake and a few other local meals, giving you all a good idea how we survived the Chicago winter eating local food.
This is a your standard nice piece of fish (Great Lakes whitefish) from Robert's on Devon stuffed with local (frozen) greens and breadcrumbs, roasted on a splayed keeper onion.
Assorted stored roots, boiled (served with corned beef, horseradish sauce)
Local eggs, boiled 8 minutes, greenhouse arugula, green goddess dressing made from first of season, wild watercress.
As I noted earlier today, I cannot just have food. I need food in the proper combination. What goes with kefta does not go with spaghetti and meatballs. Because the morning sun did not fully convince us of kefta, we went shopping for antipasto fixin's. At Caputo's Cheese Market, we did not really buy, and the rain that came seemed not enough to stop the grill.
Indecision brings new ideas. Sheppard's pie my wife suggested. A new way to use the ground beef. By the time the kidz came home from school, we had not figured it out. We surveyed. I mean one of the reasons spaghetti and meatballs was not moving full speed ahead was that I thought the kidz did not like. The survey results came in, and the meatballs, to my surprise/dismay, came in third, ahead of the kefta. Of course, to my real dismay, the write-in, Wingstop, came in first in the survey of kidz choice for Friday Night Dinner.
In second, they picked the devil they did not know, Sheppard's pie.
Hat Hammond would be proud of the recipe my wife dug up, from Staffmeals, one of her favorite cookbooks; ketchup being the secret ingredient to the ground beef. It did add a touch of sweetness that married well with the frozen peas, frozen corn (all local) sauteed in plenty of local butter and finished with a good splash of local cream.
Before the Sheppard's pie, I made soup from local escarole, a prosciutto end from Caputo's and the rind of some Roth Kase Grand Cru Surchoix Gruyere and a semi-soffritto of local onions, local carrots. Sheppard's pie seemed to demand a cheese plate and we sampled four great local cheeses: (from strongest down) , Hook's Blue Paradise, Hook's 10 year old cheddar, a new wedge of the same Roth Kase used in the soup and Zingerman Creamery's Manchester. We had to drink local. The kidz had Filbert's root beer. Mom and Dad finally found the L. Mawby Michigan champagnes we've been searching (Marion Street Cheese). We had Sex (hahhaha), a fitting Sheppard's pie kinda wine. We digested our food in front of recorded NBC Thursday night comedies, then ate pie.
