100 Mile Thanksgiving Meet the Washington Post

Very nice article here, in the Washington Post, featuring (and inspired by) Eatlocalchallenge.com's Sara Irani. Congragulations to Sarah! Hope she inspires you to eat local this Thanksgiving.

Update

Sarah has written more here.

100 Mile Thanksgiving

As I posted on a few weeks ago, several groups, including the Eatlocalchallenge.com blog, which I am affiliated, are encouraging people to eat local this Thanksgiving. For those in the Chicago area, it's really not too hard.

It's easy to find a locally produced turkey. Hoka's are natural and delicious (see the web site for places to buy).

Hopefully, your larder contains squashes, onions, beets, potatoes (sweet or white) to make what you need. Me, I have plenty of these things in my basement (not the least, 50 lbs of Wisconsin potatoes recently purchased for the grand price of $9.49). You might also have some pie pumpkins. Listen, if you have not put any of this stuff down, don't fear. The Green City Market is open this Wednesday and next Wednesday. All of this produce will be there. I bet you can find some of this at Whole Foods too. What's more, farmer's like my friend Vicki, are still yanking things from the ground. Beets, greens, turnips, carrots, broccoli; is there anything we still need? In case anyone wondered, plenty of cranberries grow in Wisconsin for the sauce. You could have purchased local flour for your dressing/stuffing, but I won't care if you at least stuff with locally baked bread.

Dessert, well, are you sick of apples yet. Shouldn't be. You have many more months of eatin' em. Apple pie, brown betty, crisp, crumble, shlump, slices, pudding, how many desserts do you need? More, this is the time to uncork those Michigan sour cherries so expertly individually quick froze, or maybe you have some papples left. Slice some papples, combine with Upland's award winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese, some black walnuts, and you have another dish.

The only problem, obviously, is to drink. There are wines coming from Illinois, Michigan, but I cannot speak of them. So, go ahead, drink a good California chardonnay, snobs be damned, it's good. Still, if I was around for Thanksgiving (I'll be on the road), I'd at least try to accent with some local drinks, maybe some hard cider. I would, for sure, offer up some of the rhubarb wine purchased this summer in Amanna, Iowa.

Seems to me that it's pretty hard NOT to have a local Thanksgiving.

The Fame of the Papple Lady Grows

At the gala Seventh Generation Ahead dinner the other night, I shared a few words with Oriana Kruszewski, the papple lady. I told her how much my kidz loved her fruit. She failed to mention the nice write-up she got the is week in the Reader.

Eat Local - Brandy's (Home of the Gyro)

First Look

One of the nice things about (the ease of) blogging, is the ability to write about things that matter to, well not many. In this case, a hyper-localized look at the new fast food restaurant that opened up about across the street from me. Otherwise, there was nothing local, sustainable or organic about this place.

I was surprised and not surprised about Brandy's; not the food, I hardly found anything surprising with Brandy's food. I was surprised by the capital invested. I guess from their materials this is the third Brandy's, and they also seem connected to something called Chiggy's Gyro's. They seem to be plowing some profits into the new operation. It's a brightly lit, high ceiling-ed space, panted reds and yellow, two flat panel TVs, neon; and big, not Portillo's big, but bigger than the average hot dog stand.

Brandy's has a vast menu. Missing only an olive burger and a Monte Cristo and it would be a typical "Local Greek" diner. The menu spans at least three countries worth of fast food, Italian (beefs, pasta), Greek (including something over $14 called My Big Fat Greek Plate), and Mexican (tacos, nachos, carne asada). A treat for all, there is a whole display case of jello.

Although this is the home of the gyro, I chickened out. I saw they were cutting from the cone and then griddling, one of my pet peeves. I tried instead a burger. It was one of those charred things, well cooked, with a hint of the natural gas, but neither completely broiled to death, nor too propane tasting. The roll was one of those corn dusted fluffy things. Fries, fake skin on, but don't worry Brandy's, Thomas Keller uses the same trick. These fries were mildly crispy and a bit starchy. The sliced pickles on the burger were deli style and good. I saw a few gyros go out the hatch, and griddled be damn, they at least looked worth a try.

What was most interesting (I guess) about Brandy's, was how many people were there for lunch. I never realized there was such a latent demand for fast food around the 6500 block of North Avenue. Perhaps some of that capital also went into market research. On first pass, a decent enough place to have in the 'hood.

Brandy's
6518 W. North
Chicago, IL
773.237.4455

The Bears

Pick Your Shots

A week ago, the Bears killed Buffalo. It was very satisfying because Dick Jauron's Bills played a lot like Dick Jauron's Bears. Timid. The announcers mentioned during the Bills game that Jauron had said something to the extent of, "I do not mind punting." That's Dick. Any play can turn out bad; let's just avoid them. If we can punt, punt. At the end of nearly every quarter, Jauron's team always let the clock run out. I mean, one less play is one less chance for...

Lovie Smith does a lot of things not that different from Dick Jauron. Except. He plays to win. He is not afraid. What a different message that sends to his team. Which is why his team is winning.

Which is oddly enough, something I think he did wrong last night. Down two touchdowns in the 4th Quarter, on 4th down, within field goal range, with the unstoppable Robbie good as Gould, he went for it. A winning mentality. Go down giving it our best shot (Jauron would have put some points on the board and hoped). Yet, yesterday, Sexxy Rexxy, gosh he sucked. I knew the defense had a better chance of scoring. The perverse way the Bears played and the game went yesterday, those three points really could have mattered. On any other day, that 4th and call was right. Not last night.

Eat Local - This Thanksgiving

More here

Does Jim Hendry Eat Local?

I hope so.

Maybe he'd find his way to this little blog, and he would read my advice, as a very (very) long time suffering Cubs fan--emphasis on the suffering.

Don't Hire Lou Pinella

Lou's probably a great manager. He would be a very good choice if Joe Torre did not return to the Yankees. He is the wrong choice for the Cubs. He is Dusty re-visited. Really.

Remember how good a choice Dusty seemed. I loved it. And maybe Dusty is a good manager despite all that has happened. I give him credit for the run in 2003, and I especially remember how he finagled a Shawn Estes [ed. is that how it's spelled?] win in the stretch. I also realize no manager could have won with the cast of pitchers he had this year. Still, Dusty was not a good manager for the Cubs. These Cubs. Neither will Lou.

Could Lou get any performance out of the Tampa Bay Devil thingees? Hardly. Dusty and Lou are both managers for mature, complacent teams. The Cubs need to be anything but complacent. They are surely not mature. In fact, what the Cubs need to do is live with a bit of immaturity. Stop these cockeyed win-now, plug-in, attempts. Instead, build a team. Hire the manager that can build. That's Joe, Joe Girardi.

And Jim, to celebrate the hiring, I'm sure you'd love dinner at Vie in Western Springs. I hear Chicago Magazine upped their rating by another star.

What's Local this Week at Costco (Oak Brook)

Costco?

Of tiny hydroponic bell peppers and triple washed (but washed enough?) lettuce, Costco? While I pledge (or hope) that a deformed "baby" carrot never again touches the tender lips of my precious offspring, I still find plenty of reasons to shop at Costco. After all, it's a leading Blue company. And you never know what you might find.

Yesterday was the second time I've run into a Wisconsin cheese extravaganza at Costco. As I noted on my last post on the Eat Local Challenge Blog, I've come to find that the very fact that something is local makes it taste especially good for me. Some times I wonder if my love for local cheeses is delusional. Plenty of foodies seem more interested in Red Hawk this or Vermont that. Me, I'm plenty satisfied with what I find around me--and at sale at Costco in Oak Brook, Illinois this week.

How much am I brainwashed on local, well, what got us to the Wisconsin cheese display in the first place were samples of pepper jack. A very typical, cheap, commercial type Wisconsin cheese. Yet, like 97% of cheese spreads and cheddar shaped like footballs, it tasted darn good. We took. It was not just cheesy cheeses. For instance Costco was also offering a Carr Valley, Cocoa Cardona, for a reasonable price of $12/lb. We got pretty much all of the varieties on sale yesterday, about five types of Wisconsin cheese.

Not just cheese, Costco was also selling big ol' Wisconsin smoked hams that ran about $50 per. If I was having a Christmas party, I'd surely buy one.

Local is where you find it. In a world where some version of mozzarella can go with some version of tomato every day of the year, it's nice to know that there is also something unique, regional, even there at your Costco. Seek this out. Your brain might turn as mushy as mine.

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