America's Classics: Calumet Fisheries, Chicago

by jbfauthor on June 15, 2010

America’s Classics Award–winning restaurants have timeless appeal and are beloved in their regions for quality food that reflects the character of their community. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be spotlighting the eateries that earned this prestigious distinction in 2010. Chicago’s 95th Street Bridge, which spans the Calumet River on the city’s South Side, is known for two things. One, in the movie The Blues Brothers, Elwood demonstrated the capabilities of his new car by jumping the bridge. Two, it’s the home of Calumet Fisheries, a stand-alone hutch that has been frying and smoking seafood since 1948, when brothers-in-law Sid Kotlick and Len Toll opened the place. To this day, the Kotlick and Toll families run the joint. It’s strictly carryout. No seating, no bathroom, no credit cards. And, if you believe the ominous street sign, no parking. The place draws a working-class, melting-pot crowd, and a fair number of amateur fishermen. (The murky Calumet is a good place to find bluegill.) Fried perch, smelts, and frogs’ legs are big here, but they also bring in scallops, crab, catfish, and oysters. The fried stuff is very good, but what you really

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News Feed: June 15

by jbfauthor on June 15, 2010

Foraging grows in popularity. [Food & Wine] Winners of the 2010 Illinois State Fair wine competition. [Chicago Tribune] Americans love Prosecco—but is it really that good? [WSJ] Change we can believe in: the nation’s capital is about to experience a brewery boom. [WP]

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Recipe: Scallop Ceviche

by jbfauthor on June 14, 2010

Though summer doesn't arrive for another week, we've already begun to suffer the season's swelter. If you're looking for something to make for dinner that doesn't require turning your oven dials from the "off" position, try this tangy scallop ceviche from Ivy Stark of Dos Caminos. Like all ceviches, this one is "cooked" with lime juice instead of heat. (Technically, the acid denatures the proteins, resulting in seafood that's firm and opaque.)

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Eat This Word: Vacherin

by JBF Editors on June 14, 2010

WHAT? A very dairy dessert. Several cow’s milk cheeses, both French and Swiss in origin, go by the name Vacherin, which contains the French word for cow, vache. Some are made specifically for fondue; others are so soft they’re eaten with a spoon. To make matters even more confusing, the word is also used for a French meringue dessert. The dessert, it’s true, was named for the cheese, which it’s said to resemble. Rings of meringue are stacked on top of one another to form a basket, which is filled with fruit and ice cream, whipped cream, or crème chantilly, and then prettily decorated.

WHEN? Jean-Marc Boyer and Cedric Tovar's Beard House Dinner

WHERE? June 30, 2010

HOW? Strawberry Vacherin

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