Results tagged “thegage”

We’ve written about our love of root beer many times, so when we last visited The Gage and saw this drink on their menu, we just had to order it. The Gage does lots of nice things with root beer (including a decadent dessert) but this is our favorite so far. Unfortunately, the drink was seasonal and is no longer on the menu - but they were nice enough to give us the recipe, so we can drink to our heart’s content. And we will. Oh yes.

For me, the benefit of Chicago Restaurant Week is the ability to try out new places without risking huge stacks of cash. As such, I tend not to visit the cheaper or simpler options participating - when the cost is fixed at $32, I’m saving more money on the deal when I visit the expensive option.

Our annual Thanksgiving recipe posts are among our favorites to write. Judging from soem of the responses received in our inboxes, you like them, as well. This year, we wanted to add a new twist to the theme for the holidays.

If you haven’t made it to The Gage yet, start walking right now. Open for about a year and half, this Michigan Avenue gastropub has garnered so many accolades for its food and atmosphere that it would be pointless to pile on one more. Suffice it to say, we like the place a lot. Today, we’re concerned specifically with the cocktail offerings at the Gage. Do they live up to the food and the hype?

              

The cooking demonstrations at Chicago Gourmet were easily the more popular events, despite the fact that tasting the prepared food was a no-no. Since tasting food at the entire event was a seemingly rare experience, who cares? Viking set up two pretty sweet kitchen counters and induction stovetops side by side, so that two chefs could simultaneously prepare dishes, taking turns describing their process and dishes. The Pritzker stage was very effectively transformed into a cooking studio. The induction ranges meant that water boiled at lightning speed and sauces sometimes bubbled over the top of pots but that dishes were completed in the 30 minute allotted time slots. Large, tilted mirrors above the kitchens allowed guests to see the action as it took place.

Foodandwine.com just announced their "Go To List 2008," where they list their top ten restaurant cities in the world, ten up and coming restaurant cities, and 300 dining destinations around the world. It should come as no surprise that our broad-shouldered city ranked #8. That's behind Tokyo, Paris and New York, but ahead of Stockholm and Vancouver. Credit where credit is due, Vancouver still has better skiing and gentlemens clubs.

A good drink can improve the quality level of a meal. It can make a mediocre dinner tolerable, or raise the bar on a perfectly cooked entree. The best chefs, along with their sommeliers, wine stewards, and spirits experts, plan a meal and its pairings with meticulous detail. Although beer and food have complemented each other for centuries, restaurants in the States are placing an increased emphasis on offering beer pairings for those who don't...

There are some things that we think are worth fighting over. White Sox versus Cubs. The TV remote. The last pancake on a Sunday morning. One thing that we don't necessarily think deserves a lot of time or thought is arguing over the distinction of being Chicago's first "gastropub," as the Sun-Times did this morning. To recap: Gastropub is "a term coined in England to describe a bar with really good, affordably priced food." The...