Picture it: Sitting on the hood of your car in Calumet Fisheries’ gravel parking lot, the sun peeking through the clouds, a Styrofoam container of goldenbrown fried shrimp in your lap. It’s a simple Chicago pleasure, all shattering batter and juicy shellfish, meant to be eaten outside. In short — the most iconic of summertime … Read more
These heroic carnitas run the gamut from soft and juicy to crunchy and caramelized, and it’s that textural balance — equal parts puffy chicharrón, chewy skin, and shreddy pulled pork — that sets apart Don Pedro’s version of the classic Mexican street food. The richness of it all — amplified by onions, cilantro, salsa, and … Read more
Three years ago, we crowned this creation by Jennifer Jones Enyart the city’s best piece of cake, and we continue to stand by that claim. The James Beard Award–nominated pastry chef creates tender layers that give off a buttery sheen, but the magic lies in her sour-cream-laced frosting, which strikes the elusive sweetbitter balance. It’s … Read more
It sounds like a dish only a vegetarian could love, but even the staunchest of omnivores can fall under its spell. Atop a slice of James Beard Award winner Greg Wade’s multigrain bread is, yes, a salad’s worth of tousled greens, but there’s also a cavalcade of tempurafried tofu, slices of apple for a pop … Read more
More restaurants should have spinning rotisseries full of ducks in their kitchens. It’s Kevin Hickey’s calling card at his cozy, excess-relishing den. He roasts the breasts, then brines, air-dries, and slowroasts the rest of the bird, duck fat tumbling onto the bed of Yukon gold potatoes at the bottom of the oven, a glorious feast … Read more
You would think that a cheese-topped four-ounce beef patty, cooked until it’s a nebula of meat and cheddar, then stacked on a toasted bun, would be a total grease bomb. But Edzo’s owner Eddie Lakin has mastered the precarious engineering of a thin-patty burger: first, grinding his own beef daily for a precise meat-to-fat ratio, … Read more
Anna Posey (pictured) has the soul of an artist — she is responsible for, among other things, the illustrations on Elske’s bathroom wallpaper — and her desserts have the elegant bearing of museum pieces. This plate is a beam of sunshine even in the depths of winter, a study in a desert landscape’s yellows and … Read more
Not only is Fat Rice’s namesake (when translated) dish a dazzling introduction to the melting-pot appeal of Macau’s cuisine, it’s also a ridiculous feast. A massive pot overflows with char siu (barbecued Chinese pork), linguiça sausage, and other meats and shellfish, all of it atop a paella-like layer of sofrito-scented jasmine rice. And yet every … Read more
You’d better arrive early if you want to try some of owner Constance Simms-Kincaid’s weekends-only shrimp and grits at this de facto South Side community center. No dish flies out of the kitchen faster, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Simms-Kincaid’s grits, never watery, are a hearty backdrop for well-seared shrimp with a dusting of … Read more
Quail can sometimes feel a bit spartan, but in chef Mark Steuer’s hands it goes from scrawny to brawny. A pair of juicy, golden-brown legs soak in a hearty corn soubise sparked with tart peach relish and tingly Fresno pepper, sending your taste buds sideways. The little bird’s skin is neither crispy or soft, but … Read more
