The Big Heat #9: Ellen Malloy
9 Ellen Malloy Owner, Restaurant Intelligence Agency and Spoonfeed She was one of the most, if not the most successful food PR folks in all of Chicago and then she reinvented herself. She realized that...
View ArticleThe Big Heat #8: Scott Harris
8 Scott Harris Owner, Mia Francesca and many more Apparently owning over twenty Francesca franchises was boring. How else to explain that Harris opened The Purple Pig, Davanti Enoteca, Salatino’s,...
View ArticleThe Big Heat #7: Graham Elliot
7 Graham Elliot Chef/Owner, Graham Elliot Restaurant, Grahamwich and Master Chef on Fox and Curator Lollapalooza Food Tents Mario Batali has his clogs and Graham has his bone-white mod eyeglass frames,...
View ArticleThe Big Heat #6: Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm
6 Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm Owners, Boka Restaurant Group What Jerry Kleiner and Rich Melman were to Chicago restaurant development the last three decades, Katz and Boehm might be for the next decade....
View ArticleThe Big Heat #5: Paul Kahan, Donald Madia, Eduard Seitan, Terry Alexander
5 Paul Kahan, Donald Madia, Eduard Seitan, Terry Alexander Chef/Owners/Managers of most of the edible things that are remotely cool in Chicago We could separate each of these guys out on their own, but...
View ArticleThe Big Heat #4: Rich Melman
4 Rich Melman Founder, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises The dude basically invented the salad bar at his inaugural restaurant R.J. Grunts. Forty years and more than forty-plus restaurants later, he...
View ArticleThe Big Heat #3: Grant Achatz
3 Grant Achatz Chef/Owner, Alinea, Aviary and Next A member of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People List. While Achatz has pushed the emotional boundaries of the dining experience more than...
View ArticleThe Big Heat #2: Stephanie Izard
2 Stephanie Izard Chef/Partner, Girl & the Goat Last time we did this list, the queen of all food media and “Top Chef” 2008 winner was a line cook at Vong’s Thai Kitchen and Spring, neither of...
View ArticleThe Big Heat #1: Rick Bayless
1 Rick Bayless King of the Frontera Empire (Topolobampo, Frontera Grill, Xoco, Frontera Foods etc.) He brought “real” regional Mexican food to the American table. He made gardening look cool again....
View ArticleTop 5 of Everything 2011: Resto
Top 5 New Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurants Quesadilla La Reyna del Sur Urban Vegan Native Foods Soul Vegetarian Express Protein Bar —John Wawrzaszek Top 5 Cookbooks Featuring Recipes from Chicagoans...
View ArticleThe Big Heat: Chicago’s Food & Drink Fifty 2013
Many things come to mind when contemplating Chicago’s culinary and cocktail culture: farm-to-table, molecular gastronomy, why Charlie Trotter hung it up, and so on. But what struck us when working on...
View ArticleNewcity’s Top 5 of Everything 2013: Dining
Top 5 Restaurant Openings Grace Honey Butter Fried Chicken Brindille Juno Tanta —Amber Gibson Top 5 Places We Will Miss Baume & Brix Great Lake Pizza Moderno Socca West Town Tavern —Amber Gibson...
View ArticleThe Big Heat: Chicago’s Food & Drink Fifty 2014
This year’s selection of Chicago’s dining and drinking leadership focuses on the artists behind the beautiful and delicious compositions on our plates and in our glasses. A few on our list may be...
View ArticlePassion’s Fruits: Local Holiday Gifts for Food Lovers
By Amber Gibson Food lovers will enjoy these delicious treats, all made locally by passionate culinary artisans. CH Distillery and West Loop Salumi join forces to offer a holiday booze box ($85 and up)...
View ArticleNewcity’s Top 5 of Everything 2014: Dining
Top 5 Places to Eat Your Mother-in-Law (a corn-roll tamale with chili, usually in a hot dog bun, sometimes with cheese) Fat Johnnie’s Johnny O’s Henry’s Drive-In Donald’s Famous Hot Dogs George’s...
View ArticleRestaurateur of the Moment: Alpana Singh of The Boarding House and Seven Lions
By David Hammond Most Chicagoans were introduced to Alpana Singh on “Check, Please!” After hosting this truly ground-breaking restaurant review show for ten seasons, Singh left in 2013. She soon opened...
View ArticleThe Big Heat: Chicago’s Food and Drink Fifty 2015
Newcity’s Big Heat 2015 represents a thick slice of Chicago’s culinary culture: butchers and cheese mongers, restaurateurs, critics, even some sommeliers and chefs. This year, however, we’re focusing...
View ArticleNewcity’s Top 5 of Everything 2015: Dining
Top 5 Handcrafted Tortillas Rubi’s, Maxwell Street Market Birrieria Zaragoza La Quebrada La Casa de Samuel Nuevo Leon (RIP) —David Hammond Top 5 Old School American-Chinese Restaurants Won Kow Three...
View ArticleRestaurateurs of the Moment: The Family Zaragoza
By David Hammond Driving south on Pulaski, between 48th and 49th, even if you’re looking hard for Birrieria Zaragoza, even if you’ve been there before, you might drive right past it. It’s a small,...
View ArticleBig Heat: Chicago’s Food & Drink Fifty 2016
Big Heat, 2016, is Newcity’s list of chefs, bartenders, bakers and other food producers who are, undeniably, very good and sometimes great. The best? YMMV. Lists are fundamentally flawed in that they...
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