green city market BBQ Festival 7/12/07

this is a great eating occasion and you'll be supporting a worthy cause. justjoan


Green City Market Chefs' Summer BBQ Festival
7/12/2007
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

GREEN CITY MARKET
INVITES YOU TO ATTEND

THE 2007 CHEFS' SUMMER BBQ FESTIVAL

THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2007 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Join over 50 of Chicago’s Top Chefs as they prepare delicious tastings using Green City Market foods at this popular annual culinary event. Musicians will add to the festivities.

Beverages include Goose Island Beer & Root Beer, Ice Mountain Water, Connoisseur Wines Tasting, Glunz Family Winery Sangria, and wines from August Hill Winery.

Tickets ($50 pre-event; $60 at gate) are available at GREEN CITY MARKET each Wednesday & Saturday beginning June 13th through July 11th. Tickets can also be purchased on-line at www.thespicehouse.com

Want to make the evening extra special for you and your friends? Reserve a private table for an additional $100. Includes table, linens and 10 chairs. BYOF (Bring Your Own Flowers)

The festival is located at the south end of Lincoln Park, just north of the parking area, between 1750 N. Clark Street and Stockton Drive (the same location as the Market).


All contributions support GREEN CITY MARKET,
a 501(c)3 organization, and are tax deductible.

I loved this event last year. I was just checking the link regarding last year's event to remind me of all the wonderful items I tasted. I'm hoping that I'll find time to make it there again.

Does anyone have any idea what restaurants will be represented this year? The website doesn't state anything of substance.

Check here

Thanks!

Ina Pinkney - Ina’s/ Smoque BBQ

What does this woman have to do with Smoque? (Nothing, I hope)

stevez wrote:

Ina Pinkney - Ina’s/ Smoque BBQ

What does this woman have to do with Smoque? (Nothing, I hope)

I wondered the same thing. Maybe she's an investor.

I'll be there, along with a few other folks who frequent these forums. If anyone is interested in saying 'hello' during the event, please post here or pm me to make a plan.

=R=

If anyone would like a homemade fruit soda this evening at the BBQ, I'll be serving them up under the Purple Asparagus banner. Or you could join us in a game of fruit v. veggie baggo.

What a great event. I highly recommend its attendance next year, especially if one is inclined towards pork belly. Moreover, this should convince anyone that the way to really eat well is to eat local. As we were leaving we ran into our favorite Chicago food writer, Monica Eng. We all agreed that sampling this fare was an easier job. This was the real taste of Chicago.

As I was saying, not one, not two, not three, but four places offered their take on a pig's tummy. My wife and I disagreed on the best. She liked Naha's, who were able to somehow directly grill it, leaving it Wiv-crisp top and bottom yet soft inside. That was my favorite until I sampled Lula's. Like a failing Top Chef chef, Lula cooked their pork belly with a grill, but did not really use the grill. I mean they had logs producing a ravishingly good looking fire, but they cooked their belly on a plancha. Still, I loved it, with its sweet glaze. It was the fattiest of the bunch, maybe that had something to do with it. Regardless, Shanghai Terrace's belly in bun and Blackbirds thinner cut were hardly shabby.

Other highlights were Sola's braised lamb sammies, North Pond's sorbets, Hot Chocolate's ice creams (which ran out shortly after we got ours), Vie's sour cherry soup, National 27's pearch escabeche, and the grilled peaches. God, I cannot remember who was grilling the peaches and that was nearly the best thing eaten. Perhaps (hopefully) Ronnie Suburban can pip in. I loved the fact that I could eat all the Red Hen bread I wanted. I could have been (almost) happy just with bread and the plate of Capriole cheeses.

I like to think ( ) that not only have I started the eat local movement in Chicago--Green City Market's rolling out their own localvore challenge this year, but I also foreshadowed the movement towards more local fish. I detected a bit of a trend, a meme as bloggers might say, towards local fish. Several chefs used the Rushing Waters trout products, Collins Cavier showed up somewhere, and best, as I mentioned, was National 27's perch, made, with spanking new, farm raised perch. According to Chef Randy Zweiban, the urban grower, Growing Power is "raising them in some swimming pool."

Speaking of Ronnie Suburban, it was a pleasure meeting the man who provided the one food highlight in our recent Arizona foray. It was also a great treat that most of the Green City farmers were there including many members of the Nicholl's clan; Green Acres, Heartland Meats, Seedlings, and Mick Klug.

Like I say, do put this event on your calender for next year, especially if you like pork belly.

Vital Information wrote:that not only have I started the eat local movement in Chicago--Green City Market's rolling out their own localvore challenge this year

Rob, I'm assuming that this is tongue-in-cheek because I know that the many people who spend tireless hours staffing and working the market including the market's founder Abby Mandel might be a bit surprised to know that they've been working on your behalf.

Your observations on the food seem consistent with those with whom I spoke. We only got to a handful of the tables as we were working the first half and then gabbing much of the second. I'm just happy that we didn't have a torrential rain storm as we did last year - three of us hiding under a golf umbrella for what seemed to be interminable storm was really a bummer.

Vital Information wrote:... and the grilled peaches. God, I cannot remember who was grilling the peaches and that was nearly the best thing eaten.

The grilled peaches were made by Heather Terhune of Atwood Cafe and South Water Market. My wife decided that of all the wonders at the event the peaches were her favorite.

It really was an outstanding event. I was thinking your exact phraseology--the Real Taste of Chicago. Funny thing is, not only was the value so much greater than the Taste, I think the actual dollar amount you spend per person is less! FWIW, if I had to single out one favorite offering it would be Bruce Sherman's basil-vodka and citrus goat cheese sorbets and corn relish. Simply incredible.

MAG wrote:

Vital Information wrote:that not only have I started the eat local movement in Chicago--Green City Market's rolling out their own localvore challenge this year

Rob, I'm assuming that this is tongue-in-cheek because I know that the many people who spend tireless hours staffing and working the market including the market's founder Abby Mandel might be a bit surprised to know that they've been working on your behalf.

I think my emoticons speak for themselves. Besides, eating local is not a chicken-egg quandry. I can eat local because of markets like Green City; it's not that Green City exists because I want to eat local.

Thanks Tapler for IDing the peaches.

One other key food note I forgot: the kale sandwich from Osteria del Stato. This was probably the only dish that I really want (need) to replicate (well, that and Naha's grilled pork belly).

Wow! As others have posted above, this was a stellar event. Of course, we should have all conspired to come here and post that we hated it because the combination of 40+ of the area's top food/beverage purveyors, perfect weather and a relatively light crowd was a glorious combination. One almost hates to let the secret out -- except for the fact that the GCM really needs more of our collective support.

I said it after 2005's Recipe for Relief event and I'll say it again now, this event is exactly what Taste of Chicago should be (and once was) . . . one reasonable entry fee, dozens of delicious bites that were all truly representative of the entities which served them, terrific live music and all of it in a relatively compact, easily walkable space.

There were so many delicious things to eat and drink -- with virtually no duds. It's almost impossible to name all my favorites. As VI -- whom it was a pleasure to finally meet -- posted above, pork belly abounded and it was hard, even after some intense research, to choose a favorite of the 4 preparations offered. Bruce Sherman's goat cheese sorbet and basil-vodka sorbet were both truly impressive. I loved Smoque's short ribs and the squash blossom quesadilla from Adobo Grill was tremendous. Prairie Grass Cafe's grilled Tallgrass Beef with crispy potato was terrific, as was the pork shoulder with bacon and potato from Shawn McClain.

As for sweets, the mini chocolate cupcakes from Park Grill were amazing and, as others have mentioned above, the grilled peaches from chef Heather Terhune were sensational. They were halved, cored, dipped in vanilla sugar and then grilled. After that, they were hit with some (lightly-whipped?) cream, chopped nuts and honey. Here's the final product, which was truly delectable . . .




I've got a bunch more images from this terrific event and I'll be posting them here shortly.

=R=

Here are some more pictures from Thursday's Green City Market Summer BBQ Festival . . .


Squash blossom quesadilla from Adobo Grill



Pork belly being prepared at Blackbird's stall



Blackbird's plated pork belly



Chilled beet soup from Coco Pazzo



Pork shoulder with potato, bacon from Custom House



Legs of lamb grilling . . . pretty sure this was Sola's stall



A look from behind Lula Cafe's grill as chefs Jason Hammel and Amalea Tshilds prepare to plate up



A closer look at Lula Cafe's pork belly being prepped for a dish described as Currant-glazed pork belly with bietina, new potato, pecans and spring onion vinaigrette



Growing Power Farms Tilapia Escabeche with Green City Market vegetables and crispy gyoza from Randy Zweiban of Nacional 27



Described as smoked chicken, cherry and basil salad with watercress and sherry vinaigrette from Jeremy Lycan of Niche. I think this might have actually been arugula.



Basil-vodka sorbet and citrus-goat cheese sorbet with corn relish from Bruce Sherman of North Pond



Black Forest cupcake, which was served with iced vanilla milk, from Christine McCabe of Park Grill



Tallgrass Ranch, grass-fed n.y. strip awaits slicing by chefs Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris at Praire Grass Cafe's stall



Grilled corn with garlic and parmesan butter from Kevin Erving of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel



From afar, Coca-cola bbq ribs awaiting further prep at the Ritz-Carlton's stall



Coca-cola BBQ ribs from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel



An assortment of bread from Red Hen Bakery



Korean short rib BBQ with chilled cucumber kimchee from Kevin Hickey of the Four Seasons Hotel



A double, Heartland Meat short rib from Ina Pinkney and Smoque BBQ



Espresso & cocoa nib rubbed Heartland Piedmontese ribeye on a Green Acres potato crisp with Green City Market onion marmalade from Brian Millman of Uncommon Ground.



Klug Farm tart cherry soup with sweetened Prairie Fruits Farm fresh chevre from Paul Virant of Vie



Smoked Rushing Waters trout and cucumber-radish salad with trout caviar and herbed creme fraiche by Susan Goss of West Town Tavern



Heirloom tomato-Japanese cucumber gazpacho with chilled Amish chicken salad by Michael Taus of Zealous


Please forgive any errors, factual inaccuracies or omissions (I left out several great stalls). As much as I wanted to document the entire event, I also wanted to partake and it was very tough to do both tasks well. When forced to choose, I always put the eating first. I didn't take particularly great notes and the descriptions in the event program don't always match up with the food that was actually served at the event. But I hope you get the general idea . . .

=R=

Hi,

What could you determine about the relationship between Ina Pinkey and Smoque? Was this a collaboration simply for this event?

Thanks for the photos and comments.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

What could you determine about the relationship between Ina Pinkey and Smoque? Was this a collaboration simply for this event?

Thanks for the photos and comments.

Regards,

I asked Barry about this and he said that Ina is a great supporter of theirs and has always 'been there' for them. No mention of an 'official' partnership or anything like that.

=R=

So true that if you are a fan of pork belly, this was the night for you. For a while, it seemed like a participation requirement. But as much as I love pork belly, there were a few dishes that stood out even more to me.

Although I did not get to sample every item offered, my three favorite dishes overall (in no particular order) were the Chilled Veloute of Zucchini Blossom soup from 160 Blue, the Applewood Smoked Trout with Summer Melon Salad from Mark Baker at the University Club, and the Quesadilla with Epazote and Squash Blossoms from Adobo Grill (this dish convinced me that I need to give Adobo another try -- this dish was fantastic and the photo above does a wonderful justice to the colors which were at play in the dish).

I had three favorite pork dishes: from NAHA, Shanghai Terrace and Lula -- tough to decide between them but I'd probably give a slight nod to NAHA . . . loved the combinations of the pork, peaches and fennel. I give Shanghai's take on the classic dim sum pork bun points for creativity (and most importantly, it was delicious).

The Chilled Beet Soup from Coco Pazzo was delicious and so refreshing.

Luckily, I was the very last person to sample Hot Chocolate's ice cream, which was delicious, although I felt guilty with so many people standing behind me still waiting.

The Black Forest Cupcake with Iced Vanilla Milk from Park Grill was excellent, but even better were the Chess Pies with Buttermilk Ice Cream and Blueberry Compote from Fox & Obel.

Sadly, I was not able to sample several dishes -- some because I was full (the peaches from Atwood), others because they ran out well before they should have run out (e.g., the sorbet from North Pond).

But overall, a great evening of great food and beautiful weather.

ronnie_suburban wrote:I asked Barry about this and he said that Ina is a great supporter of theirs and has always 'been there' for them. No mention of an 'official' partnership or anything like that.

=R=

In that case, they should have used your name instead!

stevez wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I asked Barry about this and he said that Ina is a great supporter of theirs and has always 'been there' for them. No mention of an 'official' partnership or anything like that.

=R=

In that case, they should have used your name instead!

LOL!

I'm told that about a half hour before the event started, my 10-year-old son walked up to the Smoque stall and effectively dropped my name in order to get some 'advance' ribs. When I found out, I didn't know whether to beat him or hug him.

=R=

I want to go to this next time. Great reviews and gorgeous pics. Thanx!

It's been almost a week. Just wondering what dishes people are still thinking about -- not just what comes to mind when prompted, but dishes you've actually craved since the event (on the theory that time/memory can be fine judges of gustatory excellence).

For me it's the espresso & cocoa nib rubbed Heartland ribeye with potato crisp and onion marmalade from Uncommon Ground (expertly photographed above). To think I almost passed this by--thinking, wrongly, that Uncommon Ground did coffee and atmosphere well, but was never on my short list for dining.

Also the gazpacho with Amish chicken salad from Zealous.

ChristyP wrote:Just wondering what dishes people are still thinking about . . .

For me it's the espresso & cocoa nib rubbed Heartland ribeye with potato crisp and onion marmalade from Uncommon Ground (expertly photographed above). To think I almost passed this by . . .

I did pass this by and thankfully one of my companions brought one to me and told me I had to try it. He was right. It was great and something I've been thinking about all week.

I've also been thinking a lot about the pork belly and currants from Lula, the squash blossom quesadillas from Adobo, the short ribs from Smoque (I wish they served them at the restaurant) and even though I don't normally crave sweets, those Black Forest cupcakes from Park Grill.

=R=

Oddly enough, the dish that I most think about is Sola's lamb sandwich. I say odd as braised lamb seems so un-summer. Of course, in doing a bit of back research on Sola, I feel less a man. On the same vein, I've become more interested in trying Naha, but the other dish that realy sticks out for me is National 27's perch escabeche, which, unfortunately, is not on their current menu.

And the grilled peaches.