#MonicaEng

[attraper-un-poisson-chat]

@notbatmanyet: RT @monicaeng: Chicago's water dept does a repair that can spike lead in your water for a yr after but they never notify you. I FOIA data on frequency & city said: We don't know. So then why did a Water rep say: "We do it 2000x per yr" at a recent Springfield meeting? https://t.co/vwBZeuzPC9

from http://twitter.com/notbatmanyet via IFTTT

[pedralazulli]

by MonicaEng

[chewingthefatshow]

There are lots of great street snacks in the world but few beat Madrid's cones of cured pork. Mmmmm.

[monicaeng121-blog]

FINALLY! The trailer for our latest shortfilm "Coming Home" is ready!! Starring - Elena Banta , John Jones, Brian Jones, Jill Oliver, Conor Burke, Rachel Griesinger, Josh Hambrock, Sandra Baskin, Bari Baskin, Graham Emmons, Peyton Owen & Maggie Owen , Diana Eve Kozien, Maryn, (Jen Kenny) ,Jameson Netter Story & Director - Monica Eng Script & Assistant Director - De Lois Heard Story Creative Consultant - Linus Hammarstrand Makeup by Zoe Kristen Director of Photography - Monica Eng Editor - De Lois Heard & Monica Eng Special Thanks to Erik Stein & Mark Vadik for Equipment & Props Music for trailer by Isaac Shepard "Simple Moments"

[ijustwanna-be]

[chewingthefatshow]

Just some more pics of our Top 5 Chicago croissants from Beurrage (Louisa's No. 1), Eclair, Fritz (Monica's No. 1) and Cellar Door.

[chewingthefatshow]

If you can’t make it to Paris but still long for a rich buttery croissant, you don’t have to look far in Chicago. That wasn’t always the case. For decades, we suffered a terrible deficit of decent French bakeries. But in recent years and months, Chicago has seen the opening of Eclair Patisserie in Andersonville, La Boulangerie in Lakeview, Cellar Door Provisions in Avondale, Vanille Patisserie in Lincoln Park and most recently, Beurrage in Pilsen. A Chicago location of Le Pain Quotidien is also set to open any day now in the Gold Coast. Even Starbucks got in on French bakery act when it launched it not-so-shabby line of croissants here last fall. So what does this mean for Chicago croissant lovers? That depends on whom you talk to. My Chewing the Fat co-host Louisa Chu is not impressed by the Chicago offerings, which she deems just “OK.”As Louisa OFTEN reminds me, she lived and cooked in Paris for years, and is consequently, “spoiled.” When I suggested that she lighten up and join me on a quest to find five really delicious croissants in the city, she scoffed and said something like “c’est impossible!.” So, after we finished interviewing Beurrage baker Jeffrey Hallenback (whose croissants Louisa likes) on a recent Saturday, I set off with my 10 year old daughter to find buttery bliss. I started with a list of recommendations from foodies, colleagues and Facebook friends and quickly nibbled it down to 10 that I could get to in the next four days. Facebook commenters suggested some that I didn’t get to including those from Ely’s Pancake House, Bon Jour Bakery in Hyde Park and in St Roger Abbey in Vernon Hills. When all was said and done, we had a tie for No. 1 because Louisa only voted for one and the other four were also heavenly in my book. Here they are 1. Beurrage: 1248 W 18th St.; 773-998-2371: Supremely flakey with dough full of character building housemade cultured butter. and Fritz Pastry: 1408 W Diversey Pkwy.; 773-857-2989: Well-browned, complexly flavored croissants that are so criminally rich and buttery that you’ll look around for the cops as you eat them. We think the ham and cheese version are THE best hand held breakfast in Chicago. 2. Cellar Door Provisions: 3025 W. Diversey Ave.; 773-697-8337: Aggressively browned with a nutty exterior and light eggy center. 3. Vanille Patisserie: 2108 N. Clark St.773.868.4574: Restrained browning, but a buttery and pleasantly sweet center. 4.La Boulangerie: 915 W Belmont Ave.; 312-480-8337: Not gorgeous but full of a flakey but dense and flavorful dough. 5. Éclair Patisserie: 5212 N. Clark St.; 773-987-9881: Delicate and buttery and we love the striping on the pain au chocolat and the little bag of 5 to go.

[chewingthefatshow]

Woke late and had to make a batch of jasmine rice for lunches in a hurry so tried the"turbo" setting on this ridiculously fancy talking rice cooker the BF gave me (I think there is a setting for cleaning your house somewhere). Within 15 minutes I (Monica) had a perfect pot of rice ready to pack for lunch. It also steamed up my WW2 food poster the collection of which, Alice Waters told Chewing the Fat, will be reissued this year! Yay!

[chewingthefatshow]

Chipotle's tofu based sofritas started life as chorizo according to chef Nate Appleman. But in the end he came up with a proteiny vegan friendly option.

[chewingthefatshow]

Will this pastured chicken taste better than a factory farmed bird? We explore the nexus of sustainable and delicious on this weeks Chewing the Fat. https://soundcloud.com/chewingthefat/sets/ctf-ep-18-sustain-a-licious

[chewingthefatshow]

We talk to chef Nate Appleman, Jared Van Kamp and Bruce Sherman about what makes food sustainable and if that always means delicious.

[chewingthefatshow]

Louisa and Monica want to thank all of the WBEZ members who made our upcoming Chewing the Fat live event at City Winery sell out in 35 seconds. YOW! We promise to have more events with more seats in the future. If it's any consolation will will post pics and sound from the event here.

[chewingthefatshow]

We've recently become obsessed with caneles. We are exploring the best of the them in Chicago and the possibility of ever making them at home. We will report back soon on our DESSERT episode.

[chewingthefatshow]

He explains the whole enchilada.