Drive Thru

Birds I View

2009-07-03T19:22:04Z

After high school, I moved to the Bay Area with visions of enrolling at UC Berkeley. An older cousin of mine lived there that played Alto Sax. The plan was that I would use his address and get into school as a California resident for dirt cheap tuition. Instead, I ended up playing music gigs with him full time, so while I went to Berkeley, I never "went" to Berkeley. I was 17 and it lasted until I was 23. The summer of love was a recent memory, Chez Panisse had just opened and we lived down the street from Patty Hearst when she got snatched by the S.L.A. In fact, we heard it going down. Across the bay, the Zodiac Killer was on the loose and Harvey Milk was in office. Quite a heady time for a ripe and impressionable manchild. Oakland is directly adjacent to Berkeley and one of my cousin Steve's favorite haunts was Lois the Pie Queen, a legendary soulfood restaurant that became my benchmark for all soulfood to come. The world champion Oakland A's would hang out there occasionally delivering lunch orders (Reggie Jackson and Vida Blue in particular) as would the Pointer Sisters, whose father had a church down the street that they sang at. All were welcome and treated like family, from neighborhood characters to local celebrities. Lois was bigger than life and radiated warmth as did her staff, mothers to all. Smothered pork chops, oxtails and greens, unreal fried chicken -- and then there were those namesake pies. So it was with slight apprehension that I stepped foot into West Side soul food restaurant Doggy's SS. Within moments I felt deja vu. A Lois-like vibe overcame me. To one side, older gentlemen discussed last Sunday's sermons, a waitress that was sweet, efficient and teasingly funny took orders and then there was the fried chicken. And what fried chicken it is. Lightly dredged in seasoned flour and crisp as a freshly printed $100 bill, memories of Lois' came flooding back to me. My taste buds were transported back to 1972. Cooked to order and worth the wait, the dark meat was moist, succulent, delicious... all of the above, coupled with the best mac and cheese I've experienced since the summer of '72. I could see Lois' enormous smile with every bite. "Is that good, sugar? Of course it's good, Lois made that just for you!" Or in this case, Doggy did. My work often causes me to be outside of Chicago for extended periods, sometimes six to nine months at a time. Eighty to 100 hour weeks are the norm and I sometimes find myself dreaming of home. Those dreams often turn to food and when they do, the Chicken Boti at Khan BBQ steals my nocturnal thoughts. Halal thigh meat is marinated in a spicy yogurt-chile riata, then skewered and lowered into a large tandoor oven until charred around the edges and cooked through. This relatively simple dish is more than the sum of its parts. I find myself missing this particular primitive form of BBQ more than anything else on my journeys. Upon returning home, it's one of the first must-haves of the many that inevitably follow. But wait... there's more. Not one, not two, but actually three noteworthy chicken dishes can be had at Khan BBQ. Besides the Chicken Boti, the broasted chicken is well spiced then crisped to almost orange in color and served bone-in. Frontier chicken with rice are small pieces of tandoori chicken, finished by mixing with rice pilaf and sautéing it on a large flat top grill. First rate all. Earthy daal palak (lentils and spinach), bhindi (okra and tomatoes) and goat champ (when available, which is close to never) are also among my favorite dishes here. Another standard on my round of "must stops" is Lao Sze Chuan in the Chinatown Mall, home to Chef Tony Hu's 3 Chili Chicken, aka "chicken crack". I'm usually there within 48 hours of touching down on Chicago terra. The crispy, spicy, sweet, salty nuggets of birdy goodness have a legion of devoted followers that can be heard ruminating on Chicagoland foodcentric internet culinary chat sites (LTHForum.com in particular) regaling the qualities of one batch of 3chilichix compared to a not-too-distant memory of chicken cracks gone by. While you're there, you can't go wrong checking out the Ma Pao tofu with $2 extra pork, the beef maw with tendon, the dry chili shrimp (shell on and completely edible) or the Pot Herb with minced pork. The menu which numbers more than 350 items can be daunting to peruse, but the above selections are tried and true. Most American restaurants try to cap that number in the high 20s. This is nearly 40 times that! I can just imagine the checklists and mis en place (prep) needed for service, let alone the knowledge, training and multiple techniques that the chefs must possess to produce all of the menu items. Impressive indeed. Tony is a sweetheart and the go-to godfather of food in Chinatown with three restaurants in the same mall (Lao Beijing and Lao Shanghai are also part of his fledgling empire). He's the real deal, trained at one of the most prestigious culinary schools in China, and presents his cuisine as authentically as he can in Chicago (i.e. not dumbed down for Western tastes, at least that's what he's told me in conversation). He's realized the true American dream with a combination of talent plus hustle bringing his deserved success. Early on, some or the waitstaff would actually tell you "no, you no like" if you ordered something too spicy or too authentic in their minds and would refuse to serve it to you. It's our good fortune that a few decidedly dedicated fans persisted and now you can pretty much order (and get) whatever you want. Usually. The host can be a bit of a hustler though, so watch that. About as far away that you can get from Chengdu, Tufano's Vernon Park Tap is an old school Italian American restaurant that excels at lemon chicken swathed in garlic and served over oven roasted potatoes. Opened in the '30s, Tufano's has been serving up hearty Southern Italian family style cuisine to generations of Chicagoans and is among the last of the near-extinct Little Italy businesses that the Circle Campus displaced. While serving our groaningly overloaded plates, our waitress insisted we'd over-ordered and conveniently forgot one of our entrees but gave us her giardinera recipe to ease our pain. I'll share it with you now: Pour white vinegar over cut peppers and thinly sliced celery while being strained. The proper utensil to mix it with is a wooden spoon and the amount of garlic is 1-2 whole smashed cloves in the bottom of the jar or bowl. A single leaf of "basilico covered in oil" on the top. And the mix of oil... approximately 75/25 vegetable to olive oil. Besides the lemon chicken, the eggplant Parmesan, most often relegated to cliché status in lesser hands, is exceptional. Wafer thin slices of fried eggplant multi layered with tart tomato sauce and gooey melted mozzarella cheese. Taste and smell being the most primitive of our senses, it was identical to what I remembered, even though it had been nearly 40 years since the last time I was there with my father as a child. Having been out of town more than 20 of those years, I'd just kind of forgotten about Tufano's, but now that I'm back home, it's on my current rotation once again. The corner of Argyle and Broadway may well be considered ground zero for duck lovers in Chicago. Working a particular brand of that old quack magic (got me in it's spell) a veritable pantheon of mother ducklove sits across the street from one another in the guise of Tank Noodle and Sun Wah BBQ. Pho Xe Tang, aka Tank, is home to Mi Vit Tiem (menu item #63) a fortifying great steaming bowl du duck. Quartered and roasted, a duck leg and thigh sits atop a complex broth redolent with star anise and loaded with thin egg noodles, shiitake mushrooms, cloud ear, some leafy greens and dried jujubes (think sweet and smokey). If you feel the need as I do, you may customize your soup with the pickled cabbage and chili oil on the table. Truly wonderful, particularly in winter during a snow storm viewed from behind their large panoramic windows facing the busy intersection. Sampling some last week in deference to this article, it worked just fine in the hot humidity as well. In addition, the wonderful texture of raw spring rolls with shrimp, mint and vermicelli rice noodles (#7B) are fresh and light. Served with an excellent dipping sauce garnished with ground peanuts, you'll be hard pressed not to automatically order them upon each visit. Another standout is "Bahn Xeo" (#12) or a coconut infused crisp rice crepe with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts, served with the requisite fresh mint, basil and cilantro with leaf lettuce to "do it yourself" wrap it with. With the accompanying mildly tangy sauce, it is for me, the best rendition of this dish on the street. Put it this way, I've been charged twice as much for half the quality elsewhere. Also, you've got to give them props on the name game, considering it's a Vietnamese restaurant with camouflage-shirted waiters. I suppose "Napalm" just wouldn't have been as appetizing. A few doors east of Broadway on the north side of Argyle is home to quite possibly the best Peking Duck in Chicago. Sun Wah BBQ. Family owned and operated for years, with the more recent involvement of the second generation daughters (Kelly and Laura Cheng) their foodie caché has risen considerably. Tech savvy and culinary school trained, the ladies use their talents and knowledge to upgrade what could be standard Cantonese fare and the internet to communicate with their customers, planning special themed dinners etc... which is how they came to feature this outstanding version of the Peking Duck experience with accoutrements. Good news is that the special that was, now permanently resides on the menu. Carved tableside by one of the sisters Cheng, the crisp whole duck is served with the requisite scallions and hoisin sauce. A pickled diakon salad served on the side is the perfect foil to the rich, unctuous motherducking meat. One innovation, though, is that they serve it with a fluffy, doughy sweet bun or "bao" as opposed to the standard mu shu pancake-like crepe. It should be noted that this is particularly inspired and is the only non-traditional aspect of the meal. The remaining carcass is then transported back to the kitchen to make a mild soup broth which appears at the table and is almost digestive in nature. Finally, duck fried rice is made with the remaining duck scraps. One of the best fried rice dishes I've ever enjoyed, it's delicious enough to order in its own right, but you're there for the whole experience so just sit back and enjoy it as your third course of this duck tour de force. All this is to be had for the ridiculously low price of $28, which easily serves three to four. Deal of deals for the duck of ducks. And if the mood strikes, supplement your duckstravaganza with some fried octopus whiskers, often available as a special. Just sayin... Lastly, speaking of duck fried rice dishes, an interesting variation on a theme has recently crossed my path and is worth noting. Thalia Spice, on Chicago Avenue just west of Halsted, is an ambitious "Asian Fusion Bistro." That tagline alone would normally send me running. What that usually means to me is nicer than ma and pa ambiance with standard dishes tweaked in some way by the house, often times not to our benefit, and that holds true here. In the proper hands, it can be stunning. Wolfgang Puck's groundbreaking Chinoise on Main in Santa Monica leaps to mind (overseen by my friend Chef Kazuto Matsuka during the golden years, 1984-90, before he left to open the original Buddha Bar in Paris). Or Suser Lee, ex of Toronto currently cooking/residing in NY. Masters of the genre with pretenders everywhere nipping at their heels. They've got nothing to worry about. The challenge is in finding those hands, which are few and far between. It was no surprise that the rest of the menu at Thalia Spice was a bit of a crapshoot, but this dish was by far the standout amongst the dozen or so that we sampled. Tom Yum fried rice with sliced duck breast. The spicy sour flavors of one of my all-time favorite Thai soups pairs well in this rendition, which substitutes rice for broth and duck for shrimp. It was innocuously listed on the menu as a side dish, but in an inspired move we added the duck and loved the results. I'm generally off put by molded rice presentations, preferring a more freeform effect. Be forewarned, they may initially resist if you order it that way, but your efforts will be rewarded if you persist. Just tell them they've made it that way for you before and they'll relent. A good meal is worth working for. Lois the Pie Queen 851 60th St., Oakland, CA 510-658-5616 Doggy's S.S. Soul Eatery 2815 W. Harrison St. 773-722-4037 Lao Sze Chuan 2172 S. Archer Ave. 312-326-5040 Tufano's Vernon Park Tap 1073 W Vernon Park Pl. 312-733-3393 Pho Xe Tang aka Tank Noodle 4953 N. Broadway 773-878-2253 Sun Wah BBQ 1132 W. Argyle St. 773-769-1254 Thalia Spice 833 W. Chicago Ave. 312-226-6020

About the Author

Alan Lake has been a professional chef for over 25 years and has won numerous awards, professional competitions and distinctions. He's mainly consulting now, setting up projects like kitchen design, menu development, hiring and training staff, research, etc. He's also been a professional musician most of his life and coined the term "Jazzfood" to describe his "solid technique based upon tasteful improvisational abilities" and views his food as he does his music.

New Beef in Town

2009-07-02T14:40:51Z

When you get invited to many a product launch or special event or opening, being part of the media can be pretty sweet. Just picture the event I was at last night: Have a glass of wine, listen to the nice jazz combo...and sink your teeth into the new Angus Third Pounder, McDonald's first new burger since the Big N' Tasty came on the scene in 2001. Yep, these new burgers are a big deal to McDonald's, so they had a nice little shindig at the 23 S. Clark St. location to celebrate the addition to the menu. I got to sample all three versions of the new burger, meet the chef behind the product, and rub elbows with Ronald McDonald. The burgers, which will be on menus for the next several months, are made of 1/3 pound of Angus beef and utilize ingredients that have never been on a McDonald's burger before, such as rings of red onions, crinkle cut pickles, bakery-style sesame seed rolls, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese. The burger comes in three versions: the Deluxe (mayo, mustard, tomato, red onion, pickles, and two slices of American cheese), the Bacon & Cheese (ketchup, mustard, red onion, pickles, three slices of bacon, and two slices of American cheese), and the Mushroom & Swiss (mayo, sauteed mushrooms, and two slices of Swiss cheese). Chef Dan Coudreaut, a classically trained chef who works in the Discovery portion of McDonald's test kitchens, is one of the brains behind this product. Coudreaut, who's been with the company since 2004, also brought you the Snack Wrap, the Asian and Southwestern Salads, and the McSkillet Burrito, among other products. After operators in California suggested the idea of a premium burger, Coudreaut and his team worked to come up with the best burger possible. "The quality of the Angus burger is what we're all about--what I'm all about," he said. The creation of this new burger started in 2007. The team came up with 25 versions of the burger, and through a lengthy process that involved executives in leadership, supply chain and operations to make sure the product could be made affordably, followed by extensive test marketing, they whittled it down to these three. Coudreaut said that after this initial nationwide run, the president of the company would decide whether or not to make the burger a permanent addition to the menu. Rodney Lubeznik, owner of this particular restaurant (and others in Chicago and Northwest Indiana), said, "We're very excited about the Angus burger." He explained that a lot of quality ingredients went into the product, that even the tomato slices were thicker than ones they normally used. "We will be able to offer new flavors and options to our customers," he said. OK, so it's nice to have a new flavor option, but how do these stack up? On Tuesday I had a Quarter Pounder with Cheese to get the flavor in my head and see how the new burgers would compare. First up was the Deluxe. To be quite honest, I didn't notice a whole lot that was different. Yes, the burger patty was a bit thicker, and the red onions stood out. I could tell that the pickles were a little more noticeable--a little crunchier than the usual McDonald's pickle. And the red onions added a sharper flavor than the standard onions. But overall? It wasn't much to write home about. Next I tried the Mushroom & Swiss. Here I could tell the difference in the flavor of the meat. Although your basic Quarter Pounder can really hit the spot, the Angus meat to me has more flavor to it and is a bit heartier, and you could taste it here. I also dug the mushroom and Swiss combo on the toppings--it paired nicely with the Angus. My only complaint was the mayo. Oh, taste-wise it was pretty good, but I'm in the camp where a little mayo goes a long way, and if the balance of mayo to swiss and mushrooms is heavy on the mayo, you start losing the mushroom flavor. Finally, I had the Bacon & Cheese. It has bacon. How could you go wrong? Seriously though, the bacon was plentiful, and it was nice and crispy. The bacon and Angus flavors complemented each other well, and you could taste the difference on the pickles and onions compare to McDonald's other burgers. This one was a real All-American burger. How do they compare on price? At this location, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese is $3.30. The Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese is $4.10. A Big Mac is $3.40. The Angus Third Pounder comes in at $3.99. Worth it? Yeah. You're getting a little more for your money--more meat, some really nice toppings, and I think it justifies the price difference. Overall, I'd say McDonald's should do well with this trio. For people who are tired of the same old fast food burgers, this gives them something really different to try. If you have a big stomach, the extra meat will fill you up. If you're not a big eater, you may not be able to finish the entire thing (I ate three-quarters of a sandwich and a small fry, and that was plenty for me). Still, if you find yourself at a McDonald's, give the Angus Third Pounder a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.

40s at the Fifty/50

2009-07-02T02:53:56Z

Many people celebrate Independence Day with cold beers and fireworks... The Fifty/50, for reasons known only to itself and its PR team, has decided to up the ante by celebrating the entire week leading up to Independence Day with that most storied American beer-product (beloved by NASCAR enthusiasts and hipsters alike!), the 40 ounce malt liquor. I strolled over for a sip of Colt45 earlier this week, served appropriately in a brown paper bag. I find Colt to be one of the better malt liquors out there, certainly putting King Cobra to shame, and $5 a bottle just seemed too good to pass up. But 40 ounces of just about anything gets difficult to drink down to the last dregs... And through, hrmm, experimentation conducted with the utmost scientific rigor, I can categorically tell you that two 40s is too many. (On a Monday night at any rate.) If you'd like to try your hand at the Fifty/50's week o' 40s -- no frat-party inspired duct tape required -- the party continues with hip hop, Cubs viewing (it is the Fifty/50, after all), an Olde English all-day party on the 4th, followed by a Schlitz hangover brunch on the 5th. I would advise steering clear of the Cheesy Cheese Balls on the menu -- never has a bar food been so structurally off-base, falling apart into clumpy half-melted strings as soon as you pick it up. People who have had a 40 and a half cannot gracefully contend with that kind of mess. But there's plenty of other good-looking grease on the menu to keep you properly fortified against all that barley. Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, let's hear it for those amber waves of grain.

I've Found the Best Eggs on the Planet

2009-07-02T00:23:51Z

And I'm sharing my find with you, dear Drive-Thru readers: Kress Apiary -- yes, the kindly honey seller at the Daley and Federal plaza farmers markets -- is selling grass-fed, sustainably raised eggs this year for $4. I bought my first dozen a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm hooked. So fresh are these eggs that my first batch was flecked with bits of hay. So stable are the whites that when I cracked two eggs into a small frying pan, they barely touched. So orange are the yolks that ... well, just take a look at that picture, which is entirely unenhanced. If you like eggs, you have a very, very good summer ahead of you.

Jumping the Menu at Taxim

2009-07-01T23:15:52Z

When I first spotted Taxim in Wicker Park, I noticed small and quaint tables tucked into a narrow storefront on a historic stretch of Milwaukee Avenue. The look made me think of a relaxing bistro - where you'd duck in off the street to sip a glass of wine and slowly eat a meal. But would anything on the menu be vegan? That's not a question I like to ask when I don't want to turn away. This was a place I wanted to try for its captivating appearance alone. With a little gentle asking, perhaps they'd do something vegan for me and a friend. This was few months ago. I promptly gave Taxim a try - and then filed away my review without posting it. I'd been waiting for resolution on a simple detail - how to describe the seating in their window. It turned out to be, apparently, Turkish folding tray tables. Here are my first impressions from that April evening. I asked what the kitchen recommended for vegan. None of the main courses on the evening I visited were vegan. Our server was quick to suggest putting together six of the meze (appetizers) from the evening's menu. There would be slight modifications, but they could easily be prepared vegan. She suggested we take two items at a time for three courses, which was more than enough food, and quite a diverse selection. One of the staff called my friend and I the "nicest vegans." What does that mean to me? Kitchens seem quite willing to accommodate, just as long as you ask nicely. From the cold menu (Visited on April 10. Menu dated April 9): Rokasalata: baby arugula, red cress, lemon-mint vinaigrette, without the cheese. This tasted brilliantly peppery, with just the right amount of arugula. Revithia: pureed chickpeas, garlic, and lemon. Think of a very savory hummus that's garnished with sautéed fresh green chickpeas, which give a nice crunch. Piperies: roasted seasonal peppers, very tender. Served with capers, garlic confit, minus cheese. Olives: house-marinated Kalamata olives... full of salty flavor, like any good Kalamata should be, and served in a bit of oil. From the hot menu: Faki: Greek green lentil soup and a balsamic reduction, without the feta. The balsamic was subtle, and the soup was more thick than liquid. A fork served just fine. The lentils were nicely tender and well seasoned. Bamies: baby okra, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh coriander and olive oil. The okra was best eaten right away, while it was still piping hot. The heat amplified the fresh green flavor of the tiny okra. Taxim, 1558 N. Milwaukee Ave., (773) 252-1558. El: Blue to Damen/Milwaukee. Bus: 50 Damen, 56 Milwaukee, 72 North.

Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Culinary Arts

2009-07-01T19:03:23Z

The Vilcek Foundation is giving chefs and artisans that are under 38 years old and were born outside of the United States a shot at $25,000. The Foundation aims to award culinary professionals who have made notable contributions to the field at an early stage in their career. The Vilcek Foundation honors the contributions of foreign-born scientists and artists living and working in the United States by focusing attention on the extraordinary drive, talent, and ingenuity new generations of immigrants bring to our culture, arts, and sciences. Applications and more information are available on the Vilcek Foundation website. Applications are due July 31st.

Growing Good (for Some)

2009-07-01T06:24:17Z

If you'll recall, two Drive-Thru readers won our Grogood-sponsored Earth Day contest, which gave them free growing supplies to start their home gardens. Each winner pledged to give away some of their bounty to a needy charity.

We wanted to give you some updates on how well they're doing: Jennifer's basil is creeping along nicely, and Erin's tomato and squash plants also look pretty swell. I had some difficulty finding places that would take homegrown produce donations, but Erin dug deeper and found that the kitchen at First Slice will happily receive the fruits of her (and your!) gardening labors. I also received a Grogood kit and have not been as lucky due to the partial sunlight that plants get in my apartment: I made the mistake of miscalculating sun needs and also trying to grow plants from seeds. My basil and green onion barely survived the germination stage, but the green bean seeds took off; however, I need to move them to a permanent, sunnier home. The plants are starting to wilt--perhaps due to overwatering or the realization that they're in the dark for half the day. Refusing failure, I'm donating them to Editor Andrew's backyard in the hopes that they'll rebound from their miserable beginnings. May the beans grow stronger than my gardening knowledge.

Minimalist Meals @ Chicago's Newest Restaurants

2009-06-30T21:21:04Z

Today in a post on Gourmet.com, David Tamarkin points out that new Chicago restaurants like The Publican and Nightwood are taking a "less is more" approach. He predicts that the end is near for molecular gastronomy and finds the more minimalist dishes he's been tasting to be a refreshing change.

Bingo is the New Soup and Bread

2009-06-30T19:05:26Z

If you liked the wildly successful Soup and Bread series at the Hideout from earlier this year, then you'll love Veggie Bingo, which brings together bingo and food--a weekly event where participants play the venerable old-school game and win locally made or grown prizes such as a jar of honey, a bar of soap...and the grand prize being a box of produce from Irv and Shelley's (whoa!). Event runs Wednesdays beginning July 8 through September 9 from 6-8pm at the Hideout, 1354 West Wabansia; cards are $1 each (six for $5) and can be purchased onsite. Hot dogs and tofu pups will be served, so all your early evening needs will be met. All proceeds benefit NeighborSpace.

Base Eatin'

2009-06-29T15:24:43Z

Join the Chicago Foodways Roundtable for a tour of (and lunch at) the Naval Culinary School at the Great Lakes Naval Station next Wednesday, July 8. You'll get a tour of the School, which runs a thirty-day training program for students that covers kitchen basics and emergency response skills. Graduates go on to cook on U.S. Navy ships, so get a whiff of their skills before they sail off into the culinary horizon. Event runs 11am-1pm. Tour is free, lunch is $4.25, and RSVP required. Parking is available, and the Base is across the street from the Metra North Chicago station (off the Kenosha Line). Call (847) 432-8255 or email to reserve your space.

New York ♥ Chicago Microbrews

2009-06-27T12:36:03Z

Chicago's "new wave of microbrews" is highlighted in the travel section of this Sunday's New York Times. Metropolitan and Half Acre both get shout outs, as well as the venerable institutions where their beers are sold, such as the Hop Leaf and the Map Room.

Perfuming Garlic and Soft Pesto

2009-06-27T00:02:39Z

I smelled roasted garlic perfuming the air on my bicycle ride home today as I passed an Italian restaurant. Perhaps the hot and balmy weather intensified the aroma. I stopped of for some garlic and went to my kitchen. Sautéed, minced garlic goes brilliantly with pesto mixed into any kind of pasta. But I used fiocchetti - a type of pasta that, because of its small size, leaves more surface area to soak up sauce. I was fortunate that a few friends brought this pesto by for me last weekend. It was creamy and soft, with a rich oily basil flavor, which I'd been previously enjoying on bread. The pesto was, above all other ingredients, the star.

Farewell to strawberries

2009-06-26T14:46:00Z

You'll see strawberries at the farmers markets this weekend, but late June means the end of the season. Soon, cherries and blueberries will take their place at the farmstand table. Peaches will follow in a few weeks. This week, I staged my own slightly boozy farewell to strawberry season by setting wild strawberries atop pastry cream that had been spiked with Cointreau, an orange-flavored liqueur. For an even simpler preparation, consider soaking sliced berries with a sprinkling of sugar and a few splashes of Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Serve atop shortcake. I'm also a fan of The Rustic Kitchen's recipe for Strawberry Bourbon Sauce. Poured over ice cream, it's an excellent answer to our early summer heatwave. Daniel Shumski works for an orchard and blogs at Fruit Slinger. Follow him on Twitter.

BBQ Explained

2009-06-26T05:10:19Z

If you read our recent review of new cookbook Low and Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons, in which LTH Forum founder Gary Wiviott explains the art of making the best BBQ around, you will drop your plans for this Saturday morning and head to Kendall College, where Wiviott (and food writer Colleen Rush) will walk you through the delicate process of cooking some good meat. Event is sponsored by Culinary Historians of Chicago, and begins at 10am at 900 North Branch Street; $3 admission (free for Kendall students and faculty), and there's free parking. RSVP required via email or phone (847) 432-8255.

Eating Out in the Backyard

2009-06-26T02:53:15Z

It's economical, ecological, and environmentally-friendly. In many cases, it's downright delicious. And there is a chance that you could die. This seems to be the main thesis of the new "field-to-kitchen guide," Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States, by Joe McFarland and Gregory M. Mueller. In describing this book's place on my summer reading list, I've met it with laughter, incredulity, and one very frank text message: "Oh Jesus, when you put it in writing, a book about mushrooms sounds like one of the most boring things ever." I can gladly report that this has not in fact been my experience with Edible Mushrooms (the book, not the act itself. Yet). This has been helped in small part by pages upon pages of glossy mushroom photos and an entire chapter of recipes -- the carrot at the end of the mushroom stick. But the writing itself is the real key. A far cry from the guidebooks of my childhood, which were passed around reverently from the outdoors of Indiana to northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula to identify birds, bugs and trees (we were a nature-friendly family), this particular guide seems to have been written with the express intention of being actually read. Field guides often seem more like the lifeworks of graduation biology students with telephoto lenses and no ability to make small talk. McFarland and Mueller, happily, seem like they might be fun at a party. Not a bad claim for mycologists. Rife with earnest yet sweetly sarcastic commentary, the book addresses common mushroom beauty queens like morels and chanterelles with slightly irreverent, if knowing tips. The "Big Questions" of morel hunting are gently mocked, and then fully answered: where to find them, when they'll appear, how to console oneself when returning from the forest empty-handed. Chanterelles' desirability is questioned, but the multitudinous varieties are still generously described and pictured, including less-common Red Chanterelles, a "colorful escape from salad boredom." Far from taking a militant position on the enjoyment of wild mushrooms, the authors indeed seem to shed perhaps a bit more light on why so many folks just don't dig the fungi. Mushrooms, it seems, affect different people in different ways -- while some gourmands may not experience any reaction beyond an errant yummy noise, others may end up a bit nauseous from their mushroom meal, even when eating the exact same specimens. Less consciously perhaps, their detailed description of what exactly mushrooms are and do in the greater ecology of our yards and forests also veers into the off-putting. Mycelium, spores, fungal threads that can extend invisibly for miles...shudder. As so often happens with a microscopic inspection of what we eat, it all gets just a little gross. Perhaps in response to this squeamishness, McFarland and Mueller seem to encourage experimentation before you rule out foraging for fungi altogether. As they put it, "People should try a few different species of mushrooms in their life before deciding they don't like mushrooms. It's like being opposed to music based on a specific hatred of the zither." However, given their colorful descriptions of the various forms of gastrointestinal distress caused by eating a misidentified mushroom (referring to the Green-Spored Lepiota as a "stomach-wrenching terror found on front lawns everywhere"), it's made perfectly clear that short of death, careless mushroom-hunting can still get ugly -- and that our guides may have thrown themselves onto the front lines in service of this discovery. Not including the highly concerned Preface and page entitled "Do Not Ignore This Warning," followed by a skull and crossbones image, the first 31 pages of the book are a treatise on your possible mushroom-related death. Blessedly, things lighten up from there as imaginative descriptions, basic facts and photo after photo of mushrooms spill out from the book. The range of mushroom names alone conjures up a lively menagerie of creatures and colors. Some names belie their edibility, like Oyster, Hen-of-the-Woods, Cauliflower, Honey mushrooms. Even the Wood Ear and Boar's Head sound vaguely edible. Many names mask surprising flavors, such as the Lion's Mane mushroom, which boasts a supposedly sweet, crab or lobster-like flavor. Or Pheasant's Back, whose speckled appearance recalls the plumage of an Asian pheasant, but whose aroma is more reminiscent of watermelon rind. Or the Lobster Mushroom, which isn't a mushroom at all but rather an evidently tasty colonizing "parasitic infection" (gah) that simply transforms a plainer host. What a fascinating world to have uncovered right here in our collective backyard. McFarland and Mueller also provide guidance on where to find your own shrooms. Not surprisingly, your back yard is fair game. If you're like me and your "back yard" is the tar-sealed roof of your landlord's garage, this may be a more challenging undertaking. Don't assume that the neighborhood park is the next viable option--or even the Cook County Forest Preserve. While the book includes an entire chapter entitled "Let's Eat," and populated with both mushroom preservation details as well as recipes from a broad variety of Illinois restaurants, I wish that the mushrooms' descriptions had included as much information about each specimen's taste, texture and cooking options as they offer on habitat, stem appearance and spore color. Though the section on creating crucially important spore prints did seem like an interesting arts and crafts project (which could also keep you from dying!), it seems like an edible mushroom guide could have at least as much time on mushroom stamps as on what exactly makes these fungi worth eating. Overall, Edible Mushrooms is fun enough for a summer beach read and more than informative enough to keep in your backpack the next time you're on a walk in the woods. Just remember--even with McFarland and Mueller's humor and guidance, you still could die...