Food Features

In early 2020, Nick Kokanas saw the coronavirus catastrophe coming way before the rest of us did. Kokonas is the founder of Tock, an online reservation platform utilized by many high-end restaurants around the world. While looking at Tock data coming in from his 50 restaurant clients in Hong Kong, “we saw reservations go near […]

September is prime season at farmers markets across the Midwest. School may be back in session and the leaves beginning to show a slight hint of ochre, but for farmers and gardeners this is the time when the bulk of summer produce is at its peak. While it’s true that sweet corn and peaches are […]

I know quite a bit about the cuisines of Western Europe, the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. I’ve studied the celebrated food culture of the American South (which was predominately the culinary influence of enslaved Africans). But I realize that I know next to nothing about the food culture of the Indigenous people who inhabited North […]

There are over 10,000 varieties of grapes used in the production of wine, and yet just a handful of varieties make up the bulk of wine sales in the United States. Cabernet sauvignon sales overtook chardonnay as the nation’s bestseller in 2020, followed by pinot grigio, pinot noir and sauvignon blanc. While many of us […]

My love of bacon has been my biggest deterrent to embracing full-out vegetarianism. When I was attending the University of Illinois College of Dentistry, I had an apartment in Oak Park, home to 25 Frank Lloyd Wright structures. In the early morning I’d go for a run through the historic Frank Lloyd Wright District, and […]

This has been an odd year in my garden. I started dozens of plants from seed in late winter and have watched them grow from tiny seedlings in my basement to lush, vigorous plants covered with huge green tomatoes and dozens of tiny peppers. They’ve been weeded and watered and lovingly fed while I’ve waited […]

I share a long butcher block work station at Minneapolis’ Spoon and Stable restaurant with Alexandra Motz, executive pastry chef. One of the first people to befriend me when I started my new job, Alex’s appearance is quite striking to say the least. With tattooed arms, stretched ear lobes, a nose ring and hair dyed […]

Salt can do more than add flavor and sparkle to recipes and fresh summer produce. Thanks to the power of osmosis, salting and draining fruits like cucumber, zucchini or tomatoes can have a transformative effect on the finished product. Foods with a high water content often benefit from an extended period of salting because it […]

I’m currently reading Daniel Boulud’s Letters To A Young Chef, a manual written to help neophyte chefs understand what it takes to succeed in this tough profession. Daniel Boulud is one of the world’s most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs. The book was recommended to me by Boulud’s protégé, Gavin Kaysen, who is currently my boss. […]

Juicy, delicious melons are finally making their appearance at local farmstands and farmers markets and these days a range of unique and interesting varieties are available beyond the standard cantaloupe and watermelon. While growing up on my great-grandfather’s 20-acre produce farm in Springfield we grew thousands of tomatoes each year and picked hundreds of bushels […]

During the Vietnam War, the CIA ran a clandestine sideshow in Laos. Known as the Secret War, it was the largest CIA operation in history. The CIA built an air base in the mountains of Laos from which it could launch military attacks. This base was so secret that not even Congress was aware of […]

One of my favorite books as a child was a cookbook called Fanny at Chez Panisse, written by the legendary chef and restaurateur Alice Waters. In it she chronicles her then-young daughter’s adventures growing up in what is still today one of California’s most iconic restaurants. In the first section of the book, a seven-year-old […]