The Hunger

Jeff Mauro is as colorful as the rainbow colored jars of giardiniera he sells through his food distributor Mauro Provisions . The Food Network star has a built a life spinning plates in many disciplines including theatre, comedy, television, restaurants, and even rock and roll as the frontman of the local Chicago band The Jewel Bags. I like Jeff because he’s built a life that blends both work and...

Billy Zureikat started out as a producer for ESPN 1000 radio during its heyday. A lifelong Chicago sports fan and athlete, he unwound by hitting the courts whenever he could until a diagnosis of lamb-girdle muscular dystrophy impacted the strength in his legs and changed his life. Like anyone faced with an huge unknown, he went through a period of denial and frustration. During this dark period he...

Won Kim, Artist, DJ, and Chef. You might call him a Renaissance man, but that sounds like he’s some kind of medieval jester, which in a way he is. But also, he’s just pure modern cool, running his life like a constant art project, tagging freight cars, curing bulgogi, and dropping house beats at the Museum of Science and Industry. Kim’s Korean-Polish fusion (think bulgogi cheesesteak) food at Kims...

A few times a year I enjoy a dish so much that it sort of eclipses everything else at the meal. I was recently at Valhalla when chef Tatum Sinclair rolled up with a bowl of liquid nitrogen and started throwing bombs. What landed was sweet lemon on lemon on lemon violence in the form of a meringue stuffed with lemon Dippin’ Dots, lemon Slurpee, and lemon marmalade. What followed was the essence of...

You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take. Five years ago during the pandemic. chef Zubair Mohajir sent me a DM on Instagram asking if I wanted to check out his THC (Tandoori Honey Fried Chicken) sandwich. I exchanged a few messages with him and then filed it away for a few weeks. Eventually I ordered the sandwich, fell in love with it and have been a fan of Mohajir’s work ever sinc...

Once again, I’m doing something a little different on the podcast this week. Instead of a chef, I sit down with my very good friend Dave Andrews of Good Life PR. As many of you know, I try to preserve as much objectivity as I can around what I write about, so I generally don’t have a lot of relationships with people in food and drink PR. Dave, however is an exception because he’s very good at what...

Have you ever wondered where Chicago’s greatest French fries or chicken sandwiches are, or what’s the most gourmand of all the Michelin Bib Gourmands? Well, you no longer have to thanks to the work of Mitch Gropman. Inspired by the comprehensive burrito, burger, and taco lists of former Chicago Tribune food reviewer Nick Kindelsperger, it’s not uncommon for Gropman to eat and drop a ranking of 200...

Turns out you don’t have to grow up with a golden palate, a gourmet family, or even the desire to be a great cook as a teenager if you want become a future Michelin-starred chef. Or at least that’s how it worked for Donald Young, owner of Duck Sel, one of Chicago’s best restaurants which just happens to be run out of a private apartment in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. I like Young’s story becaus...

The HVAC system at 816 W. Armitage fired up like a jet injecting a loud whoosh into the air. You might recognize that address as the townhouse that held the original Charlie Trotter’s restaurant. I was recording this podcast with Trotter’s son Dylan Trotter on the second floor. I was willing to accept the background noise because I didn’t want to disturb what was a mesmerizing conversation for any...

Over the years, chef Grant Achatz of The Alinea Group and the Next Restaurant team have created a series of tasting menus inspired by Escoffier at the Ritz, Thomas Keller’s French Laundry, Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill, and the legacy of Julia Child. Starting next week, September 7th, 2024, the Next team unveils their newest culinary homage: the work of Charlie Trotter . Trotter was both an inspiring an...

In this episode I explore what it means to be unsung with a review of the Puerto Rican restaurant Estacion from chef Mark Mendez and a recent concert at Chicago's Empty Bottle by the musician Ondara. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thehunger.substack.com/subscribe

A look at what it means when taco gentrification comes to a city with a wealth of authentic tacos. This audio review of Tacombi and Carniceria Mirabel is free, however, like my written essays, many of these podcasts will only be fully available to paying subscribers of thehunger.substack.com. Paid subscribers will get a private RSS link that allows them to access the full feed. This is a public ep...