Why I Oughta...

Anthony Bourdain has a list of 13 places everyone must try before they die that includes a place called Oklahoma Joe's BBQ in Kansas City.  The full list is here .    He describes it thusly: It's the best BBQ in Kansas City, which makes it the best BBQ in the world. Well...consider us one step closer to finishing the list!  We had lunch at Oklahoma Joe's and the wait was worth it.  I had the burnt ends and Nat had a smoked Turkey sandwich.  Both were unreal.   I've been to a few other places around KC including Masterpiece, Gates, Jackstack and others, but Oklahoma Joe's stands out.  One thing to note, though:  we had a few sides at Oklahoma Joe's and they were ALL lackluster.  You can clearly tell that old Joe focuses on the meat and doesn't give much thought to the beans and potato salad.

One of my preferred part of my day job is finding and pointing out trends using data from the company.  With the end of the year coming, these inevitably end up being used in "list" format.  You know...Top 10 XXX of 2010, etc.   For Chicago, the List Season got off to an early start with the Sun-Times running the top 10 food/drink trends.  You can see them in the photo above (on the right side) that I took with my phone or in the lists below.   Guacamole tops pizza?  That's crazy talk.   Fastest Rising Food and Drink Search Terms in Chicago Food 1. Chicken 2. Zucchini bread 3. Guacamole 4. Pizza 5. Bruschetta 6. Cake 7. Wings 8. Pie 9. Pasta 10. Cookies Non-alcoholic beverages 1. Acai 2. Frappe 3. Macchiato 4. Smoothie 5. Tea 6. Pepsi 7. Coke 8. Kombucha 9. Frappuccino 10. Pomegranate

So that's what $8.00 worth of Jarlsberg looks like, huh? Actually, it is just shy of $7, but you get the picture.  Nat and I were wondering around Whole Foods last week and the cheese monger was where I lingered the longest - as usual.  I didn't buy this cheese and in fact, I don't think I've ever had Jarlsberg ever. For those of you who don't get the reference, see here .  And...yes....I'm lame for liking that movie!

At the Elmhurst Farmer's Market, there are your typical produce vendors - wide variety of offerings, but not a ton of personality.  They'll have fruit/vegetables but usually just a teenager there to collect the money.  They're not really interacting with the customers as much as just taking their money.  The food is good, that's not my complaint.   Then...there are two large vendors with some personality and quite a bit of knowledge.  One of those vendors is Twin Garden Farms from Harvard, Illinois.  They are the purveyors of Mirai Sweet Corn - they're own home-grown hybrid variety. The serve it raw - right in the stand - and it tastes delicious.  They say that occasionally they'll have it at Dominicks or Jewels, so if you see it, pick up a sack.  They come 6 ears per purchase.  Cook all six and make it a meal!

File this under:  my late evolving tastebuds. The Jewels has recently re-branded their private label ice creams under the Stone Ridge Creamery banner and they're not bad.  We don't eat a lot of ice cream (we eat a ton of Skinny Cows and Weight Watcher bars, but not real ice cream), so I can't tell you where it ranks versus other ice creams premium or not. But...Nat came home with a quart of their new Tart Frozen Yogurt .  I think it took me all of 4 days to eat the whole thing.  I would have never thought that I would be into lowfat tart frozen yogurt, but I've shared too many a Berry Chill with Nat and I've grown more than accustomed, if not downright ravenous of tart yogurts. If you're in your local Jewels and are in the frozen aisle, eschew the novelties section and head over to pick up a pint of this stuff.  If you like Pinkberry or Berry Chill, it will NOT disappoint.

Up in Michigan, at the local Hardings grocery store, they sell 2 kinds of sugar.  First comes the Spartan Brand of generic sugar.  And....then they sell something called  Pioneer Sugar . Turns out, it is locally grown in Michigan for over 100 years from Sugar beets. I'm certain that there are some characteristics of cane sugar that outweigh anything you can squeeze out of a beet, but eating something local - that helps the Michigan economy - is a nice counter to any shortcomings recipe-wise.   The sugar beet industry in Michigan has the loggers to thank.  According to the history books , as the logging companies began to clear pine forests, they left behind land that was unusable for farming because of the stumps.  Some crazy farmer decided to experiment with beets and the rest - as they say - is history.  As best as I can tell, growing local sugar in the upper Midwest is unique to this part of Michigan.  We might have had some sugar beets back in the day in parts of Illinois ,

My candy of choice is usually Mike and Ikes.  For gifts, my Mom seems to give them to me all the time.  Nat fills my stocking each Christmas with them, too.  This weekend, on our way to the Drive-in, we picked up some candy and came across these Mike and Ikes:  Italian Ice Flavor. They were pretty good.  The ice part comes in with the after-taste.  It kind of has a tingling sensation as they go down.  I don't think I'll get them again (mostly because they come in a little plastic pouch inside the typical Mike and Ike box), but I'm glad we tried them once.

To celebrate our good friends' recent engagement, Nat and I wanted to take them out for dinner/drinks.  One way or the other, we settled on Hopleaf in Andersonville.  Being a suburban Dad, I rarely venture into the city at night, so I wasn't the one to pick the place, but I'm thrilled that whomever decided on the location picked Hopleaf. The place is known for their beer menu and long waits and they didn't disappoint.  Fortunately, we decided to avoid the Eisenhower and went up around O'Hare and took the Kennedy into the city.   By the time we arrived, our friends had already put our name in and grabbed a seat in the bar area - thus shortening the time we had to wait for a table.   I won't go into a huge review of the place, but I will say that I'm willing to go back - and for a place in the city that makes you wait for a table - that is rare. I had a beer from a Chicago brewery - Metropolitan called I-Beam Alt  and the ham and cheese sandwich (they hav

We don't go to Chipotle very often.  Maybe once every 2 months or so, but we found ourselves there last week with our niece. They've changed their soda cups, right? I see their new billboards and have witnessed a few branding changes in the stores (new signage?), but I can't wrap my head around what their message is all about.  Don't get me wrong - I really like the food every time I eat there, but it seems like they're struggling to create a cohesive message to consumers.

Last week, our Jewel in Elmhurst received some new signage in the dairy case.  I'm guessing I'm not the only one who let a snicker out after seeing them for the first 5 times. This, most likely, won't get old.

Last week, the Paupered Chef chronicled the state of the Italian Sub in Chicago.  They went to six different places in one afternoon and hossed down a sangwich at each joint.  An impressive feat.  They settled on J.P. Graziano's as the top dog - and I don't quarrel with that selection.  I haven't been before, so I can not judge. I can, however, recommend that they should have added a stop to their tour.  Lying a mere eight blocks south of J.P. Graziano's is Fontano's Subs on the UIC campus.  Downtown Elmhurst is home to a Fontano's, too.  And that's where I get my Italian sangwich fix. When I say "Italian sangwich", I mean I get to pick one of their SEVEN Italian combos.  Click the photo below to see the left side of the menu board featuring all SEVEN various ways you can mix provolone with salted, cured meats.  (pay no attention to the faux-Wrigley styled menu itself, please!) Seriously...did you click on the photo?  Did you see the left s

Recently, Serious Eats asked where you would take a tourist if they came to visit you in your town.  Some Chicagoans chimed in with places like Great Lake, Kuma's Corner, and Hot Doug's.  I'm sure Alinea and Charlie Trotters are on the list somewhere for foodies.  That's fine for you city rats, but us suburbanites live in the land of strip malls and minivans.  There can't possibly be anything worth eating in Elmhurst, right? If that's what you thought....I'm here to challenge that assumption.  Granted, I'm not pointing you to any place that specializes in molecular gastronomy, but it isn't all Burger Kings and Chucky Cheese's out in the Suburbs. Without further delay, here's my list of places you should hit when life brings you to Elmhurst. Seven Ten Lanes   Fitz's Lanes  Fitz's Spare Keys for their Italian Beef pizza with "extra" giardinera .  It really is quite an amazing pie that comes from a bowling alley.  Thin,

Here's a tip for all of you pizza take-out guys and girls.  After you pick up your pie and get into your car, crack the box lid a bit.  It'll release the steam and keep your crust nice and crisp.  Your windows steam up in the car some, but the overwhelming aroma of sausage and pepperoni more than makes up for it.  Here's the cracked box in my front seat that I picked up Friday from Two Brothers from Italy in Elmhurst. What's that?  You don't pick up your pies?  You get delivery? Sucker.

We're subscribers to the print edition of "bon appetit" magazine.  I know....blame Nat and I for the demise of Gourmet!  Anyway, I don't love the magazine.  Sometimes I find something in there worth clipping, but most of the time not.  One of the features I do enjoy, however, is the section inside the back cover called "FEEDBACK".  They interview a famous (or relatively) famous person about their food peccadilloes and passions.   The questions change depending on who's being interviewed (this month is Stanley Tucci), but one question seems to be in there every month:  Name three things that are always in your refrigerator. I can do mine: giardiniera, peanut butter (yes!  We keep our pb in the fridge and I'm kinda partial to this 'flaxseed pb' from TJ's at right), and "Special Blend" dry Parm/Romano blend from Caputo's Market.    Now..it is your turn to share with me in the comments.  Only rule:  your items can't inc

On plenty of gadget/nerd blogs that I read, I often see "unboxing" of new gadgets/phones/computers.  They're step-by-step photos of un-packing of the new prized piece of technology.  It has always fascinated me that someone would go through the trouble of documenting each piece of packaging.  I don't think that it is for the ' packaging nut ', rather, I think it is said nerds way of showing off a bit on his/her new toy.   Well...good news for you.  Unless you want me to "unbox" my new mitre saw stand, I'm going to skip any such technology documentation.  Instead...I'll share with you something I find a bit more interesting: cheese.  Yes...CHEESE!  My wife LOVES peonies.  I LOVE cheese!  Rather have it than chocolate any day of the week.  Since the day I joined at work, they've always had string cheese in the fridge.  For those afternoon snacks, they've usually filled the bill.  But, when we came back from Christmas break, there was

I need some help from the East Coaster's who read RhodesSchool. I've had nothing but bad luck from pretzel vendors. First it was in NYC, today the problem occurred in Boston. I enjoy the speed of acquisition and feel for food cart vendors on the street. I've done plenty of shopping from street vendors for "goods" and I will, on occassion buy a meal from a street cart vendor. I like that it's all cash. I like that it's a one-man operation. And...I like the whole thought about cart "turf" that I have in my head. ( how do you get the prime corners? Seniority? Does the Outfit control the turf?, etc... ) In the midwest, where I grew up, we had "big" or "jumbo" pretzels that were served hot. They were always, without exception soft. They were chewey and usually had salt applied to them and if you were feeling friskey, you'd even dip them in some yellow mustard - they're fantastic. In both NYC and now in Boston

Somehow this week (stamp machine, I think), I came into a few of the sacagawea dollar coins . They've been jangling around my pockets for a few days and today, I decided to spend them. At the sammich shop down the block from my office, I ordered my meal, stepped over to the cashier, and gingerly handed the coins over to the young lady. She didn't even flinch. Gave me a few coins in change and I went on my way. I couldn't help but feel like I just had gotten away with something - like I got a big discount. Anyone use these things regularly? Did they stop minting them? Should I not be spending them, instead keeping them or something?

I believe that I may have had the best food item that I have ever tasted yesterday at my sister Vic's house. Most of my family headed over there for Easter brunch-ish. (10 am to noon) There were the usual suspects on the menu: bagels, quiche, ham, etc. Natalie and I brought a banana cream pie, courtesy of my "Two-Time Pie Eating Champion" winnings. I made my way through the spread without much delight. While, as most people know, I really enjoy a good spread, I'm not really into breakfast foods. Vic tipped me onto the Gorilla Bread , and I'm thrilled she did. While not the least bit healthy, (the recipe doesn't mention that Vic uses Martha's cream cheese frosting recipe to top this whole thing off!) it may be the best thing I've ever tasted - not to mention it's President Jimmy Carter's favorite food. When discussing my favorite foods, I tend to skew towards the italian beef/pizza area of the food pyramid, but this new Gorilla Bread e