Author: Jane Simon Ammeson

Jane Simon Ammeson is a freelance writer who specializes in travel, food and personalities. She writes frequently for The Times of Northwest Indiana, Mexico Connect, Long Weekends magazine, Edible Michiana, Lakeland Boating, Food Wine Travel magazine , Lee Publications, and the Herald Palladium where she writes a weekly food column. Her TouchScreenTravels include Indiana's Best. She also writes a weekly book review column for The Times of Northwest Indiana as well as food and travel, has authored 16 books including Lincoln Road Trip: The Back-road Guide to America's Favorite President, a winner of the Lowell Thomas Journalism Award in Travel Books, Third Place and also a Finalist for the 2019 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the Travel category. Her latest books are America's Femme Fatale: The Story of Serial Killer Belle Gunness and Classic Restaurants of Northwest Indiana. Her other books include How to Murder Your Wealthy Lovers and Get Away with It, A Jazz Age Murder in Northwest Indiana and Murders That Made Headlines: Crimes of Indiana, all historic true crime as well Hauntings of the Underground Railroad: Ghosts of the Midwest, Brown County, Indiana and East Chicago. Jane’s base camp is Stevensville, Michigan on the shores of Lake Michigan. Follow Jane at facebook.com/janesimonammeson; twitter.com/hpammeson; https://twitter.com/janeammeson1; twitter.com/travelfoodin, instagram.com/janeammeson/ and on her travel and food blog janeammeson.com and book blog: shelflife.blog/

First of Its Kind in the U.S.: The Inaugural Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024

Film, Sundance Institute

Tickets are now available for the first-of-its-kind event in the United States featuring three days of screenings and programming for Chicago audiences, including titles from the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah this June 28th to 30th.

Choose Chicago, in partnership with the City of Chicago and the nonprofit Sundance Institute, announced today programming and schedule details of the highly anticipated inaugural Sundance Institute x Chicago event, June 28 – 30. This landmark event will showcase a lineup of films and panel discussions, celebrating both the art of filmmaking and championing creative independence in Chicago’s vibrant cultural sector. Tickets for all screenings, panel discussions, and master classes are now available at SundanceInstitutexChicago.com.

“Chicago’s dynamic cultural scene is an ideal backdrop for this special collaboration with the Sundance Institute,” says Rich Gamble, Interim President and CEO at Choose Chicago. “We are proud to partner with the City of Chicago and the Sundance Institute to produce a new, only-in-Chicago experience that celebrates diverse storytelling and supports our brilliant local community of filmmakers.” 

Clinée Hedspeth, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, which includes the Chicago Film Office, adds, “This event is a significant addition to Chicago’s cultural calendar, offering unique insights into the filmmaking process and fostering discussions that inspire and challenge audiences. Our city is admired world-wide for its culture, and this festival will further spotlight Chicago as a vibrant filmmaking hub with existing and emerging talent and voices to be celebrated.”

Founded by Robert Redford in 1981 with the mission of fostering new voices in independent storytelling, the nonprofit Sundance Institute is an iconic institution and a champion of independent filmmakers globally. The Institute operates the Sundance Film Festival and it provides year-round support to both emerging and established filmmakers through artist labs, direct grants, and educational events.

Eugene Hernandez, Festival Director and head of public programming, Sundance Institute said, “We are honored to invite the Chicago community, in a city known for its deep appreciation of the arts and culture, to experience a taste of the Sundance Institute for a few days next month. We’re excited and looking forward to engaging with emerging artists and film-lovers from Chicagoland and beyond through screenings, workshops, and speaking programs.”

Tickets for Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024 screenings will be $20; student and senior tickets are $18. A portion of the box office proceeds will be donated to the Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals (CAFF). The donation to CAFF will be used to support their members’ festivals and their important contribution to championing creative independence in Chicago.

“On behalf of the 44 members of the Chicago Alliance of Film Festival, we are extremely grateful for this meaningful support from the Sundance Institute and Choose Chicago,” said Karen Cardarelli, Executive Director of Facets Multi-Media and a CAFF representative. “These funds will be redistributed to member organizations through a regranting process. The much-needed support will help our members further CAFF’s collective goal to enhance the cultural and economic vitality of our communities.”

The three-day event will include Midwest premiere screenings of four films drawn from the Sundance Film Festival’s lineup in January, along with a robust series of panel discussions, master classes, and community programming. 

Programming Schedule

Screenings

Luther: Never Too Much / U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter, Producers: Trish D Chetty, Ged Doherty, Jamie Foxx, Datari Turner, Leah Smith) Luther: Never Too Much chronicles the story of a vocal virtuoso. Using a wealth of rarely seen archives, Vandross tells his own story with assistance from his closest friends and musical collaborators including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson and Roberta Flack. The film relives the many stunning moments of Vandross’ Grammy® award-winning musical career, while exploring his personal life, health struggles, and a lifelong battle to earn the respect his music deserved. Documentary. 

Screenings: June 28, 7:30 PM at Logan Center for the Arts; June 29, 2 PM at Davis Theater and June 30, 12 PM at Logan Center for the Arts. 

Sugarcane / U.S.A., Canada (Director: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Director, Cinematographer, and Producer: Emily Kassie, Producer: Kellen Quinn) — An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve. Documentary. 

Screenings: June 29, 1 PM at Logan Center for the Arts and June 30, 2 PM at Davis Theater.

A Different Man / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Aaron Schimberg, Producers: Christine Vachon, Vanessa McDonnell, Gabriel Mayers) — Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost. Cast: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson. Fiction.

Screenings: June 29, 7 PM at Davis Theater; June 30, 4 PM at Logan Center for the Arts

IMBD

Your Monster / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Caroline Lindy, Producers: Kayla Foster, Shannon Reilly, Melanie Donkers, Kira Carstensen) — After her life falls apart, soft-spoken actress Laura Franco finds her voice again after she meets a terrifying, yet weirdly charming Monster living in her closet. A fantastical and dark romantic comedy about falling in love with your inner rage. Cast: Melissa Barrera, Tommy Dewey, Meghann Fahy, Edmund Donovan, Kayla Foster. Fiction. 

Screenings: June 29, 8 PM at Logan Center for the Arts; June 30, 7 PM at Davis Theatre. 

Panel Discussions and Master Classes 

The Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024 event will not only showcase films but also offer a robust series of talks and master classes aimed at engaging both film professionals and enthusiasts. These offerings are all free, but have limited capacity and require online reservations. 

Playing for Keeps: How Development Labs could be the investment that leads to local artistic sustainability

Date/time: Saturday, June 29 | 5 PM 

Location: Logan Center for the Arts, Performance Hall 

Details: This panel will explore innovative strategies in film development, offering insights into creative processes that drive the industry. Confirmed panelists to date include Ilyse McKimmie (Feature Film Program, Sundance Institute), Angie Gaffney (Producer, 521 Films) and Elijah McKinnon (Co-Founder / Executive Director, OTV).

A Better Way? New Sustainable Models for Financing and Distribution: Dual Value, Philanthropy, and Social Impact

Date/time: Sunday, June 30 | 1:15 PM 

Location: Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater 

Details: Discussing cutting-edge trends in financing and distribution, this session will provide attendees with a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of film production. Confirmed panelists to date include Adrienne Becker (Level Forward), Jason Matsomoto (Full Spectrum Features), Lauren Pabst (MacArthur Foundation), Jonah Zeiger (Chicago Film Office).

Stronger Together: How festivals, art houses, and independent exhibitors are working together to revive & reinvent the theatrical experience

Date/time: Sunday, June 30 | 5:15 PM 

Location: Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater 

Details: Experts will debate and discuss the changing role of film festivals in shaping cinema and engaging global audiences. Confirmed Panelists to date include Eugene Hernandez (Director, Sundance Film Festival), Karen Cardarelli (Facets and Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals).

Sundance Institute Short Film Master Class, presented by United Airlines 

Dates/time: Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30 | 10:30 AM 

Locations: Logan Center for the Arts, Screening Room (June 29) and the Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater (June 30) 

Details: Join Sundance programmer Mike Plante as he discusses the art of the short film, including submission processes and festival strategies, with insights from local filmmakers. 

Sundance Institute Artist Programs Presentation, presented by United Airlines: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sundance but Were Afraid to Ask

Dates/time: Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30 | 3:30 PM 

Locations: Logan Center for the Arts, Screening Room (June 29) and the Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater (June 30) 

Details: Ilyse McKimmie from Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program will cover the Institute’s year-round support of artists across various formats, complemented by experiences shared by Chicago-based filmmaker McKenzie Chinn. Joining Ilyse will be writer, director, actor, and Chicago local McKenzie Chinn. McKenzie will share her experience as an alumna of the 2021 Screenwriters and Directors Labs with her in-development feature A Real One. Her proof-of-concept short of the same title won the Gold Hugo for Live Action Short Film at the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival.

Community Programming 

Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024 was developed in partnership with Choose Chicago, the Chicago Film Office, and advisory board members drawn from Chicago’s local film and cultural communities. The weekend will also provide a platform for local organizations through ancillary programming and events. Visit the Community Partner Events page to learn more. The event will also be supported by a locally hired operations team led by Chicago-based film festival leaders NK Gutiérrez and Ana Garcia Doyle and supported by dozens of volunteers from across the community.

All Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024 event venues are equipped with accessible devices and resources to ensure an inclusive experience for all attendees. For more details on accessibility and accommodations, please visit the official event page. 

Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024 is presented in partnership with the Sundance Institute, Choose Chicago, the Chicago Film Office/Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). We are also grateful for the support of our Premier Sponsors, United Airlines, Cinespace Studios and Periscope Post and Audio. 

About Choose Chicago: Choose Chicago is the official sales and marketing organization responsible for promoting Chicago as a global visitor and meetings destination, leveraging the city’s unmatched assets to ensure the economic vitality of the city, its residents and our partner business community.

Follow @choosechicago on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and X/Twitter. For more information, visit choosechicago.com. 

About Chicago Film Office: The Chicago Film Office, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, leads the city’s effort to attract and support the production of all forms of screen entertainment produced in Chicago. For filmmakers, it is a one-stop liaison for all City of Chicago production needs including permits, city services, and logistical support. For film lovers and filmmakers alike, the CFO produces film programming, often in partnership with community organizations, that offers a wide spectrum of cinema experiences both for learning and enjoyment.

Mandatory Photo Credit: Abel Arciniega :: @tequilagraphics

Programming includes the Millennium Park Summer Film Series, international and art house screenings in the Chicago Cultural Center, and numerous partnership programs and events aimed to build both community and industry across all forms of filmmaking and film exhibition in Chicago. The Chicago Film Office supports the independent film sector and aims to elevate the City’s role as a leading hub and convener within the broader field. For details, visit ChicagoFilmOffice.us.  

About Sundance Institute: As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance advisors and connect with each other in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling.

Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Big Sick, Bottle Rocket, Boys Don’t Cry, Boys State, Call Me by Your Name, Clemency, CODA, Drunktown’s Finest, The Farewell, Fire of Love, Flee, The Forty-Year-Old Version, Fruitvale Station, Get Out, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, Honeyland, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love & Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, Nanny, Navalny, O.J.: Made in America, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raising Victor Vargas, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, RBG, Sin Nombre, Sorry to Bother You, The Souvenir, Strong Island, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Swiss Army Man, Sydney, A Thousand and One, Top of the Lake, Walking and Talking, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and Zola. 

Through year-round artist programs, the Institute also nurtured the early careers of such artists as Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Ryan Coogler, Nia DaCosta, The Daniels, David Gordon Green, Miranda July, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Boots Riley, Ira Sachs, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org/donate.

Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.

CHICAGO WELCOMES THE 2024 JAMES BEARD AWARDS® PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONEWITH A LINE-UP OF ANCILLARY CELEBRATIONS AND SPECIAL EVENTS AROUND THE CITY 

breakfasts, Breweries, Chicago Restaurant Week, Chicago restaurants, Chicago River, Coffee, Distilleries, Drink, Farm-to-Table, Farms, Foraging, Gastronomy, James Beard Awards, Lake Michigan, Restaurants, winery

Celebrate this year’s James Beard Awards® presented by Capital One, kicking off on Thursday, June 6 and extending through Tuesday, June 11. This celebratory weekend is packed with an vast array of intimate and grand-scale events, featuring special menus, exclusive out-of-town chef and bartender collaborations, educational sessions, and more. With one of the strongest lineups of public events since the arrival of the James Beard Awards® in Chicago in 2015, the weekend promises to be one of the most lively celebrations of the city’s dynamic dining scene this year.

Recognized as one of the nation’s most prestigious honors, the James Beard Awards celebrate excellence in the culinary and food media industries, and broader food system. They also honor individuals who demonstrate a commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive. 

Co-hosts Choose Chicago and Illinois Restaurant Association champion the city’s vibrant hospitality community year-round, but this weekend provides a particularly proud moment. Open to the public, 2024 festivities include: 

THURSDAY, JUNE 6

Mordecai’s James Beard Special Menu with Cocktail Pairings

Thursday, June 6th – Monday, June 10th

5:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Mordecai – 3632 North Clark Street, Chicago IL 60613

Reservation Here 

In celebration of the James Beard Awards, Mordecai will host a special James Beard menu with cocktail pairings in honor of the ceremony and James Beard Foundation from Thursday, June 6th – Monday, June 10th. Chef Djibril Webb has chosen two recipes from the James Beard Cookbook and Mordecai’s Bar Manager, Rena Long, created special cocktails to pair perfectly with each dish. The menu includes: Stuffed Little Neck Clams set to pair with the Vintage Mordecai Martini and the Breaded Pork Chop with Dill Caper Gravy paired with a cocktail featuring a coconut fat-washed Benriach 10, Bittermens Tepache pineapple, burnt coconut palm sugar, sfumato, and coriander bitters. A portion of the proceeds from each of the dishes and cocktails (sold a la carte) will be donated to the James Beard Foundation.

FRIDAY, JUNE 7

Celebration of Old-World Wines with Terraneo Merchants

Friday, June 7th, 2024

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Heritage Restaurant & Caviar Bar – 2700 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

Reservations Here

A two-part celebration with Sasha and Drue from Terraneo. To begin a two-part celebration, Heritage Restaurant & Caviar Bar will host a Happy Hour Take-over from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm to sample a variety of wine with Sasha and Drue from Terraneo Merchants. All wines will be happy hour priced. They will provide tastes and an in-depth dive with those curious to know more. The event will feature happy hour bites and plates with a Georgian Twist! Reservations are strongly suggested, and open to the public. For the second half of the celebration, the restaurant will pour many bottles of Georgian wine to be passed and many toasts by Sasha and Drue during a traditional Georgian Supra Feast from 6:00 – 8:00 pm.

Le Sud James Beard Tasting Menu

Friday, June 7 – Sunday, June 9th, 2024

4:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Le Sud – 2301 W Roscoe Street, Chicago, IL 60618

Reservations Here

Le Sud will offer a special tasting menu in honor of James Beard Awards weekend. Please see the website for more information.

A Rooftop Pop-Up featuring James Beard Finalist Strong Water Anaheim at Château Carbide  

5:00 pm – 10:00 pm 

Château Carbide at Pendry Chicago – 230 N Michigan Ave., 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 

Reservations Here

In the heart of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, luxury boutique hotel Pendry Chicago’s rooftop cocktail haven, Château Carbide, will welcome the 2024 James Beard Award nominee (Outstanding Wine & Other Beverages Program) Strong Water Anaheim for a bar takeover 24 stories above the city. Operated by husband-and-wife duo Ying Chang and Robert Adamson, Strong Water Anaheim has gained nationwide recognition for its nautical-theme “tiki-easy” with rum-based libations, which transport guests onto a sunken ship embarking on an immersive tiki experience. Ying and Robert’s team will be on-site at the historic Art Deco Carbide & Carbon Building shaking up a selection of fan-favorite cocktails from the   menu of the James Beard Award nominated bar. 

The Bartender’s Bookshelf: Toby Maloney & The Violet Hour host Danny Childs, Slow Drinks 

7:30 pm -12:00 am  

The Violet Hour – 1520 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60622 

Reservations Here

James Beard Award-winning author and barman Toby Maloney will welcome Danny Childs, author of Slow Drinks 2024 James Beard Media Award nominee (Beverage Book with Recipes) to The Violet Hour for “The Bartender’s Bookshelf.” The evening will be dedicated to showcasing the talent of the James Beard Media Awards nominee. Together with The Violet Hour team, ethnobotanist Danny has crafted a specialty menu that pulls recipes and inspiration from Slow Drinks, his acclaimed guide to foraging and fermenting seasonal sodas, botanical cocktails, homemade wines, and more. 

Throughout the night, signed copies of Slow Drinks will be available for purchase on-site with the help of the local Chicago bookstore, The Book Cellar. The Violet Hour will open its doors to the public, inviting local cocktail enthusiasts to meet Danny and Toby and grab a drink from the collaborative menu and a signed copy of the book while supplies last.  

Friday, Saturday, Sunday @ Sportsman’s Club

9:00 pm – 2:00 am

Sportsman’s Club – 948 N Western Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622

No reservations required

2023 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Restaurant, Philadelphia-based Friday, Saturday, Sunday, will take over Sportsman’s Club’s bar. Beginning at 9:00 pm, FSS head bartender Paul MacDonald will showcase some of the restaurant’s signature drinks in addition to a few one-night-only creations. This event is first come, first served. No reservations.

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Cocktail for a Cause at Bar Mar & Bazaar Meat by José Andrés

Saturday, June 8th – Monday, June 10th 2024

All Day

Bar Mar & Bazaar Meat by José Andrés – 120 N Upper Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606

Sip for good! In celebration of and a show of commitment to the James Beard Awards in Chicago, Bar Mar by José Andrés and Bazaar Meat by José Andrés will donate a portion of proceeds from each Salt Air Margarita sold from Saturday, June 8 through Monday, June 11 to the James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Leadership Programs. Whether a stop in during the energetic weekend or refreshment just before the ceremony at the Lyric, José’s signature margarita is the perfect way to cocktail for a great cause.

Summer Kickoff Party at Baobing!

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Baobing at Duck Duck Goat – 857 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607

No reservation required

Chef Stephanie Izard at Baobing, her Taiwanese-inspired walk-up window next to Duck Duck Goat, will offer cocktails and ice cream sundaes to kick off summer!

Under the Influence: How Dining Trends are Shaping Drink Choices– A Panel Hosted by the James Beard Foundation® 

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Biân – 600 W Chicago Ave Suite 001, Chicago, IL 60654

Reservations Here

Leaders in restaurants, bars, and hospitality, as well as beverage producers, will convene to talk about how dining trends, menu creation, and consumption shape how consumers select their beverages.  Kevin Boehm, Chairman and Co-Founder, Biân; Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Boka Restaurant Group; and 2019 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Restaurateur will host the panel alongside Tahiirah Habibi and Richy Petrina, James Beard Awards Committee Members. Rodney Williams, James Beard Foundation Trustee and President, Diageo Beer Company will moderate the conversation. Panelists include:

  • Gregory Gourdet, Author, Chef and Owner, Kann; 2022 James Beard Book Award Winner; 2023 James Beard Award Winner for Best New Restaurant
  • Lynnette Marrero, Co-founder, Speed Rack and Partner, Delola
  • Julia Momosé, Partner and Creative Director, Kumiko; 2022 James Beard Book Award Winner
  • Tia Polite, Sommelier, Indienne
  • Aldo Sohm, Wine Director, Le Bernadin, and Aldo Sohm Wine Bar; 2009 James Beard Award Winner for Outstanding Wine Service

Fireside Chat with Diana Wu, Executive Director of Oakland Bloom, and Chef Melissa Tung, Justice for

Migrant Women’s Special Culinary Advisor, on Caring for Communities and the Role of the Restaurant

Industry

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Kendall College at National Louis University – 18 S Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603

RSVP for the Event (info@oaklandbloom.org)

This intimate conversation, moderated by 2022 James Beard Leadership Award honoree and Justice for Migrant Women Founder Mónica Ramírez, will provide insight from two seasoned leaders in the food industry on the role of the restaurant industry in confronting crises and supporting care in the communities that surround them, and the workers that make them run. This conversation will look at trends they have seen since COVID, opportunities and promising practices, and the work that remains to be done. 

Immigrant Women Leading Across the Food Supply Chain 

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm 

Kendall College at National Louis University – 18 S Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603

RSVP for the Event (info@oaklandbloom.org)

James Beard Leadership Award Honorees Justice for Migrant Women and Oakland Bloom (for Understory) work to advance rights, power, and pathways to ownership for working-class migrant women in food. While migrant women’s labor and knowledge are a cornerstone of the food industry at all levels, their voices and experiences are often erased. The event will feature powerful conversation with migrant women in food, discussing their experiences and insights around food and migration, and how they are advancing a more just, connected, healthier, and inclusive vision for the industry and their communities.

Convenience Middle West

3:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Middle Brow – 2840 W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

Reservations Here

Middle Brow will feature the Texas barbecue joint, Convenience West to its patio for a pizza collaboration.

Celebration of Caviar with Antonio from Polanco Caviar

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm 

Heritage Restaurant & Caviar Bar – 2700 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

Reservations Here

A two-part celebration with Antonio Salto of Polanco and Chef Guy Meikle of Heritage Restaurant & Caviar Bar. Reserve Level Tastings: To begin the two-part celebration, Heritage Restaurant & Caviar Bar will host a sampling of some of Polanco’s Reserve level caviars during a tasting led by Antonio Salto. Enjoy a menu of items at your leisure anytime between 4:00 – 6:00 pm. Reservations are $70 a person and reservations are strongly suggested, open to the public. Continue the two-part celebration with Antonio Salto and Chef Guy during a special tasting menu from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Tickets are $325 a person and all-inclusive with a max capacity of 24 guests, reservations are required.

Served Up: A Rooftop Pop-Up featuring James Beard Outstanding Bar Finalist Barr Hill Cocktail Bar at Château Carbide

5:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Château Carbide at Pendry Chicago – 230 N Michigan Ave., 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601

Reservations Here

Luxury boutique hotel ’s rooftop cocktail haven Château Carbide will welcome 2024 James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Bar, Vermont-based   for a bar takeover 24 stories above the city. Barr Hill Cocktail Bar has gained nationwide recognition for its cocktail menu that combines handcrafted ingredients with cutting-edge bar techniques. From 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm, Barr Hill’s Head Distiller Ryan Christiansen and team will be onsite at the historic Art Deco Carbide & Carbon Building chatting shaking up a selection of fan-favorite cocktails from their James Beard Award-nominated menu.


James Beard Tasting Menu at The Coach House

6:30 pm

The Coach House – 1742 W. Division Street, Chicago, IL 
Reservations Here

Enjoy an 8-course tasting menu by 2x James Beard Award-nominated Chef Zubair Mohajir, exploring the primary spices used in South Indian cuisine. Through storytelling and an exclusively unique menu, guests for this event will get to experience The Coach House in an entirely new and vibrant way.

SUNDAY, JUNE 9

Coffee Chat: Culinary Titans Tackle Sustainability from Planet to Plate to People at Daisies

9:30 am – 11:00 am

Daisie’s – 2375 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

RSVP for the Event (rsvpchi@h2publicrelations.com)

Chef and Owner Joe Frillman of MICHELIN Green Starred Daisies in Logan Square will gather several of the industries’ leading voices in sustainability for an open-to-the-public coffee chat on the morning of Sunday, June 9th featuring Chicago’s own Green City Market, the city’s first year-round nonprofit farmers’ market that fights for citywide access to locally-grown, sustainably-produced food. From forging lasting bonds with local farmers to pioneering groundbreaking techniques in waste reduction and supporting local pollinators, the panel will share their insights and strategies for a more sustainable future. As they tackle pressing issues facing the industry today, attendees are welcome to nosh on a selection of hosted sweets and pastries by Jean Banchet Award-winning Executive Pastry Chef and Partner Leigh Omilinsky of Daisies as well as complimentary coffee and tea moderated by Food & Wine’s Chandra Ram, James Beard Media Award nominee, and IACP Award-nominated associate editorial director Chandra Ram, Daisies welcomes trailblazers including:

  • Joe Frillman of Daisies in Chicago, IL — MICHELIN Green Star, 2024 James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes 
  • Chef Rick Bayless — Frontera, Xoco, Bar Sótano & More, Top Chef, Founder of Green City Market & Frontera Farmer Foundation, Seven-Time James Beard Award winner
  • Chef Geoff Davis of Burdell in Oakland, CA — 2024 James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: California, Esquire’s Best New Restaurants
  • Chef Rob Connoley of Bulrush in St. Louis, MO — 2024 James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Midwest, Author: Acorns & Cattails: A Modern Foraging Cookbook of Forest, Farm & Field
  • Patrick Amice of Barr Hill Cocktail Bar and Distillery in Montpelier, VA — General Manager of Hospitality Operations, 2024 James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Bar Program
  • Nicole Yarovinsky of Daisies in Chicago, IL — Bar Director, 2x Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards Semi-Finalist

Get Roasted ‘24: Brew and Bites with Big Shoulders Coffee

10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Big Shoulders Coffee Roasting Works – 2415 W 19th Street, Chicago, IL 60608

Reservations Here

Patricia and Tim Coonan will welcome all to the Roastery for the 2024 Get Roasted event. The event will feature fresh coffee and homemade pastries, live roasting demonstrations, a micro-lot pour-over station, an espresso bar with a latte art exhibition, mocktails and cocktails created by our mixologist, Alicia Scott, and local brewery Alarmist Brewing will be sponsoring the event with a small selection of their craft beers. Don’t miss the craft coffee brew and bites event of the year ahead of the James Beard Foundation Awards. All guests will receive a bag of freshly roasted coffee to go.


Steph & Chef Friends’ Beard Brunch!

11:00 am – Onward

Girl & the Goat – 809 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60607

Reservations Here

Stephanie Izard alongside Lee Anne Wong, Christina Nguyen, Elizabeth Falkner, and Karen Akunowicz, will host a very special brunch. Enjoy a tasty dish from each chef while supporting the James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. Cocktails, beer, and wine will be available for a la carte purchase. Brunch will be a ticketed, family-style event with communal seating, please purchase the total amount of tickets for your entire party to ensure you will be seated next to one another. Please reach out to info@girlandthegoat.com with questions.

West Loop’s Sunday Brunch @ Nobu’s Rooftop

11:30 am – 2:30 pm

Nobu Chicago Rooftop – 155 N. Peoria Street, Chicago, IL 60607

Reservations Here

Nobu will host a Sunday Brunch soiree at The Rooftop, the stunning restaurant and lounge on the 11th floor of Nobu Hotel Chicago, which recently received a MICHELIN Key. Get a taste of celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s brunch menu while taking in one of the best views of Chicago’s skyline overlooking the burgeoning West Loop neighborhood. Attendees will be served reception-style Nobu brunch bites and crafted cocktails.

JBF Greens x Mi Tocaya Antojería

12:00pm – 2:30pm

Mi Tocaya Antojería – 2800 W. Lohan Blvd., Chicago IL 60647

This event is sold out. Click here to be added to the waitlist. 

Mi Tocaya Antojería will host JBF Greens and open for brunch so that the James Beard Foundation® Greens community (and friends!) can ring in the 2024 Awards. Translated to mean “my namesake” in Spanish, Mi Tocaya highlights chef — and James Beard Award nominee — Diana Dávila’s mission to reshape Mexican cuisine.

Since opening the restaurant in 2017, Chef Diana has established herself as a leader in and out of the kitchen. During the pandemic, she not only launched the Todos Ponen Project to support undocumented workers in the hospitality industry, but also provided free meals for the community, and remained steadfast in her commitment to her employees, farmers, and local vendors. For the occasion, chef Diana will prepare a 3-course brunch that highlights traditional favorites as well as lesser-known regional specialties inspired by her summers traveling through Mexico.

Up South

1:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Justice of the Pies – 8655 S Blackstone, Chicago, IL 60619

No reservation required

Chef Maya-Camille Broussard, 2022 James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Baker, Chef Serigne Mbaye, 2024 James Beard Award nominee for Best New Restaurant, Chef Adrienne Cheatham, 2023 James Beard Media Award nominated author of Sunday Best, and Chef Fariyal Abdullahi, 2024 James Beard Award nominee for Emerging Chef, will celebrate culinary brilliance on the South Side of Chicago. The UP SOUTH pop-up will feature offerings laced with Southern influences while retaining the spirit of the greater Black diaspora. Live music and terrace seating will be available at Justice of the Pies, a bakery proudly nestled in the center of Avalon Park on Chicago’s South Side.

 The Rise and Impact of Chef Civic Leadership – A Panel Hosted by Chicago Chefs Cook

1:15 pm – 2:15 pm

Kendall College at National Louis University – 

…

Following in Puccini’s Footsteps: An 8-Day Italian Musical Immersion

Tours, Zicasso
Cremona’s Violin Museum

Zicasso is proud to announce its latest cultural tour offering, 8 Days in Puccini’s Footsteps: A Musical Pilgrimage Through Italy, designed for travelers seeking an immersive experience into the life and work of the renowned Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, in honor of the 100th anniversary of his death in November 2024. This meticulously crafted itinerary offers a journey through the locations that shaped Puccini’s illustrious career, providing travelers with a rich tapestry of music, history, and Italian culture.

Massaciuccoli Lake. Torre del Lago. Photo courtesy of Anna Massina.

On this eight-day tour, guests will be fully immersed in the world of Puccini, tracing his steps from the bustling streets of Milan to the serene lakeside of Torre del Lago. This tour is designed for those who appreciate classical music, history, and the vibrant culture of Italy, offering a unique opportunity to connect with the environments that inspired Puccini’s greatest works.

Teatro dell’Opera

Highlights of this eight-day in Puccini’s Footsteps tour, priced starting at $3,190 per person, include:

Teatro alla Scala
  • Exclusive Tour of La Scala, Milan: Explore one of the world’s most famous opera houses and its museum, with the option to attend a performance.
  • Visit to the Milan Conservatory of Music: Walk the halls where Puccini refined his craft and began his journey as a composer.
  • Guided Tour of Cremona’s Violin Museum: Discover the art of violin making in the town known for its master craftsmen, including Antonio Stradivari.
  • Exploration of the Puccini Museum in Lucca: Visit the composer’s birthplace and see personal artifacts, including his piano and childhood room.
  • Tour of Puccini’s Villa in Torre del Lago: Experience the serene environment where Puccini composed some of his most famous operas.
  • Optional Wine Tasting in Tuscany: Enjoy a wine tasting session at a local vineyard, experiencing the flavors of the region.
  • Opera Performance at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma: Attend a grand opera performance in Rome’s majestic opera house.
  • Optional Day Trip to Florence: Extend your journey with a visit to Florence, including the Florence Conservatory of Music and the Uffizi Gallery.
  • Farewell Rooftop Dinner in Rome: Conclude your tour with a festive dinner and live Puccini performances, overlooking the city’s stunning skyline.
San Frediano Church, Lucca, Italy

This eight-day tour provides a rare opportunity to follow in the footsteps of one of Italy’s most beloved composers, offering an enriching blend of music, history, and breathtaking landscapes. Priced starting at $3,190 per person, the tour as listed includes premium accommodations, guided tours, all transfers, daily breakfasts, and opportunities to attend opera performances in Milan and Rome.

Full itinerary details and inclusions can be found at https://www.zicasso.com/i/italy/8-days-in-puccinis-footsteps-a-musical-pilgrimage-through-italy. 

Islas: A Celebration of Tropical Cooking

Caribbean, Historic foodways, Uncategorized

“Whatever you cook or don’t cook, this book is a trip to the islands or islas of the world.”

A beauty of a book, all lively colors, and wonderful photos, Islas: A Celebration of Tropical Cooking (Chronicle Books) takes us from island to island through the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans.

Photo courtesy of vondiaz.com

“The people who live on tropical islands are among the toughest, scrappiest, most resilient people of the planet,” writes author Von Diaz, an Emmy Award-winning documentarian, food historian, and author of Coconuts to Collards: Recipes and Stories from Puerto Rico to the Deep South (University Press of Florida) . “Storms have always been unpredictable, and generations of islanders have cultivated ancestral knowledge around how to survive and, importantly, how to feed themselves despite it all. With limited ingredients, they cook in ways that are soul-nourishing and emphasize flavor. Making magic out of what’s available.”

Photo courtesy of vandiaz.com

Her cookbook is about preserving the wisdom and values of island people who live in what Diaz describes as the most volatile and vulnerable places on the planet. She follows their histories and how the grapple with their new realities, combining legacy, adaptability, culture, and fortitude.

She tells and shows us cooking techniques and recipes from faraway places such as Santo, Vanuatu’s largest island. Here we meet Primrose Siri who shares such recipes as Laplap, the national dish with its alternative layers of starch such as cassava or yam, seafood or chicken, herbs, spices, and fresh coconut milk cooked oven an earth oven heated with hot rock. Closer to home, there’s Pasteles de Masa, a Puerto Rican Christmas traditional dessert.

Even those who may never cook Arroz Negro Con Pulpo y Calamares (Black Rice with Octopus and Squid) with its rice blackened with squid ink, will be intrigued by this Puerto Rican dish that is definitely eye catching.

Keshi Yena’s history dates back to the first Dutch colonial period in Curaçao, a bustling island some 30 miles off the coast of Venezuela. It is the food of enslaved people, as Curaçao was a slave port, who out of necessity took the rinds of cheeses such as Gouda that were discarded by their masters and stuffing it with meat scraps and other scavenged ingredients.

Photo courtesy of vandiaz.com

Some recipes are simple and easy to make at home without a lot of extra ingredients such as Ensalada Talong (Grilled Eggplant and Vegetable Salad) from the Philippines. Others, such as Monfongo Con Guiso, a common dish of green plantains and chicharron or fried pork skins in Puerto Rico are more time consuming but within reach of any cook who wants to give it a try.

The book is arranged by the chapters including the island’s cooking techniques: Marinating, Pickling + Fermentation, Braising + Stewing, Steaming + In-Ground Cooking, Frying, Grilling, Roasting + Smoking, as well as pantry staples, and sauces, spice blends, and condiments that can easily be made.

Whatever you cook or don’t cook, this book is a trip to the islands or islas of the world.

Chamoru Barbecue Chicken with Juanita’s Fina’denne’

Island: Guam
Yield: 4 to 6 servings | Active Time: 1 hour | Total Time: At least 4 hours

“This adaptation of a classic Chamoru marinade has become my go-to for grilling chicken and pork. It comes together quickly and packs a punch; soy sauce and lemon deeply penetrate the meat, which is then infused with abundant garlic and ginger. Start your marinade the morning of your cookout instead of the night before, as this soy-heavy marinade is potent. Once you begin cooking, baste the chicken with the remaining marinade several times to glaze and char, being sure to let the marinade cook before taking the meat off the grill.”

Marinade:

  • 10 to 12 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup [50 g] finely grated peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 cup [240 ml] soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup [120 ml] fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup [60 ml] white wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup [65 g] light brown sugar
  • 1 cup [104 g] finely chopped green onions, white and green parts

To make the marinade: In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, brown sugar, and onions and stir well to incorporate.

Chicken:

  • 3 to 4 lb [1.4 to 1.8 kg] bone-in skin-on chicken pieces, dark or white meat
  • Steamed white rice, for serving
  • Fina’denne’ (recipe below), for serving

To make the chicken: Put the chicken pieces in a large resealable bag or airtight container, then pour the marinade over and seal the container. Marinate for at least 3 hours or up to 12.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and place the pieces on a rimmed baking sheet. Reserve the remaining marinade.

Bring a grill to medium heat, then cook the chicken for 25 to 40 minutes, turning often to avoid burning, and brushing with the reserved marinade a few times. Be sure to cook the last application of marinade before taking the chicken off the grill.

Tent the chicken with aluminum foil and let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes before eating. Serve with steamed rice and fina’denne’ on the side.

TIP: If you don’t have access to a grill, this recipe is easy to prepare in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C], then line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Arrange the chicken in an even layer, bone-side down. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. To finish, brush with reserved marinade, turn the heat to a high broil, and place the baking sheet directly under the broiler. Watching carefully, and brushing with marinade a few more times, broil for 5 to 10 minutes until the chicken reaches your desired char.

Island: Guam
Yield: 1 ½ cups [360 ml]
Total Time: 5 minutes

FINA’DENNE’
CHAMORU SOY DIPPING SAUCE

A staple of Chamoru cuisine, this soy-based dipping sauce is flavored with lemon, green onions, and fiery chiles. You can replace the vinegar with additional lemon juice if desired. This recipe was inspired by Juanita Blaz, who is profiled in Islas.

Chamoru Barbecue Chicken with Juanita’s Fina’denne’

  • 3/4 cup [180 ml] soy sauce, plus more as needed
  • 1/2 cup [24 g] thinly sliced green onions or shallots
  • 3 to 6 red bird’s eye chiles
  • 1/2 cup [80 g] halved cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup [60 ml] coconut vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup [60 ml] fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust soy sauce and chiles as desired.

This review originally appeared in the New York Journal of Books.

Celebrity Chefs Star at This Year’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship

Celebrity Chef, Cooking demonstrations, Family & Kids Cooking, James Beard Awards, KitchenAid Fairway Club, Seasonal Recipes

KitchenAid is once again elevating the fan experience at the upcoming 2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, taking place at Harbor Shores over Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-26.

As the title sponsor of this prestigious event, KitchenAid promises an unparalleled fusion of cooking and golf for fans of all ages. Today, the brand unveiled the full schedule of celebrity guests that will take the stage at the KitchenAid Fairway Club, the centerpiece of the fan experience at the Championship.

This year, the KitchenAid Fairway Club will move to the North Pier Brewing Company parking lot along the 14th hole. This area will serve as the epicenter of the fan experience at the Championship.

In the Fairway Club, fans will enjoy interactive cooking displays and product demonstrations, smoothie and shave ice making, espresso tastings and captivating demonstrations by renowned chefs and home designers.

 Introducing this year’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship celebrity chef lineup:

This year’s star-studded lineup will be led by renowned Chef Christopher Covelli and his protegé Chef Brett Wagner. Chef Covelli, having been featured as the resident celebrity chef talent every year of the KitchenAid sponsorship, has been seen on several Food Network shows including “Alex versus America” and “Beat Bobby Flay.”

Covelli is currently the Head Executive Chef and Co-owner of Realm Restaurant Group in Sarasota, FL. Wagner is the Co-Executive Chef for Realm Restaurants and is regularly featured on television and in magazines.

Both chefs will appear all week to wow guests with their incredible cooking skills and culinary advice.

The dynamic Chef Alex Guarnaschelli will showcase her cooking skills on Thursday, May 23. Guarnaschelli is recognized as one of America’s most accomplished top chefs, acclaimed for her work in the kitchen, as an author and as a popular television personality. Guarnaschelli is a mother, chef, TV host and native New Yorker. In addition to appearing on various Food Network shows like “Iron Chef America,” “Chopped,” “Supermarket Stakeout” and “The Kitchen,” Alex has a new-American restaurant, “Butter,” in midtown Manhattan, that has been popular for 20 years. Chef Alex Guarnaschelli will be signing copies of her cookbook after her demonstration at the Championship.

On Friday, May 24, famed Chef Carla Hall will take the stage, sharing her favorite recipes and her on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Top Chef: All Stars.” Carla spent seven years co-hosting ABC’s Emmy award-winning lifestyle series “The Chew,” and she is currently featured on MAX as the host of “Chasing Flavor” and on the Food Network in the “Summer, Halloween and Holiday Baking Championships.”

Her latest cookbook, “Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration” landed on annual best cookbook lists across the country and received a NAACP Image Awards nomination. Chef Carla Hall will also be signing copies of her book after her demonstration at the Championship.

Those looking for kitchen and home design inspiration won’t want to miss Jasmine Roth’s demonstration and Q&A session on Saturday, May 25.

Jasmine Roth is the founder of Built Custom Homes, curator of the online retail store The Shop by Jasmine Roth and host of HGTV’s hit shows “Hidden Potential” and “HELP! I Wrecked My House.” She was also on HGTV’s “Rock the Block Season 1.” Building custom homes is her bread and butter, and she loves finding ways to make homes as personal, functional and beautiful as possible. At the Championship, she will share her personal tips and answer questions on customizing your kitchen.

Welcoming more local chefs than ever before!

This year’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship will feature more local talent than ever before, including talented chefs, baristas and experts from across Michigan who will be showcasing their secrets.

The master schedule is as follows:

Thursday, May 23

● 11 a.m. – Brian Maynard, the visionary owner of Forté Coffee, will bring his knowledge and love of all things coffee to his exciting espresso demonstration, sharing his secrets for brewing the perfect cup.

● 1 p.m. – Celebrity Chef Demonstration from Chef Alex Guarneschelli

● 2:30 p.m. – Elton Mann, Executive Chef at Plank’s Tavern, the restaurant for the Inn at Harbor Shores

Friday, May 24

● 11 a.m. – Chef Nate Brown’s rise from cooking demonstrations to hosting his own TV show underscored his passion for flavorful cuisine and culinary excellence. With notable collaborations with Wolfgang Puck and VIP clientele like Kanye West and Governor Gretchen Whitmer, his dedication to healthy eating initiatives shines through, as seen in his efforts to educate youth about nutrition and wellness through urban gardening and cooking classes.

March 29, 2024, New York, NY: Portraits of Chef Carla Hall in Midtown Manhattan. © Clay Williams / http://claywilliamsphoto.com

● 1 p.m. – Celebrity Chef Demonstration from Chef Carla Hall

● 2:30 p.m. – Chef Justin Paruszkiewicz, a recent winner of “Guy’s Grocery Games,” brings a wealth of experience to his demonstration. Justin honed his skills at esteemed establishments like Gibsons Restaurant Group, culminating in his current role as Executive Chef at Sister Lakes Brewing Company and owner of The Chef’s House private dining service.

Saturday, May 25

● 1 p.m. – Celebrity Design Demonstration by Jasmine Roth

Cheyenne Galbraith and her brother, James Galbraith. Photo Jane Simon Ammeson

● 2:30 p.m. – Cheyenne Galbraith, the creative force behind Houndstooth, is not simply a chef; she is a culinary storyteller. Known for transforming familiar ingredients into culinary adventures, she marries influences from her childhood to her extensive travels.

● 3:30 p.m. – Cheese lovers won’t want to miss the demonstration from Deb Sailor, fondly known as “The Cheese Lady.” She swiftly became the beloved cheese vendor in The Market in Saint Joseph, sharing her passion for cheese that transports people to cherished moments and places.

Sunday, May 26

Hudson Library & Historical Society

● 11 a.m. – Closing out the weekend, Abra Berens, the founder and head chef of Granor Farm, James Beard nominated Best Chef of the Great Lakes Region, and author of three award winning cookbooks including Pulp, Grist, and Ruffage, will bring her passion for seasonal and locally sourced ingredients to the KitchenAid Fairway Club.

“Since our collaboration with the PGA of America began, we have strived to create unique experiences,” said Deb O’Connor, director of global corporate reputation and community relations for Whirlpool Corporation. “This year will be the best yet. The KitchenAid experience at the Championship will excite and inspire. It will be a celebration of all we’ve accomplished together over the years, and is sure to leave fans delighted and fulfilled.”

For more information about the 2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, visit SRPGA.com. To follow along with KitchenAid sponsor updates, follow Twitter.com/KitchenAid_Golf.

ABOUT THE KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship was born in 1937 on the grounds of Augusta National Golf Club. Since then, famed champions such as Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Raymond Floyd and Colin Montgomerie have hoisted the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy.

This Championship is the oldest of the five major championships in men’s senior golf, is administered by the PGA of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA Tour Champions and the European Senior Tour. The lower age limit is 50, which is the standard limit for men’s senior professional golf tournaments. Winners gain entry into the next PGA Championship. KitchenAid has been the lead Championship sponsor since 2011, bringing the Championship to Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor,

Michigan every other year. To learn more, follow the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship on Instagram, X or Facebook, or visit https://www.srpga.com

Celebrate a literary legend: Mark Twain Days this May

Holiday, Holiday events, Holiday Travel, Nevada

The Brewery Arts Center and Visit Carson City invite travelers and northern Nevadans to attend the second annual , beginning Friday, May 10 through Sunday, May 12, 2024. Events will take place in Downtown Carson City, Nevada and Virginia City, Nevada, and will celebrate one of America’s most prolific, wise—and wise-cracking—writers, Mark Twain. A complete schedule of events and activities is available at MarkTwainDays.com.

Although Samual Clemens was born in 1835 in Missouri, he took the name Mark Twain while living in Carson City and Virginia City in the early 1860s. This is why many people claim Nevada as the true birthplace of the literary legend.

In recognition of Mark Twain’s lasting contributions to Nevada and American culture, the 2024 Mark Twain Days Festival will feature several events, including:

  • McAvoy Layne Appearances – Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11

McAvoy Layne, the beloved “Ghost of Mark Twain,” will appear as a special guest speaker for activities at the Brewery Arts Center on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

  • Twain Train VIP Rail Excursion – 2:30 p.m., Friday, May 10

Departing from the Eastgate Depot in Carson City, passengers will embark on a 24-mile round-trip ride to Virginia City where they can experience Mark Twain events. Tickets start at $125 per person and are on sale at MarkTwainDays.com.

  • Free Museum Day – Saturday, May 11

Visitors and community members are welcome to enjoy free admission for a day at the Nevada State Museum, the Nevada State Railroad Museum, the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada, and free tours of the Nevada Capitol Building.

  • Carson City Ghost Walk, Featuring: The Fabulists – 10-11:30 a.m., Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12

Join the Carson City Ghost Walk for a 90-minute tour to learn about the lives of the Victorian era’s saucy writers, brazen entertainers, and cheeky neighbors who shaped the young Nevada territory during the time of Mark Twain. Tours begin at the Bob McFadden Plaza and end at The Brewery Arts Center. Tickets purchased in advance are $25 per person, or $30 if purchased the day of, and are on sale at CarsonCityGhostWalk.com.

  • The 2024 Bow Tie Ball – 6-9 p.m., Saturday, May 11

Dance the night away at the Nevada State Museum during the second annual Bow Tie Ball, an 1860s-themed party featuring live music, performances, drinks, food, and a scavenger hunt. Tickets are $100 per person and are on sale at BreweryArts.org/2024bowtieball.

“The Mark Twain Days Festival offers incredible experiences for visitors to dive into the cultural and historical legacy of Mark Twain,” said Dave Peterson, executive director of Visit Carson City. “The Visit Carson City team is thrilled to partner with the Brewery Arts Center and the Virginia City Tourism Commission to coordinate this unforgettable celebration for people of all ages to enjoy.”

Twain wrote about his time in Nevada in his book, “Roughing It” in which he stated, “I only proposed to stay in Nevada three months—I had no thought of staying longer than that… I little thought that I would not see the end of that three-month pleasure excursion for six or seven uncommonly long years!”

Visitors may book their stay for the Mark Twain Days Festival at VisitCarsonCity.com/stay. For those looking to extend their visit—in true Mark Twain style—itineraries, day trips, and several attractions in Carson City are available to explore at VisitCarsonCity.com.

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Presented by Visit Carson City and the Brewery Arts Center, the second annual Mark Twain Days Festival will celebrate the tremendous legacy of the prolific American writer and humorist, Mark Twain, beginning Friday, May 10 – Sunday, May 12, 2024. Events are happening in Downtown Carson City and Virginia City.

About Visit Carson City:

Carson City is where history lives and adventure awaits. Carson City boasts an array of outdoor adventures, restaurants, golf courses, historical attractions, museums, gaming opportunities, and a plethora of events and entertainment. Visitors will find plenty of exciting activities and experiences to choose from. In the heart of the action, Carson City is nestled just minutes from the legendary Lake Tahoe, electrifying Reno, historic Virginia City and the majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range. For more information, go to Visit Carson City’s website at visitcarsoncity.com.

About Brewery Arts Center

Brewery Arts Center is housed by two historic buildings and encompasses two city blocks on the historic West Side of Nevada’s Capital, Carson City. BAC boasts a FREE outdoor summer concert series, the 150 seat Maizie theater, a 250 seat Performance Hall, an Exhibition Hall, a Grand Ballroom, and an Artisan Store, as well as an educational wing featuring painting, pottery, and multipurpose studios. Each space on the campus delivers multi-generational and multi-cultural art experiences and opportunities for personal and community growth through entertainment, education, and enrichment.

The Lula Cafe Cookbook

Chicago Neighborhoods, Chicago restaurants

“more than just ingredients, it is an accumulation of knowledge, sourcing, collaboration, farms, orchards, fields, and artistry.”

The Lula Cafe Cookbook: Collected Recipes and Stories. Jason Hammel. Phaidon. Photography: Carolina Rodriguez.

After almost a quarter of a century as executive chef and co-owner of Lula Cafe, Chef Jason Hammel has written his debut cookbook about his popular restaurant in Chicago’s trendy Logan Square neighborhood. The Lula Café, which was nominated as a finalist for Outstanding Hospitality by the James Beard Foundation, is often described as trailblazing with boundary-pushing new dishes gracing the menu every week and Hammel credited with being in the vanguard of sourcing local and organic ingredients to use in his restaurant well before it became a trend.

The Lula Cafe Cookbook. Collected Recipes and Stories. Jason Hammel. Phaidon. Photography: Carolina Rodriguez.

All of these factors are in play in The Lula Café Cookbook: Collected Recipes and Stories (Phaidon Press). Included are 90 full recipes and 40 “building block” pantry recipes.

Hammel, a consulting chef at Marisol in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and a co-founder of Pilot Light, a food education nonprofit that invests in teacher leadership and fosters good food choices, has crafted an intriguing and beautiful cookbook. The recipes have very detailed instructions, are accompanied by artistic full-color photographs, and often include a suggestion of how to serve the dish to get the best effect and taste.

Some are esoteric and might be daunting to everyday home cooks who are looking for quick and easy. Count among those the Sweet Corn, Cipollini Onion, and Raclette Tart with its many steps and side recipes and the Toasted Bay Leaf and Chocolate Crème Brûlée, which calls for making both candied hazelnuts and candied kumquats as well as a brûlée base.

The Lula Cafe Cookbook. Collected Recipes and Stories. Jason Hammel. Phaidon. Photography: Carolina Rodriguez.

Hammel says the recipe for Carrots, Plums, and Dill came about when they were experimenting with using a shio koji, the mold used for making such Japanese fermented products as miso, soy sauce, and sake, to marinate meats such as pork shoulder and quail—yes that’s how much they pay attention to detail at The Lula Café. They then moved on to using shio koji for vegetables, which is how Carrots, Plums, and Dill came about. All these dishes would be well worth the effort for those so inclined (and who want to invest in a shio koji) but there are others that have the same sophisticated look but are much more approachable.

One such dish is Pasta Yiayia, a staple at the restaurant. (See recipe below).

Pasta Yiayia. Photography: Carolina Rodriguez (page 27).

“I married into this dish,” writes Hammel. “This is the recipe my wife most associated with her grandmother and namesake, Amalia, who came to Chicago from a village near Sparta, Greece, as a child.  I never got the chance to meet this side branch of the family tree. But I can see Amalia now when I set Pasta YiaYia in front of my children.

“There is nothing more central to my wife’s family than this maternal line—a branch of creativity, grit, beauty, and bravery—traced back to Amalia herself and now carried on by the flavors, stories, ingredients, and techniques in this recipe. I imagine my wife as a child, as her grandmother set down a bowl of pasta dressed with feta, brown butter, garlic, and cinnamon. I can only imagine that these flavors connected her to a place in an old world she’d never known.”

The Lula Cafe Cookbook. Collected Recipes and Stories. Jason Hammel. Phaidon.

Another easy to try is the Turmeric Tangerine Teacake that Hammel praises his pastry chef, Emily Spurlin, for creating and marveling at her skills at melding the flavors so the turmeric bounces off the baking spices, olive oil, and yogurt. And in this season of fresh produce, Tomato Tonnato is another good choice to try.

Turbot with Seeded Crust and Salsify. Photography: Carolina Rodriguez (page 207).

The stories accompanying each recipe shows the almost poetic take Hammel and his staff take to creating the food they prepare and serve. It is more than just ingredients, it is an accumulation of knowledge, sourcing, collaboration, farms, orchards, fields, and artistry.

Lula Cafe’s Pasta Yiayia

From The Lula Cafe Cookbook (Phaidon, 2023)

Serves 4

Yiayia Sauce

  • 1 ¼ cups (10 fl oz/300 g) milk
  • 1 tablespoon Roasted Garlic Purée (recipe follows) + 1 teaspoon oil from the Roasted Garlic
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup (5 oz/150 g) crumbled feta
  • ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)

To Serve

  • 8 oz bucatini (Hammel and Lula use Misko No. 2)
  • 1 cup (3 ½ oz/100 g) grated Parmesan
  • Generous ½ cup (2 ¾ oz/70 g) crumbled feta
  • Ground cinnamon, to taste
  • ¼ cup (2 ¼ oz/55 g) butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

1. Make the Yiayia sauce. In a small pan, combine the milk, roasted garlic, garlic oil, minced garlic, and cinnamon.

2. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook for 15 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.

3. Remove from the heat and let cool.

4. Transfer the milk mixture to a blender, adding the feta and xanthan gum, if using. Purée until smooth.

5. Gently warm the sauce in a large, wide pan over low heat while you prepare the pasta.

6. To serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt generously. Add the bucatini to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes.

7. Strain and transfer the pasta to the pan with the warmed sauce, tossing until thoroughly coated.

8. Add half the Parmesan and feta, and toss again until just incorporated. The feta can be chunky and half melted.

9. Transfer the pasta to warm serving bowls or a platter and top with the remaining feta and Parmesan. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and keep the serving vessel(s) in a warm place.

10. In a small pan over medium heat, combine the butter and sliced garlic, swirling them around as the butter melts and begins to simmer. This will be your brown butter. Adjust the heat so the butter foams and simmers without burning. You’ll see the cloudy mixture eventually separate and brown. Shake the pan in short forward-backward movements to aerate the foaming butter and circulate the slowly caramelizing milk solids. As the butter caramelizes, it should smell sweet, rich, and nutty. When both the garlic and butter are golden brown, remove the pan from the heat and drizzle the brown foaming butter all over the top of the pasta. It will sizzle evocatively. Serve.

Roasted Garlic

  • 3 heads garlic, top sliced to expose cloves
  • 2 ½ cups (18 fl oz/550 g) vegetable oil, plus extra as needed

Preheat the oven to 300F/150C. In a small baking dish or loaf pan (tin), add the garlic and the oil. If the oil doesn’t cover the garlic all the way, add more to submerge it. Cover the dish with foil and cook the garlic until golden, tender, and lightly roasted, about 1 hour. Leave to cool, then store the garlic in the oil. When ready to use, squeeze the roasted garlic purée out of the cloves.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at These Great Destinations

Auberge Resorts Collection, California, California Wine, Caribbean, Cinco de Mayo, Florida, Holiday Travel, Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Resorts, San Juan, Uncategorized

Last minute destinations and events to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year. From the gorgeous beaches of San Juan and Los Cabos, to the bustling streets of Los Angeles, there is something for everyone.


Fairmont Century Plaza | Century City, CA

Photo credit: Fairmont Century Plaza

Fairmont Century Plaza’s signature restaurant, Lumiére, will be hosting the ultimate Cinco de Mayo party for locals and guests to enjoy.

Photo credit: Fairmont Century Plaza

In partnership with craft tequila, Tres Generaciones, the luxury hotel will be celebrating the holiday from 12-4pm with specialty tequila cocktails, fun activations, and a live DJ. 

Condado Ocean Club | San Juan, PR

Photo: Condado Ocean Club

This Cinco de Mayo, the Caribbean beaches and ocean views await at Condado Ocean Club. Located in San Juan’s chic Condado Beach District, Condado Ocean Club is the only adults-only hotel located on the oceanfront in San Juan.

Photo: Condado Ocean Club

The chic, adults-only hotel has one of the most Instagrammable infinity pools on the island with spacious cabanas, and some of the best modern, oceanfront accommodations including a signature indoor-outdoor restaurant, SOCIAL, serving elevated cuisine with a local twist overlooking the water; and playful beachside dining at SANDBOX. On May 5th, SANDBOX is hosting guests from 5pm to 12am with happy hour specials and delicious eats! 

La Concha Resort | San Juan, PR

With a prime oceanfront location in the heart of San Juan’s elevated Condado Beach district, travelers looking for the perfect spot this Cinco De Mayo, can have fun under the Caribbean sun at San Juan’s quintessential beach lifestyle destination La Concha Resort.

Thanks to social indoor/outdoor restaurants and bars, an expansive pool area where guests can see and be seen while enjoying live DJ sets every weekend, and nightlife and entertainment offerings, La Concha is the perfect getaway for all travelers. Specifically for Cinco De Mayo, La Concha Resort’s newest dining outlet, Tekka Bar: Handroll & Sake, is offering a new specialty roll for through May 5th: Hamachi al Pastor, Grilled Pineapple, Guajillo chile, created by award-winning Chef Scott Conant’s from VIVA! Restaurant in La Vegas. 

Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection |Los Cabos, Mexico

Photo: Auberge Resorts Collection

Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection, Los Cabos’ only private beach resort, will offer an elevated, fresh twist on the classic by offering the “Mago de Piña,” an integration of grilled pineapple, fresh lime juice, cardamom syrup, Cointreau, and, of course, Tequila añejo, garnished with dehydrated pineapple and bitters.

Photo: Auberge Resorts Collection

Pro tip: Pair this pineapple-inspired drink with dinner at Cocina del Mar’s menu of locally grown and house-made ingredients. 

  • “The sweetness of the grilled pineapple perfectly compliments the warmth from the cardamom, and bitters makes the Mago de Piña a crowd pleaser. At Esperanza we pride ourselves on using classic ingredients in new combinations and presentations, and are always excited to introduce our guests to new agave-based spirits and local tequila producers” – Nicolas Morretti, Beverage Director at Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection 

Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection|Los Cabos, Mexico

Photo: Auberge Resorts Collection. 

For those craving a bit more spice to go along with the hard stuff, Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection will be serving a “Yayarita,” aptly named after the hotel’s new Latin-Mediterranean restaurant, YAYA.

Photo: Auberge Resorts Collection. 

With the celebration of YAYA’s first anniversary this year, guests to the resort are welcomed with complimentary Yayaritas, impeccable service and cloudless skies. Crafted by lead mixologist Yared Alba, this cocktail is prepared with aquavit, tequila general gorostieta, carrot & ginger shrub and finished with ‘dessert dust.’

Photo: Auberge Resorts Collection. 
  • “The Yayarita is the perfect celebratory drink, a perfect balance of smooth tequila, acidity from a homemade carrot & ginger shrub, a touch of sweetness from the dessert dust on the glass. The colors, flavors, and environment represent the vibrant yet laid-back spirit of our little coastal haven in Los Cabos.” – Courtesy of Miguel Vargas, Bartender at Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection 

Ponte Vedra Inn & Club | Ponte Vedra, FL

Photo: Ponte Vedra Inn & Club

Located on one of the finest beaches in North Florida, Ponte Vedra Inn & Club offers an unforgettable Cinco de Mayo celebration for families. Just outside Jacksonville, this award-winning resort not only boasts pristine shores but also offers a variety of activities tailored to the holiday.

Photo: Ponte Vedra Inn & Club

While children enjoy Cinco de Mayo-themed fun at the kid’s club with Mexican-inspired crafts and movies, parents can unwind with a sunset Margarita and savor Fiesta Flare specials. From beachfront Margaritas to a lively atmosphere, the resort’s various dining options, including the signature Seahorse Grille and the alfresco Surf Deck Grille, ensure that parents can enjoy the well-deserved holiday weekend. 

Introducing the James Beard 2024 Book Award Nominees

Chicago Neighborhoods, Chicago restaurants, Historic foodways, Indian Food, James Beard Awards, Uncategorized


Baking and Desserts:

This award recognizes books with recipes focused on the art and craft of baking, pastries, and desserts, both sweet and savory items, including ingredients, techniques, equipment, and traditions.

This year, submissions to the Bread category were included for consideration within the Baking and Desserts category.


Dark Rye and Honey Cake: Festival Baking from Belgium, the Heart of the Low Countries

Regula Ysewijn
(Weldon Owen)

Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed

Abi Balingit
(HarperCollins)

More Than Cake: 100 Baking Recipes Built for Pleasure and Community

Natasha Pickowicz
(Artisan Books)

Beverage with Recipes:

This award recognizes books with recipes focused on beverages, such as
cocktails, beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, or juices.

Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice: Cocktails from Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks

Toni Tipton-Martin
(Clarkson Potter)

The Maison Premiere Almanac: Cocktails, Oysters, Absinthe, and Other Essential Nutrients for the Sensualist, Aesthete, and Flaneur

Joshua Boissy, Jordan Mackay, and Krystof Zizka
(Clarkson Potter)

Slow Drinks: A Field Guide to Foraging and Fermenting Seasonal Sodas, Botanical Cocktails, Homemade Wines, and More

Danny Childs
(Hardie Grant North America)

Beverage without Recipes:

This award recognizes books without recipes that focus on beverages, such
as cocktails, beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, or juices; or books that cover these subject areas where recipes are not the focus of cooking, not just a single topic, technique, or region.

Agave Spirits: The Past, Present, and Future of Mezcals

Gary Paul Nabhan and David Suro Piñera
(W. W. Norton & Company)
The New French Wine

Jon Bonné
(Ten Speed Press)

Vines in a Cold Climate: The People Behind the English Wine Revolution

Henry Jeffreys
(Atlantic)
Food Issues and Advocacy:

This award recognizes books that focus on investigative journalism, food
policy, food advocacy, deep dives, and critical analysis of the changing social landscape around food.

At the Table: The Chef’s Guide to Advocacy

Katherine Miller
(Island Press)

Avocado Anxiety: and Other Stories About Where Your Food Comes From

Louise Gray
(Bloomsbury Wildlife)

Resilient Kitchens: American Immigrant Cooking in a Time of Crisis: Essays and Recipes

Philip Gleissner and Harry Eli Kashdan
(Rutgers University Press)

General:

This award recognizes books with recipes that address a broad scope of cooking, not just a single topic, technique, or region.

A Cook’s Book

Nigel Slater
(Ten Speed)

The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z

Tamar Adler
(Scribner)

Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook

Sohla El-Waylly
(Alfred A. Knopf)

International:

This award recognizes books with recipes focused on food or cooking traditions of countries, regions, or communities outside of the United States.

Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation

Clarissa Wei with Ivy Chen
(Simon & Schuster/Simon Element)

My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora

Yewande Komolafe
(Ten Speed Press)

The World Central Kitchen Cookbook

José Andrés and Sam Chapple-Sokol
(Clarkson Potter)

Literary Writing:

This award recognizes narrative nonfiction books, including memoirs, culinary travel, culinary tourism, biography, reflections on food in a cultural context, and personal essays.

Food Stories: Writing That Stirs the Pot

The Bitter Southerner

(The Bitter Southerner)

For The Culture: Phenomenal Black Women and Femmes in Food: Interviews, Inspiration, and Recipes

Klancy Miller
(HarperCollins)

The Migrant Chef: The Life and Times of Lalo García

Laura Tillman
(W. W. Norton & Company)

Reference, History, and Scholarship:

This award recognizes manuals, guides, encyclopedias, or books
that present research related to food or foodways.

The Ark of Taste: Delicious and Distinctive Foods That Define the United States

David S. Shields and Giselle K. Lord
(Hachette Book Group)

Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement

Bobby J. Smith II
(University of North Carolina Press)

White Burgers, Black Cash: Fast Food from Black Exclusion to Exploitation

Naa Oyo A. Kwate
(University of Minnesota Press)

Restaurant and Professional:

This award recognizes books written by a culinary professional or
restaurant chef with recipes that may include advanced cooking techniques, the use of specialty ingredients and professional equipment, including culinary arts textbooks.

Ester: Australian Cooking

Mat Lindsay with Pat Nourse
(Murdoch Books)

Fish Butchery: Mastering The Catch, Cut, and Craft

Josh Niland
Hardie Grant Books)

Rintaro: Japanese Food from an Izakaya in California

Jessica Battilana and Sylvan Mishima Brackett
(Hardie Grant North America)

Single Subject:

This award recognizes books with recipes focused on a single ingredient, dish, or method of cooking. Examples include seafood, grains, pasta, burgers, or canning. Exceptions are baking and desserts books, vegetable-focused books, restaurant and professional books, and beverage books—
which would be entered in their respective categories.

The Hog Island Book of Fish and Seafood: Culinary Treasures from Our Waters

John Ash
(Cameron Books)

Pasta Every Day: Make It, Shape It, Sauce It, Eat It

Meryl Feinstein
(Hachette Book Group

Yogurt & Whey: Recipes of an Iranian Immigrant Life

Homa Dashtaki
(W. W. Norton & Company)

U.S. Foodways:

This award recognizes books with recipes focused on the cooking or foodways of regions or communities located within the United States.

Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque

Ed Mitchell, Ryan Mitchell, and Zella Palmer
(Ecco)

Love Japan: Recipes from Our Japanese American Kitchen


Aaron Israel and Sawako Okochi with Gabriella Gershenson
(Ten Speed Press)

Made Here Recipes & Reflections From NYC’s Asian Communities

Send Chinatown Love
(Self-Published)

Vegetable-Focused Cooking:

This award recognizes books on vegetable cookery with recipes that are meatless, vegetarian, or vegan.

Ever-Green Vietnamese: Super-Fresh Recipes, Starring Plants from Land and Sea

Andrea Nguyen
(Ten Speed Press)
Japan: The Vegetarian Cookbook

Nancy Singleton Hachisu
Phaidon Press)

Tenderheart: A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds

Hetty Lui McKinnon
(Alfred A. Knopf)

Visuals:

This award recognizes books on food or beverage with exceptional graphic design, art, or photography.

The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp

Yudi Echevarria
(Ten Speed Press)
For The Culture: Phenomenal Black Women and Femmes in Food: Interviews, Inspiration, and Recipes

Kelly Marshall and Sarah Madden
(HarperCollins)
Thank You Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South

Kate Medley with Dave Whitling
(BS Publishing)

Cookbook Hall of Fame:

This award is given to either a cookbook that has significantly influenced the way we think about food, honoring authors who possess an exceptional ability to communicate their gastronomic vision via the printed page, or an author whose cookbooks and other culinary books and work, taken together, make a difference in the world of food and cooking.

The Book Awards Subcommittee selects the winner for this category. The Cookbook Hall of Fame winner will be announced at the Media Awards ceremony on June 8.

Lake Chapala Through the Ages: An Anthology of Traveler’s Tales

Adventure, Historic foodways

Once called Coatlan after the earthenware vessels that were coiled like a serpent and used for storing pulque, a white wine made from the Mexcal tree and used as an offering to a stone idol, Cuiseon was a small village on The Nine Rivers which flowed into Lake Chapala. This and other food traditions, according to The Geographic Account of Poncitlán and Cuiseo del Río dated March 9, 1586, showed their typical fare as venison, fish, and rabbit, a thin kind of porridge to drink hot with powdered chile that was broken up and sprinkled on top, and Izquitl—corn toasted on a comal and seasoned with salt. The villagers harvested chia, huauhtli, and cocotl, the latter a mustard-like seed that is ground up and mixed with corn and water to drink both before and after eating.

As it relates to the foods we eat today, we still consume corn and fish and season with salt and powdered chiles. We’re less likely to dine on venison or rabbit while cocotl is so obscure that even a Google search doesn’t come up with a hit. But both chia and huauhtli, a species of amaranth, an ancient grain, are recognized as beneficial to our health. And so, the foods of this village still play a part in our lives.

This is an obscure slice of everyday life, a glimpse into the past that would be lost to time, confined to dusty archives, and/or shelved away to be forgotten in libraries or museums, if not for the work of Tony Burton, an award-winning writer whose books include “Lake Chapala: A Postcard History” (2022), “Foreign Footprints in Ajijic: Decades of Change in Mexican Village” (2022), “If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants” (2020), “Mexican Kaleidoscope: myths, mysteries and mystique” (2016), and  “Western Mexico, A Traveler’s Treasury” (4th edition, 2013).

Reading through a unique collection of extracts from more than fifty original sources, many never previously available in English, Burton’s book, “Lake Chapala Through the Ages; an anthology of travelers’ tales,” is a fascinating look at the region’s formative years from the arrival of conquistadors in the early 1500s to the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, as told through the eyes of an assortment of travelers– poets, friars, exiles, government officials, geographers, historians, explorers, and scientists.

What they saw in their journeys is fascinating, as are the people who traveled and then shared their observations.

“My inspiration was really curiosity about the documentary basis for things I’d heard about the history of the area, some of which struck me as highly imaginative,” says Burton. “I began working on the book way before the development of online search engines or digitized books, so it took me almost a decade to track down originals of the 50+ published works, excerpts from which appear in the final book. It would have been impossible without the support of an excellent inter-library loan system, personal visits to libraries in the USA and England, and the generous contributions of a small army of people I thank in the book’s acknowledgments.

“I still remember the shivers that ran down my spine when I first handled the leather-bound Belgian journal from the 1830s containing an article about Lake Chapala by Henri Galeotti. I knew that article existed because some parts had been translated into Spanish and published in Mexico. The challenge of finding the original proved to be well worth the effort—in my opinion, Galeotti’s masterful, illustrated, systematic, scientific coverage of the area’s geology and natural history has no equal.”

Barrister and seasoned traveler William Henry Bullock Hall (1837–1904), who was born in Essex, England, and educated at Balliol College, Oxford visited Mexico taking a route that began in Veracruz and took in Mexico City, Tepic, San Blas, Guadalajara, Querétaro and Tampico.

Looking for boiling water while staying at the hacienda of Buena Vista, he made the following observation:

“In one of the recesses of the building, I discovered, over her earthenware pots, the old woman, upon whom you are sure to stumble, sooner or later, in Mexican houses, if you only persevere. As good luck would have it, this old crone was in the act of trying to blow into a sufficient glow to boil a jug of water, the bits of charcoal which, laid in a square receptacle sunk in the face of a solid brick counter, do the duty of a fire all over Mexico. From this old lady I obtained not only boiling water, but a couple of poached eggs, so that I fared sumptuously.”

English women often were intrepid travelers, journeying to places remote and probably most uncomfortable. How joyous to meet Rose Georgina Kingsley (1845–1925), the oldest child of the Rev. Charles Kingsley, a celebrated English clergyman and novelist, who contributed the prologue to her book” South by west or winter in the Rocky Mountains and spring in Mexico,” published in 1874 and digitized by Harvard University in 2006.

Rose crossed the Atlantic to Colorado Springs in November 1871 to join her brother, Maurice, who was assistant treasurer of the company developing Colorado Springs writes Burton, noting that, even by 1872, there were fewer than 800 residents, so both Kingsleys were pioneer settlers.

Her writings and sketches were published by General William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs, a railway entrepreneur and owner of the newspaper Out West. When Palmer decided that same year to examine possible routes for a railway linking Texas to Manzanillo, Rose accepted the invitation to join him along with his wife, Queen, and General William Rosencrans on a trip that took them first to Manzanillo and then inland to Colima, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Querétaro, and Mexico City. Her descriptions of the sights and interactions along the way are fascinating.

“At San Pedro [Tlaquepaque] we stopped and got three men as escort, and at 9.30 came to San Antonio, a hacienda where we changed mules, and had breakfast in a hut by the roadside,” she writes. “The women in the hut, which was only made of sticks and thatch, gave us eggs, frijoles, tortillas, and carne seca, in chilli Colorado sauce, which for hotness almost beat the mole de guajalote at Atenquique. But besides these native viands we got capital chocolate, made from some cakes we had brought with us. So, on the whole, we fared well.”

They arrived at La Barca, on the Rio Lerma, on market day and ate a very good meal in a dirty fonda (restaurant) where the walls were covered with broken bits of pottery in decorative patterns. There they learned they had barely missed being robbed the night before—all of which Rose, in her writings at least, takes in stride.

Burton, the editor-in-chief of MexConnect, Mexico’s top English-language online magazine, spans time and place to take us into one of his favorite regions of Mexico where he lived for over a decade, bringing the past alive and introducing us to an interesting cast of characters.

The following recipes are from Gastro Nomia Tipica del Estado de Jalisco.

SOPA DE TORTILLA

(TORTILLA SOUP)

Ingredients:

  • 18 Tortillas (from the previous day) cut into strips and aired so they dry out some.
  • 4 large ripe tomatoes, roasted and peeled.
  • 1 small can of tomato puree.
  • 1 clove garlic.
  • 1/2 onion.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • 1 pasilla/mulato chile and 1 ancho chile, fried without seeds and in small pieces
  • 1 very fresh small panela.
  • 2 avocados peeled and cut into strips.
  • 1/4 Chihuahua cheese (or whatever you prefer that is stringy) grated.
  • 1 branch of epazote (or parsley if you don’t have epazote).
  • Good quality milk cream.
  • 1 liter hicken broth (or a liter of water with powdered broth).
  • Cooked and shredded chicken (optional).

Fry the tortillas in hot oil and drain the excess oil.

Blend the tomatoes with the garlic and onion. Put a little oil in a casserole or pot and fry the tomato puree; add the liquid and the broth or consommé, season with salt and pepper. Put enough tortilla strips in each deep plate, add the grated cheese and then plenty of very hot broth.

Garnish with strips of avocado and panela and pieces of fried chilies. Everyone adds their own cream. The chicken, if included, is added before adding the broth.

Makes six servings.

Photo courtesy Wikiwrimo.

BOTANA DE REQUESON

CURD CHEESE SNACK

  • 1 kg. fresh cottage cheese
  • 1/4 green tomato, clean and washed
  • 3 poblano chiles
  • 1 tablespoon of chipotle chile pickle
  • 1 canned jalapeno pepper
  • 1 splash of jalapeno pepper vinegar
  • Pepper and salt to taste
  • Powdered consommé
  • Whole tostadas

Blend all the ingredients except the cottage cheese.

Fry in a splash of oil, letting it boil and stirring until it loses all the liquid and a paste is left. Let it cool, mix with the cottage cheese, crushing it with bean masher to mix well.

Mold it into a glass container previously greased with oil, pressing the mixture well.

Remove from mold onto a flat plate and cover completely with toasted sesame seeds. Serve with tostadas around it.

.