WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

The chef behind this mesmerizing egg-topped patty melt is Cleetus Friedman of City Provisions and he's hosting Cooking Up a Cure this coming Monday, October 15, at Salvage One, benefitting the Scleroderma Foundation Greater Chicago Chapter. Friedman lost his father to the disease in 1991. You may remember Friedman created the chocolate charity truffle of the month at Katherine Anne Confections. His Bad Ass Bourbon Bacon truffle is available until the end of October, with a portion of the proceeds also going to the Scleroderma Foundation.

Friedman is now best known as a local, sustainable chef, whose mission is to connect our community with food.

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Perhaps we've reached fake food news fatigue, what with the widespread coverage of Aporkalypse Not. Despite the Wall Street Journal's frightening front page story, the paper failed to incite a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte panic.

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Friday, October 7

Is one of the best new restaurants in the world being built right now in Chicago? That's the consensus of the league of worldwide culinary watchers, including yours truly. Curtis Duffy, chef/owner of the highly anticipated restaurant Grace visits The Interview Show by Mark Bazer at The Hideout, with business partner/wine director Michael Muser. Duffy won two Michelin stars at Avenues at The Peninsula, and when he left he said he was shooting for three. I could see his eyes on that prize when I first met him in 2004, way back when he was Grant Achatz's pastry chef at Trio. Watch Duffy previously on The Interview Show, where he talks about finding grace in food before he ever announced Grace.

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“Why, then the world’s mine oyster,
Which I with sword will open.”

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After five years, I think I've finally figured out Chicago Gourmet, the sometimes maddening annual festival held this past weekend in Millenium Park. Better yet, I think it's figured itself out too, and it goes beyond food and drink.

This year, the event sold out, drawing over 11,000 attendees to Millenium Park. Yes, the food lines were long, as they always are, but they moved steadily. And yes, drinks still outnumber food, but that means there's almost never a wait, plus they keep the food lines convivial and patient.

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Friday, September 28

What happens when two cultures known for their love of, uh, festivities, join forces? The second annual McToberfest! The love child of DANK Haus German American Cultural Center and the Irish American Heritage Center at the latter's Fifth Province transforms the authentic Irish pub into a German-Irish beer hall, with German-Irish food, drink, and spirits too.

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First celebrated as a harvest festival 3,000 years ago, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which this year falls on this Sunday, September 30. Meanwhile I've been monitoring worldwide reports of the contemporary bounty of the season: mooncakes.

Estimated to be a multi-billion dollar business, mooncakes were once considered the Chinese version of the Christmas fruitcake. Today though, mooncakes appear in chocolate, ice cream and other luxury ingredients — and are considered a status symbol that can grease the wheels of global business. There's even a booming black market trade in mooncakes, according to Marketplace.

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