Food

Chicago has always been fertile ground for theater, not having to cater to commercial tastes to sell tickets like Broadway. Spanish director Calixto Bieito’s over-the-top production of Tennessee Williams’ Camino Real at the Goodman Theatre is currently the talk of the town, along with Donald Margulies’ intense drama Time Stands Still at the Steppenwolf. Haute cuisine is another matter, however, with the latest Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza, and Weiner Circle taking top billing. That changed dramatically when Grant Achatz came to town and opened Alinea. I reviewed his latest venture, Next, in The Boston Globe this past summer and was wowed by both food and concept. Every 3 months, the menu at Next changes to another part of the world and a different time period. I had the good fortune to dine at “Paris 1906” at the height of the Escoffier period. No surprise that Next was just nominated for Best New Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation. Now Frontera Grill chef, Rick Bayless, known for his innovative Mexcan fare, is getting in on the fun, starring in a dinner theater production titled Cascabel. The limited engagement at the Lookingglass Theatre will run until April 22nd and received favorable reviews from The Chicago Tribune. 

While Maine has long been revered for its juicy lobster, local fishermen and chefs are vying for a new set of seafood to bask in the culinary spotlight. Over the past year, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute has been working closely with some of the region’s top fishermen and chefs to identify fish and shellfish species that thrive in the Atlantic waters but have been underutilized in northeastern US cuisine. By creating demand for these sustainable species, like northern shrimp, Atlantic mackerel, whiting, Atlantic pollock and red fish, fishermen hope to preserve the seafood that has historically been overfished, such as flounder, cod and halibut. Chefs from coastal Maine’s finest restaurants are now showing the world just how tasty these sustainable species can be. For example, Chef Mitchell Kaldrovich from Sea Glass restaurant at Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth pan-sears whiting, which is less flaky than cod so it develops a nicer crust when seared. Now hunters are getting in on the sustainable movement. Maine Fish and Wildlife recently held a meeting with Registered Maine Guides to look at alternative species found in the Maine interior that might attract hunters.
 

The big news out of Boston last week was a Boston Globe report that discovered many seafood restaurants serving mislabeled fish. Pricey red snapper was replaced by far cheaper tilapia in many instances. White tuna was exchanged for a Central American fish called escolar that often causes stomach ailments. These restaurants were often duped by fraudulent wholesalers who made the bait and switch. Good news is that many of the recently opened seafood restaurants in town like Island Creek Oyster Bar and Legal Harborside either employ their own wholesale seafood business or go straight to the source, the fishermen, so they had no problems.

Even better, a new collaboration between fishermen and New England chefs has resulted in Trace and Trust. Fishermen tell chefs where they are going to fish and what they hope to catch. A photo of the catch will then be uploaded on the Trace and Trust website. When the catch is landed, it is assigned a unique ID number and QR code. The fish is then packed on ice and brought to each restaurant. Diners who order the fish receive a card with that same ID number and QR code. They can scan the QR code with their smart phone or enter the ID number on the Trace and Trust website to learn the story of where their fish was caught and by whom. James Beard-nominated chef, Richard Garcia, at 606 Congress, is already using this technique and diners love it. Boston has always taken its seafood seriously. By going straight to the fishermen, the latest round of seafood restaurants ensure that you’re getting the finest quality fish.

I’ve always cherished a good sandwich, from the grilled extra sharp cheddar cheese sandwiches I used to make in my college dorm room at 2 am to a pastrami and rye at Katz’s Deli for lunch. Lately, however, the sandwich has moved out of the midday slot and arrived on dinner menus, a nod to a daring chef’s innovative prowess. New York food writers, Sara Reistad-Long and Jean Tang, have reined in this trend and created a muffaletta of a cookbook, The Big New York Sandwich Book. Culling recipes from the city’s top chefs, Reistad-Long and Tang present such tantalizing fare as a “tartiflette” grilled cheese sandwich created by the Big Cheese himself, Artisanal Fromagerie’s Terrance Brennan. Brennan uses my favorite French cheese, Reblochon, slices of apple-smoked bacon, Yukon gold potatoes, and country bread to design a sandwich that’s not too hard to make, but will blow away my family at dinner time. Chicken of the sea? Throw it back in the water, especially after trying Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s hot and crispy tuna sandwich, served with fresh tuna dipped in extra virgin olive oil on crustless white bread. Daniel Boulud chimes in with his version of a croque monsieur, complete with his recipe of béchamel sauce. My perfect picnic award goes to the Tuscan pear, cheese, and prosciutto panini given to us by Cesare Casella, proprietor of Salumeria Rosi on the Upper West Side. I have a feeling I’ll be devouring this tasty combo sometime this spring next to a bed of tulips.
 

Deep dish pizza is eaten with knife and fork, but contrary to what many folks think, it is not a thick crust pizza. Dough is patted high up the side of a deep dish pizza pan, with ingredients placed in reverse order to a regular pizza. Mozzarella cheese comes first, followed by additional toppings like sausage, pepperoni, or mushrooms, all doused with chunks of fresh plum tomato sauce.  In Chicago, Lou Malnati’s has perfected the art of pizza making. The crust has just enough butter to make it flaky but not soggy. The sausage is a dense layer of meat. The chunky tomatoes in the sauce are both sweet and zesty.  Lou got his start in the business working with his dad in Chicago’s first deep dish pizzeria in the 1940s, before opening his restaurant in a northern suburb, Lincolnwood, in 1971. Getting a table at Lou Malnati’s can try your patience, so follow the advice of the wise Fran Leavitt, my mother-in-law, who happens to be a native Lincolnwooder. Call in advance and ask how long a wait, putting your name down on the list. Then order your pizza and salads on the phone, so when you finally do show up, 10 minutes prior to your approximate wait time, your pizza will already be cooking in the oven.
 

Strike it up to nostalgia for my youth in upstate New York, but I’ll take a Jackburger at the Jumpin’ Jacks Drive-In in Scotia, New York, over any other burger in the country. Grilled on a large charcoal pit, the double patties are topped with melted cheese, cole slaw, and an option of grilled onions. The addiction is so strong that I drag my family here every summer from Boston, a 3-hour trek to down this mouthwatering stack of meat. Order the Jack with fries, onion rings, and a thick milk shake while waiting in line. When the food is ready, wander over to the picnic tables with views of the Mohawk River. The only problem is that I try to take my time eating the burger, but it’s gone within minutes. Then I get sad knowing that I no longer live in the tri-city area and have to wait another year to down my next Jackburger. Opening on March 31st for their 59th season, I’m already planning my upcoming visit!
 

All it takes is one dinner at Dallal in the Neve Tzedak section of Tel Aviv to understand the exceptional quality of food in Israel. Dine on grilled calamari, hot focaccia bread that’s used to scoop up the babaganoosh, and entrees of red snapper and osso bucco, all washed down with the country’s fabulous lemonade, spiced with fresh mint leaves. At Mehane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem, merchants shout out their wares, selling freshly baked challah, chocolate rugelach, dates, figs, pomegranates, the sweet sticky Middle Eastern snack, halvah, nuts, and a bevy of colorful spices. Yet, if you want to taste the best hummus in the country, a creamy concoction of mashed chick peas scooped out with warm pita, then follow the taxi drivers to Abu Hassan in Tel Aviv’s old section of Jaffa. Plop yourself down on one of the plastic chairs and the dishes of hummus soon arrive, some topped with fool, a blend of fava beans. To spice it up, ask for the hot chile sauce. This is the place I dream about when forced to eat falafel with hummus in Boston.
 

Talk about lobster rolls in Maine and you enter into a territorial catfight where everyone seems to choose their local favorite. I happen to love the affordable rolls at Quoddy Bay Lobster in Eastport, topped with a full claw, the chockful of meat served in a bun at Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, and sitting at the pier at Beal’s, just outside Acadia National Park. But if you ask those same foodies where to find the best lobster roll with a view, the majority of Mainers will point you to the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth. Not far from where Winslow Homer set up shop on Prouts Neck, the picnic tables overlook that same boulder-strewn coastline Homer loved to paint. Order your food at the window of the rustic shack, wait for your number to be called, and grab a spot with vistas of Casco Bay, framed by two lighthouses. One of those lighthouses is the picturesque Portland Head Light, a favorite subject of artist Edward Hopper. For more information on the Lobster Shack, see the story I wrote for The Boston Globe.