The Chicago Traveler

This season of the Bravo Network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
During the last Quickfire Challenge, the competitors took turns working a short-order line at the egg station of Lou Mitchell’s during the incredibly busy breakfast hours. Eggs can be tricky enough to cook well, but the chefs also had to deal with a small cooking space, keep track of multiple orders, and interpret the foreign diner lingo.
Lou Mitchell’s has been well-known for its breakfasts for the past 80 years. …read more

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This season of the Bravo Network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This week’s Quickfire Challenge gave the chefs 45 minutes to create a modern salad using fresh produce. Forty-five minutes is a long time to prepare a salad, so the judges were looking for something spectacular.
Salads have slowly moved their way from appetizer to main course. Even here in Chicago, known for its meats, you can find great places to get tasty salads. Try Sopraffina, which offers “fast food” in …read more

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This season of the Bravo Network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This week’s Quickfire Challenge divided the contestants into two teams of four and pitted them against each other in a mis en place relay race. (Mis en place is a French phrase literally meaning “put in place” and refers to the process of preparing ingredients usually before the restaurant opens for the day.) Each team had to supreme oranges (remove the skin, pith, membranes, and seeds), prepare artichokes, fillet …read more

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This season of the Bravo Network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This week’s Quickfire Challenge required each chef to create an entrée in only 15 minutes, using Uncle Ben’s Rice as a primary ingredient. (Product placement, anyone?) As you can probably figure out, trying to cook anything in that short amount of time is very difficult, especially when the contestants are trying to impress guest judge Art Smith. I can’t even decide what I want to eat in less than …read more

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For a few weeks now, I’ve been posting about the reality tv series, Top Chef: Chicago. Another culinary show I enjoy is Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen. The U.S. version of this cooking competition stars Gordon Ramsay, the incredibly successful and foul-mouthed British chef.
Ramsay will be signing copies of his new cookbook, Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food, in Macy’s lower-level culinary kitchen. Be sure to stop in and say hello! Just don’t tick him off. You’ll be in for an earful.
Photo credit: (c/o Flickr) Dave Pullig
Macy’s: 111 N State St; 312-781-1000Apr 29: 1:00 p.m.Parking pay lots availablePublic trans: Bus # 2, 3, 4, …read more

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This season of the Bravo Network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This week’s Quickfire Challenge required each chef to make a unique dessert. It may sound simple, but desserts have been the downfall of many contestants in previous seasons. Desserts can be more complex than the entrees that precede them. While chefs can often throw ingredients together to make a meal, using “a pinch of this” and “a handful of that,” desserts frequently require exact measurements and recipes. Cooks may …read more

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This season of the Bravo Network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This week’s Quickfire challenge allowed each contestant to taste three beers from several different brands before choosing one of them. The chefs then had had to create a dish that paired well with their selected beers.
If you’re looking for a spot where you can check out some great brews, stop by one of the following:

Crabbby Kim’s
Fizz Bar & Grill
Hideout
Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap
Kitsch’n on Roscoe
Mitsuwa Marketplace
Moody’s Pub
Paramount Room
Red …read more

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This season of the Bravo Network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This week’s Quickfire challenge tested the chefs’ palates by a series of 15 comparisons. Each chef was blindfolded and tasted two variations of the same food: one of a high-priced fine quality, the other of a lesser value.
Whether you’re looking for a refined, elegant meal or just some cheap eats, Chicago’s got something for you. The list of restaurants on the left provides stylish culinary experiences, while the examples …read more

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This season of the Bravo network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This week’s Quickfire challenge required each of the chefs to create a vegetable platter using a variety of vegetables provided, in addition to all of the items from the Top Chef pantry. The chefs had to use at least three culinary techniques in their dishes. The winner received immunity from the following Elimination Challenge.
If you’re on the lookout for some Chicago places that offer tasty vegetarian options, I’ve got …read more

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This season of the Bravo network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This week’s Quickfire challenge required each of the chefs to create a taco dish that was suitable for fine dining. Along with earning its creator immunity in the following Elimination challenge, the winning dish was placed on the menu at Rick Bayless’ restaurant, Topolobampo. Sure, it may sound funny, but the flavors here are amazing. You can read more about it and its sister restaurant in my post: Frontera …read more

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