MONDAY 4
It’s hard for Champagne and chocolate to ever not be good, but you may not know how to best pair the two. Kit-Kats and cream soda are good together, but it turns out there’s even more to learn. At tonight’s Bubbles and Bon-Bons event at Eno, Shara Bauer, resident chocolate expert and buyer, teaches us the ins and outs of sweets and sparkling wine. (312-321-8738). 7–8pm. $25.
TUESDAY 5
Cinco de Mayo is celebrated all over the city, and one of the best places to honor Mexico tonight is Carnivale’s big party. It’s celebrating the fifth of May with “five” specials: $5 guacamole, five specialty margaritas (like a frozen coconut strawberry margarita for $8.50) and $5 Negro Modelo. If you can’t actually flee to a Mexican beach, at least you can cheaply eat a whole lot of guacamole, right? It’s the little things. (312-850.5005). FREE! Read more »
Since Monday night’s Eat Out Awards, friends and coworkers have been commenting, “Oh, I’ve got to get there and try that thing you wrote about” or “Is that chef really worth the money?” and the like. One particular Eat Out Award winner, Martial Noguier, seems to have quite a little legion of ladies lusting for more than just a taste of the Frenchman’s frites. Enter a perfect, wallet-friendly way to check out Cafe des Architectes (and Noguier, of course): a new promotion at the bar includes a fancy grilled cheese of Yellow Buck Camembert, honey-truffle butter and roasted hazelnuts on housemade brioche; a side salad of mache, frisee, julienned apples and hazelnut vinaigrette; and the Belle de Poire, a signature cocktail of Grey Goose Poire, lemon juice and Belle de Brillet pear liqueur. The drink-and-a-meal deal is $18; the opportunity to flirt while perfecting your French is priceless.
TUESDAY 7
Kohan Japanese Restaurant celebrates Health and Sports Day (apparently, this is a legit holiday in Japan) with two special “Boats” each Tuesday in October: the Love Boat ($33) and the Dream Boat ($43), both of which include chicken teriyaki, Korean barbeque beef short ribs, shrimp and veggie tempura and more. Every day this month, they’ll offer a lunch special: $11.95 for unlimited maki. Because in Japan, eating massive amounts of deep-fried and sauce-coated foods is healthy. Lunch, dinner daily. 730 W Maxwell St (312-421-6254). Prices vary.
Invest in future delicious meals at a silent auction and fundraiser for the Washington High School Culinary Program. Mingle with local chefs like Martial Noguier while snagging cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at The Joynt. 5:30–7:30pm. 650 N Dearborn (773-374-8789). $40.
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MONDAY 8
Seedling Fruit takes center stage at a fixed-price dinner at Custom House to benefit Slow Food. Just read this menu, and you can practically taste fall: a zucchini bread amuse accompanied by pear butter and cured sturgeon; duck confit and spiced pears; pork chops and applesauce; and finally, caramelized pears and gingerbread for dessert. Be careful: once you eat that gingerbread, summer is officially over. 7pm. 500 S Dearborn St (312-523-0200). $50.
One Sixtyblue lost Martial Noguier, but they kept Monday Night Flights, and tonight they’re featuring Australian winemaker Carlei Green Vineyards paired with bites of sea scallops, pear salad and caraibe chocolate mousse with earl gray tea foam. 6, 7, and 8pm seatings. 1400 W Randolph St (312-850-0303). $35.
TUESDAY 9
Try not to think too hard about why foie gras was banned when you eat Chef Bill Kim’s foie gras dumplings with tea-smoked quail or foie gras crème brulée at a Foie Gras Wine Dinner at Le Lan. 7:30pm. 749 N Clark St (312-280-9100). $115.
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In our very first issue of TOC three years ago, we dubbed Martial Noguier the most underrated chef in the city, and for whatever reason, the one sixtyblue vet still seems a bit overlooked. Now, Noguier is aiming to change that, and after almost eight years of drawing diners to the westernmost point of Randolph’s restaurant strip, he’s leaving his post for the position of executive chef of Sofitel. "Michael Jordan [one sixtyblue's owner] is a wonderful person, and one of the reasons I stayed so long," Noguier says. "But it’s now time for me to go." Where he’ll go is the kitchen of Café des Architectes, one of the few hotel restaurants in Chicago that has never quite stuck with locals as a dining destination the likes of NoMI, Avenues or The Ritz Cafe. "But there is this potential there," Noguier insists. "It is a French hotel—and of course I am French so this is perfect—with a comfortable dining room, not too upscale so it’s perfect for me to do what I want to do, which is real, simple French food made with local ingredients. No one is doing that." He goes on to rhapsodize about bringing light and fresh Southern French food to the city ("like you would see in Nice") via dishes like bouillabaisse and roasted rabbit accented with produce and fresh herbs from Green City Market farmers. Noguier’s last day at one sixtyblue will be September 6, and he has only a couple of weeks to find his replacement. His Sofitel gig kicks off October 1, but the excited chef is already looking toward next year with even bigger plans. "There is talk of a restaurant renovation in 2009, and I’m definitely looking forward to making use of Sigale [the other Sofitel dining room currently only used for special events]. But really my hope for this is to do what I do best, work with local farmers to create great food and something that Chicago will love."
one sixtyblue. 1400 W Randolph St between Ada St and Ogden Ave (312-850-0303). El: Green, Pink to Ashland. Bus: 9, 20 (24hrs), 65. Dinner (closed Sun). Average main course: $25.
Café des Architectes. 20 E Chestnut St at Wabash Ave (312-324-4000). El: Red to Chicago. Bus: 36, 66 (24hrs), 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 151 (24hrs). Breakfast, brunch (Sat, Sun), lunch, dinner. Average main course: $24.
MONDAY 14
It’s Bastille Day, which seems like a good enough excuse to get loaded on a Monday: Drink Graham Beck Brut Rosé, a sparkling South African wine, for free at Taste Food and Wine. 6–7:30pm. 1506 Jarvis Ave (773-761-3633). Free.
Sip 25 bubblies and nibble on paté and cheeses at Pops for Champagne’s Bastille Day festival, which takes place in the Tree Studios courtyard. (Have you been back there? It’s beautiful.) No reservations necessary. 5–8pm. 601 N State St (312-266-7677). $75.
Say sorry for temporarily rejecting France’s gift to us–foie gras–by digging into the Bastille Day menu at Cyrano’s Bistrot and Wine Bar, which highlights classic French preparations like rotisserie duck with orange sauce. 5pm. 546 N Wells St (312-467-0546). $39.95–$44.95.
Brasserie Ruhlmann gets in on the Bastille Day frenzy with cocktails and appetizer stations—including smoked salmon with crème fraiche—at its outdoor Bastille Festival. 6–9pm. 500 W Superior St (312-494-1900). $40–$50.
Bistrot Margot offers a three-course prix-fixe in celebration of, you guessed it, Bastille Day, with options like onion soup, lyonnaise salad, and a final course of poached pear with brie. 11:30am–9pm. 1437 N Wells St (312-587-3660). $32.95.
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Remember our guessing game from earlier this month? Well, none of you guessed, which is a shame, because chances are you would have been right. More details about Chicago Gourmet were released today, and it turns out that practically every chef in the city is involved in some way or another (see list below).
Details about the actual events are still scarce, but it’s clear this is an upscale event: One day’s admission costs $150, and the two-day weekend pass will cost $250. The Culinary Institute of America is involved somehow (they’ll have their own “World of Flavors” pavilion, where they’ll allegedly bring in chefs from Mexico to give presentations), and a few Master Sommeliers—such as Alpana Singh and Joe Spellman—will be around, presumably for the Grand Cru wine tasting. But so far there are no details about the chefs and the demonstrations they’ll be giving.
One thing that’s noticeably absent from the festival: Not a single chef from a Lettuce restaurant is represented. A three-day celebration of Chicago’s gourmet food without Laurent Gras? Excuse the pun, but something sounds fishy.
Full list of those involved after the jump.
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