Rachel Dickens – In Good Taste

The Picnic Chronicles: Three Summer Picnic Picks

Rachel Dickens — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:00:44 +0000

The long-overdue return of summer brings along tons of exciting things: the resurgence of patio dining, the excuse to indulge in state fair funnel cake and of course, picnics under the stars. In Chicago, that means a trip up the Metra to the outdoor concert venue we all know as Ravinia. Ravinia’s BYOB, BYOFood and BYOBlanket policy separates it from other local venues and skyrockets it to quintessential Chicago summer status. While you’ll need to remember a great blanket, disposable dinnerware and a cooler, we’re more interested in what goes inside your Ravinia picnic basket. We love the ideas that our friend Eric Steigelman from Bonfire Wines shared on WGN, so we decided to add three more recommendations for a picnic you won’t forget: For your drink fix: Stiegel Radler + Letherbee Gin A bottle (or two) of wine might be a Ravinia standby, but how about a drink that hits you over the head with summer vibes? The Stiegel Grapefruit Radler has been around for years, but a recent revival in all-things vintage and canned has put this grapefruit beer back on the Windy City map. Pair it with a shot from the equally delicious and sleek Letherbee gin flask for the perfect picnic […]

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Chicago: Sticky Bun Bread Pudding at Publican

Rachel Dickens — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 05:00:00 +0000

The last time I wrote about Publican, it was in the middle of a rant about One Off Hospitality’s impeccable taste in hand soap. While I still stand by those claims 100 percent, I’m also ready to recognize another of the many things that makes the Fulton-Market meat haven so great – their Sticky Bun Bread Pudding. I went to Publican this week expecting to eat more carnivorously than I would at a Texas Roadhouse – and spoiler alert – I totally did that. But no matter how tender my steak was (read: very), or how savory the pork belly tasted, I was more than ready for dessert come meal’s end. And my eyes gravitated to those four little words without a second guess. Aside from a mouth-watering lineup of maple-cream anglaise and spiced pecans, the Sticky Bun Bread Pudding has one major aspect going for it. Described on the menu as “family-style,” it comes in a cast-iron pan larger than my actual head. This thing could feed a family of sweet-toothed elves, and I don’t think they’d complain for a minute. The pudding itself is easily pulled apart with a fork, but it still maintains that requisite dusting of […]

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Chicago: Truffle Cream Gnocchi at Siena Tavern

Rachel Dickens — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 05:00:57 +0000

I discovered cooking when I was a junior in college. It was the first time I’d had my own kitchen (albeit one I shared with three friends), and my skill set widened quickly from instant ramen and mac and cheese to ramen, mac and cheese and – you guessed it – pasta. But here’s the thing. As soon as I started making noodles that didn’t involve a flavor packet, I got really into sauce. And since I’ve never been one to stop at just one form of dairy, my favorite from-scratch sauces were always, always, always cream based. Let’s put it this way – if Ferris Bueller can pose as the Sausage King of Chicago, I’m undoubtedly the Cream Sauce Champion of the Northern Hemisphere. And last week, I tried a bowl of truffle-cream gnocchi that took my expertise to the next level. Fabio Viviani (of Top Chef fame)’s 10,000 square-foot, River North eatery has been a key player in Chicago’s insane Italian dining scene this past year. The menu’s affordable – especially for the area – and portions plentiful, but the best part is undoubtedly the unreal pasta-dumpling hybrid I just mentioned. Viviani, who’s notoriously confident about his recipe, pairs […]

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Chicago: Kao Soy at Andy’s Thai Kitchen

Rachel Dickens — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 05:00:59 +0000

My love for Asian food is hardly a secret. I’ve written about it too many times to count, I talk about it most days and if you’re ever curious re: my whereabouts, chances are I’m not-so patiently awaiting an order of Angry Crab at Kai Zan. Following that logic, the idea of me choosing a favorite Asian restaurant is inherently flawed, but thanks to a recent dinner, I can tell you confidently about my favorite noodle dish in the city of Chicago and probably also on the planet. ATK’s Kao Soy makes the distinction easy. Side note: I’m still not sure whether I’m supposed to call this place “Andy’s Thai Kitchen” or an acronym of the same, but I do know their food is out of this world, with Kao Soy noodles topping the list. Here’s why: It embodies all the great things about curry (subtle coconut vibe, deep heat without the tip-of-the-tongue spice, fortifying flavor that seeps into noodles) without any of the less-than-desirable things about curry (decadent ad nauseum, overuse of peanut sauce). Solid balance of protein, red onion and sauce, because nothing’s worse than a weird vegetable in your noodle dish for what I can only imagine […]

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Chicago: Street Food Feast Platter at Tanta

Rachel Dickens — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 05:00:13 +0000

Remember those 2 a.m. nights during college when you knew you wanted something to eat, but you couldn’t decide for the life of you whether to order pizza, Chinese, a sandwich or all three?Well, apparently Gastón Acurio understands that dilemma better than most. At his newest hotspot, Tanta, you’ll find an expansive menu with some of the city’s most flavorful and comforting new dishes (looking at you, Chaufa Aeropuerto). But out of everything I tried during my recent dinner at the River-North restaurant, I had the most fun with the aptly named Street Food Feast. Why? Simple, I got to try a little bit of everything. Also, it was all fried. True to form, the feast comes on a massive platter with four decadent menu items: empanadas (so savory and flaky that I nearly asked for extras); antichuchos, or beef skewers dressed in chimichurri, corn and huacatay; Peruvian potatoes with creamy huancaina sauce; and my personal favorite, Pan con Chicharron. These were similar to pork-belly sliders, but I’m convinced they’re a creation that exists solely to ruin all other types of food for me and anyone else who eats them. All four selections come in twos, which is the best […]

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