29
Michael Carlson
Chef/Owner, Schwa
No less than Patton Oswalt (“Ratatouille”’s Remy the Rat if you didn’t know) and Gwynnie Paltrow are superfans of his grungy idiosyncratic runny-egg-yolk-ravioli-serving temple on Ashland. Paltrow loved the “hot waiters in skater clothes” and called it “off the hook.” But you don’t have to take the poor man’s Patsy Cline’s word for it. You can try to make a reservation yourself, though no one’s likely to answer the phone when you call. But, even if you can’t get in, trust us, Carlson is one talented cat.

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30
Chuck Templeton
Founder, OpenTable.com and Chairman, GrubHub.com
Templeton’s OpenTable software now has a stranglehold on the fine-dining market for point-of-service and reservation software. So what did Templeton do when he was looking for a next act? He joined GrubHub’s founders Maloney and Evans to exact similar domination on the downscale food-delivery market. So far he’s helped attract significant venture capital money to GrubHub and helped position the company to continue its expansion into significant national markets.

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31
Michael, Nick and Simon Floyd
Owners/Founders, Three Floyds Brewing
Since 1996, they’ve been putting out super-hopped citrus-kissed bitter bombs, some of the best beers ever made in America. Their limited-edition Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout has become such a phenomenon that people travel from around the country for a day-long Lollapalooza-like affair in Munster, Indiana for the opportunity to score a golden ticket to buy the stuff. Now that they’ve picked up Mike Sheerin, former chef de cuisine of Blackbird, who’s cooking up incredible Alsatian-inspired flatbreads and making incredible charcuterie with kitchen manager Andrew Conaway, they might also have one of the best brewpubs in America.

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32
Jeff and Tony Dreyfuss
Owners, Metropolis Coffee
While Intelligentsia went upscale and started jacking up their coffee prices and dictating serving sizes to their customers, the Metropolis folks shadowed the stoops of every new restaurant, coffee shop and bakery in town with their comparable product. As a result, these small-batch roasters from the North Side are now winning the battle for the hearts and coffee cups of local foodies.

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33
Mark Payne and Andy Pates
Owners, Cream Wine Company
The greatest influence on local wine menus is probably exacted by Southern Wine & Spirits and Wirtz Beverage. However, if you prefer not to drink your wine by the jug or the box, Cream is your friend. Their portfolio of small-batch and biodynamic grower/producer winemakers is one of the best in town, plus they work social media better than a gaggle of 13-year-old girls sharing the stories behind their excellent portfolio.

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By Giovanni Wrobel

Gelato is a culinary must for starry-eyed Americans with Euros to burn on trips to Italy and elsewhere in Europe. But can this velvety smooth Italian cousin to ice cream claim its rightful spot in our local pantheon of desserts, or is it destined to remain in il purgatorio as a filler choice in old-line Italian restaurants, served in freezer-burned fruit bowls with mint garnish?

One pastry chef and store may not suffice as oracle for such questions, but Jessica Oloroso, an erudite artisan who owns and operates Black Dog Gelato, has done much in a short time to bring gelato the acclaim and patronage it deserves.

Oloroso started her own business as a supplier to local restaurants and coffee shops throughout Chicago. She left her position as pastry chef at Scylla, a Bucktown restaurant best known as the launching pad for “Top Chef”-winner Stephanie Izard, purchased ice cream machines, and set up shop in Kitchen Chicago, an artisan communal kitchen, where she began work on her techniques and unique recipes.

Oloroso echoes the drive of many start-up business owners: “I really didn’t want to have to work for anyone. I wanted to go off on my own. I honed my particular path, which is ice cream and gelato, using basic skills I picked up in school and then lots of trial and error in the kitchen. I did a lot of reading and research too.” Read the rest of this entry »

34
Jimmy Bannos
Owner, Heaven on Seven, Purple Pig, Dough Boys
Whether it was one of the outposts or the original seventh-floor lunch counter on Wabash, Bannos’ Heaven on Seven restaurants have always been a favorite place to get a Cajun fix. Now that he’s unleashed the Purple Pig (maybe the best thing to happen to Michigan Avenue dining since NoMI) helmed by his son Jimmy Jr. and started slinging pizzas with Scott Harris, we’re excited about the next chapter of empire building.

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Photo: Jeff Kauck

35
Tony Mantuano
Chef, Spiaggia, Spiaggia Café, Terzo Piano, Mangia Trattoria (Kenosha)
One of the so-called FCOs or Favorite Chefs of Obama, Mantuano’s continued, along with his excellent executive chef Sarah Grueneberg, to turn out some of the finest upscale Italian food in the country at Spiaggia and his Art Institute outpost Terzo Piano. He’s also upped his Q rating with appearances on “Top Chef Masters.”

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36
Rob and Allison Levitt
Owners, Butcher & Larder
What they started at the short-lived Mado, breaking down whole animals and serving all the parts, lives on greater than ever at their new Noble Square butchery. From Paulina to Gepperth’s, there’s plenty of great old meat cutters doing God’s work. But, while the protein served up at those places is often high quality, they’re also nameless and faceless cuts, some local, some not. At B&L, you can get a chop that was definitely raised on pasture less than a hundred miles away or the same farmer’s cut served to you at Sepia or Vie the night before.

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37
Gary Wiviott
Co-Founder, LTHForum.com; BBQ Guru
Gwiv, as he’s affectionately known online, is the dude food writers call at seven o’clock on a Saturday night when they need to know the best place to score rare Eastern European foodstuffs or the best Thai-style bugs in town. If you happen to be a low-key ethnic storefront in Chicago, Wiviott’s personal seal and that of his LTHForum brethren is as good as an 8×10 glossy from ABC 7’s Hungry Hound Steve Dolinsky or a three-star nod from Michelin. While Wiviott recently lost ownership of LTHForum due to a bankruptcy skirmish, he’s still sharing his encyclopedic knowledge on the board on a regular basis. In his spare time, Wiviott who has a signature rub sold at the Spice House in Old Town also writes books including “Low & Slow BBQ” with his writing partner Colleen Rush.

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