“The Eternal Pleasures of Diner Coffee” (Chicago Magazine)
“The ritual of diner coffee is tantric. It is the sighing of the foam and vinyl upholstery as you sit down, its glitter-flecked luster fading to an odd green-gold in the sun. It is the clatter of cheap silverware, the click of a saucer on Formica, the squeak of a bolted-down stool. It is the indelicate slosh of the unrequested refill that completely throws off your internal caffeination calculus.”
“A Beer for Chicago History Geeks” (Chicago Magazine)
“When it debuted in early July, the Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. was at once the oldest and newest beer maker in Chicago … [it delivers] a certain sense of historical comfort, as if to say: “We made it through Prohibition, so we can make it through this.”
“The Lutefisk’s Mysterious Allure”
(Chicago Magazine)
“It’s just after 11 a.m. in a church basement in DeForest, Wisconsin, and I am face to face with one of the whitest plates of food I’ve seen in my life. I have tracked down the holiday dinner of my childhood, lutefisk—a jiggling, odd-smelling fish with the consistency of Jell-O, drenched in butter and nestled on a bed of whipped potatoes. Oh, brother, have I found it.”
“Trending: Poutine” (Time Out Chicago)
“The hot mess that is poutine—traditionally a plate of french fries tossed with cheese curds and covered with a brown gravy—has been turning up on bar menus and high-end tables all over the city. Which leads us to the question: Is this a joke? “It’s a great joke,” says Craig Fass, owner of the Bad Apple. “It’s so sinful, it should be wrong.””
Get Your Kicks on Route … 64? (Chicago Magazine)
“While the 139-mile patch of concrete known as Route 64 doesn’t have the same star power as Route 66—and as a terminus Savanna lacks the luster of Los Angeles—if you want to get the full flavor of the Land of Lincoln, you can do no better than a day’s drive out 64.”
“Junk Food: Culinary Desires of Seven All-Star Chefs” (Chicago Magazine)
“It’s easy to imagine Chicago’s finest chefs slaving away over a hot stove with truffle oil in hand and foie gras at the ready. But when they get off work, many are just like the rest of us, which is to say: They eat junk.”
“A Beer-And-Cheese Road Trip Across Wisconsin” (Make It Better)
“A well-aged cheddar, a creamy brie, a funky bleu or a perfectly fried curd. If that doesn’t have you halfway out the door and headed north to one of Wisconsin’s many cheesemakers and creameries already, how about pairing it with a beer from one of the Badger State’s many craft breweries? Sounds like a road-trip-worthy experiment to us.”
“Graduate to Grown Up Ramen” (Time Out Chicago)
“As college students step into adulthood this time of year, we’re pushing for them to leave those Maruchan ramen noodle packets behind on the hot plate and study the city’s more elevated ramen scene.”