1. FOOD NEWS FROM A TIRE COMPANY
Yes, Michelin is at it again. Most publications went with the good news, the very small amount of good news, but nevertheless a well-deserved honor: one star to Cariño, Norman Fenton’s Mexican tasting menu in the former Brass Heart/42 Grams space in Uptown. Fenton, formerly chef de cuisine at Schwa, spends part of each year in Tulum and his understanding of, and skill with, Mexican flavors continues to evolve. His tasting menu suits Michelin just fine, but he also offers a taco omakase at a more reasonable price. Also in good news: Sifr, the very solid middle eastern restaurant from Sujan Sarkar, chef-owner of Indienne, was added to the Bib Gourmand list.
Now on to the bad news!
Cariño’s addition to the list only slightly offsets the closing of two starred restaurants, Temporis and Porto, and the loss of stars by The Dining Room at Moody Tongue, which dropped from two stars to one, and Omakase Yume, a one star which fell off the list entirely. That’s in the stars, but the Bib Gourmands were worse, a bloodbath by comparison. There, Sifr’s addition compares to no fewer than nine out of 2023’s 47 Bibs being removed from the list: Apolonia, Avec, Bloom Plant Based Kitchen, Cabra, Cira, Etta, Ina Mae Tavern, La Josie, and Mango Pickle. I’d just like to point out that with Blackbird closing a few years ago (while holding one star), booting Avec off the list (I think it’s particularly strong right now) means that what is, to me, the most interesting and influential restaurant group in Chicago has no presence in Michelin’s idea of what Chicago is about. As with the many years that they ignored the Bristol, an omission like that simply tells me that their idea of what is most interesting about Chicago’s food scene and mine are two very different things. And visitors who feel compelled to follow Michelin’s guidance simply won’t know what they’re missing.
I talked about Michelin and other current affairs in the food world with Mike Stephen’s Outside the Loop radio show on WGN Radio; go here to listen.
2. CHICAGO’S BEST
People used to do 100 best things we ate this year lists all the time, but I guess publications don’t have the budget for those any more. So it’s nice to see Chicago mag do one (albeit only 25, from seven different writers, for about 3-1/2 entries per person), even though the first couple I ran across that I had actually tried were things I was not wild about. But that’s the fun—comparing against your own tastes. Go here to check it out.
Also at Chicago mag—and reminding me of a Time Out Chicago trend piece circa 2010—John Kessler writes about five trends he says we’re seeing everywhere now. My evaluation: yes, croissants are everywhere and the quality of pastry has gotten very high lately (time for me to again plug my favorite unknown spot for such, Bungalow by Middlebrow in the morning for coffee, some pastries, and no one to bug you); no, I don’t notice half chickens everywhere, but I never order roasted chicken in a restaurant; sure, pasta is everywhere but isn’t it always, yes, tavern-cut pizza is hot hot hot and displaying lots of new ingredients, and as for tasting menus… we know how Kessler feels about the proliferation of tasting menus, and I can’t argue with a reviewer who actually want us to pay more attention to mid-level priced places, but when they’re fresh and really interesting—like Cariño—they’re as exciting as our scene gets, and I can’t feel that’s a fault of our scene.
3. LAND OF THE GIANTS
I haven’t been to Giant in a few years—I ate there a lot when it opened, and felt like I ate everything on the (not-changing-much) menu a few times, so I just kind of stopped going but would still recommend it t0 people. Anyway, Michael Nagrant writes it a love letter, starting with the only dish he didn’t like by way of contrast:
We might as well get that dish out of the way: honey butter-glazed pears, radicchio, Taleggio shavings, bacon, and pecan. The flavors, sweet, sour, and bitter work, as do most of the textures, crunchy, creamy, etc.. The pears were hard. This provides a firmness that works against the wilted chicories and soft cheese and could be a stylistic choice, but my brain kept telling me the fruit was unripe and unsweet once I got through the honey butter glaze. This was the only dish I’d likely not order again.
This plate arrived around the same time as some Japanese eggplant, and having these items together was like Shaq standing next to Kevin Hart. The eggplant was smoky, creamy, rife with pancetta and the satisfying crunch of cashews. I scooped the whole thing into the accompanying griddle-leoparded flat bread and made a killer taco.
4. MO’ QUECA!
Steve Dolinsky visits John Manion in his established steakhouse El Che and his new more seafood-oriented Brasero:
“I feel like El Che speaks to time spent in Argentina, when I was a younger cook and chef. I fell in love with live-fire cooking.”
But Manion was born in Brazil, and so to honor those culinary traditions, he recently opened Brasero in West Town, a handsome, wide open space that also features a large grill.
“The other side is seafood and bigger, bolder flavors. Seafood and more vegetable-focused,” he said.
…One of the best dishes (and frankly, impossible to find elsewhere in Chicago) is the moqueca, a traditional seafood stew.
“Moqueca to me, is something I’ve been chasing since I was a little kid. It’s what I think of when I think of Brazilian food; it’s from the North,” he said.
5. PIEROGI PEER
I talked about Wurst Behavior recently; Titus Ruscitti goes to the same couple’s original Polish spot (they already had some barbecue joints), Pierogi Kitchen, in Wicker Park:
Pierogi Kitchen came about when owners Artur Wnorowski and Gosia Pieniazek did a complete revamp of Firewood BBQ. They wanted to try something a bit different than barbecue so they tapped into their Polish-American heritage with Pierogi Kitchen. The menu features a large chunk of Polish classics such as Bigos aka Hunters Stew or a unique tasting bowl of dill pickle soup made of a smoky broth, sour rye, kielbasa, boiled eggs, onions, and marjoram. The stuffed cabbage made with pork shoulder and chuck roll sitting in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce is as good as I’ve had outside of the Northeast Ohio region though my overall experience with Polish food is somewhat limited.
6. SANDOWICHU
My fridge died, I’m getting a new one from Abt this week, and one of the minor downsides of this pain in the patootie is that the Catsu Sando sticker I lovingly peeled off my last order from that place (it looks like the logo on their Instagram page) will go to the landfill with it. Catsu Sando, a COVID-era delivery joint, is long gone, but Japanese-style sandos have popped up elsewhere, and Dennis Lee talks about Sando Street in Wicker Park:
When Sando Street first opened this past February, my social media feed was lit up with photos and videos of their tamago, or egg salad sandwich ($12).
That’s because it’s a visually striking sandwich, made with a Kewpie mayo egg salad along with a whole soft boiled egg that’s sliced and delicately placed in the middle. The cut sides are gently sprinkled with furikake (Japanese rice seasoning), which gives them a pop of color along with an umami touch.
If you’re going to get only one thing on your trip here, I’d make it this sandwich, because it’s both delicate and satisfying at the same time. The egg salad is lightly savory thanks to the MSG in the Kewpie mayo, and the soft-boiled egg acts sort of like a satisfying meaty bit in the middle. My only mild concern with the sandwich is the thickness of the shokupan [milk bread], since it’s fairly substantial, but the bread is still soft and yielding, so this is mostly a non-issue.
7. ROSA HYDE PARK
Louisa Chu has a story on Erick Williams’ new Hyde Park Latin cocktail bar, Cantina Rosa:
“It’s a Mexican bar that honors Mexican culture and Mexican spirits,” Williams said about Cantina Rosa, where they focus on agave-based spirits, rums and gins from Mexico.
There are indeed bars in the neighborhood. But they’re in restaurants, including Virtue and Daisy’s, or they’re legendary dive bars, including the Cove Lounge and Woodlawn Tap aka Jimmy’s.
The name of the new cocktail bar honors not one, but two namesakes.
“My grandmother’s name was Rosetta,” Williams said. And his managing partner at Virtue, Jesus Garcia, his mother’s name is Rosa. “So we wanted to pay tribute to two matriarchs in our family.”
The space also celebrates their Hispanic staff, Williams said.
8. CHENGDU JESUS
When I’m not ordering Chinese-American takeout from my family’s favorite, Young’s on Ashland, I sometimes order from Chengdu Impression. The same owner, a nephew of Tony Hu (Lao Sze Chuan), has a new spot called Chengdu Bistro in Wicker Park, and The Infatuation likes it:
This casual Chinese spot is part of the Chengdu Impression family. And like its siblings, Chengdu Bistro doesn’t shy from heat—most of their dishes are loaded with sichuan peppercorns. The flaming noodle soup is appropriately named, and like the spicy beef noodle, has a complex savoriness thanks to the tingly spice. But even if you aren’t a spice-seeker, grab a table in this Chinese spot’s busy dining room for their lamb and chives dumplings.
Also, has anyone ever ranked all the Christkindlmarkt food stands? Seems an obvious idea for a listicle, but I think The Infatuation might be the first.
9. CARRIE ON
At Resy, Amber Gibson does an interview with one of Chicago’s longest-running and outstanding chefs. Carrie Nahabedian (Brindille):
You are famously the first woman chef in Chicago to earn a Michelin star, which you held for seven years at Naha. Do you feel that Brindille has been snubbed by Michelin?
In the first couple years, it bothered me, but now I couldn’t care less. I’d rather have a busy restaurant and happy staff and customers than worry about the star. I’m very proud of the accolades at Naha and also at Brindille. Having a star would be great for the young cooks, but everyone else at Brindille was part of the Naha reign. I would be happier if the Chicago Tribune brought back a food critic and full color weekly Food section!
10. JUST WHAT I WANTED
At WTTW, Lisa Futterman asks local food professionals for foodie gift suggestions.
11. BEERNASHOT
Does Chicago have a quintessential cocktail? Curious City explores the question.
12. BLACK PLASTIC NEWS
You know that panic about deadly black plastic spatulas and other kitchen tools? Surprise, it was all hysteria rooted in a math mistake.
60 times 7,000 is not 42,000. It is 420,000. This is what Joe Schwarcz noticed. The estimated exposure is not even a tenth of the reference dose. That does not sound as bad.
“I think it does change the flavour of the whole thing somewhat when you’re off by a factor of ten in comparing something to the reference value,” he said.
13. McRIB TRIBUNAL
Friend of Fooditor Jim Behymer of Sandwich Tribunal turned up this week in a Wall Street Journal piece on the McRib:
The sandwich has some character, with pickles adding sourness and texture and the onions bringing sharpness, said Jim Behymer, a blogger who has written hundreds of posts about sandwiches. Still, even with those ingredients, the 54-year-old thinks it’s too bland.
14. LISTEN UP
We’re in “best of” season, and The Dining Table has David Manilow naming his favorite new spots of 2024; it includes a really interesting interview with Erling Wu-Bower that helped me understand what he and chef Chris Jung are doing at Maxwells Trading.
Jojners talks to Giuseppe Tentori as he exits Boka Group; again, no direct link, but it’s on your podcast app.
WHAT MIKE ATE
A McRib. No, just kidding. I had two interesting and mostly very good dinners this week, but I’m writing a full piece about one, so I’ll just tell you about the other. Not that you haven’t already heard of Dear Margaret, and possibly been there.
I’ve known food writers who think places don’t really change after they open, and I suppose that’s mostly true of places that never were very good to begin with, but one of the happiest things is a place that’s starts out pretty good and is significantly better every time you go back. Fat Rice was like that; so was Parachute. Each time for the first couple of years, their horizons and their sense of what they can do seemed to expand each time I went back, and it was exciting to follow them growing into what they could be. Dear Margaret was like that the other night.
Now, I hadn’t been in a year—it’s a small, neighborhood spot, and thus a tough reservation to get unless you plan far enough out. So some months back I planned it for my birthday. The kind of rustic, French-Canadian food of chef Ryan Brosseau was always good, but at least five things we had were exceptional and would compare with anywhere in town. Among starters, it was a salad of some rough little green—not mizuna or chicory, but that kind of thing—tossed with sunflower seeds, crisps of cheese and a honey-flavored dressing; the rare salad that seems a unified whole, not a collection of stuff. Even better was a dish of Red Lake Nation wild rice, winter spinach from Three Sisters (nice to have a cameo at dinner by something from my book), and ricotta; the rice I think must have been cooked in chicken stock, and the dish was hearty and satisfying in an eating-my-grains, healthy-feeling way.
I had a roast duck leg, a hint of smoke to it, with “sugar shack” beans, a very appealing side of sweet baked beans, while my son had a Gunthorp pork shoulder with a sweetish onion broth with cooked prunes; I hate to keep using the descriptors “hearty” or “satisfying,” but, well, yeah; consistency in things like that is good, no? You can hit the same notes throughout if they’re the right ones. Finally, I usually don’t tell restaurants when it’s my birthday—childhood trauma from Farrell’s Ice Cream—but the savvy staff (led by Terry McNeese, ex of DeQuay, Blackbird, and a Banchet nominee for service this year) picked up on it and we suddenly found ourselves with a thick slice of a carrot cake-like parsnip cake, not overly sweet, a little tangy, and dotted with dehydrated pineapple chunks from Rare Tea Cellars. Oddly it was my second parsnip dessert in two days (second appearance of Three Sisters winter spinach in as many days, too) and the fact of both restaurants having such a strong winter produce ethos, but taking it in such different directions (one avant-garde minimalist, one rustic and comfy) made for a provocative demonstration of how different a farmer-oriented approach can wind up on the plate.