Chicago, Our Kinda Town

The HBIC headed to Chicago recently for the NRA’s annual Restaurant, Hotel & Motel Show. (NRA stands for National Restaurant Association.) The organization uses more than half of McCormick Place’s 2.2 million square feet to host several thousand butchers, bakers, candlestick-makers, sellers, suppliers & distributors of restaurant-y stuff, from water to wet-naps and everything in between.

For a few days, we grazed on potstickers, Eli’s cheesecake, french fries, whole-grain tortilla wraps, hot sauces, pestos, vegan dressings, breakfast puff pastries, churros stuffed with cajeta, really delicious faux meat, gelato (you can enroll in any number of gelato schools, by the way), Nathan’s hot dogs, stinky cheeses, bacon, smoothies, samosas and VEGETARIAN CAVIAR, essentially dyed carrageenan balls that are sort of realistic, sort of creepy.

We quaffed Australian, Italian and Napa wines, several expertly pulled espressos, most of the Anheuser-Busch oeuvre (mojito malt liquor: friend or foe?), and seemingly dozens of bottled teas (a fine line between subtle & flavorless). And so much water. Conventions are dehydrating.

We ogled the unblemished stainless glory of refrigeration units with built-in, unbreakable handles. We caressed an eight-burner Jade stovetop. We marveled at the “why didn’t I think of that” awesomeness of the FIFO bottle, and promptly bought a case. We got directions to a cool club.

We attended seminars that taught us things and met a lot of pretty genuine people. Many of them made a fuss over the name, or the oft-heard weather joke. And then, “Quiet Storm, what is that?” It was weird how many times we were answering that question with meat samples in our mouths.

Most of all, though, we got inspired. Though the convention’s “Green Pavilion” was rather tiny, the seminars relating to “local, sustainable, organic biodegradable, green” were standing-room-only, and we were moved by Paul Kahan of Chicago’s Avec and Blackbird, Rick Vellante of Legal Seafoods, and Michael Oshman of the Green Restaurant Association. Our visit to Chicago (a pretty green city with no citywide recycling program… huh?!) was a powerful reinforcement to our commitment to make the Quiet Storm a greener business. We may not do it all, and we may not do it all at once, but we will take steps, take the lead, make a difference.

In short: Where we stayed: Arlington House International Hostel (inexpensive no-frills joint with a great Lincoln Park location, two blocks from Fullerton El stop). Where we drank coffee: The Bourgeois Pig (nothing like a morning “Depth Charge,” or what we call “Shot in the Dark”). Where we ate: John Barleycorn, the famed Chicago Vegetarian Diner (massive menu, great service & outdoor seating, oily food), La Bamba, Earwax Cafe (totally the Quiet Storm of Chicago) and the brand-new Halsteds Bar & Grill (in our beloved Boystown). Where we partied: Alive One (“our” bar for the weekend), Skylark, Uptown Lounge, Kingston Mines, B.L.U.E.S., and the very awesome Big Chick’s (Pittsburgh needs a gay bar like this!).