“If there’s a way to a nerd’s heart,” says Chicago Nerd Social Club leader Rachel Baker, “it’s usually through his or her stomach.” Combining one of the most famous tenets of nerdom with home-baked pies, the CNSC is hosting Pi(e) Day this Sunday at Firkin & Pheasant. The night starts at 6pm and will be filled with trivia and contests for nerds and noobs alike. Along with a baked-pie contest, there will be a Mad Math Minute where contestants attempt to complete 100 simple math questions in one minute. There, of course, will be a Pi-Off where contestants see who can recall Pi to the most decimal digits. Where “bros” might question their manhood by how many beers one can slam, here “you can declare yourself more nerdy by being able to declare more digits than someone else,” says Baker. There will be Pi/nerd trivia with the winner receiving one hundred dollars cash. This event, however, isn’t just for the upper-crust nerds. Even if you start to stumble when recalling Pi, 3.141…5?, Baker is quick to say, “We’re not nerd-elitists by any means. Everyone can be nerdy in his or her own way.” Presale tickets are five dollars and ten at the door, with all the nerd-baked pie you can eat inside. (Peter Cavanaugh)

A look at some restaurant specials around town during the weekend of February 14.

Ai Japanese Restaurant
A four-course dinner for two gets you a bottle of Hana Awaka sake, beef tataki skewers, spicy miso king crab, soba crepes and tofu-wrapped tuna. Ai Japanese Restaurant, 358 W. Ontario, (312)335-9888. Feb. 12-14, 5pm-11:30pm. $88.

Berghoff
If you’re on a tight budget but still want to celebrate this Hallmark holiday, head to Berghoff’s where a four-course meal with options including seared salmon and grilled hanger steak and a handmade truffles will cost a mere $38. Berghoff, 17 W. Adams, (312)427-3170. Feb. 12-13, 4pm-10pm. $38.

Bin 36
Leo McCarey’s 1957 romantic drama “An Affair to Remember” will play while guests dine on a three course meal with wine pairings. Bin 36, 339 N. Dearborn, (312)755-9463. Feb. 14, 6:30pm-11pm. $48.

Bonsoiree
Money not an issue? Then head to Bonsoiree, where for $100-$130 you’ll get an eight-course menu featuring winter point oysters, asparagus soup, steamed abalone with fresh cherries and chocolate truffles. Bonsoiree, 2728 W. Armitage, (773)486-7511. Feb. 12-15, 5pm-10pm. $100-$130. Read the rest of this entry »

As Logan Square residents can attest, Chicago’s only community-owned and operated grocery store was well worth the nearly five-year wait. Even before the doors of the Dill Pickle Food Co-op opened at noon this day, soon-to-be-patrons clamored around the entrance, eagerly waiting to set foot inside.

The genuine affection that went into every element of the Co-op is one of the most striking things about the Dill Pickle. The store itself is charming—mint-green walls and exposed pipes, cozy lighting that melts away memories of a freezing Saturday afternoon wind—but it is the strong sense of community that really drives this home. Nearly every other person who enters the store knows someone involved in the Pickle’s success, and they offer their heartfelt congratulations, sometimes accompanied with an effusive bear hug. Read the rest of this entry »

Jennifer Gavin in her "Hell's Kitchen" days

Jennifer Gavin is now the “Master of the Market.” She has cooked her way to victory at the Chef Challenge, beating out the other contestants with sweet corn slaw, grilled vegetable sandwich on tomato focaccia and lemon pound cake with raspberry preserves.

This year’s contestants in the third annual event, held at the Daley Plaza Farmers Market—all female for the first time—include Radhika Desai, a season five contestant on “Top Chef,” and Heather Terhune, executive chef at Atwood Café. Jennifer Gavin finished fourth on “Hell’s Kitchen” in 2008 and is now executive chef and owner of Catered Excellence. Her father was a chef, so she began cooking at 15 and attended culinary school in Chicago.

“I’m very competitive by nature,” she says. She wants to make “something creative, something innovative, that people haven’t seen before, and just really try to wow people.” Read the rest of this entry »

Matt Allen, aka Ice Cream Man, is the Johnny Appleseed of ice cream. For five years he and his crew have heroically traveled the country giving away ice cream completely free of charge. Allen, who hiked the Appalachian Trail and walked from Mexico to Canada before getting seriously involved with ice cream, is both an entrepreneur and an adventurer. “I had to do something that was new, that hadn’t been done before,” Allen says. “I realized, holy shit, you can do anything with an ice-cream truck. It’s mobile, everyone loves free ice cream.” Currently featured on a Web series titled “Road Tripping,” Ice Cream Man is hitting major summer music festivals, doling out frozen treats and filming intimate artist performances. The Web series is being put on by Babelgum.com, which was originally interested in producing a music series in the U.S. Each webisode usually features an artist performing a song or two in front of Allen’s ice-cream truck. “Our whole mission is to give away half a million [pieces of] ice cream,” says Allen, who gave away about 45,000 pieces of ice cream at last year’s Lollapalooza. Ice Cream Man will be at the Pitchfork Music Festival this coming weekend, handing out fruit bars and ice-cream sandwiches to dairy-starved attendees.

In the kitchen at Alinea/Photo: Lara Kastner

Resto 100 is, as it has been in years past, a list of “essential” restaurants, which is most definitely not synonymous with “best.” We strive to reflect a world of dining in a constant state of innovative transition, to capture a snapshot of the state of the food world at this time.

In these particular hard economic times, we find ourselves dining out a lot more at the BYOBs, mom-and pop-spots and small ethnic joints than we do at the high end.  That being said, while we didn’t set out to consciously create a list to address our lighter wallets, it sure turned out that way.  More than ever, this list is a cross section of the wealth of culturally diverse and reasonably priced restaurants Chicago is lucky to have. Read the rest of this entry »

The Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago is hosting its 10th Annual Edible Books Show & Tea event on Wednesday, an event hosted at various venues across the globe in which artists, chefs and book lovers whip up recipes and create books that are made to be eaten. “It’s a fundraiser for the Center for Book and Paper Arts equipment fund,” says Steve Woodall, Director of the Book & Paper Center at Columbia. “This is something that’s been going on since 1999 and it was kind of the brainchild of Judith Hoffberg, who was the founder, and she died a couple months ago. And so part of this year’s event is a tribute to Judith and part is connected to Ray Bradbury.” This year’s Big Read sponsored by the Chicago Public Library is “Fahrenheit 451″-themed, and the Edible Book event will do its best to honor that. “It’s an open invitation for anyone who wants to make one!” Woodall continues. “If you bring an edible book with you, you get into the event free. It’s a really fun, kind of informal and interesting event. The winner last year was an edible book called ‘The Velveeta Rabbit’ that was a rabbit carved out of Velveeta. Somebody [else] made a tablet out of marzipan and a scroll out of pie dough, so it’s just kind of a fun, somewhat surreal event.” The event starts at 6pm at the Columbia College Library.

A man stands huddled with a group of his friends in the middle of the crowded Bailey Auditorium with sweat pouring down his face. “I like spicy foods but this wing is evil incarnate,” he says wiping tears from his eye with barbeque stained hands, to his girlfriend who’s chugging an MGD to quell the burning in her mouth. Read the rest of this entry »

At a fundraiser for the Organic School Project, everyone mills about Goose Island Brewery, shoveling in spoonful after spoonful of mac ‘n’ cheese, throwing back brews and enjoying one cupcake (and then another). A wellness program created by Chef Greg Christian that works with the Chicago Public School System to get kids eating healthier, OSP plants organic gardens at schools, teaches youngsters about nutrition and works to combat obesity. Everyday, OSP provides Alcott Elementary with all organic, natural and made-from-scratch lunches.

This information, coupled with the images being continuously broadcast from the Goose Island TVs of OSP children eating organically and working in gardens, endows one with a creeping sense of guilt. Shouldn’t this event practice what it preaches? Nah, let’s try the Mac-tini. The Adam Seger-designed mac ‘n’ cheese-inspired cocktail made with cheddar cheese, maple syrup, fresh lime juice and CapRock vodka, flies off the bar and down the throats of fundrais-ees with surprising speed. Read the rest of this entry »

While hordes of people cram together chomping down on giant turkey legs at the Taste of Chicago, five and a half miles away on North Racine in Lincoln Park, a more subdued crowd gathers in a parking lot for Chicago’s first ever Pizza Fest. While it may be the slices people came for, they end up flocking to the booze tents, as there are only four restaurants (including Palermo’s Red Ivy and Caponie’s Trattoria) offering up pizza. Chicago’s signature deep-dish style is inexplicably absent.

Instead promotional tents for companies like Comcast and Washington Mutual try to pull in new clientele, and a variety of merchandise stands including classic movie posters, hippie jewelry, ponchos and Chicago-themed art align the street. “There’s too many people at the Taste, and it’s all tourists, this is a better atmosphere,” a woman explains as she waits in line to join the sea of Polo shirts currently tossing beanbags.

In the opposite corner the elderly crowd takes a sitting break in a beer garden as they completely ignore the Do-It-Yourself Pizza chef presentation in front of them. The speaker seems to know everything about pizza, but lacks the necessary social skills.
“I’m the CEO of this company,” he says “…the Chief Entertainment Officer that is.” Not even a groan from the crowd.
A reggae-funk-jazz band plays in the parking lot, but their audience has been stolen by a man dancing on roller skates. “What the hell is this guy doing?” a man leans over and asks his friend. Neither eat pizza. (Michael Mellini)