Well, I have decided to move to Chicago in search of more opportunities and change of scenery. It has been quite challenging on many levels, but feel it is a good decision. While in search of new jobs and apartments, I have discovered a plethora of eating establishments. There are foods from just about every type of cuisine with the addition of Chicago's hot dogs, of course. Hot Doug's is one the more famous local hot dog eateries that I have yet to enjoy. Just about everyday I see people stand in long lines outside, even in the windy, cold weather, waiting for their fill. I was not sure what to think at first, but then I discovered on-line that it was part of the Slow Food Chicago movement (http://www.slowfoodchicago.org). This website is now my go-to page to find participating restaurants. Another restaurant making the list was Green Zebra. My friend Niki, former Sous Chef of Corner Table, and I decided to eat there a couple days ago to indulge in a complete vegetarian affair with fresh burrata topped with crispy lentils, butternut dumplings, mushroom bread pudding and poached egg over smoked applewood mashed potatoes. Yummmmmy. The food was absolutely delightful. Several people had told me beforehand that it is quite possibly the best vegetarian restaurant in Chicago. I guess I will have to eat my way through Chicago and decide for myself.
After my experience at Green Zebra, I could not help but compare the restaurant/food scene of Chicago to Minneapolis/ St. Paul.* The two cities have quite the food scenes going on, each with different high/low lights, thus it is difficult to say which has better food. One thing I do like more about Minnesota and the Twin Cities is the local food movement. I do not have exact stats on how many and how much food the restaurants source locally, but due to the larger number of farms in Minnesota, it would seem more likely. If you think back to a post I wrote a while back on what local means, I mentioned the term 'local' has various definitions depending on who you converse with. Therefore, I must clarify what I mean when I speak about local foods; I believe local foods should refer to the mileage, the distance the food traveled from growth to consumption within a 100-200 mile radius. Most Chicago menus and websites I have browsed print 'local' when they source mostly from Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio. Yet, there are a fair amount of farms in Illinois, especially in the growth of various berries, asparagus, squash and dairy production, much like MN. Perhaps I have it all wrong; I would love to be proven otherwise that Illinois is well on it's way to providing local foods to local restaurants.
*I guess I should also mention that I had the fortune of eating at the only two 3 star Michelin restaurants in Chicago, Alinea and L2O, since this plays a vital role in comparisons between the cities.
Here are some quick notes on comparing the two foodie destinations:
Twin Cities:
Fewer restaurants (obviously) with less variety
Less creativity, all the food seems alike
Cheaper prices
Ingredients travel a shorter distance in terms of 'local' eating
Easy to go out, [free] parking is available
More country style comfort foods
Quieter
Less busy overall
Chicago:
More restaurants with more variety
Menus differ between restaurants with more creativity
Expensive to eat out
Heaps of community style restaurants
Adventurous eaters, here's your city
Restaurants here have a longer history
Michelin Restaurants: for food and entertainment (might have to explain that in another post)
No parking, unless you want to pay an arm and a leg [taxi]
Of course, these are my observations and options....to each their own.
Tchau tchau for now foodies.
Of course, these are my observations and options....to each their own.
Tchau tchau for now foodies.
According to Infoplease.com, Minnesota did have 6,500 more farms than Illinois in 2007, but at 79,000 vs 72,500, this doesn't seem like a huge edge.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the blogging! There was an amazing Fresh Air interview with Grant Achatz (Alinea) that you might enjoy.
ReplyDeleteHannah, I wonder how many of those farms supply to local businesses as well as the diversity of farms. For example, are they largely dairy?
ReplyDeleteNikhil, I did hear the interview. It was quite enjoyable to listen to while cooking at home. Grants ability to regain his sense of taste is quite powerful and only shows his brilliance in the kitchen. Even to this day, I have to ask myself if I did indeed eat at Alinea. Will I be so lucky to eat there again? It's a good thing he has two more restaurants opening in Chicago.