Bye bye, Mark
While Mindy Segal's desserts attract most of the drooling lust at Hot Chocolate, the stuff that chef Mark Steuer churns out on the savory side of the menu is worth paying attention to in its own right. But it can't last forever: "I need to keep challenging myself and learning new things," he told Time Out Chicago about his desire to open his own place. "I gave [Mindy] until the end of the year. One of my guys, Arik Meich, is going to take over, so I’ve been training him." [TOC]
What would you change about this room?Photo: Neil John Burger
When a chef comes in to take over a restaurant kitchen, he inherits more than just the pots and pans and the contents of the walkin — there's also the whole rest of the restaurant to think about. Since taking over at Sprout, Dale Levitski's done quick work with the menu, so now it's time to tackle the dining room. "We're not very comfortable with what the room looks like," he told us, explaining his plan to engage in what the restaurant's Facebook page calls "an unprecedented crowdsourced redesign." Levitski thinks that the space, designed for original chef Satko Ibrahimovic's outrageous menu, doesn't exactly jive with the fresh, ingredient-driven food he's serving. But instead of following some designer's unilateral vision, he's putting it to his guests.
In the wake of John Manion's departure from Goose Island Clybourn, the restaurant has named Andrew Hroza the new guy in charge. TOC notes that he's worked as a chef at the brew pub for a number of years, is a certified cicerone (beer sommelier), and used to cook for folks like Prince and Van Halen. Rock on. [TOC]
Chef Jose Andres
Jose Andres has been chosen as GQ's "Chef of the Year." Alan Richman explains that even when immersed in molecular cooking techniques, it is the Spanish master's simplicity that is appealing. Richman details five tapas plates that seduced him at Andres' Jaleo, Minibar, and Zaytinya in D.C. and The Bazaar in L.A., from Ferran Adrià-influenced parmesan eggs migas to straight-forward selections of Iberian ham and Middle Eastern spreads.
Honey 1's tips and links combo.Photo: ehfisher/GSChi Flickr Pool
Michael Nagrant throws down the barbecue gauntlet with his declaration on Serious Eats that Chicago barbecue is better than Memphis's, whose dry-rubbed ribs he found underwhelming on a recent trip. In fact, he goes even further, hypothesizing that "Chicago has the best retail barbecue food scene in America right now." He's quick to note that he doesn't think Memphis 'cue (or, presumably, the barbecue of any other region) is bad — just that what we can get at the likes of Smoque (best brisket outside of Texas), Honey 1 (killer hot links), and — most of all — Uncle John's (the whole darn package) kicks the pants off of Tennessee. Someone's looking to start a war.
Chicago BBQ is Better than Memphis BBQ [Serious Eats]
Flipping out about the effect the canned pumpkin shortage will have on your holiday desserts? Broaden your pie horizons: farmer Vicki Westerhoff (who sells at the Green City Market) suggests swapping in another squash, like Blue Hubbard, Long Island Cheese, or Butternut. [Sun-Times]
Martha Stewart only sleeps three or four hours a night, she said last night on Nightline, which might explain why she's so cranky when it comes to Rachael Ray. So what did Madam Yum-O! have to say? Watch the video to see Ray respond to Stewart’s criticisms in a way so polite that even Martha must be impressed.
• Wealthy Chicagoans in Ravenswood are not thrilled by the food pantry lines in the neighborhood, diverting pantry funds to hiring police officers to "control" the lines. [CNC/NYT]
• The Center for Science in the Public Interest has found that a medium popcorn and soda at some movie theater chains has as many calories as three burgers from McDonald's. [Reuters]
• New data suggests that 43 percent of Americans will be obese by 2018. [NYDN]
Trying to pass the next week and not obsess about Top Chef? You might want to avoid Whole Foods in Pasadena, where Los Angeles magazine's Matthew Segal complains that a fella can't shop in peace without a stray Rick Moonen or Susan Feniger getting in his way while Top Chef Masters is being shot. [Los Angeles]
Big Star's tacos de chivo.Photo: Grant Kessler
• Phil Vettel is roundly impressed by Il Poggiolo, Jerry Kleiner's suburban venture serving a virtually identical menu to his now-shuttered South Loop venture Via Ventuno. He loves the food, he loves the decor, he doesn't even seem to mind that the chef, Jim Kilberg, admits surprise that suburbanites don't need a totally dumbed-down menu and will happily eat crazy things like rabbit and venison. [Tribune]
• The food's great at Big Star, finds Monica Eng, with the minor quibble that the tortillas are inconsistent. Still, the draw isn't the food so much as it's the gestalt: good food, good drinks, good music, good vibe. [Tribune]
“Absolutely incredible!”
Every single item that we ordered was perfect. I don't mean good, I mean awesome.
“Reliable and Cheap”
They are very gracious in dealing with vegetarians and will substitute any meat with tofu.
“Good Food”
Whenever I eat here I always have enough left over for dinner.
