Riccardo Trattoria is one of the first restaurants Cheryl and I went to in Chicago. She was doing her business school summer internship here and I came for a weeklong visit (my first trip ever to Chicago). Knowing Chicago was a great culinary city I did some research. I wanted to take her to aContinue reading “Riccardo Trattoria”
Tag Archives: Chicago
Top Chef Episode 11 – Snow White and the Seven Chefs
YES! The best episode of the season! Amazing what can happen when the chefs are given free rein. They were really impressive this week. I mean even the ones who I’ve been slagging off on turned in some pretty impressive performances. The quickfire was pretty good and the elimination challenge was really interesting. Glad thatContinue reading “Top Chef Episode 11 – Snow White and the Seven Chefs”
Eater 38 – Sun Wah Bar-B-Que
Last Friday we were sitting at home trying to figure out what to do for dinner and my phone rang. It was Erik (of last Sunday dinner’s Erik and Jen) and he was wondering the same thing. He mentioned they had reserved a duck at Sun Wah and could up the reservation from 2 peopleContinue reading “Eater 38 – Sun Wah Bar-B-Que”
Kitchen essentials – Demi-glace
Still back home visiting but I crafted this entry before leaving when I realized the only “essential” I’ve mentioned is truffle salt. If you’ve read any of Anthony Bourdain’s books you know he is a big proponent of demi-glace. Traditionally it’s made with veal stock and sauce espagnole and reduced. Making some can be aContinue reading “Kitchen essentials – Demi-glace”
Ora Sushi – Restaurant Review
Sushi. I find that you’re either a sushi person or you’re not. You can never convince someone to like sushi who isn’t down with eating raw fish. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. In fact I like it that way. Because of this, sushi is never a “trendy” thing like cupcakes orContinue reading “Ora Sushi – Restaurant Review”
Top Chef Episode 5 – Come on, let’s get going here
So far I’ve been pretty unimpressed with the season. The challenges haven’t been all that exciting and the chefs aren’t dazzling very much. Not to mention there’s barely any drama among them. These guys are so blah the show can’t even edit in good drama to make it seem like there’s tension. We really haven’tContinue reading “Top Chef Episode 5 – Come on, let’s get going here”
Strudel – The Old Fashioned Way!
Way back in October Cheryl and I attended a hands-on strudel making demonstration at Dank Haus (German-American cultural center here in Chicago). When we lived in Washington DC Cheryl used to get strudel from Heidelberg Pastry Shop in Arlington (they’d also have grilled sausages on the weekends which were great after my men’s league soccerContinue reading “Strudel – The Old Fashioned Way!”
Eater 38 – Maude’s Liquor Bar
This week the Eater 38 club took a stab at another one of Chicago Eater’s “Eater 38” restaurants. The choice: Maude’s Liquor Bar. Not only is Maude’s on the Eater 38 List but it’s also on the newest Michelin Bib Gourmand list, so I was a little excited about it. Unfortunately that excitement wore offContinue reading “Eater 38 – Maude’s Liquor Bar”
Chicago Michelin Guide – Nope, Zero Stars for Next
Michelin Guide is out. Nope, no star for Next. Chef Achatz will have to be content with his 3 stars for Alinea. Not surprised actually though. Why the snub? Who knows. There’s been some speculation lately that Next wouldn’t get a star because the menu is always changing and you could have entirely different mealsContinue reading “Chicago Michelin Guide – Nope, Zero Stars for Next”
Eater 38 – The Purple Pig
A couple of weekends ago Cheryl and I had another opportunity to dine at one of Chicago Eater’s “Eater 38” restaurants. We had some friends visiting from DC who were staying downtown so we recommended going to The Purple Pig. It’s on Michigan just north of the river which is enough to make you thinkContinue reading “Eater 38 – The Purple Pig”
The Roaming GastroGnome 