Can’t Have A Trip To Chicago Without Ribs & Pizza

Over the weekend I spent some time in Chicago for a mixture of business and pleasure. Part of the pleasure was being able to hit two of my favorite restaurants Carson’s and Lou Malnati’s in the greater Chicago area. 

Anyone remember the MASH episode where Hawkeye was trying to move heaven and earth to secure an order of Caron’s ribs, I think I must have been five or six at the time but I still remember that episode to this day. Granted part of the reason that is so ingrained into my head is due to my father dragging me to Carson’s every time we were in the area. Sure you can get good ribs at numerous franchise joints across the country, but nothing holds a candle to Carson’s. Service is always top notch with good portions and competitive pricing. 

I had convinced my party that we needed to dine at Carson’s Friday night and raved about their ribs. One of my dinner companions was from New York City and a bit of a foodie herself, so she decided that she would have a full slab after the waiter indicated that a full slab was “about this big”, holding his hands apart roughly ten inches. Snickering to myself I wanted for the fun to start as the waiter brought back the slab of ribs roughly twice the size of his “about this big” and slathered in perhaps the best BBQ sauce I have ever had the pleasure of having. To my diner companion’s credit, she ate a decent amount of the ribs and took the rest back to her hotel for a midnight snack. 

After the success of dinner at Carson’s my party looked to me for suggestions on the next night’s dinner selection; I happily obliged with some good old fashion Chicago style pizza from Lou Malnati’s. A quick trip down the L’s brown line and we arrived at our destination, which ironically is just down the street from our previous night’s outing. There are several Lou Malnati’s locations, but the one downtown is my favorite due to the way the dining area is broken up. There are several different sections that are all pretty isolated from each other giving the illusion of an intimate location, good for sharing a meal with good friends. 

Our group settled on three large pies for our party of nine, which at the time I thought would be too much. However, after a few drinks and some good conversation our party was able to finish off two of the pies completely with only a couple slices left on the third.

Techno in the Kitchen

My beau recently acquired an iPhone, so that means that I’m the proud new owner of his old iTouch. I can’t speak highly enough of both of them so far; they render the web is it’s meant to be seen, and there’s an application for just about anything your heart desires. According to the New York Times, cool apps, web access, and more are even making gadgets like these into a sort of kitchen phenom. At-home cooks and big time chefs alike are taking advantage of recipe websites, grocery list making apps, recipe conversion apps, and more to make their kitchens more organized and their cooking more adventurous.

I, for one, have definitely looked up recipes online through the iPhone and kept it handy to use as a reference while cooking. I’ve also got a grocery list app, and there’s such an abundant foodie community out there with so many ideas, that I’m sometimes convinced to try a recipe I never would’ve sought out on my own. I’ve even purchased a few kitchen gadgets in pursuit of cooking nirvana.

And when I don’t feel like cooking, I’ve got the internet at my fingertips to Google the best local eateries for a meal out. Come to think of it, I use the iTouch more for food than just about anything else! What about other cooks and foodies out there; do you use a mobile device of some kind to help with cooking/finding restaurants? What’s your favorite technology in the kitchen?

Restaurant Decor Makeovers to Draw Casual Diners

Would you invest $75000 to take your upscale restaurant down to casual?  At least one restaurateur is doing just that in light of the tougher economy.  He’s changing his restaurant’s name and the restaurant decor to make the eatery more appealing to casual diners and families–and he’s calling it a great move in today’s economy.

So what do you think?  Is a fresh face a good investment for today’s restaurants and bars?  If you’re a restaurateur, what changes would you make to your own eatery if you could?  If you’re a foodie, what changes would you suggest for your favorite restaurants?