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173 years ago, Chicago was born. Today, on the city’s birthday, people came together at the Chicago History Museum to celebrate the diverse neigbourhoods and rich history that make Chicago the best city in the United States!
Mayor Daley talked about how “the past, present and future [of Chicago] will always be immigrants” and how in celebrating the birthday of Chicago, we are really celebrating the “history of our families”.
Mayor Daley admiring Bleeding Heart Bakery's Chicago birthday cake!
The crown jewel of the birthday ceremony was, of course, the gorgeous cake designed by Bleeding Heart Bakery. It featured the State Street Marshall Field clock, the Sears Tower, the old Water Tower, the John Hancock building, the Chicago Theatre sign and Chicago’s flag draped around the whole cake.
Detail of the MF State Street clock
Are you still waiting for your Time Out Chicago mag to arrive in the mail this afternoon before you plan your weekend? Get a jump start and see what I have planned…
THURSDAY:
The beautiful, talented ladies of Vaudezilla present a free Bartop Burleque Show at Blue Bayou Bar & Grill. Located at 3734 N. Southport Ave., the Blue Bayou will charge no cover and have $4 drink specials available to you as you are entertained by bartop singers, dancers and performers.
Vaudezilla gals will start entertaining promptly at 10pm, giving you plenty of time to feast on authentic New Orleans cuisine (mmm, gumbo). Look out for local performers who will join the ladies for the festivities!
We want to know: Is there a restaurant in Chicago that you are dying to go to, but haven’t yet?
In case you were wondering, NAHA was that restaurant for me. Last summer when I started volunteering at Green City Market, I learned about Chef Carrie Nahabedian through new acquaintances. Everyone praised both her exciting, local, delicious food and her very sweet demeanor. Then people went on and on about NAHA, this restaurant that seemed to be on everyone’s “Favourites” list.
Standing, in the back: Chef Carrie Nahabedian on the left, Chef Rick Bayless on the right at Chefs Collaborative
When Chefs Collaborative came to Chicago for their National Summit last year, I had the pleasure to dine with them at Cafe Brauer at the Lincoln Park and taste Chef Nahabedian’s food for the first time. Needless to say, I was smitten.
When Restaurant Week was announced and NAHA was on the participant list, I decided I was tired of waiting. Restaurant Week or not, NAHA is a place you must, must go to if you want some of the best food in the city.
You only have four more days of Restaurant Week left, so if you still have not been anywhere, you need to get on the move! If you are the kind of person who does not like taking a chance on a restaurant (and there are over 170 restaurants to choose from this year), then let me help.
If you like big portions; organic and local ingredients; and crave French comfort food in a beautiful atmosphere, may I suggest Bistro Campagne?
Here’s what to order off of the Restaurant Week menu:
FIRST COURSE: Skip the fresh but bland house salad and go straight for the Strudel à l’Oignon Caramélisé. The sweet, earthy caramelised onions appear both on the bottom of the strudel and in a tasty sauce around it. The flaky, buttery pastry and the soft, salty cheese complement each other perfectly for a well-rounded dish that will make you want to clear your plate (and even lap up the sauce!).
There is nothing more exciting than having a recipe you created, put in print! In the new Winter 2010 edition of Edible Chicago magazine, my recipe for whole wheat carrot-apple cake with maple frosting was published along with an article on Burton’s Maple Syrup.
Article on Burton's Maple Syrup, my recipe on the second page!
I want to thank Edible Chicago so much for testing out my recipe and deeming it worthy to grace the pages of this local, sustainable magazine!
And here is the recipe, in print:
Dev xx
Brunch is serious business. Especially when you have something to celebrate and you are using brunch to do it. After scouring several menus of popular brunching sites, Bistrot Margot caught my eye with its diverse French menu.
Right off the bat I liked how their menu incorporated small plates (the soups, salads and appetisers section), medium sized and large plates. They feature both sweet and savoury dishes, including eggs benedict, crepes and mussels.
To start I ordered the slow-cooked French onion soup, pictured below. The soup itself, once you make your way past the stodgy, cheesy topping is delightful. It has sweet, caramelised onions cooked in a rich beef broth. Just plan to remove half of the topping because otherwise it will sit like a rock in your stomach.
My date ordered the yoghurt and fruit plate, which was listed under the appetiser section when it definitely was not appetiser-sized! It was MASSIVE and definitely could have been a full meal. The yoghurt was really nice and the granola is made in-house (yum!), but the fruit was not seasonal, and that bothered me.
Over the next couple of weeks, I am hitting the kitchen extra hard to design a “Chicago cookie”. I really want to capture the essence of Chicago in cookie form which means I am researching local ingredients as well as locally famous candies, coffee, etc., to see if I can make something that really screams, “CHICAGO!”
While researching, I stumbled upon this recipe for the Marshall Field Frango mint chocolate cookie and so I thought I would re-post it here!
Marshall Field Frango Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup grated (or very finely chopped) Frango mint chocolates
- 2 1/4 cups flour, unsifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup chopped nuts
- 1 1/2 cups chopped (about 1/4 pound) Frango mint chocolates
Cream butter, shortening and sugars until light. Add eggs, vanilla extract and grated Frango mint chocolates. Beat until creamy and well blended.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt together. Add sifted ingredients to beaten egg mixture, blending carefully. Beat about 20 seconds. Fold in chopped nuts and chopped Frango mint chocolates, blending well. Beat for 30 seconds. Drop heaping teaspoons of cookie dough onto greased cookie sheets, allowing at least one-inch space between cookies. Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven for 8 to 11 minutes. Remove cookies from cookie sheets and allow to cool on rack.
Yields approximately 8 dozen cookies.
There is also a version out there where dough is made into sheets and then chocolates are encased in dough before baking.
Until I create the Chicago cookie, I hope you enjoy this one, which originated in Chicago as well! :o)
Dev xx
PS, Frango chocolates can only be found in Macy’s stores around Chicago! The State Street location has a ton of options!
Dear readers,
I am afraid I have very sad news. Bombon Americano, a cafe known for delicious, fluffy cupcakes and fabulous sandwiches is officially closed down. Today I headed over to the cafe to meet Anton from the site, funsherpa, only to find the cafe with paper in the windows and a locked front door. Tis a sad day indeed.
RIP deliciously moist raspberry cupcake.
Dev xx
After learning that Chicago Restaurant Week had been an extended an extra week, I scoured the restaurant list and found a charming French restaurant on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile that looked heavenly.
Found on Cafe des Architectes website
After eating a three-course CRW featured meal, it is no wonder why Café des Architectes’ head chef, Martial Noguier, is a semifinalist in the Best Chef category for 2009, hosted by the James Beard Foundation.
Martial Nougier, found on the Cafe des Architectes website
I should let everyone know at this point how absolutely imperative it is that you take advantage of CRW (extended through March 6). If you love amazing, 5-star food; restaurants with the best service; dining rooms designed with the utmost care and really great prices, it should be a no-brainer that you would want to participate. You will not – I repeat – you will not find prices like this until next year. $32/per person for dinner and $22/per person for lunch for a 3-course meal at over 130 restaurants. Hop on that ship before it sails!
While the wine selection was abundant, I felt like celebrating and turned my eyes straight to the bubbly. But trying to choose between a sparkling wine from Napa Valley or a glass of my favourite Moët et Chandon Impèrial Brut was proving too difficult for me, so I caved and decided to treat myself to a flight of bubbly, aptly name “Celebrations”.
Shortly after, three sparkling glasses arrived at my table: a Moët et Chandon Brut Impèrial (left), a Domaine Chandon Rosé and a Domaine Chandon Brut that were all fantastic. And before you write off a sparkling wine from Napa Valley, take this into account: Domaine Chandon was actually founded by the makers of Moët et Chandon and is really delicious!
MORE ON THE NEXT PAGE! :-)
