Meet the Curator of "A Case for Wine" exhibit from the Art Institute of Chicago at Binny's

I have visited this exhibit at the Art Institute twice already.  It spans many eras in art from ancient times to present.  I am particularly interested in the tapestries, bedspreads, book covers and wallpaper of the Arts & Crafts movement, most of which came out of the William Morris Company.  The depictions from this particular gallery are mostly grape and harvest motifs and only allude to wine, but interesting nonetheless.  The exhibit is up until September 20th.

I just read that the curator of the exhibit, Christopher Monkhouse, will be giving a presentation at Binny's in the South Loop on Wednesday, September 9th from 6-7:30p.  The presentation pairs anecdotal information about pieces of art from the exhibit with a tasting of wines from Terrazas de los Andes and Casa Lapostolle.  The Pairing of Wine with Art event is free with a Binny's card and attendees will receive a discount on admission to the Art Institute.  Reservations are required. (312-768-4400 or southloop@binnys.com)

2009 Locavore Challenge

The Green City Market is sponsoring a Locavore Challenge for Chicagoans to commit to eating locally grown and produced foods for two weeks.  The challenge begins September 9th and runs through September 24th.  Details can be found at the Green City Market or on their website http://www.chicagogreencitymarket.org/programs/program.asp?id=6

A number of restaurants, including Table 52, the Bristol and North Pond, are joining the cause by offering a locavore menu during the challenge.  Some are also sponsoring special events and donating $1 of each locavore dish to support Green City Market.

Goose Island and Slow Food Chicago - Pig Roast 2009

Paul Kahan from Publican and Blackbird can do no wrong, so this must be good!  Sounds like a good time and tickets are still available at http://www.slowfoodchicago.org/index.php/2009/08/26/pig-roast/

Local pork prepared by local chefs and Goose Island Beer on Sunday, August 30th at Goose Island Brewery (the real one on Fulton!) from 3-7p for $55 a person.

Beerbin.com

I love this new site (http://www.beerbin.com/) that shows where you can:

a) enter the name of the bar of your choice (in Chicago) and get a listing of beers served there
or
b) enter the name of the beer of your choice and get a listing of bars (in Chicago) that serve it


When the new flagship Whole Foods in Lincoln Park opened with a beer bar in place, a friend was lucky enough to happen upon Three Floyd's Banana Split Weizenbock.  By the time Dan and I got there to try it, they were all sold out and had no idea if they were getting more.  Enter Beerbin.com. 


It didn't actually help me find this particular beer, but I had fun trying.  When I entered "Banana" into the search field for beers, Wells Banana Bread Beer autopopulated.  This provided a few minutes of entertainment as I typed in random words to find what unusual beers might appear.  FYI...Wells Banana Bread Beer is found at Kroll's in the South Loop.  I definitely think I will be relying heavily on Beerbin.com in the future, probably more for making bar choices than anything else.

Another note on Right Brain Brewery

I didn't write much about my favorite beers at Right Brain Brewery and they had quite a selection to choose from.  If pressed, I would say I found the Scarsborough Fair (Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme) to be the most unusual and memorable - probably my favorite, though I couldn't drink it all day long.  The guy at Right Brain told me people either love it or hate it.  I would be one of those that loves it and could think of other purposes for it in cooking, too...like a reduction!?  But you have to be careful reducing beer, because the hops flavors become more intense.  It would be interesting to reduce it to a sauce though.  For best all around beer, my favorite was Ethel the Frog, which is a slightly hoppy copper ale.  This was Dan's favorite and the favorite of the bartender/brewerytender, too:)  Again, the list there is ever changing, so I think it is the kind of place I would be stopping in constantly if I lived closer than 5 hours away from Traverse City.

Top Chef Masters Winning Menu at Topolobampo

If you love Rick Bayless, like me, and you love Bravo!, like me, I am sure that this isn't news to you. However, I was so excited to find out that after winning Top Chef Masters on Bravo!, Rick Bayless is presenting his winning menu from the season finale at Topolobampo until October 10th. Now good luck getting reservations. I haven't had any yet:)

Also, I think it was kismet that on the day after Rick's big win, I was strolling through Barbara's Bookstore in the basement of Macy's on State Street and there on the bargain books table was the 20th Anniversary Edition of Authentic Mexico for half price! I am loving this book, because it gives you history of the food and reads like a real book...not just a cookbook.

On the topic of Rick Bayless, there is a recipe from Xoco for Mexican Tortas with Black Beans and Chorizo in this month's Food and Wine Magazine in the article "Simple Acts of Sandwich Genius."

www.foodandwine.com/recipes/mexican-tortas-with-black-beans-and-chorizo

Half Acre Beer Company in Lincoln Square

Chicago desperately needs a more local beer scene. We are so close to Michigan, which is brimming with beer in every corner of the state and Illinois seems sorely lacking in contrast. I do love Goose Island and I am ecstatic with Metropolitan Brewery (the two coolest people, Tracy and Doug Hurst, run this place! Look out for them at local beer festivals and make a point to speak to them). I love Three Floyds, though technically in Indiana, and I love Two Brothers, too. I still need to make a trip out to Flossmore Station to case my vote here.

In any case, I was so excited when I was driving down Lincoln Ave. last week and saw the new location for Half Acre Beer Co. Truth be told, I had my heart set on it popping up somewhere in West Town, as I often see the jeep parked around the Milwaukee/Grand Corridor. Regardless, it is good to see another brewery take root in the city. I know Half Acre has been around for awhile, but they used to brew outside of Chicago. I am not sure what is in store in this Lincoln Square location...a brewpub, I hope?!