Who's in the kitchen?

This week's show takes us on a culinary trip to three very different restaurants. What makes them different? Well, of course it's the cuisine, the ambiance, and the cost. But the culinary expertise, life experiences, and personalities of the chef/owners are truly what create the overall experience.

Graham Elliot Bowles is the Executive Chef/Owner of Graham Elliot, a restaurant recommended by David, one of this week's guest reviewers on Check, Please! When you see Chef Elliot and hear him talk about his passion for creating his dishes, you can understand why David likes this restaurant. It's filled with personality. It's avant garde, but it's also jovial and fun, just like the chef. Like most of the chefs we've met on Check, Please!, Chef Elliot uses cooking as a form of self expression. With his artfully created dishes, he makes going out to dinner what we want it to be - an experience.

Speaking of adventure, Annie, self-proclaimed "crepe connoisseur," introduced us to Icosium Kafe, an Algerian-inspired creperie. Belkacem El Mentennani is the chef/owner and he brings an exciting alternative to a sandwich to Chicago. When I think crepes, the first thing I see in my mind is the thin pancake with a sweet fruit filling and whipped cream. And Chef Mentennani delivers on some temptingly sweet dessert crepes. But he also tickles your taste buds with all sorts of savory crepes in an authentic North African style. His culture and passion for fresh ingredients are served up together in this uniquely decorated eatery. Stepping into his restaurant is like stepping into a worm hole that transports you to a small Algerian bizarre halfway around the world. The best part is that it's right here in Chicago so we don't have to travel very far.

In keeping with family tradition, the mother and daughter manager/owners of Convito Café & Market also express themselves through their restaurant and food. Candace Warner and her mother Nancy Brussat Barocci run a welcoming establishment which is, as Nancy puts it, in the spirit of the classic Italian banquet. Calvin recommended this restaurant for a delicious meal, where the sauce is perfect and the atmosphere is comforting, just as Candace and Nancy want it to be.

On Check, Please! we've seen hip young guys running a cool, saucy barbeque joint, traditional island cuisine prepared by a simple Puerto Rican family, and bold flavors presented in a festive, brightly colored restaurant by a chef/owner who is just as bold and colorful. It's easy to see that if the food on your plate is delicious, it came from the heart of whoever is in the kitchen! Happy Eating!


Carmen M. Schmidt
Associate Producer, Check, Please!
WTTW

Best Burger?

My apologies to my vegetarian friends, but this week I'm all about the meat!

On this week's episode, our guest reviewers talked about the best burger in town. But, really, how do they know? Have they had all the burgers in town to compare? And, just what makes a burger the best in town? Don't get me wrong, I've had some delicious burgers, but the "best" is really difficult to prove, because it all depends on what you like.

Guest reviewer Rebecca introduced us to a really rockin' place called Rockit Bar & Grill. As with all of the restaurants we feature on Check, Please! I visited their website to gather more information. And there it was, a gorgeous looking, delightfully cheesy, tasty-looking gourmet burger. With it were the words, "Best Burger, Good Morning America." Apparently, the Rockit Burger has been named the "Best in the Nation" by a national morning TV show. I had to check out the menu. I found some pretty basic chicken and turkey burgers, but there was also a lobster burger and a Kobe beef burger with seared foie gras! Very unusual. This merits some further investigation.

There are a few elements that make a burger a "great burger." Let's start with the most obvious; the meat. Beef is beef, right? Not really. Where and how cattle are raised will provide different textures, flavors, and fatty makeups. Preparation is also very important. A burger should be thick enough to maintain its juiciness when cooked, but not so big that you have to use a fork and knife to eat it. The meat should be well seasoned and cooked to perfection, allowing it to be slightly pink in the middle. (Unless, of course, you are a "well done" kind of meat eater.) Next, consider the bread. There are a range of bread possibilities and preparations. Some options include Kaiser rolls, sour dough buns, onion rolls, and the ubiquitous sesame seed bun. Rockit Bar & Grill uses a pretzel bun for most of its burgers. Yum! The bread may be steamed, toasted, dips in gravy or just served at room temperature. Toasted is my favorite because you get a slight crunch and still have the soft and chewiness of the bun. The last elements of a great burger are the condiments. This is where a chef can really let his creativity fly. Anything goes! Are you a raw onion, diced onion, red onion, caramelized onion, or no onion type of burger lover? Do you like red tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, green tomatoes, or sun-dried tomatoes? The possibilities are endless. And oh, the cheeses! Cheese adds that warm comforting taste to a burger and each cheese changes the flavor dramatically. Gourmet burgers sport avocados, fancy mustards, and anything else you can layer on. Add all of these elements together and voila you have a great burger!

Since the meat is a big deal in a burger, I thought you might want a little more information about the two most common types of beef you'll find on menus in the USA.

Many restaurants and grocery chains boast the sale of Angus beef. Angus cattle is a term that refers to two Scottish breeds of cattle, which naturally that don't have horns. The two breeds of Angus cattle are Black and Red Angus, which refers to the predominant coloring amongst of the cattle. Black is predominantly the original Scottish Aberdeen Angus cattle and the most preferred. Here's an interesting fact: while the cattle first appeared in the USA in Kansas, in 1883 the American Aberdeen Angus Association was founded in Chicago. A successful public relations campaign starting in 1978 made Angus beef a preferred style of beef in the USA. Your local McDonald's serves Angus beef along with a number of other chain restaurants. It has a modest to high degree of marbling and is excellent for steaks, stews, and burgers.

Kobe beef refers to beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Japan. Kobe beef is renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and well-marbled texture. Raised in an isolated region of Japan, the distinctive feeding techniques have led to distinguishing features that make the meat both superior in marbling and in the ratios of unsaturated versus saturated fats. Kobe beef is often considered a delicacy. Don't freak out. After the "mad-cow" scare in 2001, there was a ban on Japanese imported beef to the USA (which was lifted in 2005). However, in order to meet the increasing demand, most Kobe beef is actually "Kobe-style" beef that comes from a domestically raised Wagyu cross-bread with Angus cattle.

Write to us. Tell us where you think you've found the best burger in town. Do you agree with our guest reviewers? Does Rockit Bar & Grill really have the best burger? Tell us what makes your burger experience the best! And don't forget the sides.

Carmen M. Schmidt
Associate Producer, Check, Please!
WTTW

Surprising!

As Bo Diddley so famously said, you can't judge a book by its cover! That definitely holds true for restaurants. I've taken friends to my favorite little Chinese restaurant and watched their faces as they look at the sad looking store front, the mama's kitchen style seating, and lack of the typical Asian décor. But, when they have the perfectly prepared dishes for an even better price, they totally understand why I like it. Our guest reviewers for this week's episode of Check, Please! experienced the same kind pleasant surprise as they visited each of this week's featured restaurants.

Alpana described The Golden Steer as a "real throw-back." The dated décor screamed Italian restaurant from the late 70s with mirrored walls and older carpeting. However, as it turns out, the food is truly hard to beat! Tomiiko was blown away by her unbelievable Italian dinner and amazing French onion soup for which this restaurant is famous. She noted that they haven't changed anything about how the place looks, but she says they really don't have to - the food is the thing! The Golden Steer is one of those restaurants you remember going to with your family as a child. There is just something comforting about a place that doesn't change and provides consistent quality you can expect. The shiny, hip, well appointed restaurants on Rush Street are great, but classic eateries like this one can't be beat. Best of all, as Dr. Doug said, you can't find a steak so expertly prepared at the same price downtown!

Location, location, location - really? Something that continues to surprise us is the wonderful restaurants that keep popping up in strip malls! When you think of gourmet dining, you definitely don't think of strip malls, but Tomiiko introduced us to an Asian noodle treasure called Urban Belly that was just that. Urban Belly offers an upscale Korean cuisine at a great price. This no-nonsense restaurant doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside it presents a chic, minimalist decor with very interesting block-like seating that help you get, as Tomiiko put it, "close to your noodles." It's another cuisine adventure in a surprising location.

Guest reviewer Chris was surprised by how much he enjoyed his meal at Tallgrass. Like many of us, he visited the restaurant's website before going to check out the menu and really wasn't all that impressed. It left him unsure that he would enjoy his meal. Sometimes, the description of a dish or the explanation of ingredients really doesn't sound tasty. But, Chris found the opposite. It is a real testament to the skill and expertise of a talented chef when he can take what most would consider not so appetizing and make it taste great.

Is there a restaurant that has surprised you? Have you discovered an unexpected culinary delight? Did you ever get more than you expected? Tell us about your surprising culinary experience.

Carmen M. Schmidt
Associate Producer, Check, Please!
WTTW

Wooonderful...

People ask me all the time, do you get hungry working on Check, Please!? And my answer is almost always, "YES. Don't you get hungry watching it?" I mean, there are plenty of reasons for this.

The food itself is reason number one. The presentation of a dish builds your gastronomic expectations. Our camera folks do an extraordinary job of capturing every juicy, melt-in-your-mouth aspect of the expertly, as well as artfully, prepared cuisine created by the chefs at the restaurants we visit. Close-up shots of perfectly seared filet mignon resting on a plate with perfectly prepared and luscious green asparagus or delicately prepared scallops in a buttery sauce lovingly garnished with whole spices leave me salivating every time! Watching the guacamole prepared table-side at Fuego, a Mexican restaurant featured on this week's show, makes me dizzy with hunger. I love guacamole! They prepare it exactly as you like it, adding more tomato or onions at your request. I could eat just that! Or how about witnessing a fork coming in from off-camera to slice effortlessly through cheesy lasagna with strings of cheese pulling away dripping with red sauce and speckled with spices? Someone is about to enjoy that delicious bite somewhere! It is just a killer when you are resigned to the bologna sandwich you quickly prepared for yourself on the way out the door in the morning.

Another element of my torture while editing this show is the enthusiasm for the culinary experience shared by our guests. Some guests can express their tastes in such away that we salivate just listening to their first hand dining accounts. One of my favorites this week is William describing his experience at Fuego. This wasn't even his suggested restaurant, but he loved his meal so much. When he described it in his whispering, slow head-shaking, eyes-closed manner as "Wooonderful"... I was completely sold. I can't wait to go to Fuego. Coming in a close second was Chris's description of how much he loved his dessert at William's recommended restaurant, Carmine's. How he described the best dessert he had ever had was that he just wanted to get up, go to the kitchen, and hug the chef. Priceless! Lynn got one in on this show too... white chocolate mole... "anything in chocolate is the best." Yes, Lynn I must completely agree!

One more reason for the wan look in my eyes during post-production is all the fun everyone looks like they're having at the restaurants. Really. We go out to eat to have a great meal, spend time with special people, and enjoy a different atmosphere other than the same old, same old. Not to mention, the fact that we don't have to do all the cooking before or dish washing after! At this week's featured restaurants, Carmine's and Fuego, there were smiles all around and people truly were enjoying much more than the food and spirits. Even at the counter service restaurant, Sultan's Market, Lynn said that it was an adventure just tasting the Pan-Middle Eastern dishes. William spoke excitedly about having his first taste of falafel! What fun! I find myself wanting to be there, don't you?

Food is meant to sustain us, right? When it comes to working on Check, Please!, I've learned that good food does so much more. It awakens a variety of emotions and feelings, it inspires creativity, it heightens a social experience, and for an associate producer with a bologna sandwich for lunch, it can lead you to near insanity. Well, almost. Happy eating!

Carmen M. Schmidt
Associate Producer, Check, Please!
WTTW

Happy New Year!

The new ninth season episodes are here. We hope you've enjoyed revisiting the first six episodes of our ninth season over the holidays.

Tonight, Check, Please! features fancy pizza, affordable Asian cuisine, and barbeque flavors to die for. O.K., I know what you're thinking, "What are you doing to me?" Don't we know it's just seven days after you made that New Year's resolution! How are you supposed to loose weight, save money, or live a greener lifestyle when we keep showing you tempting deliciousness every Friday evening? Don't worry, I've got you covered.

So, maybe your New Year's resolution was to loose some extra pounds. It's not always easy to count calories when you go out to eat. But, that shouldn't keep you from enjoying a satisfying. Many restaurants will offer low-calorie dishes. You can also order your favorite dish, with slight alternations. Ask for your salad dressing on the side, that way you can control the amount you add to your salad. A little bit of a good flavor can go a long way. Look for items on the menu that are baked or broiled rather than fried. A good server can help you make a perfect selection as well. Set the bread basket aside, and focus your attention on the protein and vegetables in your dish. Weight loss experts always say portion size is very important. Enjoy that delicious gourmet pizza at A Mano... just limit the number of slices you have. You may even consider sharing the dessert. Easier said than done, but it is worth a try. And most of all, know when it is time to push away from the table. Ask yourself, am I eating because this tastes delicious, or because I'm still hungry? Think of it this way, if you leave something on your plate, you'll get to enjoy the textures and flavors of that great meal again for lunch when take advantage of the ubiquitous doggy bag!

Each cuisine has its fatty, rich foods. However, if you are trying to avoid certain rich, gravy filled, or breaded dishes, consider an Asian cuisine with lighter menu choices. Our guest reviewers loved Tampopo, a sushi restaurant that was described as a hidden gem. Fresh ingredients are key to a healthy and delicious meal. Order items that are prepared in lighter broths and where the focus is on spices rather than breading or gravies to provide flavor. Keep in mind that noodles and rice are carbohydrates that convert to sugars and stay with you longer, so limit those portions. Again, our guest reviewers all raved about the large portions at Tampopo, so remember to get that take-home bag.

Now, maybe your resolution was to save money. Let's face-it. Going out to eat is not the cheapest thing you can do. Many people have limited the number of times a week or month they go out to eat. But, there are still those special occasions - girls' nights out, date nights, and evenings when you just don't want to cook. To reduce the bottom line on your restaurant check, be choosey about the restaurant. As you have seen on previous episodes of Check, Please! there are plenty of restaurants in the Chicago area offering a gourmet meal at a great price. Your resolution to save money may be your ticket to a new culinary adventure. Visit our website when you're choosing a restaurant, and don't forget to look at the tab per person. We list our tab per person before drinks. So another way to keep that tab down is to be selective about your drinks as well. Find restaurants that are BYOB or that will sell you a glass of wine by the glass, rather than by the bottle.

Finally, I've learned that one of the most popular resolutions for 2010 is to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. This can apply to going out to eat as well. Along with changing your light bulbs, using public transportation, printing less of what you see online, or recycling, consider where the food on the menu comes from. Many of the chef/owners we have interviewed for Check, Please! are making a conscious effort to choose locally-grown foods and create seasonal menus to accommodate local harvests. It's a real win-win for you, our environment, and local economy when you choose to frequent these eateries. You'll get the freshest and healthiest ingredients, help to limit carbon emissions, and create sustainable businesses for local farmers and organic growers. Visit restaurant websites to learn more about their menu or ask your server about the restaurant's policy or mission. Supporting restaurateurs with an ecological conscious is an important part of a "greener" lifestyle.

Here's to a happy and healthy New Year and resolution season!

Carmen M. Schmidt
Associate Producer, Check, Please!
WTTW

Just try it!

When I was growing up and would wrinkle my nose at food I thought I would not like, Mom always said, "you'll never know unless you try." And, what do you know? Sometimes, I did like it.

As an adult there can be plenty of reasons you haven't tried a cuisine. Maybe you have never had Japanese sushi because you're afraid to eat something raw or the idea of Caribbean sautéed squid and fried plantains makes your face grimace with disgust. Is it the usual spices, the strange aromas, or just the very idea of the exotic ingredients that keeps you from trying it? Maybe you just don't want to pay for something you're afraid you won't like. That's safe and practical, but you could be missing out on something wonderful. Larry, one of this week's guest reviewers, suggests that most people tend to be afraid of the unknown.

Indian food, for example, tends to be very different from what many of us are used to. It is the unknown. It is probably not at the top of your list when you're looking for a place to eat. This week our guests all agreed that a restaurant called Veerasway is the place for Indian food first-timers because they really make the cuisine accessible. The way I see it, there are two things that will make a person more comfortable with the unknown – information and being eased into the experience. (I've never been the leap-into-it blindly type.) A place like Veerasway makes it easy to just try it.

First, if the name of a dish really doesn't describe the food, how can you know what to order? At Veerasway the menu helps the first-timer by providing simple descriptions of what is included in each dish – Information! Armed with this information, you may feel more confident and even a little more courageous. Second, the chef integrates Indian spices and presentation techniques with American foods we are already familiar with. This is a brilliant way of infusing a new flavor experience while insuring you will still enjoy what you have ordered. And the topper: the price is right. You won't go broke trying something new.

On a completely separate note, we have a celebrity on this week's Check, Please! - Ginger Zee, meteorologist from NBC5! Ginger's forecast for delicious dining and a great time out with the girls or on a date is Chaise Lounge. With a Sex in the City vibe, small plates, tall martinis, "night on the town" dresses, and very high heels, our three reviewers all seemed to enjoy this hip bar-restaurant spot!

I can't forget to mention Port Edward. Alpana said this was one of the most unique restaurants she has ever been to and Ginger said the décor reminded her of a restaurant at Disney World. There's a boat, on water, with fish swimming around, inside the restaurant! It's an extreme nautical themed experience. Aside from an abundantly delicious looking Friday seafood buffet, the place just looks interesting and fun!

That's what going out to eat should be – interesting and fun! Face it, most of us could make due with a microwave bowl of noodles if needed. But, eating out – it's a real treat. Don't let different aromas, unusual spices, bazaar décor, or a conservative approach to food hold you back. Expand your palette for culinary experiences unknown. Like Mom used to say, just try it.

Carmen M. Schmidt
Associate Producer, Check, Please!
WTTW

Foodie, or not a Foodie, you decide.

Every week Check, Please! offers restaurants featuring a variety of cuisines. It's interesting to see how people react to these cuisines. Most of our guest restaurant reviewers are "foodies," so you can expect that they will have an open mind when it comes to unfamiliar eating environments and cultures. But, this week's show proves that even foodies can find themselves in a rut.

This week's episode features three very different restaurants. Our guest reviewers were treated to rustic Italian, American southern, and Israeli cuisines. Not to mention a very eclectic mix of environments and serving styles. While two of our guest reviewers found their experiences at least interesting, finding something they liked about each of the restaurants, one guest reviewer was definitely biased towards a particular cuisine and just "couldn't handle it." Galit, a pastry chef originally from Israel, repeated this phrase a few times when describing her experience at the two restaurants her fellow reviewers recommended. Galit was overwhelmed by the portion sizes, thought the dishes were too heavy, insisted desserts should be light, and seemed to be a fan of just one type of cuisine. So here's my question: is Galit a foodie? For the answer, I searched the web for some descriptions, and here's what I found...

Foodie defined: (1) a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment, especially good food and drink. (2) An informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink. A word coined in 1981 by Paul Levy and Ann Barr, who used it in the title of their book The Official Foodie Handbook. (3) A person with a special interest or knowledge of food, a gourmet.

Asking friends and co-workers, I gathered the sense that a foodie is someone who gets excited about different food, eats out frequently, and is open to new food experiences. You see a light in their face when a foodie talks about all things food.

So, taking all of these definitions into account, the verdict is that, yes, Galit is a foodie. Though, at least from this episode of Check, Please!, you'll gather that she doesn't like to step outside of her culinary comfort zone, she was very passionate about her own favorites.

Now Patrick, our guest reviewer who recommended Enoteca Roma, an Italian restaurant in Bucktown, didn't look Italian, but he definitely knew how to pronounce the names of the dishes. I think he is definitely a foodie. Just listen to how he describes his dessert and tells you how he dreamt about it – that's a guy who is excited about food. He also was very knowledgeable of the varying types of foods he tried at the other restaurants and very open minded about the experience, even though he probably wouldn't have chosen those restaurants himself.

Southern hospitality was abounding at Mint Julep Bistro, a favorite Palatine eatery of our guest reviewer Fred. Another foodie, Fred had a mouth-watering way of describing the Po' Boy sandwich that dripped down his chin in all it's southern goodness. (Sounds a little messy, but delicious!) Fred wasn't just excited about his restaurant of choice. You'll see that Patrick and Fred were shocked that Galit's response to the classic Italian serving of polenta poured family-style on the stone with all those wonderful topping options.

So let us know what you think after you watch. Is Galit a foodie? Are you one? Do you step outside your comfort zone when you go out to eat? Remember, a lot of southern food is fried, Italian food portions tend to be large, and Israeli food features fresh ingredients in smaller portions. It may not be what you're used to, but does it taste good? Is it worth what you paid? Did you enjoy the experience of trying something new? Tell us all about it...

Carmen M. Schmidt
Associate Producer, Check, Please!
WTTW