The restaurant business is grueling. Whether working front or back of the house, the job means hours on your feet and service with a smile in a high-energy, high-anxiety environment. Getting along with your fellow workers is a necessity, as the best staffs must work seamlessly as a team to achieve greatness in the kitchen […]
May is National Hamburger Month, and that’s as good a reason as any to survey the best new burgers on the Chicago restaurant scene. Not to worry if you’re not carnivorous, as I’ve thoughtfully included some vegetarian (and even vegan!) options as well. I’m stressing “new” burgers because I think by now we are all well […]
Jocelyn Delk Adams, Chicago author of “Grandbaby Cakes,” which we named one of the Best New Cookbooks of 2015, and the upcoming “Grandbaby Celebrations,” makes food that honors her family history. Make It Better: Why do you think it is important to honor family cooking and baking traditions? Jocelyn Delk Adams: Before I started my […]
On Kensington High Street in London, near Kensington Palace, where newlyweds Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will reside after their nuptials, I was awash in a tsunami of red, white, and blue kitsch at the Nonstop Party Shop. Union Jacks side-by-side with the Stars and Stripes, tea cups bearing the smiling faces of the couple, […]
In the Venn diagram of liquor, all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Bourbon is a very particular type of whiskey. The Federal Standards of Identity strictly defines what makes bourbon bourbon. First of all, the grain mash must be at least 51 percent corn; it must be distilled at no more […]
They call it “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports,” but the hoopla surrounding the annual running of the Kentucky Derby drags on for the whole first weekend in May. If you’re watching in Chicago rather than Kentucky, chances are you’ll still be sipping a mint julep and wearing a fetching hat of spectacular size, because […]
Not to get all Oprah on you, but I love brunch. I. Love. Brunch! I know what you’re thinking, and no, it’s not because of the whole portmanteau thing, although I do love a good word mash-up, and it doesn’t get much better than a combination of the best parts of breakfast + lunch (but […]
When former President Barack Obama rolled into San Francisco in 2016, he went to dinner with Silicon Valley moguls at 25 Lusk in San Francisco, where he dined on a double dose of a yellowtail sashimi appetizer for dinner. While perhaps not intentional, Obama was following a sustainability trend — eating at restaurants committed to […]
Are you dependent on that daily cup — or pot — of jo? Well, there are indeed some compelling reasons out there to drink up — like helping you live longer. But, not all coffee is created equal, and not all coffee drinking is responsible coffee drinking. Do you know where your coffee comes from? You should. […]
Voted Restaurant of the Year by EATERSF in 2017, China Live is billed as an interactive culinary and cultural destination in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown. With veteran restaurateur George Chen (Betelnut) and his partner Cindy Wong-Chen at the helm, this $20 million, 30,000-square-foot Chinese food emporium has been compared to Mario Batali’s Eataly complex in NYC. This will most […]
