Monthly Archives: October 2007
Neal’s Yard Dairy
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
I love cheese, and over the past few years I’ve been enjoying Neal’s Yard Dairy cheeses thanks to the great selection at Fox & Obel. Neal’s Yard Dairy sells artisanal cheeses from England and Ireland of all sorts — cow, goat, sheep, raw, pasteurized, hard, runny — any cheesy characteristic one could dream of. […]
Budget dining in London
Monday, October 22, 2007
London is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Couple that with the pathetically weak U.S. dollar, and it’s enough to make you want to pick up two pints of lager and a packet of crisps for dinner and call it a night. When we were there in May, it was just over […]
Cute little baby carrots
Saturday, October 20, 2007
They’re the “purple haze” variety but these are more of a dark red.
wasabigelatine loves London
Friday, October 19, 2007
We vacationed in London back in May and had lots of fabulous food. So before I forget everything, next week will be entirely dedicated to this wonderful city.
For many, London still has the reputation of serving nothing but scary British food like mystery meat and kidney pies, bubble and squeak, and greasy baked beans for […]
Wine and flowers at A.Vision
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Last week I mentioned a wine and candles event; this week — and every week — it’s wine and flowers at A.Vision, a wine and floral shop in Ukrainian Village. The minimalist yet cozy little space offers just a few types of flowers at any given time, but the selection is well-curated to complement the […]
The ultimate goodie bag from Charlie Trotter’s
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Last Sunday, Charlie Trotter’s celebrated its 20th anniversary with an eight-course over-the-top extravaganza cooked up by Trotter and many other international culinary luminaries like Thomas Keller (The French Laundry, Per Se), Ferran Adrià (el Bulli), and Hester Blumenthal (The Fat Duck). The $5,000-a-head dinner also included a goodie bag any gourmand would almost pay the […]
More bang for your buzz - Coca-Cola and illy collaboration
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Yesterday Coca-Cola and Italy’s illycaffé announced that they’ll be teaming up to create ready-to-drink coffee. No word yet on whether it will be a single beverage or a range of products, but this collaboration is sure to give the PepsiCo/Starbucks partnership a run for their money. I think illy makes a far better espresso, hands […]
An old family vacation souvenir
Monday, October 15, 2007
I’ve had this mug since I was a kid, which makes it “vintage”. Yikes.
Shokupan
Friday, October 12, 2007
It’s time for another trip to the northwest suburbs — I’ve run out of shokupan. Even with all the hearty artisanal breads available in the city, I often crave this incredibly soft, fluffy white Japanese bread that probably has absolutely no nutritional value. But who wants to eat loaves of handcrafted organic 37-grain health bombs […]
In defense of stemless wine glasses
Thursday, October 11, 2007
(From left to right: Spiegelau vinovino Chardonnay wine glass, Riedel O Chardonnay wine tumbler, Bodum So Long Stemless red wine glass, Crate & Barrel wine tumbler)
I was rummaging through my kitchen display cabinet today and noticed that I have more stemless wine glasses than traditional ones — eight Riedel O Chardonnay, six Riedel O […]
Tatine Candles & Cellar Rat wine tasting event - Friday, Oct 12
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tatine Candles is holding an open studio sale in the Flat Iron Building as part of this year’s Around the Coyote arts festival. Candlemaker/owner Margo Bresnik’s husband Dean Schlabowske owns Cellar Rat Wine Shop just down the road, and the two of them will pair up for this event. Margo will open her production studio […]
Intelligentsia Coffee Roasting Works tour
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
This past Saturday, we took a tour of Intelligentsia Coffee’s roasting facility in the West Loop, which just might be one of Chicago’s best-kept secrets. There are few tours that engage all five of your senses, and it was a really enjoyable and informative experience — viewing the huge, colorful cast iron roasters, touching the […]
Chocolate skulls
Friday, October 5, 2007
Celebrate Day of the Dead with decadent chocolate skull truffles by D.L. & Co., pictured above. From left to right: scorched caramel, bitter white brandied cherry, curious chili. (I’m not making up these names, folks.) At an outrageous $100 for a set of three, the price alone will kill you.
Vosges offers three types of chocolate […]
Evian Palace Bottle
Thursday, October 4, 2007
There’s a current backlash against bottled water in some circles, but how can any design junkie resist the sleek, elegant shape of the Evian Palace Bottle? (I couldn’t help falling in love with its bold, minimal simplicity during an eight-hour Top Chef marathon — that’s some good product placement there.) The luxe packaging is fit […]
