Entries categorized as ‘Local Businesses’
There’s a healthy alternative to fast food found on a small stretch of McCormick Road in Sauganash, just north of Chicago. The Balanced Kitchen offers a unique dining experience: everything on the menu is vegan and gluten-free, and the restaurant itself is green and LEED certified. The Balanced Kitchen’s furniture is made from recycled materials, and meals-to-go are packaged in reusable dishware. The restaurant was created after pastry chef Elizabeth Alper learned she had Celiac disease, a debilitating reaction to gluten, which is a key ingredient in most baked goods. After joining forces with chef Zachary Bello, the two are on a mission to bring organic, vegan, and gluten-free foods into the mainstream of Chicago eating.
The small, ever-changing menu may include items like Curry Pie, squash stewed in coconut milk and curry powder, wrapped in a flaky crust and served with seasonal chutney, cilantro and tamarind dipping sauces, or Banana Bread French Toast, served with maple syrup. Fresh and flavorful sandwiches are served on vegan and gluten-free bread from Rose’s Wheat Free Bakery in Evanston. Baked goods and tempting treats (including pistachio lemon and “sour cream” grapefruit cookies) from The Bot Bakery, The Balanced Kitchen’s sweet sister, are available for dessert.
A small retail section of the store highlights vegan cookbooks, bread mixes and ingredients, perfect for creating your own vegan creations at home. A six-course brunch is served Sunday with a single seating at noon. The Balanced Kitchen also caters small events at their place or yours.
Hours: 11 am-7 am, Tuesday through Friday; 11 am-9 pm, Saturday, Sunday brunch by reservation only.
*Originally Published in Centerstage Chicago.
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Categories: Chicago · Local Businesses · Reviews
Tagged: Celiac Disease, Elizabeth Alper, LEED certified, Rose's Wheat Free Bakery, The Balanced Kitchen, The Bot Bakery, Zachary Bello
I was lucky enough to attend the “Principles of Beer and Food Pairing” seminar last night at Just Grapes, a wine school and wine shop conveniently located in the Loop. The seminar was just one event of many that Just Grapes hosts; every Saturday brings a complimentary wine tasting and their “Global Grapes” series focuses on different wines found throughout the world.
This particular event concentrated on the relationship between beer and food, a concept that I really haven’t explored before. Sure, I’ve had Kingfisher with mouth-numbing Indian food, Duvel with mussels, and Sapporo with sushi, but those combinations were usually the result of pairing regional cuisine with indigenous beer.
Paramount Room Beverage Director and beer sommelier Shawn Koch and Executive Chef Stephen Dunne (also of Volo) lent their talents for the evening. Koch led an interesting discussion on the origins of beer (“Beer is as old as civilization itself, possibly even pre-dating bread!”), and then food was paraded out, course by course.
Some stellar pairings included smoked trout, bitter greens, and caper raisin aioli with Wittekerke Wit Beer, steak tartare with Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout, and a toffee-crusted chocolate brownie paired with Delirium Tremens.
Culinary misses were few and far between, but sadly did include “Cabbage Stuffed Cabbage” with an off-putting corned beef vinaigrette, which didn’t seem to pair well with any of the suggested beers (Kasteel Belgium Brown, Alpha King IPA, and Anchor Porter) and a scotch quail egg, which when combined with overwhelming flavors of anise and grain mustard, overshadowed the beer pairing of Blackthorn Cider.
All in all, the experience was interesting and satisfying, and I learned about the “3 C’s:” cut, compliment, and contrast. Shawn Koch says:
When pairing food with beer, ask yourself whether there is fat, oiliness, or heavy spice in the dish that a crisp beer could cut through? Are there aromatics in the dish that may match with some aromatic nuances in the beer? Are there bold flavors in the food that can be balanced by contrasting flavors in the beer? Certain pairings are successful while some aren’t. The pleasure of a nice pairing is great, but experimenting (and failing) is part of the fun!
*Originally Published in Gapers Block.
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Categories: Alcohol · Chicago · Events · Local Businesses
Tagged: alpha king, anchor porter, beer and food pairing, blackthorn cider, duvel, just grapes, kasteel, kingfisher, paramount room, sapporo, scotch quail egg, shawn koch, steak tartare, stephen dunne, volo
Corner Cooks, located in Winnetka’s affluent downtown area, was founded in 1999 by Betsy Simson, who aimed to “create a beautiful place on a beautiful street where something beautiful would be made every day.” With the recent addition of Jerry’s, a full-service fine dining restaurant, the place has quickly taken over scenic Chestnut Street.
Jerry’s hones in on casual fine dining. With the philosophy of “Come as You Are, Eat What You Like,” Jerry’s offers ecclectic dishes such as “It fell off the bone” crispy style pork shoulder with rice and beans ($17.00) and “Dolled up” cracked wheat salad with roasted chicken, tomato, cucumber, feta and garbanzo beans ($12).
Corner Cooks is a central culinary hub; not only does it specialize in catered events, but it offers couples’ cooking classes, guest chef lectures and demonstrations and food-focused events. Take a group trip to the Chianti region of Italy for an immersion in pasta and pinot grigio, or send your kid to culinary camp. Executive Chef Larry Smith, who held the position of senior chef instructor at Kendall College for eleven years, supervises every class, event, and meal created at Corner Cooks. Smith heads up a six-person team with impressive cooking chops: a former pastry chef from La Sardine, a designer of table-top accessories and a seasoned catering veteran make up the crew.
Events can either be held in the elegant space or at a venue of your choice. Private dinner parties on-site (with prices starting at $65 per person), cocktail parties (at $32.50 per person), team-building cooking events ($80 per guest) and off-site catered dinners (starting at $65 per person) can be arranged. Corner Cooks also offers “Bridal Cooking Shower Luncheons,” perfect for that foodie bride-to-be who wants to cook her bridal shower lunch and eat it, too (for $50 per person).
Corner Cooks
505-507 Chestnut St
Winnetka, IL 60093
P (847) 441-0134
*Originally published in Centerstage.
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Categories: Chicago Suburbs · Local Businesses
Tagged: Betsy Simson, catering, Corner Cooks, Jerry's, Kendall College, Larry Smith, Winnetka
