Archives

Food & Drink, Food & Drink Feature Aug 16, 2018
Video
A fond farewell to geoducks and other memorable Key Ingredients

Goodbye natto, and balut, and durian.
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Food & Drink Feature, Food & Drink, julia thiel, ryan segedi, key ingredient, chefs, chicago eats, chicago chefs, Key Ingredient and Cocktail Challenge say goodbye, Video

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient May 25, 2017
Chicago chefs pay edible tribute to their culinary mentors

We asked some of the city’s top chefs to create a dish to honor a person who influenced their cooking. The exercise stirred many kitchen memories, about everyone from Rick Bayless to dear ol’ mom.
- Tags: Key Ingredient, mentors, Key Ingredient, Key Ingredient Cook-Off, Reader events, chefs

Blogs, Bleader Jan 20, 2017
Video
No Obama commutation for former governor Rod Blagojevich, and other Chicago news

Also, the opening site of the Chicago Women's March, now expecting around 50,000 participants, has been moved again.
- By Kate Shepherd
- Tags: News, Did You Read __________?, Chicago, Rod Blagojevich, Barack Obama, criminal justice, Chicago Police Department, police shootings, Donald Trump, Celebrity Apprentice, Chicago Women's March, Laquan McDonald, Jason Van Dyke, Trump International Hotel and Tower, Sixteen restaurant, chefs, Michelin stars, Chance the Rapper, Video

Reader, Reader events Mar 29, 2016
Video
2016 Key Ingredient Cook-Off

Taste and vote for your favorite dish created by 15 of Chicago's most outstanding Chefs using one of four specific ingredients assigned to each chef!
- Tags: Reader Events, Key Ingredient, Venue One, chefs, Carlos Gaytan, Rudolfo Cuadros, Diana Davila, Brian Enyart, Emily Kraszyk, Dan Salls, Duncan Biddulph, Matt Troost, Abraham Conlon, Edward Sura, Nicole Pderson, Jonathan Zaragoza, Alfredo Nogueira, Andres Padilla, Ryan Pfeiffer, Goose Island, Brown Forman, City Winery, wine, beer, coffee, HalfWit Coffee Roasters, #KICO, Video

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Jun 27, 2014
Video
Key Ingredient: Michael Lachowicz contemplates calves' brains

Challenged to create a dish with a veal brains, Restaurant Michael's chef goes superclassic.
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, chefs, Michael Lachowicz, Calves' brains, veal, veal brains, French cuisine, organ meats, foie gras, membranes, milk, blood, sous vide, garlic, olive oil, thyme, flour, sauteing, butter, hazelnuts, capers, microgreens, chive flowers, chives, Restaurant Michael, Video

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Jun 5, 2014
Video
Key Ingredient: Lee Kuebler has balls—goat testicles, that is

Challenged to create a dish with goat testicles, the Milwalky Trace chef deep-fries them.
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, Lee Kuebler, Milwalky Trace, goats, testicles, goat testicles, Slagel Family Farm, butchers, meat, aphrodisiacs, John R. Brinkley, impotence, bull testicles, sandwiches, deep frying, preserved lemon-aioli, lemons, onions, peppers, jalapeño peppers, flour, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, spices, texture, beer, pale ale, Ballast Point pale ale, chefs, cooking, Video

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Mar 29, 2014
Video
Jeff Mahin of Stella Barra Pizzeria tops a gumbo-inspired pizza with okra

Who knew the slimy seed pod can mimic mozzarella?
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, Stella Barra Pizzeria, Jeff Mahin, okra, chefs, recipes, mallow, gumbo, pizza, texture, crispy okra, mozzarella, black roux, Parmesan cream sauce, creole mustard, mustard, andouille sausage, caciocavallo cheese, cheese, padano cheese, watercress, giardiniera, okra giardiniera, olive oil, sliminess, Video

Food & Drink, Restaurant Review Mar 28, 2014
Recommended
Chef Lee Wolen reboots Boka

The decade-old restaurant and flagship of the Boka group maintains its relevance.
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Restaurant Review, Boka, Lincoln Park, Lee Wolen, loup de mer, capers, artichoke hearts, broth, octopus, tonkotsu, The Lobby, Peninsula Hotel, chicken, Eleven Madison Park, Moto, Butter, Boka Restaurant Group, appetizers, menus, cauliflower soup, curry oil, cream, ham, broccoli, salads, eggs, Parmesan cheese, cheese, ham, almonds, ravioli, onion soup, blood sausage, arctic char, potatoes, pears, Meyer lemon, salt-cod, fish, ricotta gnudi, sturgeon, entrees, lamb, monkfish, beans, scallops, desserts, Genie Kwon, pastry chefs, chefs, sesame cake, custard, yuzu, buckwheat, pineapple, cheesecake, Recommended

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Mar 13, 2014
Video
Key Ingredient: Mike Bagale of Alinea candies Necco Wafers

Working with a sweet that predates the Civil War, the chef piles "sugar on top of sugar on top of sugar."
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, Alinea, Mike Bagale, Necco Wafers, Andrew Brochu, cooking, recipes, chefs, candy, New Englland Confectionary Company, Necco, sugar, glucose, coconut pudding, coconut water, cotton candy, molasses, syrups, fruit, pinepple, tea, lime, fruit jellies, pâtes de fruits, banana, liquid nitrogen, creme fraiche, vanilla beans, licorice root, cacao nibs, pectin, citric acid, grapeseed oil, xanthan gum, banana, ascorbic acid, sorbet, salt, Video

Food & Drink, Food & Drink Feature Mar 5, 2014
What happens when all-star chefs get in bed with Big Food?

Culinary icons from Paul Kahan to Rick Bayless, Grant Achatz to Matthias Merges, Ina Pinkney to Homaro Cantu have forged unlikely relationships with brands such as Nestle, Kraft, and Lean Cuisine. The results might surprise you.
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Food & Drink Feature, chefs, Paul Kahan, Rick Bayless, Grant Achatz, Matthias Merges, Ina Pinkney, Homaro Cantu, food industry, food brands, Nestlé, Kraft, Lean Cuisine, snackpicks.com, Kellogg's, recipes, Alinea, Nick Kokonas, restaurant chefs, chefs, Trio, recipe development, brainstorming, focus groups, product evaluations, United Airlines, McDonald's, Taco Bell, KFC, National Pork Board, Dairy Management Inc., Tony Mantuano, Nutrisystem, Quaker, Burger King, test kitchens, marketing, frozen food, Lean Cuisine's Culinary Roundtable, Lucien Vendôme, Nestle's Stouffer's Hotels, consulting, product development, chef technologists, mass production, Donnie Madia, Topolobampo, 7-Layer Burrito, One Off Hospitality, Blackbird, Avec, Big Star, The Violet Hour, The Publican, Publican Quality Meats, Nico Osteria, Claudia Sutherland, ideation, flavor, ingredients, research and development, food science, menus, creativity, Kraft Foods, Rob Levitt, The Butcher & Larder, nondisclosure agreements, Harry Crane, Le Titi De Paris, airline food, Kendall College, Kantha Shelke, processed foods, transparency, Corvus Blue, research, Healthy Choice, Cargill, Land O'Lakes, Hillshire Farm, avocado, Seana Monahan, avocado, chocolate, Yusho, Billy Sunday, A10, Charlie Trotter's, Cuisine Solutions, Gate Gourmet, food manufacturing, sous vide method, Thomas Keler, Daniel Boulud, Charlie Trotter, PolyScience, Philip Preston, immersion circulators, Moto, Cantu Designs, General Mills, Hampton Creek Foods, Chris Jones, Whole Foods, Just Mayo, prototypes

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Dec 24, 2013
2013: The year of our 100th Key Ingredient

The past year of our chef-to-chef challenge has included lobster guts, durian, sun-dried tomatoes, and pig uterus (some of it a little burned).
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, Julia Thiel, Chicago Reader, 2013, writing, Key Ingredient, Phillip Foss, David Posey, Thomas Raquel, Dana Cree, chefs, pastry chefs, Matthew Kirkley, Dave Beran, Ryan LaRoche, Lee Wolen, Aaron Arnett, Peter Coenen, Andres Padilla, John Asbaty, Abraham Conlon

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Oct 3, 2013
Video
Key Ingredient: Black cumin

Homestead's Chris Teixeira survives a "death challenge" to arrive at a menu-ready cheese course with spice bread.
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, Homestead, West Town Bakery, Chris Teixeira, pastry chefs, chefs, cooking, recipes, ingredients, black cumin, cumin, Bunium persicum, Nigella sativa, fennel flower, nutmeg flower, black caraway, Roman corriander, black cumin seed oil, brittles, sugar, cheese courses, pumpkin, spice bread, goat cheese, nigella, Banyuls wine vinegar, maple syrup, pain d'epices, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, Video

Food & Drink, Food & Drink Feature Jun 6, 2013
Who does Brandon Baltzley think he is?

A chef whose mesmerizing creativity is deserving of fame? A drug addict in recovery who rightly eschews sobriety? A twentysomething memoirist whose brief history is worth your time? Or is he none of those things?
- By Sarah Nardi
- Tags: Food & Drink Feature, Brandon Baltzley, Leigh Hansen, pop-up dinners, chefs, WD-50, New York, memoirs, addiction, books, Rock 'n Roll Ghost, Wylie Dufresne, Hugh Acheson, Top Chef, Empire State South, restaurants, chef personalities, 6th Street Kitchen, Jacksonville, Florida, Grant Achatz, Alinea, Schwa, Michael Carlson, Mado, Rob Levitt, Allie Levitt, Eater, blogs, online comments, David Richard, Essex Inn, cocaine, drugs, Twitter, Kevin Pang, Chicago Tribune, Tribute, Andy Warhol, Emily Belden, smoking, rehabilitation, ICM Partner, talent agencies, Pittsburgh, Michigan City, Indiana, Steve Newman, TMIP, happiness, sex, sobriety, drinking, Crux, farms, Cherry, Illinois, Kevin Sousa, Salt of the Earth, Stagioni, Bar Marco, zoning, licensing, business

Food & Drink, Food & Drink Feature May 23, 2013
Locavorism Inc.

Can a new business increase the amount of local food we eat?
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Food & Drink Feature, Dave Rand, chefs, Zeeshan Shah, Andrew Lutsey, Testa Produce, Pilsen, meat, cheese, maple syrup, Butcher & Larder, Indiana farms, Illinois farms, farms, Wisconsin farms, meat, produce, storage crops, potatoes, carrots, beets, rutabagas, beans, sweet potatoes, spring greens, organic produce, Local Foods Grocer, farm-direct meat, farm-direct produce, Sysco, food distribution, food wholesalers, beef, pork, goat, lamb, poultry, ramps, asparagus, Prairie Grass Cafe, Old Town Social, Perennial Virant, Table, Donkey and Stick, Merle Kauffman, Ohio House Motel, regional food hubs, Peapod, Vera, farmers' markets, Mark Mendez, Green City Market, locavorism, restaurants, markets, Bob Borchardt, Harvest Moon Farms, restaurant suppliers, local food, wholesale grocers, retail grocers, Quarter Circle Seven Ranch, Frank Morgan, Gold Bond Ice Cream, Popsicle, business, Irv & Shelley's, Goodness Greenness, Rufus Haucke, Keewaydin Farms, Just Local Foods, Amish farms, CSA, community-supported agriculture, farming, agriculture

Food & Drink, Key Ingredient Apr 5, 2013
Video
Abraham Conlon of Fat Rice shows the "right way" and "wrong way" to cook a porcine reproductive organ

Braised, deep-fried, stir-fried—pig uterus has its merits.
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Key Ingredient, pig uterus, uterus, tripe, organs, pork intestine, pork uterus, Abraham Conlon, bacon, offal, texture, pig ear, wood ear mushroom, funnel cake, stir-fry, crunchiness, squeakiness, chefs, cooking, recipes, Fat Rice, Video

Food & Drink, Restaurant Review Jan 15, 2013
Waiting for culinary nirvana at Grace

Curtis Duffy's food weakens the knees, but his long-awaited restaurant isn't all the way there yet.
- By Mike Sula
- Tags: Restaurant Reviews, Curtis Duffy, prix fixe menus, Grace, ingredients, chefs, egos, fine dining, Vanity Fair, Corby Kummer, Avenues, Alinea, Elizabeth, expensive restaurants, Grant Achatz, Trio, autographed menus, open kitchens, presentation, flora menu, fauna menu, Michael Muser, French wines, Loire Valley wines

Browse

Browse News & Politics

Browse Music

Browse Film

Browse Arts & Culture

Browse Food & Drink

Browse City Life

Browse Columns

Browse Ads

Browse Events

Articles

Issue.Year

Features

Sort by:

Goodbye natto, and balut, and durian.

We asked some of the city’s top chefs to create a dish to honor a person who influenced their cooking. The exercise stirred many kitchen memories, about everyone from Rick Bayless to dear ol’ mom.

Also, the opening site of the Chicago Women's March, now expecting around 50,000 participants, has been moved again.

Taste and vote for your favorite dish created by 15 of Chicago's most outstanding Chefs using one of four specific ingredients assigned to each chef!

Challenged to create a dish with a veal brains, Restaurant Michael's chef goes superclassic.

Challenged to create a dish with goat testicles, the Milwalky Trace chef deep-fries them.

Who knew the slimy seed pod can mimic mozzarella?

The decade-old restaurant and flagship of the Boka group maintains its relevance.

Working with a sweet that predates the Civil War, the chef piles "sugar on top of sugar on top of sugar."

Culinary icons from Paul Kahan to Rick Bayless, Grant Achatz to Matthias Merges, Ina Pinkney to Homaro Cantu have forged unlikely relationships with brands such as Nestle, Kraft, and Lean Cuisine. The results might surprise you.

The past year of our chef-to-chef challenge has included lobster guts, durian, sun-dried tomatoes, and pig uterus (some of it a little burned).

Homestead's Chris Teixeira survives a "death challenge" to arrive at a menu-ready cheese course with spice bread.

A chef whose mesmerizing creativity is deserving of fame? A drug addict in recovery who rightly eschews sobriety? A twentysomething memoirist whose brief history is worth your time? Or is he none of those things?

Can a new business increase the amount of local food we eat?

Braised, deep-fried, stir-fried—pig uterus has its merits.

Curtis Duffy's food weakens the knees, but his long-awaited restaurant isn't all the way there yet.

Other Searches