Green City Market BBQ

The Green City Market BBQ is this Thursday (July 18th) from 5:30pm to 8:00pm; tickets are still available ($125 plus processing fee of approximately $5 for standard tickets - includes admission and all food plus beverages). The line up of participating chefs/restaurants looks great. Should be pretty hot and humid out, but low risk of rain as of now.

Green City Market Website with More Information and Link to Purchase Tickets: http://www.greencitymarket.org/calendar ... asp?id=669

Participating Chefs/Restaurants:

676 Restaurant
Allium & Begyle Brewery
Atwood Cafe
August Hill Winery & Illinois Sparkling Co.
Bar Pastoral
Bar Toma
Bell's Brewery
BellyQ/UrbanBelly/Bellyshack
Benny's Chop House
Big Jones
Billy Sunday/Yusho
Bistronomic
Browntrout
Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!
Cafe des Architectes
Candid Wines
Capriole & Tekla, Inc.
Carriage House / The Bedford
Chilam Balam/Shaman by Chilam Balam
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Coco Pazzo/Tre Soldi
Convito Cafe & Market
Cookies & Carnitas
Crop to cup
CRU Kitchen and Bar
deca Restaurant at The Ritz Carlton, A Four Seasons Hotel
Dirk's Fish & Gourmet Shop
Eli's Cheesecake
Embeya
Farmhouse Tavern
Foodease Market
Fox Valley Winery, Inc.
Fresh Coast Distributors
Frontera Grill/Topolobampo/Xoco
Girl & The Goat/Little Goat
Goose Island Brewpub
GT Fish & Oyster
Haymarket Pub & Brewery
Henri/The Gage
Hickory Creek Winery
Homestead
Honey Butter Fried Chicken & Sunday Dinner Club
INA'S and SMOQUE BBQ
Intelligentsia Coffee / Kilogram Tea
KOVAL Distillery
La Sirena Clandestina
Limelight... food illuminated
Lockwood Restaurant and Bar
Lula Cafe
Marion Street Cheese Market
Metropolitan Brewing
Midwest Wine Selections
mk restaurant
Mon Ami Gabi
NAHA and Brindille
Nellcôte / Old Town Social
Nightwood restaurant
NoMI Kitchen
North Pond Restaurant
North Shore Distillery
Osteria Via Stato
Park Grill
Pecking Order
Perennial Virant
Piece Brewery
Prairie Grass Cafe
Prasino
Province
Quince at the homestead
Red Door
River North Beer
Sable Kitchen & Bar
Seasons Soda
Seedling
Sepia
SmallBar Division
sola restaurant
Sparrow Coffee Roastery
Spiaggia
Sprout Restaurant
Table Fifty-Two
Table, Donkey and Stick
Telegraph/Reno
Terzo Piano
The Bristol/Balena
The Butcher & Larder
The Chopping Block
The Dawson
The Publican / Publican Quality Meats
The Signature Room at the 95th®
Three Floyds Brewpub
Trenchermen
Two Brothers Brewing Company
Uncommon Ground on Clark
Uncommon Ground on Devon
Vera
Virtue Cider
West Town Tavern
Wirtz Beverage Illinois Cocktail Tent
Wood Restaurant

I can hardly wait. It looks like a great lineup again this year. The only head scratcher I see (besides the perennial odd-man-out, Chipotle Grill) is Eli's Cheesecake. I wonder what they're going to be making using GCM ingredients. Should be interesting.

Can't wait! But it is gonna be hotter than hell!!

I'm flying my daughter in for it - she's working her way up the line at a restaurant outside Nashville and is so excited about being back in Chicago and going to the BBQ. Can't wait indeed!

The temps are supposed to be 90ish rather than tonight's 95 so I'm hopeful it will feel ... well less like heat wave! and I hope they once again have all those water boxes to hydrate between tastes and sips!

Seems like it's almost always on one of the hottest days of the year but I'm still looking forward to it immensely.

=R=

I'm not looking forward to the weather, but I can't wait for the BBQ! Intelligentsia's beverage stand was a huge help last year - and so was Hot Chocolate's ice cream sandwiches.

Just bought tickets this weekend, so excited. Just hoping my kids wil be ok in the heat.

Does anyone have an extra ticket by any chance?

abolt wrote:Does anyone have an extra ticket by any chance?

Hi,

At least yesterday, Green City Market was still sending out notices to allow people to buy tickets.

I guess they finally hit a price point where selling out way in advance isn't happening.

Regards,

Their FB post this morning said they are sold out.

And now tickets are again available, oddly.

Sounds like the "sell out" was a marketing ploy.

Out of curiosity yesterday, I tried putting the maximum number of tickets in my cart (50 regular admission, 50 VIP, and 4 children) and had no problem. I suspect there were a lot more than that available and can't imagine many people buying last minute tickets for an all-you-can-eat event with a head index in the high 90s/low 100s.

Another data point: There is a lot less discussion in this year's GCM BBQ thread than in previous years.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Sounds like the "sell out" was a marketing ploy.

Out of curiosity yesterday, I tried putting the maximum number of tickets in my cart (50 regular admission, 50 VIP, and 4 children) and had no problem. I suspect there were a lot more than that available and can't imagine many people buying last minute tickets for an all-you-can-eat event with a head index in the high 90s/low 100s.

Another data point: There is a lot less discussion in this year's GCM BBQ thread than in previous years.

Maybe I'll do it next year, but it always sounds like an awesome time as long as you eat animals & or drink alcohol.

Back from the BBQ -RIck Bayless tweeted that they served 900 tacos. Were there more tickets actually for sale and sold this year or are the final numbers pretty stable from year to year? Really curious since this year felt more chaotic and crowded than last year. I've been 4 times now and am never sure if my memory is accurate from year to year. (Or how much the heat and those tasty cocktails folks kindly offer alter my perception year to year!)

I had my daughter who's a line cook in Nashville fly in to go with me and we had a really good time but didn't last the whole 2.5 hours. Her favorite dish was the corn panna cotta - it was one of mine too and we can't figure out which restaurant served it. Other big faves were the Publican lamb on paratha with chimichurri, radishes, paneer and mint - just a great taste and really bright flavors. North Pond's sage pound cake with tomatoes, peaches, arugula and spiced pecans was also a knockout. Embeya's quail was so well cooked and the dipping sauce just right for my tastes.

My daughter was really glad to have some Bell's Oberon which definitely hit the spot and we both enjoyed North Shore's Summer Berry Smash.

I thought there were fewer head chefs working this time - but that just may be that I missed a few I enjoy seeing - and I would love to have the event on a cooler day one year ... but once again it was a very special part of our summer.

I had a wonderful time at the BBQ tonight despite the crazy heat and humidity; I really feel bad for the people who were manning the hot grills - big thumbs up to all the chefs, staff and volunteers for doing such a great job with the event.

So much outstanding food; probably my three favorites were the grilled quail at Embeya (their watermelon/salted lemonade cocktail was amazing too, really refreshing as well), the sloppy goat from Stephanie Izard and the tuna BLT from GT Fish. Other great bites was the ceviche from La Sirena, the wild greens/pork belly taco from Rick Bayless, the spicy pork belly slider with kimchee and egg sauce from Sprout and the really fun and refreshing spiked popsicle (I think it was from Lula Cafe, but not certain). There were several dishes that looked great, but I unfortunately became way too full too fast to enjoy everything I wanted. Was such a fun experience to have so many top notch restaurants in one place and be able to sample food from some of my favorite places, try venues I have not yet been and try some dishes I typically would not order.

Hope everybody who attended is now safely in some air conditioning!

The two themes for the evening seemed to be lamb (tons of it) and beef heart (at least three stands). Of the beef heart, Butcher and Larder's was our champ. Just marinated and grilled and absolutely delicious. Another highlight was the fried green tomato from Big Jones.

Jonah

Lamb sure was a theme - so many folks were using it we started passing since the Publican lamb was so very good and really hit the spot.

Lamb was the new Goat for sure! I was also quite pleased to find some lighter veggie dishes to interspearse with the meaty delights, and there were plenty of non alcoholc options to drink, which came in handy on a hot day like yesterday.

Had a great time despite the heat. We brought a pair of plastic cafeteria trays this year, which really helps with the foraging.

Winners of the night include Smoque's smoked prime rib slider with chimichurri on a potato pancake, and the pecan glazed beef ribs from... I'll have to look it up. Photos and a more detailed review to come later.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

The Smoque dish was referred to as "some Q and some Jew."

Bummed I missed the Smoque dish; somehow I did not notice their tent/station.

Gonzo70 wrote:Bummed I missed the Smoque dish; somehow I did not notice their tent/station.

They were right next to the Clark St. entrance, which is the same place they have been for the last several years. It's easy to miss them becasue when you come in to the park, you walk right past them while gawking at the tableau laid out before you.

Gonzo70 wrote:Bummed I missed the Smoque dish; somehow I did not notice their tent/station.

They were along the west fence, just north of the north entrance. They team with Ina's and seem to occupy roughly the same spot every year. That was a helluva dish . . .


"Some Q & Some Jew" from Smoque and Ina's

=R=

Lots of fun last night and great to see a lot more diversification in the dishes than I recall from previous years. As in years past, partnering with the lovely mbh ensured maximum coverage of items offered--splitting dishes is definitely the way to go--this year we brought a pair of scissors and did it dim sum style--VERY effective!

This year's highlights for me were:

Beverages:
Strawberry & Black Pepper mule--drink was sweet but refreshing and loved the dehydrated strawberry.
Raz & Rye Sunspot--Templeton Rye, Greenbush Sunspot Hefeweizen Ale, Raspberries, grapefruit and lemon juice--VERY refreshing!
Southern Sundie--Templeton Rye infused with white peaches and toasted pecans (yes you could taste them), fresh citrus and Rare Tea Cellars sweet tea--also very refreshing.
Spiced Michigan Cherry Fizz from Marion Street Market--wish I could've had a gallon of this to carry around with me!

Food--good to very good:
Lamb Bacon bite from 676--also enjoyed their Apricot Vodka drink but it was a tad too sweet.
Grilled sweetbreads with peach compote from Atwood Café
Traditional Andaluz Gazpacho from Ba-Ba-Reeba
Grilled pork belly with stone fruits from Henri
Smoked Prime Rib on latke from Barry & Ina
Grilled Flank Steak with Panzanella Salad and Feta from Lockwood
Grilled sweet corn, Calamansi aioli, Cotija cheese & cilantro from Pecking Order
Pickled Beef tongue/Mushroom conserva, summer potato salad and aioli from Perennial Virant
Steamed vegetable spring roll with BBQ gastrique from Quince
Lamb with Chimichurri, paneer and Paratha from PQM
Oxtail terrine with pickled veggies from Coco Pazzo
Blood sausage from Vera

My faves:
* Fried Green Tomatoes with smoked trout and new potato salad, bread & butter pickle relish and lovage--every bite of this was delicious--I thought this was the most creative AND delicious dish of the night (many delicious things and many creative things but this had both)

* Carnitas sandwich, slaw, hot sauce and carmelized onion on a chicharron "taco" shell--I guess they do these at the market but I've never tried one til now. Amazing!

* Both the lamb al asador with Chimichurri and the corn custard with pickled melon and corn from Homestead--definitely struggled to share this with my tasting partner

* Sun Gold tomato Gazpacho with cilantro jalapeno sorbet from Signature Room at 95th--wonderful sun gold flavor and the sorbet was spicy-sweet and refreshing.

* Grilled beef heart with veggie som tum and bagna cauda vinaigrette from Trencherman--I somehow miss B&L's beef heart skewer but it would've been hard to top this one--the heat from the som tum with the bagna cauda and the lusciousness of the heart were a terrific combo.

* Slow cooked goat, apricot mustard BBQ sauce, pickled ramp relish and shaved radishes over grilled naan. Absolutely gorgeous. This, along with the lamb from Homestead were the items I wished I could order in a restaurant for a main course.

Only "dessert" item I bothered with was the cherry phosphate, also from Lockwood, that was the perfect light fizzy and refreshing end to this year's BBQ for me. GREAT event--worth every penny!

Almost forgot about the evening's most amusing/exotic item: Nightwood served up paper bags full of home made crackerjacks that included crispy fried pig ears.
I hate crackerjacks, but this stuff was great. Popcorn and peanuts sloshing around in a maple syrup flavored goo with strips of crispy, salty, pig ears.

Two other desserts were terrific. Yusho/Billy Sunday had Blueberry trifle with grilled basil pound cake. Mon Ami Gabi had fresh berries with sour cream sorbet, a dessert I could eat every night during berry season.

This was definitely my favorite bbq yet. First, thanks to it being a bit more spread out and there being a constant breeze, it wasn't as hot as I expected. Also, I appreciated that a lot of restaurants learned to cut down the bread and cut down their portion sizes (note to restaurants: ditch the f'ing bread). Finally, the transition to lamb was most welcome.

There are a number of items I'm sorry I missed, but what can you do with about 100 restaurants. The Nightwood offering is the one I think I'm most sad about missing as I read about it here.

But my creme de la creme, in alphabetical order as listed in the program:

Big Jones - Fried green tomato w/ smoked catfish, potato salad and deviled egg - stunning, and as much as I love fried green tomatoes, this was almost certainly the very best version I've ever tried.

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! - Gazpacho Andaluz - perfect and exactly what it should be. Some dishes need not be fancy or overdone . . . they just need great ingredients and this gazpacho had just that.

Embeya - Grilled quail with peach, garlic, chili lime and salt. The only quail at the bbq, which set them apart, and it was beautifully cooked and exploding with flavor.

Ina's/Smoque - Smoked prime rib sliders on potato latkes - Every year these guys show off a new talent and this year was no exception. Delicious! (and some of the nicest people you'll ever meet)

North Pond - Sage-brown butter pound cake with heirloom tomato-peach salad, arugula and crumbled spiced pecans. Unless you had this, you could not possibly understand how good this was from any description. But I'll tell you that the flavor combination far exceeded the sum of the parts, and if you were looking for the most perfect tomatoes, peaches and arugula, here they were, and front and center. Perhaps my very favorite item of the evening; that good.

Perennial Virant - Potato salad with pickled beef tongue, mushroom conserva and aioli. Easily the best potato salad I've ever tried, thanks in large part by the tender, pickled tongue and mushroom conserva.

Sepia - Jerk pork sausage with market picalilli - I'm not sure I've had anything from Andrew Zimmerman I haven't liked and this was no exception. Great snap, flavor and spice (but ditch the bun!) and nice fresh/sour touch from the picalilli.

Publican/Publican Quality Meats - Whole roasted lamb with chimichurri, radishes, paneer and mint served on paratha. The flavor combination was really outstanding, but what I really loved was that of all the lamb served (and there was a lot), this offered the most lamb flavor. I just loved it.

Vie - Slow-cooked goat, apricot-mustard barbecue sauce, pickled ramp relish, shaved radishes and grilled naan. I can't remember every element here, but right after eating Perennial Virant's potato salad with beef tongue, I tasted this goat and thought wow, I didn't think anything could be better than the potato salad but the goat was.


I wish this was a 2-night event, with half the restaurants one night, and the other half the next night. Greedy? Yes . . . but I never want this party to end . . . always one of my few favorite dinners of the year.

I agree about the weather. There was such a nice breeze last night that I was presently surprised. We really enjoyed the cake from north pond too, so good. I also really enjoyed the Ina and smoque prime rib sliders. I was also surprised on the number of vegetarian options. Our kids had a fabulous night too trying new things and of course, lots of sweet treats including the yummy berry and mascarpone whoopie ice cream sandwich from the Ritz.

However, I wish we could have obtained a copy of the program before the event, I did not get one until leaving.

A great event not to be missed and quite kid friendly.

Is there a menu online somewhere? Still haven't eaten and would like to review why.

Jazzfood wrote:Is there a menu online somewhere? Still haven't eaten and would like to review why.

No menu I am aware of online; the brochure from the event lists what each venue had available, but online I have only seen the list of participating restaurants.

Jazzfood wrote:Is there a menu online somewhere? Still haven't eaten and would like to review why.

I'll try to scan and upload the program later this week. I'm going to need some crowdsourced help in identifying most of my photos:


This was our favorite dish of the night - Pecan smoked Beef Ribs from Carriage House/The Bedford.


This was Nellcote's Lamb McRib.


Spare Ribs & Duck Fat Potato Chips, by Cafe des Architectes.

I can't remember the next few:





Sloppy Goat Sandwich, from Girl & The Goat. Delicious, but - as with many of the sandwiches - the bread:filling ratio was off.


Summer Potato Salad with Pickled Beef Tongue, from Perennial Virant.






This was the other big winner of the night - Smoque's Beef Prime Rib with Chimichurri Slider on a Potato Pancake. We loved it so much we made a trip to Smoque a few days later.





I've got another dozen or so photos which I'll try to get to later.