1. GOODBYE TRIB

The Trib had a bunch of new bylines in the food section, and they were infrequent enough that I didn’t have a chance to get to know the writers. But one I started to look for was Ahmed Ali Akbar, who (surprise) wrote about a lot of food stories from the Chicago Muslim community. Anyway, so much for that; here’s Akbar on Twitter:

I was laid off today by the Chicago Tribune as were several talented colleagues. I was able to report several dream stories during my year or so there, but partially, I had that freedom because “leadership” is completely absentee unless it affects their bottom line.

There were five layoffs in the newsroom, which is reported to be 10% of the remaining staff. So 50 writers, minus 5, approximately. I just happened to read that when Time Out started publishing two decades ago, they had 70 staffers (and, obviously, a network of freelancers, which would eventually include myself). So the dwindling Trib is smaller than a weekly magazine in 2005.

He’s got a page up for a future Substack here. In the meantime, here’s what will presumably be Akbar’s last piece in the Trib: a piece on Bailey Sullivan, the Monteverde executive chef who was a finalist on Top Chef, cooking octopus:

Sullivan’s personal style is memorable — ever-colorful hair, large glasses and rotating patterned bandanas. It seems to tell you everything about her on first look: quirky and easily creative. But that belies a scholarly understanding of Italian cooking history, techniques and terminology, and a serious competitor.

“Competition is about building a sense of community,” said Sullivan. In her view, instead of aiming for domination, it’s key to challenge yourself and others in the hopes of reaching higher peaks as a team.

2. WHAT GRANT EATERS

Grant Achatz has a piece at Eater national about twenty years of Alinea:

It was ripe. Chicago was ready. Chicago was a town that embraces innovation and artistry with its history of architecture, music, and medicine. Our opening was really anticipated at that time, because I was blogging prior to the opening on eGullet, back when those forums were popular. That was the moment of the internet foodies. And so the anticipation was really high.

3. YOUNG’S TOP 100

Young Choi is a Chicago foodie who I know read my Fooditor 99, because he left it an Amazon review. At Dennis Lee’s The Party Cut, he offers his own top 100 places to eat in Chicago, starting this week with the bottom 50; presumably Monday will bring the top 50, but it will be subscribers-only. I looked at it in particular for his savvy insights into Asian spots, but he’s sharp on all kinds of food. Start here. 

4. OUTTASEASON-KASE

Grimod goes back to Kyoten with a question in mind:

With the arrival of the year’s hottest month, omakase—and its corresponding parade of cool or gently warmed bites—starts to sound particularly enticing. However, typically, summer is not the most prized of seasons (given that many of the genre’s most coveted fish now lack the quantity of fat they put on during the winter). Should one really take the leap on one of Chicago’s most expensive and mysterious dining experiences at a time when Mother Nature has stacked the deck against its chef?

5. THE LONG, COLD NOODLE

Grimod isn’t the only one thinking Asian food in the long, hot summer; Titus Ruscitti goes hunting for cold noodles. Here’s one I keep meaning to try:

Central East Asian Cuisine is definitely one you want to check out, especially if you like charcoal grilled skewers of lamb and the savory baked pastry known as Samsa (made with lamb and onions). They also serve up a popular form of cold noodles called Shihezi Cold Noodles. They feature a spicy and tangy flavor profile and are sometimes called LiangPi but the exact description can vary, it’s generally understood as a type of cold noodle dish with ingredients and flavors common to the Xinjiang region of China (Shihezi is a city in Northern Xinjiang, China). The defining feature of this dish is the noodles are made from a dough that is rinsed to separate the starch from the gluten. The starch is then used to make the noodles, which are steamed or boiled and served chilled. The version at Central East Asian Cuisine has a ton of sliced cucumbers, plus and minimal heat but it still hit the spot on a hot night. That said I’m still searching for a version as good as I had in Milan of all places.

6. HOW TO REVIEW A WOLF

Michael Nagrant goes to the new place overlooking the 606, Wolf and Co., with a bunch of his son’s hockey teammates, and sees it as a family place:

The room at Wolf and Co. has a little punk stank, lots of dark accents, tufted black leather, and Dracula-friendly chandeliers, but it’s all softened enough by a designer so the delicate stroller-toting set will be more than happy to stop in to kill a bowl of “dirty martini” salad (red onion, olive, blue cheese, endive, and lemon breadcrumbs).

…if you’re going for carbs, you want the chicken fat mash, a mountain of velvety potato glistening in schmaltz. The kids all screamed “gross” when they read “chicken fat”, but, damn if they didn’t all have spud ‘staches by the end of the meal.

7. PRIME CHUCK

Chuck’s Southern Comfort Cafe was an LTHForum favorite many years ago; I had a reason to take my kids for a day of swimming down in the southern suburbs, and Chuck’s in Burbank was our usual stop on the way back for deeply satisfying, as the name says, Southern comfort food. Chuck Pine got his start working for Rick Bayless, and on July 31 he’ll be one of the guest chefs for Bar Sotano’s “homecoming” series. Daniel Hautzinger at WTTW tells about Pine:

Pine might seem an outlier amongst the Homecoming alumni, most of whom now run Mexican restaurants, but on closer inspection Bayless’ influence is evident in many aspects of Pine’s food at his two Chuck’s locations in the southwest suburbs…

For one, “Southern” encompasses everything from Texan barbecue to Cajun dishes from New Orleans to regional Mexican specialties like chorizo verde. Pine’s signature barbecue sauce is deepened by dried chile notes more typical of Mexican cooking. He is constantly experimenting with new dishes and cuisines via ever-changing specials, like Irish-American-style corned beef (smoked, not boiled), a po’ boy with Korean fried chicken, and Californian tri tip on a sandwich with jus to dip – each appearing on the menu only for a day or two. And Chuck’s is literally farm to table: beyond the parking lot at the Darien location is a farm that supplies tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squashes, beets, peaches, cherries, apples, pears, rhubarb, herbs, and more.

The caretaker of all that produce at one time was Chicago chef Michael Foley; Anne Spiselman wrote about it here at Fooditor.

8. SUSHI SPLIT

I liked Jinsei Motto, inside CH Distillery. Not long ago, we learned that it was reconcepting as Joto under a new chef-owner. And then we heard that Jinsei Motto chef Patrik Bouaphanh would be opening a new version of it in Logan Square. And now, that Jinsei Motto co-owner Andrew Choi is opening a new, more accessible concept, Omakase Box, in Logan Square. Daniel Hautzinger at WTTW:

“What we are trying to do here is be a mom-and-pop spot that has a lot of industry experience and wants to provide a really upscale experience but make it feel very homey,” says Andrew Choi, a co-owner and manager of Omakase Box. “The whole concept is, ‘Let’s put really great food and drinks out where it meets value.’”

“Value,” “mom-and-pop” and “homey” are not words typically used to describe places specializing in omakase, a refined style of Japanese meal in which a sushi chef presents a predetermined succession of nigiri, often serving exquisite fish directly to a handful of diners who have paid hundreds of dollars. The popularity of omakase restaurants has exploded in recent years, with numerous cropping up in Chicago and other major American food cities. They have begun to rival steakhouses as a destination for expense account-flouting businesspeople eager to indulge in some conspicuous consumption in the form of luxury ingredients like caviar, uni, and truffle on top of gorgeous raw fish – the New York Times even christened the trend “bromakase.”

9. BIRRIA BENEFIT

As you likely know, Birreria Zaragoza on south Archer is closed due to a fire. August 1 and 2, Lush Wine & Spirits in West Town will hold a benefit for them, from 1 pm to 10 pm each day, dishing up tacos and wine:

This isn’t your average taco run. You’ll get that tender, consommé-drenched birria you dream about, but with the bonus of Lush’s vibes and a killer wine list. Grab your plate of tacos, find a spot on the patio, and sip on something that actually makes them better (if that’s possible). May we recommend a crisp glass of Nomad Albariño? It’s bright, citrusy, and exactly what you want next to rich, savory birria.

…Come hungry, bring friends, order the tacos, drink the wine, and know you’re helping one of Chicago’s most iconic taco families bounce back stronger than ever.

10. BUGBEAR

Eddie “Edzo” Lakin talks about why he doesn’t like The Bear:

Dang. I really went in expecting to like it. Wanting to. I was really rooting for this show.

I’ve seen a few articles talking about chefs who said they can’t watch it. It hits too close to home for them, triggers the same stress we feel all day at work while they’re at home trying to relax, gives them PTSD, whatever.

I can understand feeling that way, but that’s not it for me. That’s not why this show grates so particularly the wrong way on me as it does.

He’s going to keep watching it and talk about why it bugs him.

11. LISTEN UP

Joiners talks to Charles Wong of Umamicue.

The Chef’s Cut talks about how chefs travel. Knowing where you’re going to eat is a big part of it.