chicago restaurants – In Good Taste

Where to Dine Gluten-Free in Chicago Restaurants

Maris Callahan — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 01:50:43 +0000

Last month, my cousin Kristin came to visit Brad and me for a weekend. She goes to University of Alabama and because she grew up in New York City, was clearly craving an urban adventure in the Midwest. Even though we’re about 15 years apart and didn’t grow up together, Kristin and I are so similar in so many ways. One of those ways is that we both love, love, love to eat. Usually, I have a go-to laundry list of restaurants to take out of town visitors. It includes deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati’s, tacos at Big Star, classic Italian food at Club Lago, Chicago-style hot dogs at Portillo’s, the list goes on and on. This trip was a little trickier because Kristin was diagnosed with celiac disease a few years ago, so she eats a gluten-free diet. When Kristin booked her ticket, I did some research to find restaurants with gluten-free menus or gluten-free options in Chicago. I thought it was going to be challenging, but it turned out that we were able to go to many of my favorite restaurants and make only minor modifications to our orders. It’s hard to believe that we fit this much eating into one weekend, but […]

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Where to Get the Best Fried Chicken in Chicago

Maris Callahan — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 03:52:22 +0000

This past fall, I began writing for Chef Magazine, a trade publication for chefs and foodservice professionals. My most recent story ‘Let’s Play Chicken‘ was about some the ways that chefs across the country are putting their own spin on the ubiquitous bird (hint: a lot of them are partial to fried chicken). I interviewed a lot of chefs and researched a lot of cooking techniques and two things were very apparent: even though chicken is one of the easiest things to cook at home, people love to order it in restaurants, and wow do people really love chicken when it’s fried. Growing up, there was a fast food joint in my hometown called Chicken Holiday, where you could order chicken to feed a family of four for under $10. I’m pretty sure that Chicken Holiday would fry anything that could be fried — shrimp, clams, scallops — but my family was usually partial to the blue and white striped buckets with chicken breasts, thighs and drumsticks. There was also a robust side dish menu that in retrospect, was a fat kid’s dream: crinkle-cut French fries, corn fritters, cheesy broccoli, macaroni and cheese, dinner rolls. If my current preferences are any indication, […]

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Chicago: Tacos & Ceviche at Cantina 1910 – NOW CLOSED

Maris Callahan — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 05:00:29 +0000

Located in Andersonville, Cantina 1910 is a Mexican restaurant that merges the diverse cuisine of Mexico with the bounty of Midwestern farms and producers to innovate traditional Mexican dishes. Do you like to visit restaurants when they first open, or do you like to give them some times to iron out the kinks, perfect the service and tweak their menus? Even though there is definitely an excitement to getting a table at a hot new restaurant the week it opens, I’m on Team Wait. I like to read reviews, hear feedback from friends and know what I’m getting into before I eat someplace. Of course, there are exceptions, but I’ve also been to far too many openings where I was so excited to eat amazing food at a new spot in town only to be hugely disappointed in the experience. In the past month or so, I’ve been to two much hyped spots within weeks of their openings. At one, the food was hugely disappointing and at the other, the service was awful. Both had potential to be far better, so I wonder if had we waited longer to try each restaurant, we’d have had a better experience. Even so, I hesitate to […]

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How-To: Make the Perfect Spice Rub for Barbecue Ribs

Maris Callahan — Thu, 22 May 2014 14:13:59 +0000

Though a lot of people think the world’s best barbecue is in Kansas City, we found the secret to the best spice rub in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood at Old Crow Smokehouse. Chef Tony Scruggs is a self-taught chef who received national recognition and celebrity-status throughout his home of Kankakee County after a stint on the Fox Network’s MasterChef Season 2. “You don’t need to have gourmet ingredients to create a gourmet meal,” says Scruggs, who spends time on his own farm foraging for mushrooms and growing his own herbs. “The best ingredients are one you grow, raise, or harvest from the wild yourself.” Scruggs developed an interest in cooking at an early age, helping his Sicilian-born grandmother in the kitchen, and spending his summers steaming crabs at a crab house and marina in Maryland as a teen. His career as a steel hauler/truck driver furthered his interest in food, in particular barbecue, as his territory was in the barbecue-loving states of Tennessee and Arkansas. While driving, he regularly ate at barbecue shacks, and began perfecting his own style of ‘cue back home in Illinois. It wasn’t long before he began entering county and state competitions, racking up numerous awards and honors. In 2011 he […]

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Butternut and Acorn Squash Ravioli at Trattoria No. 10

Maris Callahan — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 05:00:52 +0000

I used to pass Trattoria No. 10, an Italian restaurant in Chicago’s theater district, every day on my way to work. Located below street level, this charming place has a cozy and comfortable vibe, just as appealing for a business dinner as it would be girls’ night out. Because the white linens and fresh flowers seemed a little too classy and elegant for my freshly-graduated budget, I brought my family when they came for a visit (how convenient for me). The small plates or “piattini” menu features fresh salads and mostly-organic produce, but the the rustic Italian specialties are what keep Trattoria No. 10’s tables bustling. Look for seasonal gnocchi and gnudi, grilled scallops in a blood orange butter sauce and veal scaloppine drizzled with a delectable porcini-sage-veal reduction. My main dish, the house-made ravioli with butternut and acorn squash, did not disappoint. Like many Italian restaurants in Chicago, Trattoria No. 10 makes its own pasta. The signature ravioli consists of delicious butternut and acorn squash wrapped in hearty pasta, topped with sweet and savory walnut butter that complements the squash. If you’re a repeat visitor, you’ll be hard pressed to tire of Trattoria No. 10’s homemade ravioli. Your options aren’t limited to squash. The kitchen serves up […]

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