Chicago Fine Chocolate Show | Review and Photos
People say diamonds are a girl’s best friend.
Well, they’re wrong.
An afternoon spent at the National Chocolate Show and Chicago Fine Chocolate Show proves that chocolate is, in fact, the far better companion. With more than 100 vendors offering sweet treats, there are more than enough reasons why chocolate ultimately wins out; but really, they had me at chocolate vodka.
Held in Navy Pier's Festival Hall B from this weekend (through Sunday, November 18), the dual consumer and trade shows feature all things chocolate for both industry professionals and their customers. Enter the venue and immediately find yourself with a piece of Pacari’s Ecuardorian Lemon Grass in your mouth, a refreshing combination of citrus and soy chocolate. Around the corner, 79 flavors of Fudge Ladies’ signature fudge await your choosing, including a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin option made from the spice recipe of owner Debbie Pasquade’s great grandmother. Three rows later, 360 Vodka hits you with a Bailey’s-esque chocolate vodka that’s so rich it feels like you’re eating a truffle while you sip. Other highlights include Chocolat Uzma Sharif’s dark chocolates with fresh mint leaves and Toffee Break Desserts' award-winning raspberry toffee.
The event also features seminars and demonstrations on various chocolate topics , as well as a gallery of sculpture showings from the French Pastry School. The best part, however, is that these people are actually convinced that chocolate can be a part of a healthy diet. The makers of Crio Bru have found a way to make dark chocolate-covered Venezuelan cocoa beans with more antioxidants in just one bean than a half cup of blueberries. (Their cocoa brews from all over the world contain just 10 calories in an 8-oz .cup.) National Confectioners Association director of scientific and regulatory affairs Laura Shumow says new research reveals that the flavanols found in cacao can contribute to reduced cardiovascular disease risk when eaten in moderation. (See? Cheaper than diamonds AND good for health.) Needless to say, their persuasion was more than enough justification for nibbling on just one more sample again...and again...and again.
Finally, when it comes to combining art and chocolate (an attempt made by several vendors at the show), Flying Noir’s Karen Urbanek is in a league of her own. The Mendocino, California–based chocolatier paints mini-masterpieces atop each piece of her chocolate, and the designs aren’t the only part of the creation that leave you speechless. Her Sweet Heat, made of dark milk chocolate, orange blossom, sea salt, and habañero, is a combination of spicy and sweet that pleasantly surprised.
The Chicago Fine Chocolate Show is open to the public (tonight until 10pm, Sat Nov 17 10am–10pm and Sun Nov 18 9am–4pm) at Navy Pier, Festival Hall B (600 E Grand Ave). Tickets are $25 for adults (includes 15 sample tickets), $10 children age 3–12 (includes 5 sample tickets).
Cooking With A Yogaview | Cookbook of the Week
At a time when everyone's talking about turkey, pie and Guy Fieri, thumbing through Claire Mark's Cooking With A Yogaview is a breath of fresh air. Cooking With A Yogaview is at once a cookbook and a lovely tribute to a place that clearly holds a very special place in Mark's heart, Yogaview (a popular and beloved yoga studio where Mark is a teacher). "I take great pleasure in sharing yoga and food with others," she writes in the introduction, "and I decided to create a cookbook that connected my love for both." The book is also a charitable project: Ten percent of the proceeds will go toward the Cooking Up Change cooking contest, which is part of the Healthy Schools Campaign.
Cooking With A Yogaview is available for $22 on Amazon.
Matt Lewis answers...10 questions for a visiting chef
Name Matt Lewis
Age 41 (ugh)
Occupation Co-owner, Baked
Welcome to Chicago! Why are you here?
We are doing a dream book event with Floriole Bakery and Tim from Lottie and Doof. And we intend to eat a lot.
Did you have any fears/anxieties/nervousness about coming to the Midwest? Explain.
What do I say if I run into Oprah? [Ed. note: Oprah ditched us years ago.]
True or false: You will be eating at Avec while in town.
Maybe.
Where else will you be eating?
Publican, Big Star, the Trenchmen and Floriole!
The Chicago hot dog—yes or no? (Choose one.)
A. Yes!
B. No!
C. I don’t know what that is.
A. Abso-friggin-yes.
What does Chicago have that your home city doesn’t have? (We’re talking food and restaurants here, but feel free to go into other arenas.)
Hot dogs, less expensive rent, and clean streets.
What does your home city have that Chicago doesn’t have?
A perfect Italian restaurant every 100 feet. [Ed. note: We also don't have a Baked...]
Tell us an interesting story from your childhood.
Well, this is probably not interesting, but it kind of sums up my life: For about three years, my mom, dad, and (at the time) baby brother would gather around the TV to watch the Carol Burnett Show and eat ice-cream sundaes with sprinkles.
Tell us a funny/interesting/frightening tale about your restaurant.
Our bakery is in a flood zone, and anytime we have a lot of rain (or even snow for that matter), I half-imagine I will have to paddle to work. So far, so good...but if the ice keeps melting... [Ed. note: Lewis filled out this questionnaire weeks before Sandy ravaged Red Hook.]
Finish this sentence: If I had just one more day in Chicago, I’d use it to... ...architecture tour!!!!
Beer Hoptacular 2012
Kudos to 5 Rabbitt Brewery. Its 5 Lizard brew won top honors for Beer of the Year at this year's Beer Hoptacular. On Saturday night, the festival for beer lovers concluded under the big top inside the parking lot of Riverfront Theater. I'm glad I didn't don any treasured footwear to this event, where hundreds of enthusiasts sipped, gulped and spilled samples of more than 150 beers from 60-plus breweries.
I'm a beer novice (Yes, my idea of a good beer is Miller Lite.), but my favorite of the night was Lexington Brewery & Distillery's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, which took home second place. Try this vanilla-and-oak—infused goodness, if you haven't already. Ommegang's Art of Darkness took home third place. Oskar Blues' Old Chub Scottish Ale (a coffee-flavored can beer from Colorado), Haymarket Pub & Brewery's Indignant (a barrel-aged stout), and the 90 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head (a smooth citrus blend) were a few of my other favorites. All were suggestions of Beer Hoptacular founder and Minty Fresh record label head (The Cardigans, Veruca Salt, Liz Phair) Jim Powers.
"I want to continue to show people that there are more varieties than what's featured during a Super Bowl ad. Great beer involves great ingredients, not fake foaming agents. A lot of breweries are putting out beer that's being consumed by everyone, not only frat boys," said Jim.
I may have spotted a few fraternity brothers enjoying a round of Hammerschlagen. Overall, the scene seemed more like a party full of hipsters, couples and women beer aficionados. But I, the Miller Lite–lover, managed to expand my taste.
Max and Eli Sussman answer...10 Questions for a Visiting Chef
Max Sussman is the chef de cuisine of Roberta's in Brooklyn. Eli Sussman is a line cook at Mile End Deli in Brooklyn. Spoiler alert: They're brothers, and together they've written This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life, which they'll be in town this weekend to promote (and cook from) at Williams-Sonoma (900 N Michigan Ave) at noon on Saturday, November 10. We asked them to fill out our Visiting Chefs Survey, in which we discovered their hard-line stance on Detroit coney dogs—and much more.
Name Max Sussman
Age 29
Occupation co-author of This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life; chef de cuisine at Roberta’s
Name Eli Sussman
Age 27
Occupation co-author of This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life; line cook at Mile End Deli
Welcome to Chicago! Why are you here?
We’re here to demo some dishes from our new book, This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life, at Williams-Sonoma on North Michigan Avenue on Saturday, November 10, at 12pm. We’ll also be signing copies, too.
Did you have any fears/anxieties/nervousness about coming to the Midwest? Explain.
Max: No, we’re from Detroit so it’s nice to be back in the area.
True or false: You will be eating at Avec while in town.
Max: False.
Eli: We're open to suggestions!
Where else will you be eating?
We haven’t fully decided yet but Publican and the Girl and the Goat are high up on the list.
The Chicago hot dog—yes or no? (Choose one.)
A. Yes!
B. No!
C. I don’t know what that is.
Max: Definitely YES, there’s no other way.
Eli: No! Unfortunately nothing comes close to a coney dog invented and perfected in Detroit. Sorry Chicago, but downtown Detroit is home to the original.
What does Chicago have that your home city doesn’t have?
Max: We live in New York, and I think Chicago has more of that laidback feel that the Midwest is known for. I’m looking forward to being back.
What does your home city have that Chicago doesn’t have?
Eli: Our home city of Detroit has coney islands basically on every single corner. Detroiters never shut up about how much they love coneys and for good reason. They are these awesome Greek diner/deli 24hour joints that have burgers and fries but also these amazing Greek salads and chicken finger pitas, gyros and saganaki. They are the best place to hang out after going out drinking or to get a fast lunch. There's nothing like them and so far they haven't really expanded or done well outside of Detroit.
Tell us an interesting story from your childhood.
Max: One time we were on a family vacation in Maine. Eli and I were being brats. They told us they were going for a bike ride and we needed to shape up or we were going home that night. So while they were gone we decided to make them dinner. I was about twelve years old and Eli would have been about ten. So we decided to make them a three-course dinner. Eli acted like the maitre d', sat them, poured them wine while I cooked most of the food. They forgave us pretty quickly. There are a few pictures of the night in the digital iPad version of the cookbook.
Tell us a funny/interesting/frightening tale about your restaurant.
Eli: I used to work brunch service and it’s a very early morning to get started. We get there around 7:15am for 10am service. And often it's a very, very late-night the night before. Everyone's tired and cranky and hungover and then we get slammed and usually do over 200 covers in a six-hour brunch service so it’s pretty frantic and hectic. Everyone’s gotta be a team or else we just fall apart. In order to rally the other cooks, I always liked to play a super obnoxious song before service. So one beautiful Sunday right before service, I cranked the Shania Twain Pandora station and was singing "It Feels like A Woman" [Ed. note, let the record state that this song is actually called "Man! I Feel Like A Woman"] at the top of my lungs to help put everyone in a good mood. I was facing the staff but didn't realize behind me outside we had about a 30-person line already waiting and they were all listening to me sing Shania Twain loudly and passionately. I'm willing to publicly embarrass myself any day as long as it gets a laugh.
Fill in the blank: If I had just one more day in Chicago, I’d use it to __________.
Max: If I had just one more day in Chicago, I’d use it to hang out with my friends who live there; friends I don’t get to see enough.
Eli: If I had one more day in Chicago I'd wake up, convince my best friend to steal his dad's sportscar, bust my girlfriend out of school, drive downtown, see a baseball game, go to the Chicago art museum, impersonate a sausage king and eat dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town, narrowly avoid my father in the cab next to me and sing on a float in a parade.
Parsing the Chicago Michelin Bib Gourmands
Is there a better indicator of how out of touch Michelin is than the fact that the company released its Bib Gourmand announcement hours after the election? In any case, let me pretend I care long enough to give my two cents on Michelin's picks.
The Do Michelin Inspetors Not Have Taste Buds? Category
Ann Sather
The Sorry, You're Not Getting A Star Category
Avec (seriously, Michelin? This is just becoming a joke.)
The Bristol
Frontera Grill
Girl & the Goat
Maude's Liquor Bar
The Michelin Equivalent of an LTHForum Great Neighborhood Restaurant Award Category
Antique Taco
Belly Shack
Browntrout
Ceres' Table
Chilam Balam
Cumin
Decolores
Gemini Bistro
Green Zebra
Han 202
Jin Thai
Kabul House
Lao Hunan
Lao Sze Chuan
La Petite Folie
Los Nopales
Marion Street Cheese Market
Mixteco Grill
Opart Thai House
Riccardo Trattoria
Smak-Tak
Smoque BBQ
Sol de Mexico
Spacca Napoli
Urban Belly
West Town Tavern
Wood
Xni-Pec
The We Acknowledge These Restaurants Are Hip But They Do Not Fit Our Rigid Rubric by Which We Define Greatness Category
Ada Street
Balena
Gilt Bar
GT Fish & Oyster
Jam
Kai Zan
Owen & Engine
Publican
Purple Pig
The Savoy
The Slurping Turtle
The Don't Blame Us, We're Just Trying To Fill Out This List Category
Bistronomic
City Tavern
Deca
Jaipur
Maison
Paramount Room
Pump Room
Q BBQ
Raj Darbar (seriously, Michelin picks the most random Indian restaurants)
Sen (never even heard of this place)
Storefront Company
Twin Anchors
Untitled
Yolo (there is a restaurant named Yolo?!?)
Conveniently left off the Bib Gourmand list were Arami and Lula Cafe—two restaurants that seriously deserve a star. As we said on last week's cover of TOC, here's hoping!
Breakfast bonanza! Four new (and coming-soon) brunches
It's only Monday, but yet, we're talking about brunch. There's just so much to say!
Pleasant House Bakery
Apparently not content to offer only Sunday tea and a Sunday carvery, Pleasant House Bakery debuted Sunday brunch yesterday. The centerpiece of the brunch is a Full English Breakfast (a dish we here at TOC are quite fond of). PHB's owner Art Jackson explains: "Chelsea [Kalberloh Jackson, Art's wife and PHB co-owner] and I have always loved the English Brekky because it covers so many bases. It's great for an early morning breakfast with a cuppa but doubles as a satisfying lunch with a proper pint." In typical Pleasant House fashion, this fry-up will be composed of as much housemade or locally sourced product as possible: The essential components of the breakfast are meats (yesterday's version featured bacon from Faith's Farm, housemade bacon made with Slagel Farms pork, house bangers and black pudding), an over-easy egg ("farm eggs, the ones with the orange yolks," Jackson notes), beans in tomato sauce, a tomato (typically grilled; Pleasant House did a fried-green tomato yesterday) and toast (PHB will make Irish soda bread and also source from local artisans like Ingram's Bread & Jam, served wth a spread of jams, Marmite and butter). In addition to the English Breakfast, there will be a British-inspired brunch special and specialty baked breakfast items, such as scones, treacle tart, or Parkin cake. On the first Sunday of each month, the brunch becomes Dub Brunch, "our version of the Jazz Brunch," Jackson explains, "complete with a musical 'selecta' spinning dub plates, roots reggae and dancehall and a Caribbean-inspired menu." As for the choice of theme: "This is the perfect moment to turn brunch into a tropical escape of flavors, sounds and smells," Jackson says, also noting the historical British-Caribbean cultural connection. "To us, a restaurant is not only about food; it's about how food can open doors to learning about other cultures, through their traditional foods." Pleasant House Bakery (964 W 31st St, 773-523-7437) brunch is served Sundays from 10am–1pm. The full, regular menu is available all day (10am–8pm), afternoon tea starts at 2pm and the carvery special starts at 3pm.
Shawn Askinosie answers...10 Questions for a visiting artisan
The Chicago Humanities Festival goes into full force this weekend, and while we're pumped about many of the big names—Grant Achatz, Mike Daisey—one of the panels we're looking forward to most is the United States of Chocolate (this Sunday, November 4 from noon–1pm at the Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium at the Francis W. Parker School, 2233 N Clark St. $15; teachers and students $5). That event—which TOC assisted the Humanities Fest in planning—pairs local chocolatier Vosges with Springfield, Missouri–based Askinosie Chocolate. Askinosie is a pioneer in working directly with farmers and conscientiously sourcing cacao beans—not to mention an astounding chocolate-maker (whose bars appeared on our 2010 list of the 100 Best Things We Ate This Year). Askinosie's founder, Shawn Askinosie, agreed to answer our 10 Questions for a Visiting Chef, touching on everything from Cap'n Crunch cereal to Filipino rebels.
Age 51
Occupation Founder/CEO of Askinosie Chocolate
Welcome to Chicago! Why are you here?
I am here as a bean-to-bar chocolate maker to talk about the American chocolate movement, whose unlikely epicenter is the Midwest. I am also bringing chocolate with me so those who come out to hear us can also taste an example of what we make.
Did you have any fears/anxieties/nervousness about coming to Chicago? Explain.
Not at all. I’ve been coming to Chicago since high school.
True or false: You will be eating at Avec while in town.
False. Wait. On second thought after looking at the website I would like to eat there if we can get in.
Where else will you be eating?
Where else will I be drinking? For sure at the Hopleaf (never come to town without trying to stop by). I’ll also be drinking at as many Intelligentsias as we can fit in.
The Chicago hot dog—yes or no? (Choose one.)
A. Yes!
B. No!
C. I don’t know what that is.
A. Yes—and maybe every meal if I could. You don’t understand. I love hot dogs.
What does Chicago have that your home city doesn’t have?
You have ethnic neighborhoods and I wish my city had that.
What does your home city have that Chicago doesn’t have?
Cashew Chicken
Tell us an interesting story from your childhood.
My mom was “health-food nut” of the '60s and '70s while we were growing up: cod liver oil, wheat germ, vitamins. I spent many weekends and summers on my grandparents' farm. They had fresh everything. They were very simple, hard working, and happy. The one thing they loved to do was spoil me. They always bought what I wanted at the store, which was fresh Captain Crunch with Crunchberries.
Tell us a funny/interesting/frightening tale about your company.
Fill in the blank: If I had just one more day in Chicago, I’d use it...
...to take my daughter shopping. She loves it here and that is what I would do.
Askinosie will be speaking at the Chicago Humanities Festival's panel, "The United States of Chocolate," this Sunday, November 4 from noon–1pm at the Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium at the Francis W. Parker School (2233 N Clark St). $15; teachers and students $5.
Custom House Tavern will close this week
Peter Drohomyrecky and Sue Kim Drohomyrecky—owners of Custom House Tavern, Maison and Eggy's—have announced that they are shutting down Custom House for good after tomorrow's dinner service.
CHT has been on something of a roller coaster since January 2010, when it officially parted ways with Shawn McClain, added the word "Tavern" to its name and hired a new chef, Aaron Deal. Deal didn't work out and was quickly replaced by Perry Hendrix, who remains the chef at CHT (until tomorrow, that is) and Maison, and also oversees Eggy's.
I'll paste the entire release below and add only this commentary: This is bad news. Bad news for the Drohomyrecky's, yes—though the fact that they have two new restaurants to focus their energy (and chef Hendrix's) does provide a little solace. Moreover, it's bad news for Printer's Row. Custom House took a chance on Printer's Row when it opened there, and though seven years is a good run for a restaurant, trust me, I work down the block: In recent years, the neighborhood just wasn't filling these seats. Okay, so maybe it just wasn't a good fit, this restaurant and this hood. That happens. Nobody's fault. Still, this leaves Printer's Row with little other than burgers, tacos and pizzas. Both parties deserved more.
The letter from Peter and Sue:
After seven deeply rich and fulfilling years, we have decided that it was time to bid adieu to the Custom House Tavern. We felt that given the changing demographics of the neighborhood and the needs of the Hotel Blake that the Custom House Tavern concept would need to evolve again and at present, we have decided to focus on our two newest restaurants instead.
Custom House Tavern’s last service will be Wednesday, October 31, 2012.
We will be as a team focusing on Maison Brasserie and Eggy’s Urban Diner.
Executive Chef Perry Hendrix will continue to lead his teams at both locations as will Executive Pastry Chef Erin Mooney.
We will be looking to update our menus at both Maison and Eggy’s – and present our guests with additional creative fare. We will be hosting several events this winter at both locations, including a satellite dinner at Maison for Baconfest. We hope to be adding dinner back to Eggy’s line up with a newly minted Blue Plate Special focused menu in a few weeks.
We believe that restaurants are living, evolving entities created by the connection of souls by both staff and guests. The memories that we have shared at Custom House Tavern will enrich our lives and will sustain and inspire us to continue on in our endeavors in hospitality.
Thank you
Sue and Peter
Vote for the 101st item on the 100 Best list
Ten days ago, we asked you—TOC readers—to tell us what dish you would add to our annual list of the 100 Best Things We Ate (and Drank) This Year. We received a lot of great (and some not-so-great) nominations—so many, in fact, that we needed to whittle down the list to the most popular and items that weren't already on our list (you beat us to the punch with a few of your suggestions!). Seven dishes and drinks made the final cut: Chicken and waffles with sweet potato and pork belly hash at Longman & Eagle, robata-grilled Santa Barbara prawn with saikyo miso butter at Arami, capellini fra diavolo at La Scarola, braised pork belly on crispy rice patties at Sunda, drummets at the Anthem, Buffalo duck wing at Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar and, finally, the Gin (gin passion fruit, aperol, egg white, chocolate mint) at the Office. Vote for which one of these dishes or drinks you think deserves to be the reader-chosen 101st dish on our list over on our Facebook page, and you'll automatically be entered to win a TOC dining passport that will grant you access to the 2013 Eat Out Awards and some of our other food and drink events throughout the coming year.
It's okay to be a show-off.
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