LTH,

5th in David Hammond's Beyond the Burrito series in the Reader this week Very interesting, with a good range of places mentioned. I'm betting a few neophytes will take the articles not so subtle title hint to heart and try something new at a place that doesn't contain the word Buggy in it's name.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:LTH,

5th in David Hammond's Beyond the Burrito series in the Reader this week Very interesting, with a good range of places mentioned. I'm betting a few neophytes will take the articles not so subtle title hint to heart and try something new at a place that doesn't contain the word Buggy in it's name.

Enjoy,
Gary

Yes, I saw this last night. Most excellent work.

Thanks guys. There are no food-related opinions more valuable to me than those expressed on this site.

As regards this article in particular, I'm especially indebted to d4v3 and chapulin for bringing the two Clark Street Guererrense tamale sources to my attention, to Antonius for sussing out Case de Samuel, to VI for bringing me to La Quebrada years ago, and to annieb for her sighting of SdM earlier this year.

I may be at the end of the series. I believe I've covered the five regions with heaviest representation on Chicago restaurant tables, but am toying with the idea of doing a "greatest hits" that might cover under-represented regions such as Colima, Sinaloa, etc. I guess we'll see.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:[I] am toying with the idea of doing a "greatest hits" that might cover under-represented regions such as Colima, Sinaloa, etc. I guess we'll see.

Do it!

David Hammond has a review of Fiorentino's Cucina Italiana in this week's reader.

Perhaps some of us should go try it. That space on Ashland has been a proprietor's deathwish for years and years.

tem wrote:David Hammond has a review of Fiorentino's Cucina Italiana in this week's reader.

Perhaps some of us should go try it. That space on Ashland has been a proprietor's deathwish for years and years.

Reader, the Hat is Total Media Domination, with a piece also in Time Out Chicago. Nice job!

http://www.timeout.com/chicago/Details. ... t_park.xml

LTHF,

It was either an impossibly slow news day when the correspondent from Manhattan called my Bagel shop/deli last week, or someone decided that more evidence and case studies were required to pin down the proof about the still theoretical connection between backroom political machinations and Jewish food. Either way, a 5 minute conversation with a very blase-sounding woman was apparently transcribed with enough interest to be both quoted and paraphrased, then printed, for all the world to see..... in....... (hold breath, cause I still can't believe it....)

T H E

N E W

Y O R K

T I M E S

Top of the world, ma. I made it --

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/13/us/po ... ref=slogin

Bagel Mania in downtown Las Vegas, a favored spot among power brokers, is in the running. But is it a good place to spot likely Democratic voters? “Absolutely not,” said Evan Garfinkel, the restaurant’s assistant manager, noting the clientele’s conservative leanings. But Mr. Garfinkel anticipates serving the candidates scores of corned beef sandwiches nonetheless.

Un-freakin-believable. The Hungryrabbi, crackin' wise at the expense of the right-wing bagel shop regulars, gets his $.02 heard in the paper of record. I even warned her on the phone that my comments wouldn't be "fit to print", necessarily. I guess I charmed her, and in the middle of breakfast rush, yet. Good thing today was my last day on the job - I could see myself getting it from all sides when this article finally makes the rounds.

-- All the President's Reb

PS - This past Tuesday at the deli, after I went home for the day, a quick cup of matzoh ball soup was ordered and eaten by none other than Madeleine Albright (and her lovely young assistant, so I'm told). Even Mort, normally apolitical to the extreme, was thrilled by the news. The crew of regulars, though, was less than enthused when hearing of the diplomatic visit, bandying about such choice descriptors as "Communist!" and the ever-charming "Hatchet-faced broad!" This, in turn, led to a swift and unanswerable chastisement of the old-school, self-styled Reaganeers by both Mort and myself. All of this hullabaloo merely proving the old adage: "Politics and Pastrami don't mix."

PPS - I was informed today by the same people who found the NY Times article that I am quoted again, in a different article about either Vegas food or politics, in this month's Harper's. Someone wanna check? I'm going to go to bed and sleep for oh... I dunno.... half a day, maybe??

HR

hungryrabbi wrote:Top of the world, ma. I made it --

HR,

Very cool, next stop the McLaughlin Group.

Enjoy,
Gary

In this week's Time Out Chicago, Seth Z reviews the history of 'thons...

Seth Z wrote:When I was a boy, I used to think that the trip to the Roy Rogers breakfast bar for my tenth sausage link constituted a daring exercise in excess. Little did I know that once I arrived in Chicago I’d become part of an online community of eaters at LTHForum.com and Chowhound.com, collectives that have turned excess into an art form and gluttony into a group activity. With regularly scheduled “eatathons”—epic culinary expeditions to every corner of the city—they’ve added rigor and fun to what might otherwise be considered mere bingeing.

Read the whole thing here

Ah, memories of food and fun.

Very cool article -- and pic! -- Seth.

David Hammond wrote:Very cool article -- and pic! -- Seth.

Seth,

Agree wholeheartedly with Hammond, very cool article.

Enjoy,
Gary

And great pic of Seth as well!

Well done!

Vital Information wrote:And great pic of Seth as well!

Well done!

I expect to see Seth sporting that shirt at the Beefathon Finals.

Thanks gang!

stevez wrote:

Vital Information wrote:And great pic of Seth as well!

Well done!

I expect to see Seth sporting that shirt at the Beefathon Finals.

Hope he can fit into it afterwards.

Great article Seth.

Hey Seth,

waddya think we are? a bunch off lightweights?

you left off quite a few places on the 24 athon - off the top of my head
edna's
shan (is there a no-brains policy at TOC?)
arturo's
lazo's
ba le
massa

I don't want to even start on westernathon . . .

Zim - you are totally right! It's by no means a complete index to the first eatathon - that would require many more than the 600 words needed for the piece, and would've left little room for the beefathons. It's hard for an article that short to capture the scope and breadth ]of the eating that was done on the 24 hours of chow. The other 25-odd places are implied in the "Consumption resumed at Johnnie’s for an Italian beef sandwich and didn’t stop until noon the next day." I hope that that ellipsis doesn't minimize the accomplishments of the die-hard eaters that did the full 24.

Seth Zurer wrote: I hope that that ellipsis doesn't minimize the accomplishments of the die-hard eaters that did the full 24.

I, for one, was surprised that you didn't mention the incident with the two young ladies in the bowling alley photo booth.

Hammond

HI,

The best part of the 24-hour-athon was Monica Eng's article which brought me to this group. I bless the day it was published!

Regards,

A little more love for MJN's Hungrymag.com:

http://www.epicurious.com/features/blogs/editor

ab wrote:A little more love for MJN's Hungrymag.com:

http://www.epicurious.com/features/blogs/editor

MJN, and his roster of contributing writers. Ahem.

It's true, AB writes for us...but he didn't write the Epicurious piece, just pointed it out (not on my direction either)...the editor Tanya Wenman Steel wrote it.

It is nice to get a nod from the nationals....you don't see it everyday, because you feel like they feel there's some kind of competition or at least that's what I've heard. Of course that's absurd when we have no resources and no pay, only our passion.

MJN wrote:It is nice to get a nod from the nationals....you don't see it everyday, because you feel like they feel there's some kind of competition or at least that's what I've heard.

Unless you're competing for ad dollars, you're not the competition. Keep up the good work!

MJN wrote:It's true, AB writes for us...but he didn't write the Epicurious piece, just pointed it out (not on my direction either)

Didn't mean to imply either, just posting in the interest of full disclosure. Kudos on the Epicurious mention...that's pretty cool.

Seth Zurer wrote:Zim - you are totally right! It's by no means a complete index to the first eatathon - that would require many more than the 600 words needed for the piece, and would've left little room for the beefathons. It's hard for an article that short to capture the scope and breadth ]of the eating that was done on the 24 hours of chow. The other 25-odd places are implied in the "Consumption resumed at Johnnie’s for an Italian beef sandwich and didn’t stop until noon the next day." I hope that that ellipsis doesn't minimize the accomplishments of the die-hard eaters that did the full 24.

didnt we eat brains twice during the allnightathon? at shan's and again at ednas. surely that is something to be proud about!

justjoan wrote:

Seth Zurer wrote:Zim - you are totally right! It's by no means a complete index to the first eatathon - that would require many more than the 600 words needed for the piece, and would've left little room for the beefathons. It's hard for an article that short to capture the scope and breadth ]of the eating that was done on the 24 hours of chow. The other 25-odd places are implied in the "Consumption resumed at Johnnie’s for an Italian beef sandwich and didn’t stop until noon the next day." I hope that that ellipsis doesn't minimize the accomplishments of the die-hard eaters that did the full 24.

didnt we eat brains twice during the allnightathon? at shan's and again at ednas. surely that is something to be proud about!

I'm not sure about "we", but I know that Seth did

Colleen Rush (crrush) has streamlined some dining hints from her new book in an article in this week's Time Out Chicago: http://tinyurl.com/yn6bfo

I had no idea my boorishness spanned so many cultures...

I'd be interested in finding out the rationale behind some traditions (e.g., the suggestion to "Eat a small spoon of rice for your first bite of the meal" at Thai places) -- I'm sure the book goes into more depth. The link for the book has been posted elsewhere, but in case you missed it: http://tinyurl.com/ybhzgh

Only warning I'd give is that the Thai thank-you shown in the article is only for men. Kowb kuhn ka is for a lady. (You show honor to the person you are thanking by identifying yourself as a gentleman or lady -- kowb kuhn is thank you, and khrop says, in essense, "from a gentlement" and ka "from a lady." So it's a more formal comment. If you can't remember, just say "kowb kuhn," and most Thai will be pleased by the effort.

Hey...thanks for the additional info. on 'thank you' (and for mentioning my piece, Mr. Hammond). Not enough room to do formal/informal, male/female addresses. There might be other spelling/pronunciation issues with the translations...corrections are welcome!

An enthusiastic endorsement of the GNR pocket guide on Chicagoist today.