The Stew

Three Chinese restaurants sweeten their acts

leisureblogs — 2009-07-09T15:41:27-05:00

Posted by Bill Daley at 3:40 p.m. I don’t know what’s going on out there in Chinese restaurant-land but three – three! – different operations sent out press releases offering new incentives for customers in the space of three –...

'Top Chef' to premiere in August

leisureblogs — 2009-07-08T12:05:57-05:00

Posted by Joe Gray at 12:05 p.m. CDT After three straight seasons of local chefs to root for on "Top Chef," no Chicagoans will be among the contestants when the sixth season of the cooking competition show premieres Aug. 26....

More things to ban from restaurant menus: The readers speak

leisureblogs — 2009-07-07T12:09:52-05:00

Posted by Phil Vettel at 12 p.m. The Tribune recently ran a snarky bit on terms that should be banned from restaurant menus (full disclosure: I contributed), from "cooked to perfection" to "Kobe beef" (when not specifically referencing beef from...

So you're stuck with one last ticket at the Taste of Chicago. What to do?

leisureblogs — 2009-07-03T10:06:21-05:00

Posted by Kevin Pang at 10:00 a.m. It happens every year. You leave the Taste of Chicago stuck with one extra ticket. What to do? Kevin Pang with a CLTV Special Investigation/Watchdog Unit report.

Ming & Bayless together again on-air

leisureblogs — 2009-07-02T16:30:08-05:00

Posted by Bill Daley at 4:40 p.m. Just in case you can’t get enough of chefs Rick Bayless, left, and Ming Tsai, right, together, cooking, bantering and jokin’ around in Chicago, tune into the digital public television channel, WTTW Prime,...

Always something new from Ina

leisureblogs — 2009-07-02T11:42:01-05:00

Posted by Bill Daley at 11:24 a.m. Just received the monthly newsletter from Ina's restaurant. I love the newsletter because there's always something interesting in it beyond upcoming events at the 1235 W. Randolph St. eatery. You can pick up...

Many restaurants plan to take July 4 off

leisureblogs — 2009-07-02T10:17:15-05:00

Posted by Phil Vettel at 10:10 a.m. You'd think that, in a slow economy with every dollar counting, no restaurant would dare take July 4 off. Yes, it's a national holiday, but it's also a Saturday, one of the two...

First Bite: Angus Third Pounders, McDonald's first new burgers since 2001

leisureblogs — 2009-07-01T18:19:33-05:00

Posted by Kevin Pang, Cheeseburger Bureau Chief, 6:30 p.m. CDT When McDonald’s adds a new burger to its permanent menu, our nation perks its nose because it doesn’t happen often. So to call its Angus Third Pounders—introduced nationwide Thursday—the “Chinese...

First Bite: Nightwood

leisureblogs — 2009-07-01T14:52:35-05:00

Posted by Chris Borrelli at 3:10 p.m. Nightwood (2119 S. Halsted St.; 312-526-3385), the warm new restaurant from Jason Hammel and Amalea Tshilds of Logan Square's eternally popular Lula Cafe, comes up fast and unexpected — a dark wood box...

Dunkin' Donuts makes a temporary salmonella-based recall

leisureblogs — 2009-07-01T08:56:19-05:00

Posted by Chris Borrelli at 8:48 a.m. Figures, right? On the one day in July when you might actually consider buying a hot chocolate at a Dunkin' Donuts in Chicago -- brrrr -- the New England-based chain has temporarily stopped...

The latest Williams-Sonoma gadget you didn't know you needed

leisureblogs — 2009-06-29T18:22:52-05:00

Posted by Phil Vettel at 6:20 p.m. CDT Let me preface this by saying I love Williams-Sonoma. I can get lost for hours in their stores, staring enviously at their pots and pans and other way-upscale kitchen equipment. But Williams-Sonoma...

Taste of Chicago mini guide for allergenistas

leisureblogs — 2009-06-29T18:20:38-05:00

Posted by Monica Eng at 6:20 p.m. For folks with food allergies, street festivals like the Taste of Chicago can present a minefield of potential culinary dangers. To help reduce the uncertainty, the Web site Lisa Cooks Allergen Free polled...

Fruit gazpacho a tasty street soup

leisureblogs — 2009-06-26T19:28:05-05:00

Posted by Monica Eng at 7:30 p.m. While my colleagues have been hitting Taste of Chicago for their street food, I'm enjoying my first year off that assignment in ages. Instead, last night I grabbed fruit gazpacho — a street...

Taste of Chicago - Of meatball and forks

leisureblogs — 2009-06-26T17:59:26-05:00

Posted by Chris Borrelli at 6:00 p.m. CDT Today begins Taste of Chicago, and if you are like most people within 100 miles of Chicago, you fall into one of two camps. You have either spent the winter sewing more...

Taste of Chicago: More critical musings

leisureblogs — 2009-06-26T17:48:23-05:00

Posted by Phil Vettel at 5:50 p.m. I am absolutely loving Taste's new layout. Pushing the food and corporate booths to the extreme edges of Columbus Drive has resulted in a wide, easily navigable pedestrian area in the middle. And...

Taste of Chicago: More "mmm" for your buck

leisureblogs — 2009-06-26T17:03:04-05:00

Posted by Michelle Ye Hee Lee With so many options for the taste portions at Taste, we tried a few to see if they’re really worth the tickets based on the portion and taste. Here are some of the good,...

Go vegetarian at Taste? Yes we did.

leisureblogs — 2009-06-26T16:54:20-05:00

Posted by Lauren Viera at 5 p.m. As the sole vegetarian representative of the Trib's Taste-test crew, I was skeptical: Would there be anything for me there? Would the scent of fried meat on a stick follow me everywhere I...

Taste of Chicago: A few good values

leisureblogs — 2009-06-26T16:35:04-05:00

Posted by Chris Borrelli at 4:30 p.m. This may strike you as deadingly obvious -- but standing out there in Grant Park in the sun, and clenching your fist full of tickets and getting dizzy and starting to wonder why...

Achatz latest book deal: A memoir mixing cuisine, cancer battle

leisureblogs — 2009-06-26T12:31:57-05:00

Updated by Judy Hevrdejs at 12:15 p.m. Alinea's Grant Achatz just sold his book proposal, tentatively titled "Life, On the Line," to Gotham Books according to the NYT's Diner's Journal. And he recently won a prestigious James Beard award for...