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The Chicago Reader

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Food & Drink, Key Ingredient May 24, 2017
Video
Chef Evan Sumrell pays tribute to his culinary mentor, Ryan McCaskey

The Ogden chef learned "what it takes to be successful in this business, how much work you need to do."
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, Evan Sumrell, The Ogden, Ryan McCaskey, Acadia, Video

Food & Drink, Restaurant Review Dec 9, 2016
Recommended
A former Schwa chef delivers audacious fine dining at Entente

Brian Fisher upends expectations in an unlikely spot: Lakeview.
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Restaurant Review, Schwa, Entente, Brian Fisher, Mari Katsumura, Yoshi's Cafe, Blackbird, Acadia, Grace, Recommended

Food & Drink, Restaurant Review Nov 9, 2015
Recommended
The cocktails flow at GreenRiver

New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer and the duo behind NYC cocktail joint Dead Rabbit make their booze-forward Chicago debut inside a Northwestern Medicine building.
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Restaurant Reviews, GreenRiver, Danny Meyer, Dead Rabbit, Aaron Lirette, Celeste, MK, Acadia, Gold Coast, Montgomery Burns, Monk's Cafe, Northwestern Medicine, Lavin Family Pavilion, Recommended

Blogs, Bleader Jun 22, 2015
Eat like the Obamas this Thursday, and other summer events

Events including an AIDS benefit, a benefit BBQ for recently flooded Acadia, a Fourth of July picnic inside Intro, a chance to eat food by Sam Kass, and more.
- By Michael Gebert
- Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, Chefs and the City, Stephanie Izard, Curtis Duffy, Philip Foss, Ryan McCaskey, Lee Wolen, Chris Pandel, Bill Kim, Nicole Pederson, Ari Bendersky, Sam Kass, Sprig, Acadia, Intro Chicago, Erik Anderson, Green City Market, Duck Inn, Nomad Food Company, Luxbar, the Grateful Dead, Fig & Olive, Chicago Food Truck Fest

Blogs, Bleader Apr 30, 2015
James Beard Foundation Awards events will be everywhere this weekend

The James Beard Foundation Awards are this weekend, and things are happening all over town.
- By Michael Gebert
- Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, James Beard awards, James Beard Foundation, Acadia, RPM Steak, Eataly, Hotel Lincoln, Steve Dolinsky, The Feed, Rick Bayless, Gravy, La Sirena Clandestina, Culinary Historians of Chicago, Susan Ungaro, Broken Shaker

Food & Drink, Restaurant Review Feb 13, 2015
Recommended
The fire's back at Bascule Wine Bar

Two sommeliers bring the old Urban Union space back to life.
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Restaurant Reviews, Bascule Wine Bar, Jason Prah, Scott Harney, Acadia, Eno, Michael Burkauskas, Gibsons Restaurant Group, Urban Union, Recommended

Blogs, Bleader Feb 3, 2014
Video
Get to know your Jean Banchet Award winners

How this year's crop of top chefs have performed in Reader features.
- By Michael Gebert
- Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, Jean Banchet, Jean Banchet Awards, Grace, Curtis Duffy, Michael Muser, Bobby Schaffer, Nicholas Romero, Valerie Cao, Embeya, Thai Dang, Acadia, Thomas Raquel, Cafe des Architectes, Leigh Omilinsky, Fat Rice, Abraham Conlon, Three Dots and a Dash, Paul McGee, the Whistler, Video

Arts & Culture, New Year's Eve Dec 17, 2013
The Reader's Guide to New Year's Eve 2013

The best places to be when the ball drops
- Tags: New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve 2013, Black Ensemble Theater New Year's Eve Celebration, Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, Bootlegger's Ball, Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, The Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier, First Night Evanston, 1st Ward and Chop Shop, Ignite the Night, iO Theater's New Year's Eve, Kiss Kiss Cabaret New Year's Eve Hullabaloo, Mr. Olsen's New Year's Rockin' Neighborhood, New Year's Eve at the DANK Haus, Moulin Rouge, Music Box, New Year's Eve Revolution, Official Playboy New Year's Eve Soiree, Pleasure Principle, Baathhaus, Big Dipper, Crowbar, Death, Dessa, Roky Erickson, Hounds of Baskerville, Alejandro Escovedo & the Sensitive Boys, Girl Group Chicago, Jimmy Eat World, Smoking Popes, Lawrence Arms, Black Joe Lewis, Local H, Motion City Soundtrack, Mucca Pazza, Oozing Wound, Magic Milk, Jimmy Whispers, The Castle, Club Foot, Enclave, Estate Ultra Bar, The Fifty/50, Funky Buddha Lounge, Headquarters Beercade, Howl at the Moon, The Mid, the Palace, Spy Bar, Three Dots and a Dash, The Underground, Vertigo Sky Lounge, Acadia, Ada St., Avec, Big Jones, Boarding House, CH Distillery, Chilam Bilham, Coutnry Barbeque, The Drawing Room, Due Lire, Dusek's, Fork, Homestead, Hot Chocolate, La Sirena Clandestina, Le Colonial, Longman & Eagle, Lula Cafe, Mercadito, Rodan, Senza, SmallBar Dvision, Table, Donkey & Stick, Tesori, Travelle, Trenchermen, Yusho

Blogs, Bleader Dec 5, 2013
Blackbird almost wasn't Blackbird, Tasting Table's Open Market, and more

Blackbird's history, chefs doing street food in a building, and more
- By Michael Gebert
- Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, Blackbird, Tasting Table, Chandra Ram, Heather Sperling, Travelle, Acadia, Smalls Smoke Shack, Mott St, La Sirena Clandestina, Parson's Chicken & Fish, Fat Rice, Spiaggia, Urban Belly, Rustic Tart, Vinny Garcia, Karen Gerod, Swim Cafe, Soup and Bread, the Hideout, Trenchermen, Brandon Baltzley

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Nov 29, 2013
Video
Key Ingredient: Dana Cree of Blackbird sweetens up pine sap

The pastry chef makes ice cream with an ingredient that "looks like a tree took a poop."
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, Key Ingredient, pine sap, ice cream, Blackbird, Dana Cree, pine trees, Rodrick Markus, Rare Tea Cellar, Thomas Raquel, Acadia, Turkish delight, celery-root cake, goat cheese mousse, Anna Shovers, Publican, chicory root, Video

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Nov 16, 2013
Video
Key Ingredient: Thomas Raquel deslimes a "weird martian fruit"

Challenged with horned melon, the pastry chef at Acadia turns it into shaved ice.
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, horned melon, Acadia, Thomas Raquel, pastry chefs, Bobby Schaffer, kiwano, jelly melon, African horned cucumber, hedged gourd, fruits, pulp, seeds, jellified textures, slime, lemongrass, lime juice, shortbread, shaved ice, basil, basil seeds, hibiscus, agave syrup, honey, honey croquant, ginger, milk chocolate, desserts, ingredients, recipes, Rare Tea Cellar, Rodrick Markus, Video

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Oct 31, 2013
Video
Bobby Schaffer of Grace brings out the best in a fruit that's "not the nicest thing"

Challenged with cupuacu, the pastry chef whips up a modernist semifreddo with a note of tropical rum.
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, Grace, cupuacu, cupulate, cupuacu fruit, fruits, antioxidants, Bobby Schaffer, pastry chefs, Patrick Fahy, Sixteen, Amafruits, Orland Park, specialty food importers, acidity, smifreddo, chocolate, huckleberries, sorrel, sorbet, elderfloer, Asian pear, sorrel sorbet, elderflower syrup, eggs, curds, black lime, Thomas Raquel, ingredients, Acadia, horned melon, Video

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Aug 22, 2013
Video
Key Ingredient: Acadia chef-owner Ryan McCaskey doubles down on pandan

Leaves and extract from the southeast Asian plant combine for a "toasty rice" flavor that lingers "in a pleasant way."
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, Acadia, Ryan McCaskey, pandan leaf, extracts, Thai Dang, Asian markets, Viet Hoa, Argyle Street, musty flavors, toasted flavors, genmaicha tea, desserts, savory dishes, southeast Asian cuisine, halibut, fish, butter, olive oil, lemon, salt, broth, coconut mik, lobster stock, curry paste, kaffir, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallot, Ultra-Tex, modified food starch, thickeners, gel, potato, curry, Video

Blogs, Bleader Aug 8, 2013
Slideshow
Ryan McCaskey isn't just a Michelin-starred burger guy, damn it

How the Acadia chef-owner is aiming for acclaim with his high-end tasting menu.
- By Michael Gebert
- Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, Acadia, Ryan McCaskey, South Loop, Near South Side, Alinea, Grace, Schwa, Chicago magazine, tasting menus, Best Burger, Chicago fine dining, Slideshow

Blogs, Bleader Dec 26, 2012
124 tasty things from 2012

I ate it all
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Year in Review, Food Chain, Food & Drink, Slurping Turtle, Bar Toma, Goosefoot, Three Floyd's Brewpub, Katsu, Nha Hang Viet Nam, Nhu Lan Bakery, Munster Donut, Yusho, Acadia, Sheeba (RIP), Alan Lake, Bread & Wine, Sankalp, Publican Quality Meats, Hagen’s, Urban Union, Lake Langano, RPM, Bar Ombra, Au Cheval, Baconfest, Cho Jung, Allium, Letherbee gin, Nellcote, The Nut House, Balena, Al Bawadi Grill, Troquet, Frog N Snail, Monti’s, Premise (R.I.P.), Spinzer Restaurant, ScofflawPhil’s Last Stand, Ma Gong La Po, Pizzeria da Nella Cucina Napoletana, Antique Taco, Cuenca’s Bakery, Kai Zan, Graham Elliot Bistro, Olga’s Deli, Himshikar, Smoking Goose’s Delaware Fireball, Dragon Ranch, Trenchermen, Yvolina’s Tamales, Savoy, Spencer’s Jolly Posh Food, Ghareeb Nawaz, Wood, Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf, Best Naan, P.E. Mullins, Masaki, Journeyman Distillery’s Featherbone Bourbon, Bonsoiree, 28-year-old cheddar, Covo Gyro Market, Bare Knuckle Farm, Butcher & Larder, Andy Thai Kitchen, Julien Fremont Cidre Brut par Nature, Elizabeth, Lao Ma La, Valentino Pasta, Wild Ophelia, The Publican, Homestyle Taste, Northern City, Masa Azul, Badou, La Sirena Clandestina, Fat Rice Avec, Reno, Embeya, Variations on a Theme

Food & Drink, Food & Drink Feature Dec 26, 2012
My favorite restaurants of 2012

Philly cheese steaks, foraged fairy tales, former Portuguese colonies, and more from a not-so-calamitous year
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Food & Drink Feature, Year in Review 2012, Monti's, Philly cheese steaks, Yusho, Brian Runge, Jared Van Camp, Nellcote, Balena, Marty Fosse, Bar Ombra, Pizzeria da Nella Cucina Napoletana, Nella Grassano, Arami, B.K. Park, Scott Malloy, Masaki, Kai Zan, Carlo Vizconde, Melvin Vizconde, Andy Aroonrasameruang, TAC Quick, Andy's Thai Kitchen, The Bedford, Mark Steuer, Carriage House, Brendan Sodikoff, Au Cheval, Bavette's Bar & Boeuf, Mike Sheerin, Pat Sheerin, Trenchermen, Acadia, Ryan McCaskey, Iliana Regan, Elizabeth Restaurant, Bavette's Bar & Boeuf

Arts & Culture, New Year's Eve Dec 21, 2012
New Year's Eve Guide 2012

Our picks for the best places to be when the ball drops
- Tags: New Year's Eve, Black Ensemble Theater, The Jackie Wilson Story, The Marvin Gaye Story, One Name Only, Bootlegger's Ball, Moonshine Brewing Company, Burlesque New Year's Eve Striptacular, Gorilla Tango's Geek Girls, Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, Chemically Imbalanced Theater, Kiss Kiss Cabaret New Year's Eve Hullabaloo, Greenhouse Theater Center, Nerd Year's Eve, Star Wars, Challengers Comics + Conversation, DANK Haus, Feuerzangenbowle, The Poseidon Adventure, Music Box, Morseland, Slo 'Mo, the Whistler, Time Travel Spectacular, Elastic, Messing and the Wisemen, Antony and the Tramps, Airborne Toxic Event, Metro, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, Lincoln Hall, Eternals Espiritu Zombi Group, Hideout, Marked Men Bad Sports, Empty Bottle, Wanda Jackson, Double Door, Porter Robinson, Congress Theater, Beauty Bar, Hood Internet, Moon Boots, Only Children, The Castle, Paul Oakenfold, Evil Olive, Porn and Chicken, Funky Buddha Lounge, The Mid, The Shrine, DJ B-Man, Teedra Moses, Spy Bar, Kalendr, Inphinity, Gene Farris, Acadia, Big Jones, Blackbird, Hoppin' John, Blackbird, Chef David Posey, Chilam Balam, Natalie Oswald, Deleece, Due Lire Vino and Cucina, Fork, Tim Cottini, Grass Fed, Jerry's Andersonville, Longman and Eagle, Jared Wentworth, Mercadito, Ryan Poli, Mercat a la Planxa, Nana, Park Grill, People Tapas Lounge, The Publican, Brian Huston, Senza, Noah Sandoval, Sepia, Andrew Zimmerman, Slurping Turtle, Godzilla, Takashi Yagihashi, SmallBar Division, Storefront Company, Tesori, Trenchermen, Yusho, Matthias Merges, Zed 451, Zocalo

Blogs, Bleader Aug 23, 2012
Attack of the gourmet squirrel

A gray squirrel with discriminating taste menaces local publicist Jenn Galdes
- By Kate Schmidt
- Tags: Squirrels Week, Food Chain, Food & Drink, Squirrels Week, Mike Sula, gray squirrels, Jenn Galdes, Grapevine Public Relations, Mann Brothers chocolate, Green City Market, Whole Foods, James Beard Foundation, Ryan McCaskey, Acadia, Variations on a Theme

Blogs, Bleader Jun 29, 2012
A new food truck ordinance is introduced and other food news bites

GEB ousts the Hound, chef shuffling, pork skin noodle and more
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, Grant Achatz, Nick Kokonas, The Aviary, The Drawing Room, Charles Joly, Craig Shoettler, Graham Elliott. G.E.B., Stever Dolinsky, Shesimmers, Chirs Jones, Moto, B.K. Park, Arami, Ty Fujimura, Acadia, The Bedford, Michael Simon, Lynn House, Blackbird

Food & Drink, Restaurant Review Jun 13, 2012
Recommended
Modernist dining and daring cocktails at Andersonville's Premise

The neighborhood lost a great hangout when In Fine Spirits closed. But it gained something just as good.
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Restaurant Reviews, Andersonville, fine dining, Michael Roeper, the Hopleaf, Nick Zarzour, Natalie Zarzour, Pasticceria Natalina, Nick Lessins, Lydia Esparza, Great Lake, Paul Fehribach, Big Jones, In Fine Spirits, Ben Schiller, BOKA Group, Marianne Sundquist, Brian Runge, El Ideas, Goosefoot, Acadia, chorizo espuma, Luke LeFiles, the Aviary, Hot Chocolate, Premise, Recommended

Blogs, Bleader Feb 24, 2012
News bites

A sampler of food news from around the web this week.
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, TipsyCake, Rockit Ranch Productions, Cinners, Monti's, Joe Bastianich, Mario Batali, Baconfest, Eataly, Frances Brennan, Do-Rite Donuts, Acadia

Blogs, Bleader Feb 9, 2012
This week in Food & Drink

In this week's Food & Drink: Acadia, Key Ingredient flour, Valentine's Day dining
- By Kate Schmidt
- Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, Acadia, Ryan McCaskey, Michael Simon, Key Ingredient, Brandon Baltzley, Crux, Iliana Regan, One Sister, dried limes, Frontier, Saigon Sisters

Food & Drink, Restaurant Review Feb 9, 2012
Recommended
Acadia: getting it right on the near south side

Chef Ryan McCaskey's minimalist Elysium amidst the weeds of a less-traveled part of town
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Restaurant Review, Ryan McCaskey, near south side, fine dining, Black Sheep, Acadia, Recommended

Blogs, Bleader Feb 1, 2012
"Only an asshole doesn't like Brussels sprouts"

Steve Albini on an outspoken minority
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, Brussels sprouts, Steve Albini, mariobatalivoice, Acadia

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