Entries Tagged as 'chicagoist'

Chicagoist Goose Island Meetup

July 24th, 2010 · No Comments


Goose Island


Matt, Scott, Andrew, Cinnamon


Kevin & Killian


Marcus & Rachelle


Goose Island Sai-Shan-Tea


Goose Island Sai-Shan-Tea


Chuck & Rachelle


Chuck

My friend Chuck is the Food and Drink Editor at Chicagoist. He had this awesome opportunity (follow along here: 1, 2, 3) to work on a beer with Jared Rouben of Goose Island Clybourn and Rod Markus of Rare Tea Cellar. They created a new beer and called it “Sai-Shan-Tea.” It’s a saison beer spiced with Rare Tea Cellar’s Emperor’s Lemon Meritage tea. On Thursday night it made its debut at Goose Island Clybourn and Chicagoist had a meet up to celebrate.

Dallas and I and a few of our other friends went to the event. It was so great to see all of the Chicagoist alum there. Some I hadn’t seen for years and it was so nice catch up and see what everyone’s been up to. Others I see a bit more frequently, but it was still great to see everyone. What a walk down memory lane. At one time in my life, a few years ago, I was in daily, heck, hourly, constant contact with these folks. I hope it’s not another few years before I see everyone again!

I also got to meet Nick, who is the editor at Grub Street Chicago. He and his wife live in our neighborhood and we spent some time talking about all the restaurants in Logan Square – what’s good, what’s bad, what’s opening, what’s closing. Hope to bump into them around the neighborhood.

Chuck’s beer (that’s what I’m calling it now) was really good. Very citrusy. I’m not all that familiar with saison beers, but I thought this was tasty. Dallas drank about 6 of them, so I’d say he liked it a little bit ;) . Sai-Shan-Tea is being sent to the Great American Beer Fest in Denver for award consideration and I sure do hope they win!

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Out in Logan Square and Wrigleyville

September 6th, 2009 · 1 Comment

metro
The Hood Internet, Metro, Wrigleyville, Chicago

On Friday night Jess and I had dinner at Rustico Grill, formerly Rustik, in Logan Square. It’s new incarnation just opened this week and is kind of high-end Mexican. I was happy to have another restaurant, but really? This neighborhood does not need another Mexican restaurant. We thought the food was good, not outstanding. I won’t get into the part where we saw the bartender take a drink of Jess’s drink through her straw and then have the waiter serve it back to her. Still, I’d go again just because it’s so close.

After dinner we went to the Gapers Block party at Metro. Saw a lot of friends from Chicagoist and Gapers Block. I had a fun time. I liked The Hood Internet, a DJ, the best.

Later on we met up with Molly, Malachy and Dallas back in Logan Square at the Rocking Horse.

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Brunch @ The Publican

March 19th, 2009 · 4 Comments

The Publican
The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

Last weekend The Publican served brunch for the first time. Chuck, being the food editor of Chicagoist, had gotten notice of it and invited us to come with him to check it out. Dallas and I have been meaning to go to The Publican, so we were all for it.

The Publican: Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary :: The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

The Publican: Pork Rinds
Pork Rinds :: The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

The Publican is one of Paul Kahan’s restaurants. He also is the chef/owner at Avec and Blackbird, two spots I’ve been to and have really enjoyed. The brunch wasn’t publicized like crazy, but Chef Kahan was Twittering about it, as was his publicist. I got really excited for the brunch because all week long they were talking about the menu. The morning of brunch they were twittering and posting photos of preparing for the first brunch and what the people involved looked like and how to pull it off and what the menu items looked like prepared. I was SO psyched to go later that day.

The Publican: Bacon
Maple Syrup Braised Bacon :: The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

The Publican: Pork Confit, Shrimp, and Andouille Stew
Pork Confit, Shrimp & Andouille Stew with Scrambled Eggs :: The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

When we got to The Publican it wasn’t all that packed. We were also coming in later, though, so who knows how it was earlier. We stood at a highboy table while we waited to get seated and each ordered bloody marys and beer. The Publican Bloody Mary is made with homemade bitters, balsamic vinegar, chopped celery, Fresno chili, horseradish, regular tomato juice, and Titos vodka. It was delicious, although I thought it was a bit on the thick and chunky side. I needed a straw or something to drink it. A spoon! We had six people all together and when our party all arrived we were seated. Immediately we ordered pork rinds and bacon. Before trying them, I wasn’t sure about the pork rinds, but they were so light and crispy. The bacon was delicious. Maple braised. The salty and sweet combination was fabulous.

The Publican: Red Wine Poached Eggs
Red Wine Poached Eggs :: The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

The Publican: Weiswurst & Pretzel
Pretzel that accompanied the Weiswurst :: The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

For our meals, this is what we got:

  • Benton ham, red wine-poached egg, grilled bread and bĂ©arnaise ($12)
  • Weiswurst and pretzel ($10)
  • Wood-fired egg with harissa, Gouda and grilled bread ($8)
  • Pork confit, shrimp and andouille stew with scrambled eggs ($14)
  • Smoked ham chop with Bird Mill grits and poached egg ($12)

The Publican: Wood-Fired Egg
Wood-Fired Egg :: The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

The Publican: Ham Chop
Ham Chop :: The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

Everybody was really satisfied with their entrees. We were all so excited to be there and brunch at The Publican definitely did not let us down. I loved the ambiance inside. There’s a lot of light wood and it was bright and sunny when we went. The lights weren’t on, it was all ambient light and gorgeous. The service was spot on. My entree, the wood-fired eggs, was taking longer than everyone else’s to come out of the kitchen, so they gave me a tomato & ricotta crustada on the house. It was the only blip in service and they made up for it immediately. And the food… was delicious. I’d definitely like to come back to The Publican for brunch… but especially want to check it out for dinner now.

The Publican: Ricotta & Tomato Crustada
Ricotta & Tomato Crustada :: The Publican, Fulton Market, Chicago

The Publican is at 837 W. Fulton Market, Chicago, IL.

You can also view these photos in this Chicagoist post.

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Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi

March 5th, 2009 · 5 Comments

Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi :: Ramen

Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi :: Fried Rice

Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi :: Pork Bun

Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi :: Pork Bun

Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi :: Shrimp Wonton

Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi

It’s so much easier to zip downtown on the Blue Line at the new condo in Logan Square. When we were in Roscoe Village it took about an hour to get downtown, and now? 20 minutes about. One weekend in January Dallas and I went down to Macy’s so we could look at suits. Dallas had been reading a lot of mens magazines when he was travelling a lot and wanted to get a lighter gray suit. We ended up finding a great Michael Kors suit that was also a great sale price. Dallas got fitted for the suit and while it was getting tailored we went to grab some lunch.

Macy’s has a fancy food court. I went to Rick Bayless‘ Frontera Fresco a couple years ago, but we have never tried Marcus Samuelsson‘s Marc Burger or Takashi Yagihashi’s Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi. We chose the noodles.

Over at Chicagoist, Anthony recently posted a review of Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi. Dallas and I both weighed in on our opinions of the place. Basically the food was good, but expensive. Dallas got a soup and I got fried rice. We also tried a shrimp wonton appetizer. We were excited to see “pork buns” on the menu because we thought we’d be getting a small char siu bao, but the buns actually were like whole sandwiches. It was too much food, which also added to the reason that it was more than we expected to spend. I’d go back and just order less. I enjoyed the food.

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Erin’s Wedding Not-a-Shower-Just-Girls-Getting-Together-For-Drinks-and-Food

October 18th, 2008 · 2 Comments


Erin & Rachelle, Old Town, Chicago

Erin and Scott are getting married next weekend. This is each of their second marriages and instead of going through all of the traditional wedding hoopla, like they did for their first weddings, they have decided to elope and get married on a tiny farm in Woodstock, VT. I think it’s romantic that they’re choosing to concentrate on the marriage and that for the wedding they will only be focused on each other and their vows. No need to worry about whether the wedding cake is pretty enough or if Uncle Joe had too much to drink. What really matters? The two of them. Who will be there? The two of them. Of course, because Erin and Scott spend just about waking moment online in some fashion, they have created a blog and will be keeping everyone up to date while they’re away. The unique nature of this wedding hasn’t gone unnoticed. This week both Time Out Chicago and Glamour Magazine wrote about it.

Erin and Scott met when they were both writing for Chicagoist and Margaret and I were the co-editors. When we first hired Erin, she and I had only written emails to each other and IMed. We finally met one night for dinner at Lula. Afterwards Erin offered to give me a ride home. She said to me “I think I have crush on Scott Smith.” I laughed and was like “Yeh!! Margaret and I do too! He’s awesome.” And then as time went by … “OH! You mean .. oh. … gotcha!” Scott tells the touching story of how it all happened here. I read it remembering being present at many of those events in the timeline. When they first came to Chicagoist. When they first met at Wishbone. A drunk happy hour at My Bar (on Chicagoist, on rachelleb.com).

Today some of Erin’s close girlfriends threw her a wedding shower party for all of the women in Erin’s life to get together for a few hours for lunch and drinks. (Olivia took this photo of Erin and I at the party.) The couple has requested no gifts for the wedding, but I couldn’t help but get them something small and sentimental. I hope they like it.

It has been a joy to see their relationship evolve. It’s had it’s ups and down’s like everyone’s but I think they truly were meant to be together. I know that they will have a beautiful life together. I wish them the best… this weekend and in life!

- Erin’s photos from the party.

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