Chicago taste-around, revisiting Eataly, and dinner with Wonder

On this week’s podcast, Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, discuss a week’s worth of eating experiences, starting with a dine-around in Chicago.

The two editors were in Chicago for the last conference of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, familiarly known as IFEC, and the opening event featured a tasting tour of three restaurants in the city’s Fulton Market district. Chef-owner Joe Flamm of Rose Mary spoke about his popular Croatian-Italian restaurant while we chowed down on Pork Ribs Pampanella with Calabrian Chile Agrodolce and walnut relish as well as Beef Cheek Gnocchi; at Publican Quality Meats we learned how to spatchcock a chicken while nibbling on Grilled Pork & Mango Brochettes, Porchetta sandwiches and charcuterie; and at Leña Brava, we sampled Watermelon Aguachile and al pastor-marinated Watermelon Steak and sipped a watermelon cocktail and mocktail. 

While in Chicago, Pat also had dinner at Eataly, and was reminded of how this Italian retail emporium is also a worthy restaurant destination. She joined friends at Vino &, an in-store wine bar with a large menu featuring specialties like Tagliolini al Limone, Pollo alla Milanese and Grilled Branzino, all of which her table ordered along with a nice bottle of red wine. 

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Bret continues to explore his Brooklyn neighborhood where he discovered some Eastern European meat dumplings that he brought home for dinner. First, he tried them the traditional way, topped with sour cream, but then concocted an Asian-influenced “ranch dressing” with chili crisp and Chinese black vinegar that took the dumplings up a flavor notch or two.

Pat finally had a chance to try Wonder, the ordering platform/virtual food hall that curates menu items from well-known chefs and restaurants. She had several tempting menus to choose from, including one from Marcus Samuelsson and another from JJ Johnson, but she chose a hazelnut pesto pasta with shrimp along with a kale salad, both from Jonathan Waxman’s Walnut Lane “restaurant.” Pat thought it was a great deal — the order was delivered quickly, portions were large, and the meal was restaurant-quality.

For Halloween, Bret dressed as a vampire and visited his favorite bar in Brooklyn, which hosted a costume contest. He even ordered mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce that looked like fingers dipped in blood to keep in character. The effect won him first prize.

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Another celebration taking place this weekend was the annual New York City Marathon. Pat lives very close to the route and had recently scored a gift of caviar. So she seized on the opportunity to host a marathon brunch, making blinis to serve with the caviar and pouring a little bubbly before everyone walked down the block to cheer on the runners.

This week we share an interview with renowned chef and restaurateur Michael Mina, whose new cookbook, “My Egypt,” was just published. Subtitled “Cooking from My Roots,” the book relates Mina’s experiences of journeying back to Egypt — which he left at the age of two — to rediscover his family’s culinary legacy. The result is a book filled with stories, firsthand cooking experiences and a lifetime of recipes.

Mina operates more than 30 restaurants in the U.S., including the recently opened Orla in Santa Monica, Calif. — his first to specialize in Egyptian-Mediterranean cuisine. Here he elevates the dishes he enjoyed eating around his mother’s table and shares the food he tasted and cooked in Egypt. Listen as the chef shares his passion for Egyptian food and talks about how Mina Group is ramping up restaurant openings.