On December 5 The Publican will play host to their first beer and truffle dinner. Paul Kahan teamed up with North Coast Beer Director Michael McAvena, Master Brewer Mark Ruedrich and Owner Doug Moody to create a perfect menu for the evening. The menu will feature beers to compliment American and European black and white truffles (um, yum). A tentative menu has been posted here and I can only hope that the "Brother Thelonious," a dry aged duck breast and sausage, dried apricot and black truffles, will be make it to the final menu. Tickets are $125 and call 312.733.9555 to make reservations.
If you miss the good old days of Sparks, Four Loko may be for you. The product line combines malt beverage with energy drink ingredients such as caffeine, taurine and guarana — but unlike Sparks, Four Loko comes in a wide variety of flavors, from lemon-lime to watermelon. And at 12 percent alcohol by volume (24 proof), it contains twice as much alcohol as Sparks (a secondary line, Four MaXed, contains 10 percent alcohol). Four Loko retails for around $2.50 for a 23.5 ounce can.
Phusion has released two statements regarding the Washington incident, noting that Four Loko was mentioned in the police report among many other alcoholic drinks, including beer, vodka and rum, and that there is no indication from the police report whether any of the students were of legal drinking age.
There are few things I love in this world more than a good cheese. Because of this cheese obsession, you can correctly assume that I love grilled cheeses, but sometimes it's hard to find a cheese that tastes good on its own and equally delicious when melted. Enter: Butterkase. This semi-soft gift from the heavens is a little salty and creamy when eaten at room temperature and pure gooey magic when heated. You can find this delectable treat at the Green City Market for $6. I am telling you -- it's awesome. (Forgive this terrible picture, I can't slow down to take a proper one...)
For those of you who weren't able to make it up to Wisconsin this past weekend for the annual Kohler Food & Wine Experience, check out Eater's mouth-watering recap of the event ("Wisconsin-inspired risotto with nine-year aged cheddar, pearl onion, cooked-down PBR, fall apples, bacon dust and some bratwurst folded in"). Their festival wrap-up is also replete with interesting-ish Graham Elliot factoids such as, he hates broccoli(!) and maple candy is his "kryptonite"(!). Wait, a second - Graham Elliot has a sweet tooth? Go figure. [Eater]
This week is the 5th annual World Vegan Week, a campaign started by In Defense of Animals. For the next several days you can eat like Lea Michele and Alicia Silverstone, even if you aren't equipped to cook that way. Local restaurants Drew's Eatery, New York Deli, Clark St Dog and Ian's Pizza have teamed with Mercy for Animals, and are offering special vegan menu items for the week.
As always, the TOC Blog has the scoop on Lula Cafe's annual Halloween costume as another restaurant. This year, Kuma's Corner is the object of flattery by imitation, as Lula's menu transforms itself into band-themed burgers (with a twee, indie vibe -- Kuma's dog mascot gets supplanted by the new, cuddly Luma owl). Judging by Drive Thru editor Robyn and my experience last year, the lines will probably not be any shorter than the actual Kuma's, but it will be so, so worth it. TOC has part of this year's menu posted, if you're interested in how Iron and Wine translates to a burger, or what Tim Kinsella wants on his tribute sandwich.
Luma's Corner will be one-night only, Saturday, October 30 (leaving your actual Halloween free for recovery or trick or treating). Be sure to arrive early and be prepared to wait. Costumes are totally, totally acceptable. Rock on!
Spent all your hard-earned money on a processed food costume? Wear your Twinkie or McNugget outfit to any Chipotle outpost on Halloween after 6 p.m., and you can score a burrito for only $2.
Proceeds from the company's Boorito 2010: The Horrors of Processed Food campaign will be donated to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, and costumed customers can enter an online photo contest to win cash prizes and burrito parties.
There's no doubt about it: Chicago's a whiskey-loving town. And our own Koval Distillery is about to unleash the city's first legally brewed whiskey since Prohibition.
On November 6, Koval will introduce Lion's Pride Whiskey at a release party at -- where else? -- Delilah's, the Lakeview punk & rock bar that already features over 400 whiskeys.
The organic whiskey, named for the distiller's son, is aged in American oak barrels and comes in four different varieties: rye, oat, dark rye, and dark oat. Samples will be available at the release party, along with cupcakes from "experimental booze bakers" The Baking Lab. After the release party, Lion's Pride will hit retail shelves throughout the city, so start dusting off your pocket flask now.
I love Halloween. So much that I decorate my house with pumpkins and orange lights, wear socks emblazoned with witches and skulls (it's not because I'm punk rock!), and have already started in on the Brach's Harvest Mix and fun-size candy bars. If you're not like me but still want to celebrate the 'ween, the Logan Square Kitchen will be holding a Halloween Pastry Market this Saturday and Sunday (10am-3pm at 2333 N. Milwaukee) to sell goods made by local talent such as Fritz Pastry, TinyCakes, Nice Cream, and Sweet Miss Givings. Vegan and gluten-free wares, too! Admission $1; kids free. RSVP requested for planning purposes only.
Why wait until October 31st to bust out this year's costume?
Head on over to Tumans, 2159 W. Chicago Ave., on October 30th and get your Hallow-eve on.
Don your best costume for the chance to win a $100 cash first place prize, or one of two gift certificates - $50 for second place and $25 for third.
Not too confident in your disguise? Drink specials include $3.50 select microbrew drafts, $8 PBR pitchers and $3 Jameson and Jagermeister. Everyone's a winner!
The satisfaction of your favorite maki roll just got a little bit bigger. Enter Nori Sushi's maki contest, and put yourself in the running to win a 16GB iPad.
The winning maki roll will be featured on a special menu at the restaurant and a portion of proceeds from sales of the roll will be donated to a charity of the winner's choice.
Colder weather, darker mornings, the return of squash... It's fall, people, which is just a hop, skip and a snow drift away from being holiday season. If you're looking to combine a night out with your annual philanthropy, consider the six upcoming "86 Hunger" dinners coming to the calendar this fall and winter. The Greater Chicago Food Depository's annual dinner series turns over proceeds from each dinner to their network of food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters -- all of which have seen an increase in use of 64% over the past three years. Here's the dining schedule:
West Town Tavern, Susan Goss - October 24, 2010 Spiaggia, Tony Mantuano - November 16, 2010 NAHA, Carrie Nahabedian - January 11, 2011 Custom House, Perry Hendrix - January 27, 2011 Boka, Giuseppe Tentori - February 1, 2011 Heaven on Seven, Jimmy Bannos - February 23, 2011
I mean, if you're going to shell out $150 (the going rate for an individual ticket to any of the dinners) at Spiaggia anyway, may as well make it for a good cause, right? Boka will probably put extra gold leaf on your food for being such a good citizen! (No guarantees...) Information on each dinner, including location, time and menu, as well as tickets are available online. (The menu for Sunday's West Town Tavern dinner is up now! Drool!) For more information about the Greater Chicago Food Depository, call 773-247-FOOD.
"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not eaten well."
If Scott Harris of the Francesca family wanted my attention, he had it by opening the menu to this delightful phrase. I'm readily adopting his headliner as my life motto, and voraciously scanning the menu.
Davanti Enoteca is the newest addition to the Mia Francesca's family: a take on rustic Italian food, made available by seasonal Midwest ingredients and made intriguing without being regionally specific. Typically, you think Mia Francesca's and you think mounds of pasta with meaty sauces. Not so at Davanti. The menu reads like the farm-to-table craze that we've all seen before: pork belly, varying bruchetta, farm eggs, meat from Mint Creek and Slagel and yet, something feels different here. Savory ragu roasts are paired with airy light mascarpone polenta and spread on a board at table side. Pizza with leek and mushroom is drizzled with truffle oil and the sharpest taleggio I've ever had. The Uovo, daily made large-style ravioli pasta with ricotta and spinach piped around the edge, egg yolk in the center and served in a sage butter sauce, sits lightly in your mouth.
Jonathan Beatty, who helped open Purple Pig is overseeing the menu as executive chef. And weekly Saturday night specials means he can play with seasonality and ingredients of his choice. The back of the restaurant doubles as a wine boutique. Rather than a traditional wine menu, Davanti allows patrons to buy wine at the boutique at commercial prices and then charges a $7 corking fee. To be honest, I can't tell you how nice it was to drink a glass of wine from a $30 bottle of wine and actually have it cost $30, rather than the standard 2-3 times as much.
The crowd is a good mix of locals and rapidly increasing by those of us being tempted back down to Taylor Street after a long hiatus. The decor is a cozy mix of re-purposed wood, spaghetti western posters, found farming equipment and Chianti chandeliers; the back boutique section feels as if you're sitting in some Italian baron's country wine cave. Harris is working on two new projects in the area and is hoping to re-establish Little Italy to it's former glory, and more. If these others are half as lovable as Davanti, I'll be hitting up T Street once a week.
For a newbie restaurant, Davanti has it all figured out. The food is approachable, the prices affordable, and the staff affable. I'll be headed back next week in order to keep my thinking, loving and sleeping in shape.