My Chowhound

Mr. Peabody Set the Wayback Machine to Las Vegas - The Venetian

After recently finding that my pizza primer post got lost in the move to Chowhhound ver 2.0, I've decided to re-post anything I find/need here or on LTHForum.com. I will be citing this post later today.

Sadly, the place written of below is no longer in business. A real shame.

There is a layer of Las Vegas that exists between the strip and the modern suburban "locals" city. Not the convention abled chain spots on and off paradise road, but off-strip and on the road to downtown. It fascinates me, not the least because it also contains Lotus of Siam. Here strip shows, the pawn shops, the taverns, the marriage parlors, a real Algren/Bukowski created world. Within this world is the very original Venetian Italian. When you make the U-Turn to Venetian, you just miss Lucky Massage and could go straight into Shifty's bar and vido poker emporium if not paying attention.

The moment that summed up Venetian came after dinner. When we were waiting for our goodbye cab and learning about the hostesse's tatoo, a frocked man looking very uncomfortable entered. His well endowed date soon showed up and they took a seat. We glanced at the hostess, she said, way too loud, yes that was a minister and a hooker. Well, it's that kind of place, the Venetian. And I mean that as a strong complement.

The waiter has an overly solitious manner that fit well in this place. Here, everyone is Tony Soprano. He warned us so many times that the osso buco would melt in our mouths that I thought he'd chew it for us.

We began our meal with a series of appetizers and strong drinks. Fried calamari, served generously, proscuitto wrapped mozzeralla, a bit small, sauteed mushrooms and garlic bread that made you remember how good garlic bread could be. We should have held off a bit, but everything made its mark.

But first, we had to have salad or soup (he pushed the soup heavily). I stuck with the salad which had as much dressing on one salad as a resturant in Venice would have on all their salads, but it was a good dressing. A friend ordered a ceasar salad. I made the mistake of finishing the huge plate for him. It was too good, enough garlic that I was lucky Ms. VI was 2000 miles away and also heavily dusted in parmagian. I barely was not ready.

On a menu loaded with old fashioned treats, I picked the most old fashioned of them all, veal parmagian. Two decent pounded scallops drenched in melted cheese. Like classic tex-mex, nothing bad about too much cheese and a good sauce. The spaghetti in a sauce cooked to butteery mildness, also fought for a spot in my radidly shrinking gullet.

It's not like I sampled all the rest of the orders, but I can tell you that the osso bucco was denture friendly. The veal chop, charred well, looked worth the price, same with the pasta with seafood.

Someone else on [Chowhound] commented that the Venetian was great for the scene, but the food was an afterthought. I do not know. I totally appreciated the total lack of irony in the kitchen, the fact that this was the type of red sauce cusine that made us fall in love with Italian food. I strongly reconmend the Venetian Italian on Sahara about 1/2 mile north of the strip.

The Venetian is open around the clock. During our friday dinner, the place was oddly sparse. It made it easy to pick up a group chattering away in Italian. Of course, this helped the atmosphere. I'd like to visit again, early in the morning, when the late crew is noshing.

Food for Thought

It's not all chow.

Nosh on this as you digest today's events.

Bread in Chicago - III

I'm pretty strongly on record being a Freddy's advocate. And Joe is always asking me to try something new outta his kitchen. Often a satisfied lunch ends (or begins anew) with a plate of something he sends out. So, if I glorify Freddy's Bread, I express an obvious bias.

Freddy's breads are not great breads, yet they are some of the best breads in Chicago. Like ice cream, sometimes freshness and active participation overcome technical skills or great ingredients. Freddy's breads just taste better. The crust, as shown is not strong or crisp, but the crumb is moist, with a strong taste of yeast. I'm fairly certain that some of Freddy's breads have a touch of shortening, which gives them some richness. They are not cloying nor artificial tasting. If there is shortening the touch is light. Overall, the elements balance, crust, crumb, richness.

Note, on a daily basis, Freddy's offers several bread shapes, and the shapes do influence taste and flavor. This one pictured, what I will call slit bread, is especially doughy/bready and not quite typical of all Freddy's breads. Thus, the rating below is only for this bread.

Freddy's Pizza is at 1600 S. 61st Avenue (16th Street between Austin and Ridgeland)

1. Freddy's Slit Bread
2. Liborio
3. Turano

Meet the Papple Lady

This is Oriana. She showed up at the Green City Market one day in September. She sells papples or Asian pears or apple pears, which have become the go-to fruit for Hannah and Sophia. Oriana is not the only person who sells papples at the Green City Market, but she might sell the best. Try. She will, willingly offer up a selection of that week's papples in what she calls green, brown or yellow. She also sells delicious dried pears and more conventional pears.
She has some other interesting stuff. Like black walnuts. Like Concord grapes, this is produce that screams farmer's market/local. You cannot find these otherwise. And if people gave up on Concords for the big pits, people gave up on these nuts because, well try to open one. Luckily, Oriana has a device that cracks them. It's still some work, but it's a start.



Another thing she has is ground cherries or chokeberries, which are, I believe, a relation to the tomatillo. Don't let the cherry part fool you. They are more vegetal than fruity (in fact the black walnuts are a lot sweeter). Still, they have a sly, yet and interesting intense taste. Best, Oriana promises they will stay for a long time in their protective husks; something to think about as I have told the kidz that this year, baby carrots are anathema in our house.

Do say take minute to say hi to the Papple Lady, sample, and buy.

Bread in Chicago - II

When I was last poking and prodding bread in Chicago, I had a bread that was Kevlar hard. Today's bread, from Turano is very much the opposite (summing up the issue with Chicago breads, too something).

Too soft. You could easily ball up a loaf of this Turano bread and play indoor soccer. It is not a bad bread, now. It tastes fresh. It just lacks anything approaching a crust.

I realized after two efforts that letter grades would not work--I already fear that Liborio's B is too high. Therefore, like Dom's beef rankings at Skillet Doux, I will simply rank the breads against each other. Here's the scale to date:

1. Liborio
2. Turano

Friday Cat Blogging

Moe Returns

Fall, When Hearts Turn To

More Produce.

Most of the farmers markets in the Chicago area close down by the end of October. What's a Localvore to do hence?

Find a CSA. This will be the second year that Farmer Vicki/Genesis Growers will be offering a fall CSA, and the second year that the VI family will be using this CSA for fall produce. The cost is $140

Proposed crops include:
broccoli
cauliflower
lettuce heads
baby lettuce
mesclun
arugula
carrots
beets
winter squashes
sweet potatoes
potatoes
broccoli raab
miscellaneous greens
turnips
pie pumpkins
cabbage
onions
leeks
occasional warm weather crops (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers)
apples

To sign up for this CSA contact Genesis Growers genesis_growers@hotmail.com

Over the course of the fall, Vicki also includes items like dried herbs, goat milk soap and canned goods. Our experience last year was that the fall CSA did not provide enough for the week in a particular box, but it was enough when you combined the boxes with other stuff in the house. More important, I think experience will help Vicki provide more this season. Finally, a Fall CSA is only as good as the weather. Early snow or hard frost can kill the best of plans.

Angelic Organics offers a fall/winter CSA, but you have to already be a user of their farm.

Disorganization

Bread in Chicago

I'm very interesting in knowing about bread in Chicago and finding the best of breads. I said I'd write about it. I guess I did not say when.

So, the story continues.



First up, one of my favorites. There are several in the class that is Italian mass-market: Turano, Gonnella, D'Amato's. I find people tend to ignore this one. Should not. I think the picture gives a good indication of the heff in this crust. It's a heavy, solid bread that will last several days. It's weakness, like so many around these parts, too dry in the crumb. Liborio breads are available at the versions of Caputos in Elmwood Park and Melrose Park. I'm not sure where else. Overall, a solid B.

PS
I forgot to mention another site with resources on Chicago bread. Gemma used to do more of a job covering bread in Chicago, but even without the bread reports, her site is so damn pretty--look through her archives.

Update
I fixed the link to Pro Bono Baker as I do not think it was taking you to the main page.

Great Smells of Chicago

Who can forget Gene and Judes?



This is the smell of your childhood if you grew up around here.

2720 River Rd
River Grove, IL

5767

Like many others of my faith, I'm hard at work cracking black walnuts, trimming cardoons (oy vay).

This is not your Bubby's Rosh Hashanah. More some other time.

Pizza Primer

I once wrote (IMHO) a pretty good pizza primer for Chowhound, because if nothing else, Chicago pizza needs a good primer. And not listening to Mike G's sage advice, I did not save it/copy it to somewhere else on the Internets. The post seems lost in the protocols of New Coke Chowhound, which limits the amount of responses on a page. While I have that blogger's love of one's work (modern Oscar Wilde: "I'd blog so I'd always have a favorite place"), the pizza summary in this week's Reader is a good substitute. I'd suggest, perhaps, that people make their own copy. Besides, it has this gem from Hat Hammond on my beloved Freddy's:

Zabar's of Cicero

More important, there's been a lot of changes in the za scene in the last few years, with the addition of some more Euro-style pizzas. The data is here.

Friday Cat Blogging

Guess Star, the Dog

Don't Give Head

Missing Lettuce

Earlier this summer I finally got my copy of Nose to Tail Eating, whereas Fergus Henderson lays down his culinary principles. Now, while I'm at least curious about rolled spleen and salted pig liver, I doubt I'll ever get an audience, and the recipe for brawn (headcheese) is at least fun to read. One dish, however, that I wanted to make almost immediately was the Little Gem with anchovies and tomatoes--as soon as ripe tomatoes arrived in the market. There was only one problem, I could never find the Little Gem lettuce.

I slightly chalked that up to the idea that my local farmers did not plant Little Gem. Wrong. In fact searching for some Romaine the other day, I got the truth. The farmers are growing Little Gem (and Romaine), just not selling the heads. It seems that head lettuce is too tricky, too much work, to unproductive. So, the farmers pick the lettuce leaves as they grow. They do not wait for a full head to form. If they do, there is a chance, so I was told, there will be too much waste.

I appreciate the economy, but there's many times I'd like a little head [ed. gosh no]. For instance, I was thinking that long Romaine leaves would really work well with the Zuni roast chicken/bread salad that we are having for Rosh Hashanah. I could not find that. And I learned that a lot of lettuce mixes contained Little Gem, but I was not gonna make Fergus's dish by picking out the particular leaves. Let's not forget a good wedge salad. Localvores should not have to skip such decadence. We need to bring back the head.

Thinking of Something To Say

Eat Local Spinanch

I've been wanting to comment on the bagged spinach issue, but I have not been sure exactly how to put it. More important, I do not want to appear callous given the seriousness of many of the illnessess.

The Washington Post (reg. required) notes some of what I've been thinking. Quoting fellow Eat Local Challenge Blogger Jen BB:

"If there ever was a reason to shop local, this is it," says Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, a home gardener and food blogger from Syracuse, N.Y. The latest contamination scare makes it "more critical than ever to eat closer to the source," adds Baskerville-Burrows. "If we patronize smaller, local farms and something goes wrong, we can trace it back directly to the producer."

By the way, Jen has some other good stuff on the spinanch issue and eating local generally. Do check her blog.

Organic Farming is Hard

I've said it before. Michael Nagrant does a good job of making the same point. (Note to self, if it takes to Monday to see a New City, you're not getting out enough.)

Throughout the morning, even on this "self-imposed day off," Covelli's running from the kitchen to the walk-in refrigerator, conversing with his pickers--"Pick the Sungolds before they get watered or they'll split like a motherfucker"--and rehashing the sauce recipe with his kitchen hand Eric Davis. Covelli says, "If I was in school, I'd be one of those ADD kids. I'm either super-focused, or not focused at all." He adds, "farmer's aren't patient, that's what makes them so effective."

The farm highlighted, Tomato Mountain, is one of only a few that shows at Chicago's Green City and Dane County.

Update
Need more, here's Farmer Vicki's message this week

Fall is the season for harvesting. And boy oh boy, are we harvesting. The barn is filling up with nice goodies for the fall and winter. I find satisfaction in that. I love seeing loads coming in from the field. It is a time when the fruits of our labors are very evident. But, it is also a season for hard and long laboring. We are trying to grow crops, plant greenhouses, harvest fresh items for CSA and market along with cleaning up the field for winter. Then we add the harvest of the storage crops. But, we love it. The guys especially enjoy harvesting the big stuff. They enjoy picking and tossing. The field rings with their laughter and jesting. What characters! They are really great to have around. Farming would not be so much fun without their antics. I am truly blessed with their fun attitudes.

Mock-up

Is this a better template?

Friday Cat Blogging

Ooh That Smell

I'm a list lover, so, of course, I loved today's Tribune At Play. And one of us Chowhound's favorite reporter's, Monica Eng, chimed in with 8 great aromas. I do think she should have made it a top ten. How could she miss:

Johnnies on North Avenue
Costco on Clybourn when the roasters going full blast

Eat Local

I just put up a post on the Eat Local Challenge Blog on some of the eating local I came across in my recent road trip through Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The post only scratches the surface on what's out there. Over time, I hope to document more.

Apple of her Eye

Oak Park Farmer's Market September 9, 2006

This is the favorite of the Condiment Queen, who spent some formative tasting years out east.

Here's the kidz favorite.

Kris Kringle?

Who/where did Bendtsen's bakery get mentioned tonight? Stat shows several hits to the blog on this tonight from several places in the country.

Needless to say, I'm hungry and also have an excuse for more photos. I hope to get a kringle soon.

Save the Date

SEVEN GENERATIONS AHEAD


SAVE THE DATE FOR A SPECIAL EVENING!

LOOK FOR DETAILS COMING SOON ABOUT...

A TASTE OF THE SEASONS
A Celebration of Our Commitment to Sustainable Living

Seven Generations Ahead
4th Annual Benefit Dinner & Celebration

Saturday, November 11, 2006
6:00pm-10:00pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Gar Hall
78 East Washington Avenue (at Michigan Avenue), Chicago

Featuring:

Live Dance Performance

Organic and Local Food


A Taste of the Seasons is a 100% carbon neutral, wind-powered event.



In every deliberation we must consider the impact on the seventh generation.
GREAT LAW OF THE IROQUOIS

Bear Down

If I could take any solace with the dwindling supply of heirloom tomatoes on Farmer Vicki's table on Saturday, it was the Bears began their season on Sunday. The new season is always of highest interest at the start. What will become; will it become a season of interest? So, here's my quick assessment of the Bear's victory:

The coolest thing about the game, and one reason, I believe, they had such any easy time, is they discovered that they place offense with 11 players. Using both the fullback (especially) and the tight end really helps.

We may have our own Antwon Randel El

While pitching a shutout, the defense did not look great. There seemed to be a lot of plays that took in chunks of field. It seemed to my untrained eye, that the defense benefited from time of possession, favorable spots, and a lot of awful passes from Mr. Favre.

I'll be watching next week.

Friday Cat Blogging

The New Black

Does this background make the photo's look better?

Note, a few other things. I have no idea why the links/archive part of the blog is WAY down there. When I figure that out, maybe I'll update the links! Also, it appears in the update that I have ditched the Haloscan code somewhere. Instead of trying to fix that, I'm just gonna use the Google comments--not that I get so many comments. But any comments or help on the redesign are appreciated.

Green City Market
September 6, 2006

It's beginning to feel a lot like fall here.

It was so fall-y yesterday at the Green City Market that I am sure I just did not notice it as much last week [ed. too busy shaking down the fresh mozzarella rumors?] It's a great time to shop. There are still plenty of tomatoes, eggplants (both normal and what, abnormal?), corn; berries, but there was all of the things associated with fall including wild mushrooms, squashes and root vegetables.
I'm still not used to how long it takes for red bell peppers to arrive because they seem so summer. The last few weeks, I've got some red bell pepper like things, like Vicki's pimientos, but this is the first week I got honest too goodness red bells--not that I did not also purchase these tiny red sweet peppers from Green Acres. As soon as I got home I roasted the big ones.

Here's some of what else was there this week.
The biggest rutabagas I've ever seen, the wild mushrooms


The bees were in full force!











The obligatory dog shot.

Menus That Change

When I was looking for the link to the River Cafe book below, I found their web site. It has one of the best examples of seasonal/daily menus I have seen.

Here's some more restaurant sites that change often, allowing you to see how the chefs react and use what's around them.

Chez Panisse (updated weekly)
St. John (daily)
Heartland (St. Paul, MN)--warning the menu is a pdf file (daily)
L'Etoile (Madison, WI) (daily-ish)
Vie (a few times a month)

Farmer's Market Find of the Week
Fresh!

Mozzarella. It was real interesting several weeks ago at the Green City Market. A genuine market swept the market. And by interesting I'm not sure if it was that there was market rumors or that it actual reached me, a mere shopper. The rumor, Traders Creamery had fresh mozzarella. Of course by the time it was a rumor, the mozzarella was gone. Since then, or perhaps because of that, I've been a bit obsessed with getting fresh mozzarella at the market. After all it's the peak of tomato season, and this thread has been motivating me anyways. But really, it seems more like finding and buying fresh mozzarella seems like being tipped off by your broker to a real cool IPO. No?

I've mentioned Brunkow cheese before (and coincidentally, Time Out Chicago highlighted them this week as well). They have told me in the past that fresh mozza was just too much week. Until now or shall I say then. The other day. Oak Park Farmer's Market. Saturday Morning. Not cheap ($8/lb), yet this was, well this was the fresh mozz we dream about. I bought two balls. Brunkow uses a bit of vinegar and seals the balls in plastic, so the stuff is not fresh-fresh (he knows), but it still tastes of well contented local cows.

I think there will be some next week.

PS
This book has some great ideas for other things to do with fresh mozzarella. (It's one of my favorites.)

What's Local This Week at Caputo's
What's Local Everywhere

Well before the farmer's market season started, my wife and I would find local food in the oddest of places--like Michigan apples and Minnesota potatoes at the dollar store. I also noted that on any given week, if one looked a bit, one could find something local at your neighborhood market; for instance Caputo's.

Am I just paying attention or is there more focus on local produce?

Whole Foods has realized that there is a 32 degree of food coolness out there, that organic hardly cuts it with the cutting edge foodies. They now offer pamphlets on how they stock local. Recent visits to their store in River Forest, Illinois found much local produce including many vegetables from Wisconsin (local AND organic); peaches from Southern Illinois and some so-so (and expensive) heirloom tomatoes from Michigan. The Seedlings people from Green City (and other markets) have told me that their melons will soon be for sale at Whole Foods (if they are not there now).

Or Sunset Foods on the North Shore. Scroll down their weekly flier to see the ads for local (really local) vegetables.

And my neighborhood Caputo's, plenty of Michigan apples and peaches and plums intertwined with their other produce.

My wife speculates that the stuff was always there; it's just that stores are labeling things more because local food is "in". I'm not sure that's the case. I think because local food is more in, the market has opened up more to local food. Regardless, it's a good thing.

Friday Cat Blogging

Eat Local Challenge
The Spice Conundrum

I make no bones about not being pure to the Local Challenge. When asked/challenged, I pretty quickly throw out coffee and then olive oil. Because the first is crucial to my sanity and the second is necessary to most of my [or especially] my wife's cooking, they are things that always come to mind. If I think about it, however, I would come up with all sorts a other exceptions. A major challenge to the Eat Local Challenge is spices. After all, most spices come from exotic locations like the Malabar Coast or shall I say, "Malabar Coast"--you know what I mean. Surely, one needs spices to cook...or do they?

Right now we have peppers coming out of the wazoo. Went to Milwaukee and could not resist the bags of small peppers for a dollar, went to Minnesota and could not resist the bags of small peppers for a dollar--and I bought out the entire supply of micro bell peppers at a quarter each. At Madison I bought a godly amount of Hungarian hot wax because I want to duplicate the vinegar peppers at Old Town Serbian, and Farmer Vicki just keeps on piling them on me. There must have been 25 (at least) various peppers in our box this week.

Many of the peppers we are already drying; from there we can make our own spice powders or chile flakes. Other peppers are going into the freezer or into vinegar. Our intention is to create a slightly new palate to cook from. Of course, we have fresh herbs now and many dried herbs (some we have done ourselves, some from Farmer Vicki). I'm not saying we will never stir up a pot of curry again or dabble in international, spice dependent cuisines, nor would we skip nutmeg in a squash puree or cinnamon in an apple pie, or hell, I'm not skipping fresh cracked pepper on my salads, but over time, it will be a lot less of their spices and a lot more of ours.

Green City Market
August 30, 2006





It's always fun to go to a farmer's market, and Green City is generally funner than most because of things found only there. Still, today's market was missing something. It's just that the market the other day in Oak Park seemed so over-flowing. Today's Green City seemed like, well just another week.



There were a few new spots for the week including the first grapes (no Concords yet) and new stuff from Trader's Creamery--fromage blanc and creme fraiche.





Japanese sweet potatoes are not something you run into too often.











It also seemed like melon week.





There's always a market for weeds!


Here's a few more shots form this week's market.

Oak Park Farmer's Market
The Peak!







If you ever wanted to see what the fuss was about farmer's markets, now is the time. Summer is still flowing with sweet corn, tomatoes (and more tomatoes) and other fruit/vegetables like eggplants and bell peppers. And oh the fruit, berries, melons, peaches, but also the start of fall: apples and pears.

Enjoy!



The tomatoes, mostly mini, in the first picture are from Farmer Vicki/Genesis Growers. Below, the okra and radishes come from Nicholl's Farm, the peaches from Hardin Farms and the apples, which are softball sized, come from the stand next to Hardin. The herbed oils are from my friend Jim at Herbally Yours.

Credit to my daughter Sophia for some of these pics (I'm not saying).

Playing with Paint Shop



I have no idea what I'm doing. Look artisic?

It's stuffed grape leaves from the Parthenon in Chicago.

My First Food Pic



Nathan's at the Mall of America (where else?)

Seems not quite sharp enough, but otherwise, I'm happy.

Eat Local
Friday Fish Fry

The VI family spends a lot of time in Wisconsin. Not the least because it's close, but mostly for the food (or a lot for the food). And one of the main reasons about the food is that Wisconsin is all about eat local. I mean a restaurant recently opened in Madison focusing on Wisconsin cuisine. A great example of eating local is the Friday Fish Fry.

Saveur magazine nicely features Wisconsin fish fries this month. They note the origins of the fish fry came from the mixture of Catholic eating habits and ample stocks of fresh fish. Today, people care less about missing meat on Friday, and in Milwaukee, there aint very much in the way of fresh fish outta Lake Michigan. Most fish fries these days serve Icelandic cod or Alaskan trash fish, I mean pollack. Still, the best fish fries, while not being truly local, are very much local in spirit. That's one of the reason a good fish fry makes such a satisfying meal.

Take Turner Hall. The lake perch comes from Eire, and it is not even on the menu, but it's there and as delicious as lake perch is, breaded in the Wisconsin way instead of dusted as they do in Indiana. With potato pancakes, a sweet cabbage slaw, apple sauce, marble rye and your own pat of Wisconsin butter, everything could have come from Wisconsin if it may or may not have.

The vast double storied, paneled Turner Hall is worth the visit even if the food sucked (which it does not!)

Historic Turner Restaurant/Turner Hall
1034 N 4th St
Milwaukee, WI 53203
(414) 276-4844
(414) 276-0442

Towards Better Eating
Two Recent Meals

As I expound and expand on my better eating plan, I thought I would detail two of the meals eaten this week at the VI Bungalow (I'm skipping a third meal as it was practically a repeat of one of the meals.)

Meal #1

First
Farmer Vicki's hierloom muskmelon with prosciutto (not local I know); also Nicholl's Farm celery stuffed with a mint marscopone blend--this was supposed to be blue cheese, but yes, after several months en fridge, blue cheese does spoil

Second
Caputo's brand linguini with arugula, tomatoes, and hot peppers from Vicki; capers and black olives. Ever hear the expression tasting summer, well this was it.

Third
Fresh Fruit

To Drink
Inspired by Bridgestone's post on LTHForum, we had home made plum "snaps" and then a bottle of Lambrusco, chilled, truly an ideal summer wine.

Meal #2

First
Seedlings peaches, Seedlings who are at Green City and other Markets sell some of the best fruit to be found under Parma ham (again). Still, the experience of peach and ham and muskmelon and ham are so different. The melon is subtle, and you focus on the intensity of the ham. The peaches nearly drown out the ham, and it is a minor key harmony of flavors instead.

Second
Classic summer Caprese salad, what I've been waiting for, for ages. Vicki's heirloom tomatoes, sorry I do not know the variety, they are small and oblong-round with green streaks over a bright red background. With the tomatoes, Freddy's fresh mozza, which LTHForum Italian maven, Antonious, believes it about the tastiest around.

Third
Pasta again, this time with Vicki's patty pan squash and Vicki's heirloom black cherry tomatoes.

Fourth, fresh fruit again. Nicholl's Farm's plums have been especially delicious this year.

To Drink
What else, Prosecco, very cold

A certain repitition of ingredients? Darn right, but these tomatoes are so fleeting and it is best to get our complete fill now. Of course, not only do we eat old fashioned, we live old fashioned, and with limited air conditioning in the Bungalow, these kinda meals are truly seasonal.

The Latest in Great Neighborhood Restaurants

The participants of the LTHForum.com site have identified a new group of places considered GNR's or Great Neighborhood Restaurants. Do I love all of the restaurants nominated? Well, maybe there's one or two I do not love, but I love the list, like previous rounds it repersents of range of places that inspire passions in eaters. These are the kinda places I would seek out if I was a visitor to Chicago (or a recent arrival).

For more information, contact:
David Dickson (630) 399-9172, ddickson@rmcis.com
Gary Wiviott, (773) 282-3277

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chicago, August 7, 2006 – LTHForum, the Chicago-based culinary society, has announced its latest choices in its semi-annual Great Neighborhood Restaurants program.

A sampling of winners, with comments from LTH members, are:

Scooter's Frozen Custard,1658 W. Belmont Ave.,Chicago

“I am convinced each time I try it that Scooter’s is making the best ‘ice cream’ in Chicago these days... Scooter’s went about it the right way, tasting famous custards from Milwaukee, St. Louis and elsewhere before concocting their own, which tastes like something you grew up on. The creamy richness of Scooter’s makes so many ice creams seem (what else?) plain-vanilla...It is truly a great neighborhood restaurant because the owners are so friendly to everyone.”

Burt's Place [Chicago Style Pan Pizza] 8541 N. Ferris, Morton Grove

“Burt’s cooks a mean pizza in a very unique style, with roots far back into the annals of Chicago Pizza History... Burt has spent over 40 years developing and perfecting his style of pizza. It has a wonderful caramelized crust and the sauce is obviously made from fresh ground tomatoes. The flavor and texture of the crunchy sweet peppers contrasts wonderfully with the warm tangy sauce and melted cheese... Burt and his wife seemed genuinely pleased to serve us pizza, sit and chat, and give a tour of their historic memorabilia.”

Hai Woon Dae [Korean Barbeque] 6240 N California, Chicago

“Live coals have never had it so good as being able to excite Hai Woon Dae’s meat... The perfect Korean barbecue in a nondescript north side strip mall. Real charcoal grills, big tables, tender marinated meats in many varieties, a glorious array of panchan to choose from and a free flow of good, inexpensive soju—I always leave Hai Woon Dae well-fed, a bit rowdy, and happy with my lot in life... One item that may not stand out on the menu is simply called Steamed Eggs. Light, flavorful egg custard, perfect as a starter.”

Sunshine Cafe, (Japanese/non-sushi) 5449 N.. Clark St., Chicago

“This is a very simple restaurant, and yet so warm, quaint and welcoming... Japanese food is more than sushi and sashimi. Home-style cooking (ofukuro-aji, meaning mom’s taste) like this is so under-represented in the city... If grilled mackerel is served in Heaven, I believe this is how it would taste... And if you’re looking for the perfect tempura (crispy, non-greasy), or the perfect bowl of Udon noodle soup, or excellent miso, fantastic sukiyaki, teriyaki, salmon, it’s all here... What a wonderful homey place.”

BomBon Bakery [Mexican bakery] 1508 W. 18th St., Chicago

“The most fabulous bakery I know of in Chicago is BomBon, in Pilsen. I had a slice of a tres leches cake from them last night which could not have been better... They succeed in making every pastry taste equally as wonderful as it looks. Every tart I have sampled is fresh and full of distinct flavors. Their flan is the absolute best I have ever tasted... A Mexican bakery that is artisanal and artful, as well as a true neighborhood place in one of Chicago’s most vibrant neighborhoods.”

Over the history of the awards, winners have represented an eclectic mix, including everything from the most minimalist hot dog stand in town to the most exotic one, from a Japanese restaurant dishing up spiritual experiences in a Korean neighborhood to one serving up Japanese comfort food in Lincolnwood.

Only 21 out of Chicagoland’s nearly 15,000 restaurants received the award in this round of nominations. Previously, 43 other restaurants have been so honored. Awards are based on multiple visits by some of LTHForum’s more than 2,400 registered users.

Said program administrator David Dickson, “We have two primary objectives in doing this. We want be a tool for consumers to find good and adventurous places to eat, and we want to help support deserving restaurants that many might not otherwise have discovered.” He pointed out that LTHForum is an all-volunteer organization, with no financial interest in any of the awardees.

Other recognized restaurants in this round are:
The Hopleaf [Belgian Bar Food] 5148 N. Clark St., Chicago
La Unica [Cuban/Latin] 1515 W. Devon Ave.., Chicago
Spacca Napoli [Neopolitan Pizza] 1769 W. Sunnyside, Chicago
Volo Restaurant & Wine Bar 2008 W. Roscoe St., Chicago
Nuevo Leon Restaurant [Norteño Mexican] 1515 W. 18th St., Chicago
La Casa de Samuel [Mexican/Guerrerense] 2834 W. Cermak, Chicago
Steve's Shish-Kabab [Middle Eastern] 3816 W. 63rd St.,. Chicago
Taqueria Puebla [Mexican/Pueblan] 3619 W. North Ave., Chicago
Calumet Fisheries [seafood, primarily fried or smoked] 95th Street at the Bridge, 3259 E. 9th St., Chicago
San Soo Gap San [Korean Barbeque] 5247 N. Western Ave., Chicago
Sticky Rice [Northern Thai] 4018 N.. Western Ave., Chicago
Priscilla's Ultimate Soul Food Buffet 4330 W. Roosevelt Rd., Hillside
Salam Restaurant {Middle Eastern] 4636 N.. Kedzie Ave. Chicago
Fonda del Mar [Mexican] 3749 W Fullerton Ave. Chicago
El Nuevo Kappy's [Mexican antojitos] 2759 Cermak Rd., Chicago
Shan [Pakistani] 5060-A N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago
Katy's Dumpling House [Hand-pulled Noodles] 665 N. Cass Ave., Westmont
Mandarin Kitchen [Shanghainese] 2143 S. Archer, Chicago

Full details on these restaurants can be found at LTHForum.com, in the “Great Neighborhood Restaurants” section.

Each restaurant was nominated by one of the over 2,400 registered members of LTHForum.com, the Chicago-based culinary chat site, and ratified by the moderators of the board based on the degree of discussion and community-wide enthusiasm from the food-obsessed participants on the site.

LTHforum is a Chicago-based internet chat site and impromptu dining society which has quickly grown to become an influential fixture on the Chicago dining scene, widely read by journalists and chefs eager to know what’s new and what regular diners are saying about the city’s restaurants. Participants, while not ignoring the city’s high-profile restaurants, are particularly adept at finding small, out-of-the-way eateries that many Chicagoans may not be familiar with.

Registered members discuss everything from restaurants to recipes, focusing on Chicago but taking in destinations as far afield as Montreal, Paris, and Xi’an China. Discussions also cover cooking techniques, local sources for unique foodstuffs, and, occasional silliness, such as a recent discussion about the atmosphere on Planet Mongo when visited by Flash Gordon. The site's web address is www.lthforum.com.


#30#

For more information, contact:
David Dickson (630) 399-9172
Gary Wiviott, (773) 282-3277

Eat Local
In the Long Run

When I dived into the eat local fray over a year ago, I did it, I admit, mostly for the challenge. Since my attempts to lose weight had been failing, it would give me a new challenge. Something to do, so to speak. And the thing is, I never really succeeded much as a challenge. I had too many exceptions right from the start. I mean there's that whole eat out exception--that pokes a big hole through the framework; then there's my wine, my coffee, my olive oil, and when the Condiment Queen wanted to pack baby carrots in the kidz lunches, who was I to complain. The less I have cared, however, about the challenge, the more I have succeeded in eating local.

To some extent, I do better at eating locally because I am more committed than ever to the idea, to the benefits. I do best, though, because I have time and experience behind me (and ahead of me). It takes time to know how to eat local, or should I say that it takes experience to eat local. The biggest thing we learned, a big duh moment perhaps, but the biggest thing we learned that was even with two refrigerators, we did not have enough freezer space to effectively stock up. Related to that, we learned that extra freezers hardly cost. Costco had chest models for under $300. We ended up splurging on a huge stand up freezer for less than $500 from Sears. We have been freezing away.

Berries go flat on a tray for a day then into ziplocks; cherries get pitted and then put into various containers; we blanch the vegetables, green beans and asparagus and peas and most of the many ears of corn that arrive each week in the CSA; we will do the first wet pack peaches this week and soon it will be some tomatoes. The volume of the freezer is a luxury we adore. This will be our produce when the harvests end.

We still need time. We know that last year by mid-winter, we had barely any local produce left. Then, we were not even eating in as much, being local enough. Now, we use more but expect to need more. Will we have enough until next spring's first harvests? It will take at least a few years to know how much to store. Eating local is not just a challenge. It is a destination.

Towards Eating Better
Quality Ingredients

There are a lot of cooking shows on TV. And books, plenty of cook books. I think people think they can eat better if they learn to cook better. I am also pretty sure that cooking can be improved. Often to cook better, takes just a bit of improvement, a little knife technique, pans just a bit hotter, leaving things alone long enough for crust; seasoning... Still, the improved cooking only goes so far. Eating better means more than better cooking.

Restaurants cook well. Even at Jimmy Johns, they know how to cook. Restaurants cook in ways you cannot. They have mis en place, which is another way of saying they have a lot of time to prepare, to slice evenly, fix stocks, and make things easier to cook. Restaurants also have technology, not the least the paco jets and odd contraptions of the avante garde. I mean true convection ovens and 1800 degree broilers and big ass pots (which really aint so hi-tech but makes a difference). The home cook who reads all the books and watches all the shows can only get so far. Or ask yourself, does it really matter that the people at Cheesecake Factory know how to cook. The home cook, however, has a secret weapon, the tomato.

If you eat out today or tomorrow or any day next week, look at the tomato. Does it seem like a tomato. Like a tomato you could get. Like a tomato you would eat? Long story short, quality ingredients are available to the home cook, especially in ways not very available at restaurant eating. If you seek out and obtain quality ingredients, you will eat well. This is our weapon; our source for great eating.

Some quality ingredients are easily accessible and add little cost. Trader Joe's sells outstanding estate olive oil for no more than average EVOO costs. Or take butter, is there any product that can be so good, add so much, with so little added cost? Some times it takes a bit more money and some times it takes a lot more money to obtain quality ingredients. Farmer's market stuff, from eggs to fruits to vegetables cost more, but it's not that much more. On the other hand, prime-aged steaks cost a lot more money than Jewel Angus. Some quality ingredients are too expensive or barely available to the home cook, think caviar of foie gras. Seafood, especially here in Chicago, I would argue, it is nearly impossible to get true quality seafood at home. All this means, cater your diet, your menus towards what you can get and what you want to pay.

Quality ingredients are not difficult to find or afford. Taste the difference. Eat better by making the effort to get quality ingredients.

Towards Eating Better

About sometime in 2001 I began posting reports on restaurants on the Internets. One reason I had a lot to say about restaurants is that I ate out a lot. I still eat out a lot, but not nearly as much. One of the reasons I eat more at home, is that I have really grown to enjoy how we are eating (at home). So, I thought I would share some reasons why our home eating has become so enjoyable.

Now, the forthcoming posts will surely reveal no secrets, and some of the ideas may have been worked a bit already at this site--do you know about eating local? Moreover, I fear I will sound banal and rather dorky, but I'll give it a try. Many, nay most of the things to be presented may be done or known, like you need VI to tell ya, but maybe, maybe I'll provoke an idea or two. Maybe, maybe there will be a few aha moments that will add pleasure to your meals. For these are not about big changes or cooking tips: hey cut the vegetables uniformly so they cook evenly. They are about marginal changes, changes at the fringes. Details, things that can be done at home a lot easier that can change a meal.

I risk the fool for another reason. I believe that one of the problems Americans have with food, and with the resulting food related illnesses, is the fact that we do not eat organically and naturally and for pleasure and enjoyment. And while I think organic/natural in a Euell Gibbons meets Whole Foods is good (very good), I'm not talking about that. I mean eating in a way that is natural to the flow of life and family, that fits into schedules yet is not a slave to schedules. Think of the patterns of traditional Spanish eating, to take something seemingly extreme, yet this way of eating developed to fit with the Spanish climate. Natural, I mean cooking and eating with the foodstuffs around, in season, again as you find in other cuisine's. I believe the way these other peoples approach food and eating is the primary reason they are healthier than us and surely look a lot better.

Eat Local
Local Pride

There are many, many great reasons to eat local. I fully believe in the environmental, political, biological and economical reasons to eat local, but even if you don't, you should eat local if you enjoy eating. Now, at times, I feel I am trusting my instinct, or even worse, blind faith, when it comes to endorsing local products. Through various circumstances, I've had non-local cherries and nectarines and corn this summer, and I know, well for the most part, the stuff sucked when compared to farmer's market stuff, but for the most part I have no real sample population to fully know that my local food is, in fact, better. Which is why I appreciate a bit of national love.

First, there's our hot dogs. A few weeks ago, I was watching the new American Eats show on the History channel, and I was surprised to learn that 95% of hot dogs eaten nationwide were skinless. My daughter, in one of those proud papa moments that makes it worthwhile to be a papa, immediately recognized that she was firmly in that 5%, eating pretty much only skinned or real hot dogs. And now comes Michael Rulhman in this month's Gourmet to confirm. He declares Vienna the best commercial hot dog in the country. Take that!

Then, there's our cheese and dairy. Via Eating L.A., I got the results of the latest American Cheese Society competition (pdf). Sure, Cabot of Vermont took the top prize, but the list of winners is loitered with local purveyors: Upland, Rothkase, Carr Valley, of course, but also Leelanau of Michigan and Trader's Creamery (yeah, that yoghurt is the best); there are many more Wisconsin cheese guys. My friends at Brunkow got an award for they cheese spread and I expect next year, they will get a few more awards with their new cheeses. Crave Brothers Farmstead, Burnett Dairy Cooperative, Hook's Cheese, Mount Sterling, and Blue Mont Dairy were other winners from Wisconsin.

When you eat local, you have the chance to eat some of the best food. Fer sure.

Farmer's Market Buy of the Week

My weekly Oak Park Farmer's Market is nigh perfect: organic produce, some really cool cheese guys, Wisconsin wheat, visits from the Wettsteins, fresh donuts; but it is not totally perfect. A source for Wisconsin maple syrup and more grain options would make it that much easier to eat local. And I cannot partake further in this week's But of the Week.

Green Acres Farm, from North Judson Indiana is at the Wednesday Green City Market and the Saturday Evanston Market. I am not sure if they are at the Saturday Green City Market. I really wish they'd stop by Oak Park. They have some of the most interesting inventory at the market, including many varieties of radishes, peppers and edible weeds. They surely have the biggest collection of ethnic type produce. And prices, did I mention prices? This week's Buy of the Week is organic garlic for 50 cent a head.

Anyone know if garlic is freezable?

Good Potatoes Bring Out Good Poets
or
The Simple Truth

I'm not much of a poetry person. I never "got" Hammond's tamal poem (scroll down). Still, I was pretty impressed when, after I mentioned on LTHForum.com that the best thing I ate recently was some of Farmer Vicki's red potatoes, I got a poem in the mail.

I bought a dollar and a half's worth of small red potatoes,
took them home, boiled them in their jackets
and ate them for dinner with a little butter and salt.
Then I walked through the dried fields
on the edge of town. In middle June the light
hung on in the dark furrows at my feet,
and in the mountain oaks overhead the birds
were gathering for the night, the jays and mockers
squawking back and forth, the finches still darting
into the dusty light. The woman who sold me
the potatoes was from Poland; she was someone
out of my childhood in a pink spangled sweater and sunglasses
praising the perfection of all her fruits and vegetables
at the road-side stand and urging me to taste
even the pale, raw sweet corn trucked all the way,
she swore, from New Jersey. "Eat, eat" she said,
"Even if you don't I'll say you did."
Some things

Finish here and thank Jason.

Critically Critical of Critic's Critic

I was a bit surprised that the grand old daddy of Chicago food bloggers, Paul of Foodblog, was not included in today's Chicago Tribune report of bloggers and their pics. Paul surely shoots with the best of 'em. So, I go there this morning to see what the Trib's been missing, and I find this link to a critical analysis of Chicago food critics.

Now, surely the world of Chicago food critics could use some criticism no? Granted, the Phil Vettel Game's been mostly retired as he seems to be working harder with the new At Play section, but could a review of food critics not notice the weeks that pass without Vettel action? What about the failure of the biggies to cover ethnic and neighborhood eating--consigning these to the hyper-segmented Cheap Eats reviews for instance.

What's worse, is this piece seems oddly, weirdly, out of date. It's been a while since Laura Levy Shatkin's pieces were the leads in the Reader's restaurant reviews. Worse, how could a critic's critic not love last week's Reader take-down of Mulan in Chinatown. In fact, the fact that the Reader gives you the good the bad and the ugly in dining options a reason to cheer it on? Or Time Out Chicago, again, you have range and variety that's not noted. Is not James Ward gone. Did he ever matter given his obviousness? Who reads or cares about Sherman Kaplan or "biweekly student newspaper Chicago Business."

The food media in Chicago can use a critic.

Organic Farming is Hard and Other Reasons to be Blogging

Blogging is quite Newtonian. A blog that stays in motion stays in motion and a blog stuck in inertia, well no one goes there any more. It’s not like I have been away from the Internets. I wrote long takes on Las Vegas high and low, and I made by contribution to the LTHForum GNR program here. Still, it has been almost two months between blog posts. But Farmer Vicki and her farm, to the blog!

It’s been two years since I last visited a working farm. As I noted then, if you are a chowhound, if you love to eat and live to eat, you owe it to yourself to visit a farm. Your tasty dinner has to start somewhere. Genesis Growers enjoys none of the scenery of Henry’s Farm. This IS what Illinois looks like. Flat. Parcels of land divvied up long ago. Conventional farms, soy and corn surround Vicki, and if she is concerned enough to irrigate with tape, across the street they use a very big sprinkler—my lawn obsessed neighbor would really be jealous. Ok, this was not about the view. It was about learning how to farm, organically.

What you learn: it’s hard. There are weeds. Weeds battle the crops. Always. A dragging tractor gets about all the weeds. That is a percentage, however, that farmer’s cannot handle. Vanquish weeds. Work. Vicki and her crew take daily to the fields with special European hoes, square rings on the end of long poles, and hoe, hoe, hoe. Try it. We visitors did. Twenty minutes and I had my workout of the day. Do that all day? Beyond the weeds, what about what’s left. Wander a field of, say cucumbers, and you see there is no easy way to get those things beyond stooping. On top of that, there are prickles. With so much effort involved, organic vegetables are a real bargain.

I did learn a bit more about organic farming (beyond that: it’s hard). I learned that there are bands of yearly shifting weeds. The whole field cannot be turned over to crops. Keeping some weeds is necessary for various botanical purposes, but they also serve as resting spots, spas, for the other pests. In other words, they are temptations for the bugs so they do not eat the real crops. Of course, with organic farming you can eat the weeds too. Already a couple of times our weekly box included a big bag of lamb’s quarters, seen at Green City Market as “wild spinach.” We were promised purslane soon, which we munched on after we got tired of trying to hoe. An organic farm is very alive. There was catnip growing near the stream and wild raspberries and elderberry for this guy. I picked up one weed that looked edible, mint-like, and I learned that I was right; Vicki’s Mexican farmers knew it and used it. They gave me the name in Spanish but I forgot already.

What else.

Do not take the lack of blogging to mean that I have given up on eating local. Perhaps, when something becomes so natural, so innate, the there is less thrill in writing about it. Our Spring CSA took through June. It was not a great Spring for crops. Vicki had bad maggot problems that ate into a lot of crops. We actually had to rely a bit more than expected on freezer stuff and local potatoes found at odd spots.

June began a very abundant new CSA from Genesis. As promised, we are getting more each week than we can possibly eat. The only problem, a few things are not right for the freezer. Can you say too much lettuce. On the other hand, I mistakenly made a salad of escarole this week. We supplement the box with Oak Park Farmer’s Market, better than ever and trips to other farmer’s markets. Take a recent dinner. First, bruschetta, the ciabatta bought at Wednesday’s Green City Market; tomatoes from Genesis Growers hoop house, meaning ground grown; snips of arugula from Growing Power Farm, only the condiments not local. Second, sautéed chicken livers from the market, mushrooms from the market, over pasta not from the market. Last, market raspberries and teeny-tiny strawberries. If you enjoy eating well, you need to eat local.

The best thing: we recently purchased a freezer. We purchased some canning supplies too, but the freezer, that we can do. We are starting now, now. Plenty of asparagus has gone in the freezer, blanched first as has some rhubarb (also blanched) and berries, many berries. My other method of saving, infused vodkas. Strawberries work especially well for this as it only takes a few days to produce a gorgeous liquor.

Another best thing: Thank you Ann Fisher in the comments. If you ask Tony at the Scotch Hills farm stand (Oak Park Farmer’s Market), he might have some five pound bags of Wisconsin grown soft wheat. Makes a great clafoutis. His eggs are pretty good too.

More soon.

A Swing and a Miss
Or the Perils of Straying

What a price I pay for being non-local. And I am not talking about the $15 for a chunk of fresh mozzarella. We went to Caputo’s Cheese Market in Melrose Park intending to eat local. Asparagus purchased that day at Chicago’s Green City Market, steamed; topped with a farm egg, fried in local butter. All we needed to accent, the smallest portion of imported Parmesan Regianno. We could have used local, heck Kraft is based in the Chicago area, but we are snobs. We had to have the real thing.

There are days when you do not feel like shopping, and there are days when the money’s burning a hole in your pocket. We went to Green City in a shopping mood. We expected to get all the foods to enhance our Eat Local efforts that have been hard to get of late. Local meat, local eggs, and especially, local grains. Surely, because it took me an hour to go from Damen and North to actually shopping at the market, having to fork over $4 to boot for a parking space, I was not predisposed towards liking the market. We found our grain guy, Wilmont Milling, who stone grinds in Indiana, missing. (He would be there on Saturdays.) Some of our favorite meat guys, like Land Connection/Wettstein and Milwaukee’s Growing Power (for their chickens) were not there. All of a sudden, the prices seemed high, the selections not what we wanted. We got the barest of necessities: winterized parsnips, chives with flower, and the harbinger, asparagus; also some delicious apple butter from Seedlings, equally delicious goat cheese from Prairie Fruits Farm and equally equally delicious cheeses (butterkase and cheddar) from Prairie Pure Cheese. Plus, the littlest of meat purchases, chicken livers and ham hocks from Twin Oaks Meat.

Our quench to buy exploded at Caputo’s. It started local, a giant (and I mean giant) torpedo of Wisconsin Provolone beckoned. We grabbed a chunk. Then a chunk of this, a chunk of that. So many cheeses at these prices, mostly $5/lb (or less), shrink wrapped for time, we got local and not local. Then, we got to the fresh mozza. Caputo’s makes their own, and they have won the blue ribbon several times at the Illinois State Fair. What were we thinking when we saw giant balls of imported mozzarella di buffalo. Well, I was thinking, how fresh could it be? They told me it had come in just today. Could that be true? I took them on their word. Go for it. Splurge.

We re-wrote the menu. Out the Lombard style asparagus (scroll down for the recipe). In, a deli style dinner focused on our imported mozzarella. We assumed that this one outstanding ingredient would dominate the meal. To accent, we got a few slices of Parma ham, some eggplant salad and some weird spinach pancakes that would be our hot course. We had good crusty bread, pickled vegetables and olives at home. It seemed like a good meal, and only later did I realize I was subconsciously imitating Johnny Apple from earlier in the day (reg. required).

It started with the mozzarella. It just did not blow me away. There was a complexity to it. It tasted a bit more like goat cheese. Still, the flavors were muted. There was no epiphany. It drove the whole meal down. It did not help that the spinach pancakes were awful, the eggplant salad dry. I liked the ham a lot but it was a losing battle. Some times you have an idea and it does not work. Every time I drag my family to some new restaurant that sucks, I say, you have to kiss some frogs to find your prince. Not a restaurant per se but a frog nonetheless. And what happens, I suppose when we go non-local.

A Tale of Two Non-Local Dinners
In the Same Night
With a Non-Local Treat

If you know anything about the Omega, the mega-Greek Coffee Shop in Des Plaines, you would find it hard to believe that I was still hungry after dinner. Yet there I was, driving down Cumberland looking for something interesting because, yea, I was still hungry. Many (many) years ago, Mike G asked how. Not how I could still be hungry after eating dinner, but how one finds interesting eats. He focused on Mexican restaurants, but it was a good question for any restaurant. What do people look for when they are out chowhounding. Me, I’m a sucker for signs I cannot read. In languages I cannot recognize.

So, I U-Turned and pulled into this strip mall in Norridge, intrigued by what exactly was Tasty World. There were two especially pale cones of gyro. I did not want that. I quizzed the fetching girl with green eye shadow. She showed me a tri-part menu with value meals across the range of Chicago fast food. I tried to figure out a way to ask nicely. The sign, what the hell does it say. What the hell language is that. Which is what I finally blurted out (or something to that extent). Bulgarian. Bulgarian she admitted. She told me that the sign roughly translated as tasty cheap treats, or Bulgarian fast food. But where was the Bulgarian on the menu. “Oh, this menu,” she showed me—in Bulgarian Cyrillic. She kindly read me the list.

Mousaka, tripe soup, sausage, Bulgarian burgers shaped either long or in patties, a few other things. I got the burgers, one in each shape. It came with, as my daughter noted, Bulgarian ketchup, think red, but thicker and spicier; an onion heavy salad with bottled dressing and crinkle-cut fries (something Ms. Green Eye shadow was especially keen on). It was supposed to be the same meat, but I liked the round patty better. The onion flavor seemed more pronounced and integrated in the meat, a more complex product. It was, as advertised, cheap but tasty food.

Like I say, I should not be hungry after Omega. I mentioned to Pigmon yesterday how I (oddly) loved this place. He zeroed in right away on what made it appeal to me but not him. Vegas. Eating at Omega is like eating at one of the Vegas buffets before they went gourmet. If you know Las Vegas, think Station Casino. Of course, there is no buffet, they just bring the food. Completes start with big bread baskets, croissants, muffins, soft rolls, then soup, salad, big portions of your main, starch, vegetable and finally a dessert that neither looks nor tastes too special but fits properly in this meal. Few people, even me, eat a complete. Rather, we split.

While I love Omega, I really limit myself to a few offerings. My favorite is what I split with my daughter the other night, Greek style skirt steak. I like the meat and its lemony-oregano bath, but I also like (nay love), the Greek salad offered with this dinner. Again, this is like the buffet comes to the table, a big mass of feta fingers, peppers, anchovies, thick vegetables and a creamy, hearty dressing. I just wish they’d dry the lettuce better. It’s not just the gluttony that makes Omega Vegas. It is the crowd. It is my people. Alter-kocker heaven. The loud kibitz, the duds, the packing away the rolls to go, well you just will not find this kinda place very much longer. Appreciate it while you can.

Finally, a purchase far from the Eat Local Challenge; in the same strip mall as Tasty World is a small Middle-Eastern market called City Food. They were selling tiny-tart green plums from California. I figured how much degradation of product could something supposed to be picked too young, to green be? If anything was meant to be shipped, was this not it?

Tasty World
4834 N. Cumberland
Norridge, IL
708-453-2725

Omega Restaurant
9100 N Golf
Des Plaines
847-296-7777

City Food & Grocery
4832 N Cumberland Ave
Norridge, IL 60706
(708) 453-1899

Seek This Out
(or $3.69 Very Well Spent)

Pudding z owocami-wisnie at Avenue Food Mart

Also know as pudding with cherries or cherry cake. Actually a babka, or yeast cake, in a aluminum round mold. I'm no baker, so maybe I should not say this, but I always feel that yeast cakes are cheating a bit. Those little microbes do all the hard work to make the cake fluffy, light and moist. And $3.69. Get two!

Avenue Food Mart is near the top of my favorite Polish supermarkets. It is one of many new school supermarkets that have opened in Chicago in recent years, combining the best of ethnic markets with the scale and presentation of a supermarket. Like any Polish market worth its salt, it has a great selection of deli meats. I swoon over the six or so kinda headchease, including ones dedicated just to tongue or just to ears even if I would never order. I do frequently get the turkey, the various hams, the Hungarian salami, and different cheeses. They offer two versions of pickled herring, in winegar [sic] and oil. With value, they weigh and price the herring, then add a good amount of onion garnish. There is Amish organic chicken and really fantastic sour pickles--maybe the best I have had in Chicago. It is a place worth seeking.

Avenue Food Mart
6850 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL
773-286-0606

It Takes a Community to Eat Well

On Chowhound.com's site board, Jim Leff argues against community:

The more we maintain a super tight focus on compiling a data trove rather than being a conventional social network, the better we'll all eat. And that's the goal.

True? Compare the trove on Chicago's Chowhound Board to LTHForum.com I have longed believe that a great community leads exactly to better eating, and the rich content of LTHForum surely shows that.

I know, to most Chicago foodies, this seems like a battle long over. That does not mean I cannot still point out how right we were, no?

Tyranny of the Fresh

I knew one person who liked canned peas, my grandfather. He is, though, no culinary hero of mine. He went years on the same three meals: poached egg on toast for breakfast; (American) cheese sandwich on toast for lunch; and plain hamburger, baked potato and canned peas for dinner. His condiment, his sole condiment for all this food, salt. Pale mushy peas and their evil cousin pale mushy green beans are the foods that leap to most people’s mind when you say canned. Begin an Eat Local Challenge in any month, and a segment of foodies will declare, “well only if my farmer’s market was open” or “we are down to a few things in our market.” Even in California there are fallow periods (there are, aren’t there?). That’s because we are trained to expect fresh. How can they eat local if there is no fresh? The inventories of our stores convince us that we should have a fresh product. We have fallen victim to the tyranny of the fresh.

People are scarred of canned. Andy Warhol may have famously painted soup cans, but where in the museum do you see a still life with canned peaches? Consumers want their supermarkets to sell fresh, a year round supply of fresh tomatoes, fresh berries, fresh heads of lettuce, and fresh bell peppers in assorted colors. This is supposed to be real food. Never mind the environmental impact of a grape hauled into town from Chile, a tomato that has to be gassed to look red, let’s just talk about flavor.

What do we get as fresh. Whole Foods labels told me the other day that their pretty bell peppers, their vivid red tomatoes with tight green "vines", came from Canada. What does that mean. It means hydroponic. It means all of the flavor, all of what a vegetable should taste like is gone. On the other hand, take something out of the freezer. Food scientist Harold McGee notes that food picked at its peaked, properly frozen, is of higher quality than food picked off-ripe to survive long shipping. Besides, the places that can supply you with off-season products are not the optimum places for the products. Is Florida really the area where blueberries prosper? Yet, the market demands blueberries in March, and farmer’s can coax something round and blue out of the ground in March down there. Because most of the supermarket inventory comes from California, we get the impression that the best vegetables grow in California. Yes, great vegetables grow in California. Not what find in your supermarket. It is just that vegetables grow in California. Period. How many people realize that Green Giant is based in Minnesota, Birdseye started in Massachusetts. This is not to say that our food conglomerates do not harvest around the world, it’s just, I think, it points out that the stuff worth preserving, often does not come from California. Extrapolate that back to fresh vs. frozen. Does this convince you that fresh is not always the best product?

Here’s three ways I battled the tyranny of the fresh last week: 1) canned strawberries preserved in syrup; 2) frozen red peppers cooked into a frittata and 3) candied preserved pear as part of an ice cream flavor. Three different ways of putting things away, by can, by freeze, by drying/candying. The strawberries, well they had that real, that true strawberry flavor so unfamiliar to most eaters. The peppers taste of sun of summer. The pears made every cliché of “explodes with flavor” and “burst in your mouth” go through my head. Sure, there were textural issues. The strawberries are soft, seeds more noticeable; the peppers flaccid, the pear gummy, but why do we need all of our foods to have the dry, static texture of fresh. You could not dip canned strawberries in brown sugar or make a salad of the red peppers. So. Find dishes that match the food, for instance over ice cream as Vie served the strawberries. The Elmwood Park shop, Massa, expertly mixed the candied pears with Nutella into a mascarpone gelato base. My wife, the Condiment Queen, knew how to use the peppers.

If we remove ourselves from the tyranny of the fresh, we can eat local without the farmer’s market being open. We do not need to rely on someone else, on weather, on seasons. Obviously, one cannot march into this battle wily-nily. But this is not a “how-to” post. There’s plenty of time for that. Before taking the time, the effort, the capital to start preserving your food, you have to enlist. You have to become a conscript against the tyranny. Wallow in conserved foods. Realize you can eat a peach in February, just not a fresh peach. Maybe you will even develop a taste for canned peas.

Eat Local Challenge
On the Radio Today

For those interested in the eat local movement, Jen M, the instigator and workaholic of the Eat Local Blog, will be on the radio today--the Tom Douglas show in Seatle. There will be no archive, but if anyone is bored this afternoon, with a good connection, here's the url:

http://www.710kiro.com/

Here's the url for the Douglas show:

http://www.tomdouglas.com/

The Box
Spring CSA Week 5

We did not subscribe to the spring CSA from Farmer Vicki in anticipation of the May Eat Local Challenge, but having the CSA surely makes the challenge that much easier. In the Chicago area, it will still be a few weeks before the first farmer's markets open. Vicki, however, using greenhouse technology provides me and her subscribers with a big box of produce each week. And because of the greenhouse, our box includes, of all things in early May (for this part of the world), zucchini.

Last week's box seemed like a bit of more of the same. This week, the box took a nice detour. New for the week, for the season, well beyond the freaky zucchini, was sorrel and a cabbage. Repeats were more breakfast radishes and white icicle radishes and the ever present carrots and green onions. The bag of mixed greens this week was labeled spicy mesculun instead of just plain mesculun. There was no head lettuce this week.

We intend to use the greens (radish tops, last week's turnip tops) in soup, with locally ground corn. The cabbage, I've been reading a bunch of traditional French cookbooks, and that has me hankering for potee, a spring one pot meal of pork products and cabbage. The chinni, I think we will slice, blanch and freeze since it is hard to do much with two fruits. Finally, the sorrel. Anyone have some good ideas? I tasted a bit. The stuff is incredible. It's green but it feels almost exactly like biting into a lemon. Almost like something served at Moto (beware flash!).

Eat Local Challenge
Lunch

I came home from the gym as hungry as a guy could be at 1:30 who has already skipped breakfast. My wife practically dared me to eat local. I countered with the fact that we had nary much in the bungalow to eat, local or not.

Day 3 of the challenge. My first lunch of cheese omelet and green salad was local all the way up to its olive oil and lemon dressing. Yesterday, I strayed a lot further with canned Italian tuna and canned Italian white beans (over local greens). Today, I returned to the fold.

Here's a nice simple local lunch, when hungry:

A few Farmer Vicky radishes
Some Belgioioso aged Provolone cheese
House made dried sausage from D'Ancona market in Berwyn*
Freddy's bread and butter*
OK, and a few olives for contrast

*Manufactured locally from ingredients who knows where.

Eat Local in the Future

"The city is considering a year-round public market," said Kathleen Dickhut, acting deputy commissioner of planning and development. "We've been looking at the idea of farmers markets in general and at a year-round public market."

The Chicago Tribune does a good feature today on Milwaukee's public market and the lame attempts to get a market in Chicago. Here's the link, but I'd pay the 50 cents for the nice pictures.

My (overly) cynical take on a Chicago public market, is that it will be like Millennium Park. It will sound great on paper. Take seven extra years to build, and then arrive with a lot of pizzaz and little substance. As the Condiment Queen pointed out this morning, what makes the Milwaukee Public Market such a treat is its complete lack of Great Steak and Fries shops. It aint no Faneuil Hall. We have no trust that if a public market opened in the Chicago that would be true. Hope we're wrong!

For those not seeking to wait, the Tribune also provides a directory of farmer's markets in the Chicago area.

What's Local This Week at Caputo's

Pasta (tip to the Chicago Tribune)
Michigan Apples
Igl Farm organic red potatoes

As Jamie S writes on the ELC Blog, one of the keys to eating local is to poke around. Find local where you shop. Yea, it's not like a balanced meal here, but again as Jamie says, "Sourcing anything locally is a success."

I post this first, to get people to Caputo's in Elmwood Park; then, to get people to see what else might lurk out there, at Cub Foods, your local bodega, Jewel, Fox & Obel, A&G, and god forbid, Whole Foods!

Eat Local Web Site Up!

Eat Local Challenge

I really feel honored to have been asked to contribute to this site. It already has an amazing collection of data on eating local, and how people attempt to eat local. The authors come from all across the country, and have various insights into eating local in their neck of the woods. Still, I should add, that we are not of one mind on HOW to eat local, and we subscribe to no one set of rules. See how each person approaches the problems, the exceptions, and the solutions.

Stop by often to see what's happening there.

The Box
Spring CSA Week 4

Farmer Vicki noted in her weekly e-mail that her spring greenhouse crops were not coming in so well. She sez:

"We have been having problems with one greenhouse in that the crops are not all getting ready at the same time. It is frustrating, but so far I have not figured out why. The only clue I have is that we did a poor job spreading the composted manure. In some places it is thick and others, thin. In this case, though I have been a poor diagnostician."

It's not the box came empty, but it brings up some of the weaknesses with CSAs. Essentially, it is a lot of the same: radishes (standard red and long, white icicle), lettuces, a bunch of turnips, larger than last week, and a couple of carrots. Yea, and some green onions. Farmer Vicki recommends using the greens from the radishes and the turnips to extend the stuff. Still, it is not enough to make a week's worth of eating. Another thing that makes it hard, the head of curly green lettuce provided this week wilts very quickly. There is some mescalin that will last longer.

OK, enough with the complaining. Last week we made pasta with our kale and chard, with goat cheese and ricotta salata, our kidz loved it. We also made good use of carrots, tiny turnips, and radishes with home-made aioli. I will say that the green onions are piling up. I have a recipe for braised green onions to try, but green onions are not a favorite of mine. Even if the boxes cannot support a whole week's worth of eating, each meal they support is highly delicious. (And oh so local!)

Eat Local Challenge
May 2006

I'm in!

As I mentioned the other day, an Eat Local Challenge has been issued for May. Since I'm trying to eat local in January, February, March, April...June, July (well you get the idea), I had no problem with jumping aboard the May challenge. Of course, a May challenge is a lot harder generally than an August (or summer) challenge.

Jen, who is helping organize the challenge, has asked all participants to address the following questions. I have indented my responses.

1. What's your definition of local for this challenge?

The Locavores are using a 100-mile radius around their home to define local foods. [Jen] will be doing the same. You could define local as anything from within your county to within the state or the United States.

In an urban area like Chicago, 100 miles is too limiting. I've said before, that my eat local circle roughly covers the Big 10 conference. Essentially, I eat stuff from Northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. I think of downstate Illinois and Indiana as slightly less local because the climate is a bit different than up here. Still, I consider local, various providers of milk, eggs, cheese and meats from all around the Big 10 states.

2. What exemptions will you claim?

There are some things that are a part of your everyday life that will be impossible to source locally. Will you be drinking coffee during this month? What will you do about spices? In many areas, local grains are hard to find. What will you do if you can't find them?

That's a great question. There are many things off the bat that I know cannot be local, the way I want to eat, both from a economic perspective and a culinary perspective. Skip coffee. What about olive oil, wine, salt and freakin' pepper. But I have ideas here, see below. The other problem, as I have mentioned before, it costs a lot more to eat locally grown meat, chicken, etc. So, while I have a preference for such products, my budget does not allow full commitment.

3. What is your personal goal for the month?

You don't have to set your goal at eating every meal locally -- while that is the ideal, we want to be realistic here. You could set a goal of having each dinner with local products, having one family meal a week, or even hosting one weekend picnic with local foods during the month.

So, here's the important stuff. What does the May Challenge mean (to me). I have two main goals. First, it is to see how much I can "localize" things. How many exceptions can I reduce or eliminate. For instance, my wife and I talked about using honey and local syrup more instead of sugar. What else. Then, I want to carry the spirit and the effect of eating local to all my food buying. Like, I want to see how much packaging I can eliminate when shopping, say think about the way a local butcher wraps meat as compared to the supermarket.

During the month, I will post, as always, on my local buys, including the Farmer Vicki Spring CSA. I will also post resources for others seeking to eat local. The main thing, though, is focusing on the idea of localizing. Stay tuned to see how I do.

The Big Picture

I get annoyed easily; really, too easily. My wife tells me I should look at the big picture.

Jerusalem Cafe opened in Oak Park this year, in a space formerly of Panda Express. Surely an improvemment, especially as I have finally run out of patience with the mediocre Grape Leaves. I'm not sure now. At this place, there is a sign, and I paraphrase

Forgive the extended time it takes to get you your lunch. We cook everything fresh and from scratch

Immediately in eye view of this sign are 15 or so falafal sitting under a heat lamp. Also, within eyesight, a man working chicken chunks on the grill that will sit around under the guise of "shwarma".

Alas, I must look at the big picture.

Jerusalem Cafe
1030 Lake St.
Oak Park 60301
708-848-7734

Eat Local In the Media

Artie Bucco prepares dinner last night on the Soprano's