As I near the end of my first week here at Charlie Baggs Inc., it’s incredible to reflect on how many different projects I’ve helped with so far.  I only started last week, yet I’ve been exposed to a more complete picture of the culinary industry during that time than one year culinary school.  From conceptualizing new menus and dishes for fast food chains, to writing recipes and executing prototypes, there is a lot that goes on in Charlie Baggs’ kitchen. Beginning

I’ve always been drawn to culinary arts, but it wasn’t until my sophomore year at a different university that I decided to transfer to a culinary school.  So far, I’ve completed a year of my culinary training and at this point in the curriculum, you’re sent off on internship to kitchens, restaurants, catering companies, or test kitchens.  It can be a little bit of a shock going from a school environment to a real company or kitchen; but I’m excited to get some real world experience more than anything. Working in a research and development environment allows you to explore so many different aspects of food. For example, today I sat in on a meeting with a group of executives from a company that were sampling prototypes of recipes that Charlie Baggs chefs developed. Being able to be a fly on the wall during that experience, allowed me to understand how various clients think, and how they view their customers and products.  It really shows me that there is a lot of work that goes into a dish; from the first bit of inspiration that becomes an idea, then a recipe, and then with some trial and error, it’s on the plate. I think the more I can understand this process, the better I can be as a chef.

            My name is Kristin Kotis and, happily, I am one of the newest interns here at Charlie Baggs Inc. I grew up in a northwestern suburb of Chicago, and lived in both Freeport and Rockford before becoming a Chicagoan.  Growing up, I have always been very athletic and motivated, and I played softball competitively for about 10 years.  I have always been told by my parents to do what makes me happy.  I am very close with my entire family which consists of my parents Jan and Andy, an older sister Jessica and an older brother Tom.  Yes, I am the baby of the family who will turn twenty on my next birthday. The four of them have helped me into the person I am today.  I am a very family-oriented and responsible person which I believe makes me a good fit for here at CBI.

            Around my junior year of high school, that big question got asked, “Where do you want to go to college?”  I never had a reply and it was getting very frustrating.  My mom sat me down one night and asked me if I have thought of something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.  I had no response; I was nervous, scared, and anxious to find out what I wanted to do with my life after high school. My mom suggested possibly going to culinary school. I had never really thought about that as a career. I have always loved cooking. I grew up cooking with my mother and grandmother with a Russian and Polish background, along with my grandmother on my dad’s side with a Greek heritage. I was never very confident about things growing up except two things – cooking and playing softball. After my mom suggested culinary school, I remember thinking to that I knew cooking is what I love to do and can’t see myself doing anything else for the rest of my life.

            The search began for the most perfect culinary school for me. My mom and I visited three or four different schools until I found “the one.” I chose to go to Kendall College here in Chicago and can’t believe the impact this decision has had on my life. I have learned so many things that I cannot imagine having gone anywhere else. The structure of the school really helped me to be motivated to find the right place to do my internship which led me to being an intern here at CBI.

            Charlie Baggs Inc. is unlike any other place. Multiple things go on here each day which I feel beyond fortunate to be able to be part of. I learn so many new things every single day. The staff is so welcoming and friendly that I cannot imagine myself doing my internship anywhere else.  I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason, and this is no exception. Here at CBI, everyone really takes the time and effort to make sure that I am learning something new and actually understand the reasoning of why they want something done a certain way. I feel as if every single person here genuinely cares about each other and are happy to help everyone else out. Not only am I learning more things about cooking, but recently I have been given the opportunity to work in the research and development area of CBI for major companies, including writing different concept ideas.  This has far exceeded my expectations of what I thought a typical internship would be. I have learned more things about the culinary field in the past two weeks than I feel like I have in a whole year of classroom culinary experience. I am so excited to begin my journey here at CBI and cannot wait to see where this amazing opportunity leads me to.

My Mom’s cooking was the first thing to inspire me to be involved in the food industry.  Many of her dishes truly are still my gold standard.  So when she recently came to Chicago I had to take her to a few of my favorite local restaurants I knew wouldn’t disappoint.  Not counting the lunch she made for our office of chefs (brave women, but she nailed it!), the most noteworthy dish we had over the course for 48 hours was a shaved pumpkin salad from The Bristol in Bucktown.  The dish consisted of shaved pumpkin, endive, pomegranate, pine nuts, and a spiced yogurt.  This dish was very delicious, but even more than that it was inventive.  All simple ingredients were used but brought together in such an interesting way.  The pumpkin was shaved, bright orange, and resembled a carrot, still crisp, but had a lovely sweet pumpkin flavor.  The endive, also shaved to match the pumpkin brought a slight bite of bitterness.  The pine nuts added a great crunch and the pomegranate a bright burst of flavor.  The yogurt dressing had hints of curry that were not over powering but really pulled together and complimented the dish as a whole.  I have had some wonderful dishes at The Bristol, this trip the shaved pumpkin salad took the cake.

In so many of our blogs we are reviewing restaurants all around the country.  We pay close attention to every aspect of service while we are dining at these restaurants.  The Charlie Baggs, Inc. team has combined every part of dining that we find to be memorable and have created The Chicago Chefs’ Table.  The CCT is a soft marketed private dinner club run by Chef Charlie Baggs and the Charlie Baggs, Inc. team.  Periodically we will feature special guest chefs from around Chicago and the world.  Our style sets us apart from other restaurants.  When we cook for our guests it is the only dinner we cook for the day and the hospitality is unsurpassed…all attention is on our guest.  When creating a specialized menu the finest ingredients in the city are sought.  Often the dining room is accompanied by musicians for a true artistic experience.  Charlie Baggs says; “When we bring our culinary together with live music…the magic begins creating a life time memorable experience”.  Our Matre’d Manuel Fila from Ambria restaurant pays attention to all the detail that goes into great service.  CCT is a BYOB facility but our chefs can guide you with their knowledge of fine wines and cocktails that will compliment the experience and take it to another level.  Combining culinary execution with ultimate hospitality has carved our path in private dining.  Located in the arcade level of the history Belden Stratford, this is a true underground restaurant experience.

www.chicagochefstable.com

Cross one box off the bucket list!  I recently had to chance to spend a few days in the Napa Valley of California for yet another one of the MOE foodtruck excursions.  We had a sampling of some of the best restaurants in the region, and it did not disappoint.  One restaurant in particular stood out above the rest; Chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s Brassica.  Ironically enough, this was the second of the former Top Chef Masters contestant’s restaurants we had the opportunity to try, but this brand new place was the best of the bunch.  Brassica had only opened two weeks prior to our visit, a switch from the sushi restaurant, Go Fish, another Chef Cindy concept.  I actually had a chance to chat with her about the quick change over.  Because she herself is a major proponent of sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices and her active involvement with the Monterey Bay Aquarium and their Seafood Watch Program she decided to change the restaurant.  Also, Brassica’s wine-friendly Mediterranean cuisine, was a better fit for the region. 

Speaking of the cuisine, the food was top notch.  We started off with a sampling of crispy fried stuffed olives, eggplant fries with Za’tar spice and spiced yogurt, fried zucchini blossoms with ricotta and mozzarella(one of my all-around favorite dishes), a chantrelle mushroom, pancetta and thyme pizza, leek and pancetta risotto with a fried egg, crispy whole sardines and Serrano ham with Marcona almonds and idiazabal cheese.  For entrees, I chose the braised beef cheeks with Pedro Ximenez sherry and cauliflower puree.   All of course paired with a local Cabernet and the ubiquitous bourbon cocktail of the night (mine was a Sazarac).  This was by far the best way to end an awesome trip to Napa.

My college roommate at Clemson had a summer internship in northern Califorina our junior year.  When she returned for our final year of college, she came back with a serious addiction to Tapatio Salsa Picante.  She carried around a five ounce bottle everywhere she went and refilled it with a quart size bottle she purchased on line.  This blog isn’t really about how crazy-wonderful my college roommate was, but how crazy-great Tapatio is. 

In 1971, Mr. Saavedra started making his flavorful hot sauce in a 750 square foot building in Maywood, California.    He named his sauce ‘Tapatio’ which is the name given to the people where Mr. Saavedra is from, Guadalajara, Jalisco.  He began leaving the 5 ounce bottle in stores on consignment, meaning if the product did not sell, the hot sauce would be returned and Mr. Saavedra would not be paid.  Needless to say it was a very tough first five years.  Once the sauce started selling consistently, Mr. Saavedra moved into a larger facility, and then in 1996 and even larger warehouse.  2011 marked the 40 year anniversary and this product is now booming.  Not only does Tapatio have its long-time loyal customers but in the last couple years Frito Lay took it to the next level and developed a whole line of chips featuring the hot sauce.  Tapatio Doritos, Ruffles, and Fritos have flooded the shelves of grocery stores around the country, and I must say they are delicious. 

So what makes this hot sauce superior to the others?  I won’t name names, but a couple big player hot sauces have an undesirable tangy flavor, others are so hot they just burn your mouth without having real flavor.  Tapatio has the perfect amount of heat balanced with a terrific chili flavor. 

Despite the fact that my college roommate puts Tapatio on her cottage cheese, she has always had fantastic taste in food (and friends) and I am so grateful she brought Tapatio back to Clemson.  Needless to say, I would suggest trusting me, my college roommate, and the man in the yellow jacket. Give Tapatio a try the next time you want to add a kick to your meal.

Chizakaya is truly one of the greats in my new neighborhood, Lakeview.   It takes its name from a play on words, Chi referring to Chicago and izakaya, to the tradition Japanese small bars that you would find in Tokyo or Osaka.  Chizakaya’s Chef Harold Jurado, a native of Chicago, has done stints first at Japonais in Chicago and New York, Charlie Trotter’s, and Sunda.  He opened Chizakaya in 2010 with chef de cuisine Robert Rubba.  The pork-centric menu includes a variety of yakitori or grilled meats (including my favorites of duck hearts and chicken skin), noodle bowls, and some fantastic small and large plates.  As a now-veteran fine-diner (see MOE truck trips) I ordered a nice pork-centric tasting menu.  We started off with Yakitori of chicken skin and baby squid, which were amazing, though for the squimish, the little head and tentacles of the baby squid may be a difficult bite.  The crispy puffed pig ears were as any deep fried pork parts, absolutely delicious.  We moved on to crispy pork belly with a slow poached egg, egg yolk plus anything is A-OK in my book!  Hamachi or Japanese Amberjack with bone marrow, garlic and ume boshi (pickle plums) were next and need I mention ditto with greatness of bone marrow in anything.  The pork and kmichi gyoza dumplings weren’t my favorite, but had decent flavor.  We finished with an okinomiyaki, literally meaning whatever you want (okinomi) that’s grilled (yaki).  Often called a Japanese pancake or pizza, this starch and egg pancake is stuffed with bacon, squid and shrimp, finished with a drizzle of sweet soy and Japanese mayonnaise.  This was an over-the-top savory ending to our meal, partly because we were stuffed by that time…

One key lesson for any adventurous diner is don’t be afraid to sit at the bar and talk up the bartender, especially if you’re interested in having a few drinks. They most likely have tried it all and know what drinks go well with your meal.  Just be sure not to be too chatty if they are ‘in the weeds’ or very busy.  We were lucky enough to be there on a slow night so we got to talk to the bartender and see first hand their signature drink, the Ferry the World.  This cocktail is a mix of Armanac, lemon, green tea syrup, absinthe and a raw egg white, a true rarity.  Though beware, this cocktail is a stiff one, but very tasty.  

As this was my second trip to Chizakaya, it did not disappoint, from the stellar menu to the great cocktails, this is truly one of Chicago’s finest gastropubs.

Chizakaya Japanese Pub

3056 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 697-4725

Reservations: Accepted; Bar: Full Service; Price: $$ (5-14 small plates)

About a month ago another couple, my boyfriend, and I decided to try Boiler Room located under the California Blue Line stop in Logan Square.  We heard they had good pizza and beer which sounded about perfect for a casual Friday date night.  We arrived at about 8pm and were greeted at the door with an estimate of an hour and forty-five minute wait.  Our spirits were broken a bit but the rain outside and the overwhelming delicious pizza smell drew us inside for the long haul.  Once we could pay attention to anything besides the mouth watering pizza smell we took a look around at one of the more original restaurant atmospheres I have seen in a while.  It exceeded my expectations from The Big Lebowski projected behind the bar to very metal and rustic Chicago ‘L’ themed bathrooms (tough to describe, you just need to see it for yourself).  After a couple good draft beers we were sat at about 9pm.  Before I can move on to the menu I have to make a note of the Boiler Room’s everyday special called the ‘PB&J’.  Forget any prior knowledge of what you think PB&J stands for because you’re probably wrong.  At Boiler Room ‘P’ stands for pizza slice, ‘B’ stands for beer (PBR tall boy), and ‘J’ stands for Jameson shot.  This lovely little PB&J special is a grand total of $7.50, a staple at Boiler Room.  In addition they sell good sized individual slices for $3-$4, but there’s no fun in that.  It gets fun when you go to the ‘Build Your Own Pizza’ section.  This section has 8 sauces to choose from including house, Thai cream cheese, and pesto.  Followed by 8 cheeses, 14 vegetables, and 14 meats (one of them being 6 eggs) available to build your ultimate pizza.  The possibilities are endless and if we weren’t so hungry we could have spent hours going back and forth on what we wanted to try.  Instead we made a quick decision to go with a BBQ pulled pork pizza with roasted peppers.  The crust was a great balance of crunch and chew.  The pulled pork was juicy and well seasoned and the overall flavor of the pizza was great.  This defiantly is a place I’m looking forward to going back to when I have plenty of time, would like to have a few drinks, and am wanting to try new pizza combinations. 

Boiler Room

2210 N California Ave – Cash Only – No Reservations

Everyone I asked in Miami for the best Cuban food responded with Café Versailles, period.  All the blogs and restaurant reviews agree, “you must do Café Versailles”.  So on a recent work trip to Miami, I had to check out the famous Café Versailles.  This Miami institution has been around over 40 years, serving locals and tourists traditional Floridian-Cuban specialties.  Owner Felipe Valls opened the first location in Little Havana in 1971.    The original location is on the famous Calle Ocho in Little Havana, and besides the 370 seat full service restaurant, they also have a walk-up counter and bakery.  We dined on a Monday night and were actually very surprised to see the restaurant in full swing.  There were still people coming in at 10:00 PM, an astonishment for us.  Doing our due diligence as chefs, we ordered a large array of dishes including Cuban black bean soup, boiled yucca with Cuban mojo, sweet plantains, Cuban Pork, Moro Rice and boiled yucca, the famous Cuban sandwich, layered with roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese and mustard, Valenicana-style Paella, and the Criolla platter, which included, more boiled yucca, yellow rice, the famous Cuban fried pork, Ropa Vieja (or shredded beef) in Cuban Mojo, and a Cuban style Tamale.  Needless to say, I rolled myself out the restaurant.  My favorites were the rice (both regular and the black bean infused Moro Rice) and Cuban black beans, hands down.  Two things so essential to the Cuban soul, and so simple, but done exceptionally well.  Next time you’re in Miami, this restaurant should definitely be your first stop, whether on Calle Ocho or, conveniently enough, in the airport, Café Versailles is a must!

Paella Valenciana

Café Versailles

3555 Southwest 8th Street
Miami, FL 33135
(305) 444-0240

Reservations: Accepted; BYOB;Price: $$ ($5-$25)

            Last weekend my husband and I were lucky enough to score two tickets to Next for our anniversary.  Next is Grant Achatz’s newest restaurant which changes its concept and menu every quarter and features a revolutionary and frustrating ticketing system rather than taking traditional reservations.  The current concept is Childhood, or as the intro on our menu put it, Michigan 1985.  The menu, by the way, was just a folded piece of paper describing the inspiration for the Childhood concept so we never knew what was coming.  The incredibly well-versed and unaffected waitstaff explained each dish to us as it came out.

            The highlight of the evening began when two servers holding old school lunchboxes approached our table.  We opened them up and pulled out a thermos full of spiked grape juice, little Ziploc bags and containers full of familiar-looking goodies, a paper towel napkin, and a plastic spoon.  The finishing touch was a handwritten note from Mom.  In the Ziploc bags we found a truffled Oreo, Waygu beef jerky, a PopChip-type snack that was inspired by Funyuns, vanilla parsnip pudding, and a fruit roll up.  The actual food, although great, wasn’t what made this course so awesome.  It was the presentation and whimsy and the warm, nostalgic memories it brought back of notes from my mom in my own lunchbox.  Every time a procession of servers carrying lunch boxes came through the dining room, diners stopped eating, stared for a moment, and started laughing. 

            It was so fun to spend an evening in one of the most exciting new restaurants in the country eating childhood favorites like chicken noodle soup and licking cake beaters full of “foie-sting” (yep, exactly what it sounds like).  The service was outstanding and as unpretentious as it could possibly be.  We’re already excited to go back and experience the ‘Next’ incarnation.