Winemaking in California has never been more challenging, with climate change, the threat of wildfires and drought threatening vineyards at every turn. There’s hope for wine lovers though – many winery owners are rising to the challenge, embracing more sustainable practices from dry farming to installing pollinator sanctuaries. These sustainable viticulture practices go hand in […]
It’s been a minute — or two years, to be more specific, although at this point it feels like time is merely a construct — since the last Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence, aka Chicago’s culinary Oscars. Presented once again in partnership with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the 19th Annual Banchet Awards were held […]
Mention Cinco de Mayo, the annual holiday celebrated on May 5 in Mexico, and also increasingly in the U.S., and the first thing that may come to mind is tequila and margaritas. There’s a reason for that: In the mid-20th century, Mexican immigrants in the U.S. began celebrating Cinco de Mayo as a way to […]
Mother’s Day is around the corner, but do you really need a special occasion to buy a cookbook? I know I don’t. Speaking as someone whose office and kitchen are stacked with cookbooks on every conceivable surface, I confess I have a bit of a problem. Yes, I check out recipes online, and cook from […]
Mother’s Day is around the corner, but do you really need a special occasion to buy a cookbook? I know I don’t. Speaking as someone whose office and kitchen are stacked with cookbooks on every conceivable surface, I confess I have a bit of a problem. Yes, I check out recipes online, and cook from […]
Spring in Chicago just hits differently. After our long, cold winters, the appearance of certain produce on menus — harbingers of spring like asparagus, ramps, garlic scapes, fiddleheads, and rhubarb — are cause for celebration in every professional kitchen. But the reality of living in planting Zone 5 and the variability of local spring weather, […]
We’re not advocates for heavy drinking, but the famous phrase from an even more famous Bavarian drinking song that encourages beer drinkers to pause for two beats before knocking back a stein of local brew feels apropos considering the energetic shift in the air of late. The Bay Area is bursting with beer gardens, which […]
Pandemic, schmandemic.
Local restaurants, stores and other businesses are opening their doors in the wake of reduced restrictions, and they’re ready to win — or win back — your love and support. From elevated English pub fare in Lincoln Park and a new North Shore outpost of Sophia Steak to Mexican in Highland Park and a new […]
Professional chefs have long skewed male — according to stats from the U.S. Census Bureau, just 24 percent of U.S. chefs and head cooks were female in 2019, although culturally, they’re the heart of the kitchen at home. As we’re celebrating powerful women in this issue, we think it’s the perfect opportunity to introduce some […]
