Prime & Provisions
Aside from providing nutrition and palate-pleasing pleasure, certain meals have the ability to transport you back to childhood. With that in mind, we tapped six local chefs to find out how they’ve incorporated or reinvented one of their favorite childhood comfort foods for their restaurant’s menu.
Executive Chef Joseph Rizza of Prime & Provisions {222 North LaSalle Street, Chicago; 312.726.7777}
One thing that Joseph Rizza could not stand as a child? Crusts on sandwiches. “As a child, I refused to eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich or any sandwich unless my mother cut off the crusts,” he reminisces. Still a preference to this day, Chef Rizza decided to share his crust-less lifestyle with the patrons of Prime & Provisions, creating the off-menu, “#NoWaste Steak Sandwich.” Sourcing leftover porterhouse steaks from the restaurant, Chef Rizza re-purposes these dry-aged and all-natural prime cuts of meat for a sumptuous take-home treat. This savory (and sustainable!) steak sammy comes with a thin spread of tomato jam, a touch of garlic aïoli, fresh arugula, and is sandwiched between two slices of white bread, hold the crusts. Tightly wrapped up in deli paper, this steakhouse sandwich is made for on-the-go.
Executive Chef Luca Corazzina of 312 Chicago {136 North LaSalle Street, Chicago; 312.696.2420}
Growing up in Italy, it wasn’t difficult for Luca Corazzina to be inspired by food at an early age—especially since his mother is also a chef. The duo would make regular visits to Corazzina’s grandparents’ farm that had an on-site butcher shop. His grandpa was always slicing up fresh salami, prosciutto, or coppa so Corazzina could make himself a sandwich on fresh bread. “The smell and taste of fresh bread reminds me of taking daily trips to the market and bringing home a fresh loaf with salted butter,” Corazzina adds. Both bread and meat are incorporated in the menu at 312 Chicago in various ways, including freshly made bread baskets (think sourdough, rosemary-sage-olive oil focaccia, and the flavor of the day) served with house-made tapenade. There’s also an antipasto starter with spicy coppa, salame Toscano, prosciutto, vegetable medley, and a cheese of the day.
Executive Chef Danny Grant of etta {1840 West North Avenue, Chicago; 312.757.4444}
Danny Grant’s pedigree includes impressive accolades, like earning the “2012 Best New Chef” title by Food & Wine magazine, and being the youngest chef to earn two Michelin stars in a row—one in 2011 and again in 2012—for his work at RIA. In his new role as executive chef and partner at etta and Maple & Ash, Grant is currently working on an elevated dish that incorporates his favorite childhood food: fried rice. Chef Grant’s “Hearth Fried Rice” with crispy oxtail, egg custard, country ham, Brussels sprouts, and chicken skin will debut on the menu at etta very soon, so keep an eye out!
Head Chef Marco Bahena of Next of Kinship {625 Davis Street, Evanston; 847.868.8943}
While Marco Bahena’s award-winning culinary background has taken him around the world (from Spain to France to Nantucket to Chicago), it is all-American fried chicken that takes him back to his childhood. Particularly, fast food chain, Popeyes. “Instead of fully appreciating my mother’s traditional Mexican dishes she so thoughtfully slaved over, I constantly craved that delectable Popeyes experience. I cherished opening each box as if it were Christmas morning, and that crispy, crunchy coating that exploded with each bite and filled my mouth with spicy, salty goodness,” Bahena elaborates. He recreates this memory on the Next of Kinship menu with dishes like the Chicken Fried Scallop Shooter (a one-bite tease of chicken-fried bay scallop over green apple and fennel slaw) and a full Fried Chicken dinner served with house-made cheddar-chive biscuits and local cayenne-honey glaze.
Chef/Owner Anthony Reyes of Mable’s Table {1655 West Cortland Street, Chicago; 773.904.7433}
The tagline of Mable’s Table is “mom-inspired, chef-driven,” so it’s clear that childhood memories are central to the menu at this Bucktown eatery. Chef/Owner Anthony Reyes puts a spin on recipes that his mother, Mable, used to cook—and she got those recipes from her mother, Adele, who also had that Midas touch in the kitchen. Since Reyes is of Irish, Italian, and Spanish descent, the menu at Mable’s Table is an eclectic one that includes a twist on some of his mother’s favorite dishes, including Macaroni and Cheese (five varieties are available), a Meatball Salad, Street Vendor Tacos, Brick Chicken, and Meatloaf.
Chef/Owner Zoe Schor of Split-Rail {2500 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago; 773.697.4413}
Zoe Schor was inspired at an early age by her father’s deep appreciation for food. He learned how to cook at his father’s Long Island restaurant. Growing up, loaded baked potatoes were one of Schor’s favorite childhood comfort foods. When she opened Split-Rail, she wanted to recreate this memory in a nuanced and more elevated way, using gnocchi as the potato base and the classic fixings (cheese, bacon, sour cream, and green onions) as a sauce. She tops everything with fried potato skins for an added textural element.
By Rebecca Taras
The post Chicago Chefs are Creatures of Comfort appeared first on DiningOut Chicago.