WBEZ | Fat Tuesday

Delightful paczki do Mardi Gras, Polish-style

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 05:00:00 -0600

When Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world with his resignation announcement yesterday, Catholics across Chicago could at least stress eat with paczki.

The Polish pastries are part of the great last hurrah before Lent. They're traditionally eaten in Poland on Fat Thursday (last Thursday), and across this country today on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. In Chicago, we celebrate both days thanks to our Polish-American population, and because we like to eat.

Paczki look like everyday doughnuts but should feel heavier, bite denser, and taste unfamiliar, filled with stewed plum or rose hip jam. Before the gourmet doughnut trend, there were paczki.

But at Delightful Pastries, pastry chef/owner Dobra Bielinski, is injecting a little of the new world too, sometimes with a shot of vodka. Yes, she makes all the old world flavors at her Jefferson Park location. She says her older, Polish customers prefer them.

Yet, during a visit on Fat Thursday last week, an older Polish-speaking man listened carefully to a young Polish-speaking shopgirl explain the new flavors, including passionfruit jam. He eventually added a decidedly untraditional chocolate raspberry to his box of a dozen paczki.

Me too, but I like the stewed plum jam the best. Powidła is made with late harvest plums, cooked down slowly for hours with no added sugar or pectin, earning its sweet, tart, and thick character only with time.

Delightful Pastries

Jefferson Park
5927 W. Lawrence Ave.
Chicago, IL 60630
773-545-7215

Old Town
1710 N. Wells St.
Chicago, IL 60614
312-255-0724

Chicago French Market
131 N. Clinton Ave.
Chicago, IL 60661
312-234-9644

Friday Foodie Forecast: a gala, a carnival and Fat Tuesday festivities

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:00:00 -0600

Whether you call it Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday or Carnival, it usually conjures up images of flying beads, masqueraded party-goers on floats, and general all-out debauchery. But you don’t need to attend a parade this week to join in the decadent festivities. A charity gala featuring acrobats and award-winning chefs, a Brazilian celebration of cuisine and cocktails, and a good old-fashioned Cajun-style crawfish eating contest are all offerings this week for the foodie looking to share in some of gluttonous fun.

Redmoon Spectacle Lunatique Gala

Match out-of-this-world food with mind-blowing theater as Redmoon hosts its annual Spectacle Lunatique Gala at Redmoon Central on Saturday, March 12th from 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Since 1990, the theater organization throws the one-night only showcase of its signature large-scale, site-specific, spectacle performance work (think equal parts pageantry, gadgetry, puppetry and acrobatics) all for an invited audience of donors that gather in support of the companyʼs civic mission of creating public art for the city of Chicago. This year, the group has teamed up with four 2011 Michelin Guide Chicago Starred Restaurants, four 2011 Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand Restaurants, three James Beard Award winning/nominated chefs, four “Best New Chefs” listed in Food & Wine, two Jean Banchet Award winners, a Bravo “Top Chef” winner, an “America’s Best Mixologist” from the program On the Rocks, and more.

The list of chefs includes: Paul Kahan (Blackbird), Jessica Oloroso (Black Dog Gelato), Giuseppe Tentori (BOKA), Chris Pandel (The Bristol), Charles Joly (The Drawing Room), Stephanie Izard (Girl & The Goat), Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate), Randy Zweiban (Province), Jimmy Bannos, Jr. (The Purple Pig), Michael Carlson (Schwa), Andrew Zimmerman (Sepia), Bill Kim (Urban Belly), as well as select students participating in the dessert and hors d’oeuvres service from The French Pastry School of Chicago and Kendall College School of Culinary Arts.

The cost for individual tickets range from $50 for late-night entry at 10:30 p.m. including drinks, dancing and dessert, to $175, which includes tastings from Chicago’s premier chefs and a Redmoon Spectacle moment at 8:30 p.m. VIP tickets include early entry at 6:30 p.m. and range from $650 for two guests to $2500 for eight guests. Corporate packages are also available and range from $2,500 to $10,000. All tickets can be purchased by calling 312.850.8440 x100 or online at www.redmoon.org. Proceeds fund Redmoonʼs Neighborhood Arts Program, directly impacting Chicagoʼs diverse communities. Redmoon Central is located at 1463 W. Hubbard St.

Carnival at SushiSamba

Transport yourself to Rio de Janeiro and celebrate the annual Brazilian tradition of Carnival this Saturday, March 5 at SushiSamba Rio. Beginning at 9 p.m., guests will sip the evening’s featured drink -tangerine honey caipirnhas – alongside samba dancers, batacuda drummers and live feed from Brazil. The night’s special festive menu includes casquinha do siri (blue crab, dende oil remoulade, fresh lime, $14), acaraje with braised short ribs (black bean fritter, cilantro, pickled onion, $24), beinjinho flan (sweet coconut flan, lime beignet, pineapple caipirnha sorvete, $8) and a manqueria roll (avocado, tuna, yellowtail, salmon, eel, shrimp, spicy mayonnaise, $22). Reservations can be made by calling 312-595-2300. SushiSamba Rio is located at 504 N. Wells St.

Crawfish Contest at the Cactus Bar & Grill

Celebrate Fat Tuesday Cajun-style while donating to charity at the first annual Cactus Bar & Grill crawfish-eating contest this Tuesday, March 8 at 6 p.m. The goal is to be the first to eat three pounds of the crustaceans to take the title of crawfish king or queen. It is $25 to participate, which includes a souvenir t-shirt, and all proceeds benefit the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which promotes research and treatment of childhood cancers. Spectators can enjoy $3 Abita Turbo Dog pints and $5 bowls of gumbo all set to a Mardi Gras scene of beads, masks and prize giveaways such as a $50 gift certificate to the restaurant. Cactus Bar & Grill is located at 404 S. Wells St. For more information, visit www.dontdrinkandtrade.com.

Top 5 places to celebrate Paczki Day/Fat Tuesday

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:00:00 -0600

Paczki from Oak Mill Bakery (photo: Joseph Storch)

Last year, I happened to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and recall it was just a week after the Saints had won the Super Bowl; it was mid-February. This year, the festivities get going a little later, with Ash Wednesday falling on March 9, meaning Fat Tuesday occurs on March 8. Back-timing it one step further, Paczki (POANCH-key) Day always falls on the Thursday before Fat Tuesday, which means today is the day to bury yourself in sweet, fried Polish "doughnuts" the shape of softballs, usually filled with some type of jam or rose petal-flavored preserves. In both cases, these gluttonous days are meant to serve as one last splurge, before moving into the season of Lent, the 40 days before Easter when observers will typically give up meat or some other food item. Enter the pepper-and-egg sandwich at your favorite beef joint, as well as the Filet-O-Fish at your local McD's.

Here are a few of my favorites this week, with Fat Tuesday-related dishes highlighted in parentheses:

1. Oak Mill Bakery (six locations in suburbs and city - paczki)

2. Lagniappe, 1525 W. 79th St., 773-994-6375 (gumbo, etouffee)

3. Mac & Min's, 1045 W. Madison, 312-563-1008 (po' boys)

4. Delightful Pastries, (three locations in town, including French Market - paczki)

5. Heaven on Seven (three locations in the area, but still prefer original on Wabash - jambalaya)

(Would have recommended Alliance Bakery at 1736 W. Division, but they're only selling paczki on March 8, not on the actual Paczki Day today)

Fancy-schmancy paczki from Oak Mill Bakery (photo: Joseph Storch)

Tuesday Foodie Forecast: It's Fat Tuesday - eat something

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:00:00 -0600

While Fat Tuesday is typically a day of debauchery for many Americans, it's also a time for some Cajun-inspired gluttony for many foodies. Later today, Dunlays on Clark will celebrate Fat Tuesday with Cajun and Creole inspired specials.

Their menu includes:

Crispy catfish bites with Creole remoulade
Five olive salad, orange confit, orzo, smoked lemon vinaigrette
Deep-fried chicken thighs, housemade waffle, andouille pan gravy
Cajun rubbed, braised pork shoulder with crawfish risotto
Shrimp po-boy with lettuce, tomato, avocado and spicy shrimp aioli
Beignets with three dipping sauces

And if you are observing Lent this year, you may be looking for satisfying alternatives to meat. While avoiding that filet mignon or burger on a Friday may be difficult, here are two alternatives you can choose from:

Fish and Chips: The Four Seasons Lounge is offering their Home-style Fish and Chips with Hand-cut Fries, Remoulade and Malt Vinegar every Friday. It costs $22 when ordered a la carte for lunch or dinner and is also part of the Four Season's Friday prix-fixe menu for $30.

Complimentary Ceviche Sampler: Nacional 27 is offering all dining guests a complimentary ceviche sampler on Fridays from Feb. 19 -- April 2.

Something You Should Eat: Pita Inn's lunch special

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:00:00 -0600

the $4.95 lunch special at the Pita Inn (photo by Steve Dolinsky)

There really isn't much to find these days on the lunch front for less than five bucks. I mean, you can get a burrito or a burger, but that never really satisfies - both from a taste and a nutritional standpoint. But the Pita Inn has been serving its impressive lunch special for $4.95 for years, and you can bet just about every day there's a line to score one. The Pita Inn has three suburban locations (Wheeling, Glenview, Skokie) and the lunch special is available on weekdays only, from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. The plate is overloaded with saffron-hued rice, kefta kebabs, shish kebab, falafel, salad and chicken kebabs. Make sure you order one of their freshly-squeezed glasses of lemonade to go along with it!

I couldn't very well offer up a "Something You Should Eat" on Fat Tuesday and not at least show you something Big Easy-related. I figured I offered up plenty of ideas and inspiration for NOLA eating in yesterday's posts, but today - as an edible amendment to the Pita Inn video - I'd like to show you the "dessert onslaught" we encountered at Commander's Palace on Sunday morning:

Forget Valentine's Day, celebrate Paczki Day!

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:00:00 -0600

a plethor of paczki from Old Mill Bakery (photo by Steve Dolinsky)

While everyone concentrates on Fat Tuesday parties next week, Chicagoans know that today is also a big day for the million or so residents in our area of Polish descent. It's Paczki Day today, and these squat, circular orbs of yeast-fed dough, fruit preserves and frosting will be sold in huge numbers over the next 24 hours.

In this week's Time Out Chicago, Heather Shouse has a nice roundup of places to stuff your face full of Paczki (PAUNCH-key), but they didn't mention‚ Oak Mill Bakery - one of the leaders in local paczki production. With six bakeries in the region - including a new cafe/bakery in Bucktown - they expect to sell about 80,000 packi...today. I spoke with owner Bogna Solak at her newest location, to talk about this delicious tradition - always held on the Thursday before Fat Tuesday. I also found the story I did on them two years ago, so you can actually see how they make the paczki. Paczki Day

Gearing up for Fat Tuesday not so "easy"

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0600

crawfish etoufee from The Big Easy (photo by Steve Dolinsky)

Well that didn't take very long. Less than a month after opening its doors, chef Jennifer Gavin and The Big Easy (not to be confused with Big Easy Cajun at Old Orchard Shopping Mall) have parted ways. Gavin - a former contestant on "Hell's Kitchen" - had been brought in to help overhaul the new menu and concept in the former Jalapeño's/Orly's space in Hyde Park, on 55th St.

"She up and quit on us, right in the middle of the shift on Saturday afternoon," said owner David Shopiro. "Jennifer, while a good kitchen person, was more into being a celebrity." Shopiro said the restaurant was pretty busy this past Saturday, and they were expecting a large group from Operation Push to come in around 1 p.m. Gavin had approached him, asking if she could do an exit interview for the Fox TV folks at 1 p.m. "She told me it would take a few minutes, so I thought, o.k.," said Shopiro. Next thing he knows, the kitchen is in the weeds, and the team is clamoring for help. Customers were getting upset that the food was coming out slow. "I went to the office at 1:25 p.m., and it was locked, so I was shaking the door, asking her to‚ get off of the phone, and come out to help," said Shopiro. "By 1:40 p.m., customers were getting pissed off, so I started pounding on door, telling her to give them your phone‚ number and‚ call them back," an exasperated Shopiro recounted. Two minutes later, he says, the chef walked out to the kitchen, told her boss‚ he owed her an apology for yelling at her, and left the premises.

For her part, Gavin says "things were getting a little weird, and the situation was not what I had planned on." She has hired an attorney to assist with her separation from the business. In a recent article from a U of C publication, Shopiro expressed confidence in his new chef/partner, saying she was "skilled in conversing with New Orleans food." The restaurant has promoted Assistant Chef Ronisha Preckwinckle (daughter-in-law of alderman Toni) to lead the kitchen from this point forward. "She is meticulous, and is a team player," Shopiro says. "It's just been chaotic."

Odd timing, frankly. Considering most restaurants with any sort of tangential connection to the Crescent City will be going full-bore over the next few days - Heaven on Seven, Lagniappe, etc. - the restaurant's mantra and title certainly invite comparisons. After one visit early on, I was more impressed with their etouffee and jambalaya (even with the extraneous chicken breast wrapped around the chicken-and-andouille studded rice), but the po-boy proved incongruous: despite the fact they bake all of their breads in-house, the bread used for a perfectly-fried catfish fillet had as much to do with a true Leidenheimer-style loaf as the Bulls do to a world championship team.

Now for the real awkward moment: guess who's interviewed on-camera for my story on The Big Easy that airs Friday on ABC 7 at 11 a.m.?