November 28

Chicago Food on TV

I never thought I'd plug another program, especially another food show on TV, but I was just blown away with Geoffrey Baer's massive, well-researched and wonderfully produced "Foods of Chicago: A Delicious History," which aired this week on WTTW, channel 11 (Chicago's PBS station). Nearly every ethnic population is explored, dissected and tasted - from Mexican food on Maxwell Street to Middle Eastern in Albany Park - this is the kind of show a food reporter just craves to be a part of - either producing, writing or eating. My only quibble is that we never get to see place names or addresses on the program, which is probably why they push the companion book so much, containing all of the details (and serving as a handy vehicle to sign up members to WTTW). Congratulations to Geoffrey and his talented staff for doing such a remarkable job and making me so damn hungry!

November 24

Super Thanksgiving Side Dish

Most people think "Taste of Chicago" is my Super Bowl. True, I'm doing live reports from the "Taste" seemingly all day long, but you can only swallow so much fried dough and turkey legs. For me, Thanksgiving is the time to really show your stuff; mainly because we all get to cook and eat. This year, the gameplan was much the same: dinner at my brother-in-law's house (host makes the turkey), but the sides are always delegated. This time around, I was in charge of a few vegetable side dishes, and while the cider-glazed carrots, mustard creamed onions gratin and bacon-and-cheese gougère from Gourmet were all splendid, it was Melissa Clark's recipe for cornbread and broccoli rabe strata from the New York Times that won the most praise. With a hit of fresh ricotta and gruyere, this Mediterranean accent to the main meal will win over carnivores and vegetarians alike. There really is no reason to wait until Thanksgiving though, as I would be proud to make and serve this recipe again and again.

November 4, 2007

In Search Of Mary Tyler Moore...

I'm in Minneapolis this week, visiting my mom and a few friends from college. Whenever I go back now, I always mandate at least one visit to 112 Eatery, a fantastic little bar/restaurant that takes no reservations, seats mostly four and two-tops, but is somehow open until 1 a.m. during the week - a real feat in the Twin Cities. I always get whatever pasta they're making - sometimes served with foie gras meatballs or a rich lamb ragu - but on this visit, I'll never forget the butterscotch budino. I recall having something like it at Pizzeria Mozza in L.A. a few months ago, but this one really shines: in a wine glass, a bottom layer of pudding is capped by a medium-thick layer of carmely butterscotch, which in turn has a small cap of crème fraiche cream; the real trick is the faint shower of sea salt, which manages to balance the sweet and salt in every bite. Yum.

We also had a fantastic dinner across the street at Saffron, a newish Mediterranean tapas restaurant. Even though it was a Monday, there was a considerable crowd (in fact, noise was an issue, due to the hard surfaces) but the food was more than worth it. Mom and I chowed on yogurt cheese with za'atar and roasted beets; an artichoke tagine arrived in an earthenware vessel with the restaurant's namesake spice, and we both fought over the vegetarian squash and sweet potato bisteeya, which is packaged in a crispy phyllo dough wrapper, along with crunchy almonds and sweet spices.

On our last night, we tried Bank, which is located in the old Farmers and Mechanics Bank building (where my mom's high school used to send their fundraising deposits during the War). The room has been lovingly restored and exudes both urbanity and a Midwestern sense of restraint in design. You can just barely make out the areas where the tellers used to have their windows. I was especially excited about eating there, since the consulting/opening chef was Todd Stein, a veteran of mk in Chicago. The menu reads well, and is definitely a refreshing change from the usual Twin Cities fare of steak, chicken and pasta. We tried deviled eggs topped with tobiko and seared walleye with butter-poached lobster; a rack and leg of lamb came highly recommended by our server, but the gremolata was much too oily and the lamb arrived almost rare. I fear that with Stein off consulting on other projects in Vegas and elsewhere, the kitchen may lose its way. Our over-eager server was paying all kinds of homage to the man, yet he clearly was not expediting the dishes. Ahi tuna and farm-raised salmon? Steamed mussels and fried calamari? For a young chef in a dynamic new restaurant, this is not what I would expect - especially at a $17 - $28 price point for entrees.