Chicago French Market Strawberry Festival

Join the Chicago French Market noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, June 4 for its Strawberry Festival! The perfect summer kickoff, the Strawberry Festival features everything strawberry -- strawberry cakes, strawberry crepes, strawberry smoothies, strawberry rhubarb tarts with toasted streusel, strawberry frasier, strawberry paczki and chocolate covered strawberries just to name a few!

Be sure to stop by the following vendors and check out their featured strawberry sweet treats!

Bowl Square is offering their new vegetarian dish; Green Rice Noodle, delicious cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, red cabbage radishes and strawberries served with rice noodles and homemade Korean style red spice sauce and sesame oil.

Stop by Canady Le Chocolatier for chocolate dipped strawberries and finish them off with a fizzy strawberry soda at Buen Apetito or an assorted beer made with delicious berries at Frietkoten Belgian Fries & Beer.

Pick up farm fresh strawberries from City Fresh Market or Produce Express Co. to complete any meal, and grab dessert from Delightful Pastries featuring fresh strawberry fruit tarts, fresh strawberry paczki, chocolate dipped strawberries, strawberry preserves, made-to-order strawberry shortcakes and strawberry Grand Marnier trifles.

Flip Crêpes will feature delicious strawberry filled crepes. Make it a meal with a strawberry infused smoothie from Juice Bar or Raw.

Hungry for lunch? Grab a strawberry caprese sandwich from Fumare Meats & Deli or a strawberry garden salad from Presto Café & Grill.

Saigon Sisters will feature a strawberry ice cream and Vânille Patisserie will offer strawberry rhubarb tarts with toasted streusel and a French dessert Fraisier: fresh strawberries, vanilla bean mousseline, passion curd & banana cake.


Lavazza Espression will feature Strawberry Choco Èspessone™, a double pleasure in honor of the festival: the delicacy of Èspessone, a light mousse with a soft and velvety texture, combined with the intensity of hot chocolate. Available in four perfect combinations: strawberry, vanilla, hazelnut and coconut.

Or pick up a strawberry plant from Les Fleur to enjoy home grown strawberries all summer long!

Make sure to check out the many cheeses from Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine that pair perfectly with a sweet strawberry or strawberry preserves such as an Alpine style cheese including Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Wisconsin, Comte from France, Tarentaise from Spring Brook Farm in Vermont or a fresh chevre from Prairie Fruit Farm in Illinois. Take some home from National Cheese Day on June 5 along with a strawberry pie or strawberry rhubarb pie from Provo’s Village Bake Shoppe or a strawberry specialty from Sweet Miss Giving’s.

While watching cooking demos and enjoying face painting for the little ones, enjoy live music from Rob Cunningham. A Chicago Lyric Opera and Chicago Symphony performer, his mix of vocal and acoustic guitar style spans across a wide range of pop, 70’s folk rock and even Broadway! The strawberries won’t be the only thing come for, kids will love meeting the strawberry mascot!

News: Cookwork, social network for professional chefs, ready to serve you!

Introducing the first-ever holistic chef portal
Cookwork is a new social network focused entirely (and exclusively) on chefs and culinary students. The site, which is the first holistic web portal for chefs, offers culinary professionals a chance to excel at their job by providing support, information, career opportunities, peer networking, products and services.

A life in food service is not an easy one. It means long hours, missed holidays and weekends and tremendous pressure. It's more than a career, it's a lifestyle.

So, why does one choose this lifestyle?

"Because they love food. There's no greater happiness for a chef than someone who enjoys what they've prepared," says Mário Braz de Matos, Cookwork co-founder.

Cookwork was designed to fit the lifestyle needs of chefs on their terms. The site hosts a recipe database where members can store their recipes in an easily downloadable format--for free. In addition, the sign up process allows members to answer specific questions to further customize their experience.

Launched out of beta July 2009, the site was founded by Mário Braz de Matos, Francisco Loureiro and Michal Schlierer who saw a deficiency in online resources for chefs.

While the three founders have diverse areas of expertise: marketing, technology and, of course, culinary, they share a love of all things food.

"My passion for food is only rivaled by my passion for understanding cultures. The way chefs come up with new menu items and what makes those items successful fascinates me. I also think it's interesting to see how and what chefs discuss with each other," says Braz de Matos.

Cookwork is the place to share your knowledge and skill with others in the industry.

Join the Cookwork community by signing up at: http://bit.ly/cwklaunch.

Follow them on Twitter at @ChefCWK and @Cookwork.
Share This

Signup for Cookwork
@ChefCWK Twitter
@Cookwork Twitter
@Kurmanstaff Twitter

Call or email:
Kurman Communications, Inc.
kurmanstaff@kurman.com
312-651-9000
to arrange interviews
 View full press release here

A Restroom Worth Visiting

Catch a glimpse of "Seen & Noted" in this week's issue of Crain's? The piece features restaurants with bathrooms that deserve a trip to while at the establishment.

Included in the list is Jacky Pluton's Haussmann Brasserie, where simply paying a visit to the W.C. could earn a guest a $100 gift certificate to the restaurant. Instead of listening to music, diners hear Jacky Pluton reading recipes from the menu. Guess the correct recipe, and the gift certificate belongs to you.

It's an easy task if you're bilingual... the recipes are read in French.

Visit Haussmann Brasserie to hear the recipes (and try the food!) at 305 Happ Rd. in Northfield. Call (847) 446-1133 for reservations. To view the Crain's article, press here.

Woo-hoo! A Sneak Peek at Shochu

Stephanie, my Kurman Communications, Inc. partner in crime, and I got a sneak peek of Shochu (3313 N. Clark Street; 773-348-3313) yesterday. Shochu will be a unique, first of its kind small plate restaurant and lounge, named for shochu, the #1 Japanese distilled spirit typically made from rice, barley, sweet potatoes or black sugar. Shochu has taken Japan by storm! It has surpassed sake in sales, and has become the “in vogue” alcoholic beverage in New York and Los Angeles.

Yesterday, Chef Josh Hansen was nice enough to let us lucky girls in to take a look around. For months, I have been excited about this opening. This visit made me even more ecstatic. Josh and Owner Lynne Wallack have really done a fantastic job of designing the interior. Green banquets line the exposed brick walls. Lynne is a big fan of photography, and she plans on filling the walls with Japanese-themed photos.

Josh also led us to the back of Shochu so we could see the patio. It’s huge, yet intimate. It won’t open until mid-May, but when it does, I can envision myself spending quite a few summer nights there, nibbling on maki rolls and sipping one of Lynne’s fabulously named (after Japanese royalty) shochu cocktails. Not to mention the fact that Shochu is about a ten minute walk from my apartment… Yeah, this is going to be a great summer for Shochu. And for me.

P.S. I know I’m not the only one excited about Shochu. Media: If you want a sneak peek as well, give us at Kurman a call.

Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar offers seasonal specials

Now through April 20, Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar (3358 N. Paulina St., Chicago) is offering a unique artichoke themed special in honor of Italy's annual April artichoke festival. The menu includes:

Trio of Bruscette ($5):
-Artichoke and Ricotta
-Artichoke, Roasted Red Peppers, Pancetta and Goat Cheese
-Artichokes with White Beans, Oven Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Insalata alla Carciofi e Crescione ($6):
-Artichoke salad with Watercress, Oranges and Shaved Onion

Risotto con Carciofi e Gamberi ($13):
-Creamy Italian Rice with Roasted Artichokes and Shrimp

Rigatoni con Salsa di Carciofi ($12):
-Rigatoni pasta with Roasted Vegetables, and a Light Artichoke Sauce

--

Monday, April 21 marks the birthday of Rome (753 BC). Lakeview's own Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar will feature a special Roman-inspired menu in honor of this holiday:

Fritto Misto di Mare ($7):
-Fried Calamari, Shrimp and Mahi Mahi with Lemon and Caper Dipping Sauce

Gnocchi alla Romana ($10):
-Classic Roman Semolina Gnocchi baked in the oven with Parmigiano-Regiano Cheese

Pollo Saltimbocca Alla Romana ($13):
-Chicken Breast with Sage and Proscuitto, Wilted Spinach and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Pesce alla Romana ($18):
-Skatewing with Fresh Scallions, Peas and Mint on a bed of Escarole and Artichokes

---

Originating from the Friuli region of Italy, a frasca (wreath of tree branches) hanging over a farmhouse door signifies the sale of food and wine within. As a result, a frasca has come to symbolize a pleasant gathering place for family and friends. Chicago’s own Frasca Pizzeria and Wine Bar has embraced this tradition inside its contemporary, Italian influenced restaurant and wine bar. Frasca offers a vast array of traditional and contemporary Italian dishes, artisan pizza and an extensive wine list from Italy, France and North America.

Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar is located in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood at 3358 N. Paulina St. at Roscoe, Paulina and Lincoln. For more information about Frasca, please call (773) 248-5222 or visit http://www.frascapizzeria.com/.