50 Cameron Grant Chef, Osteria Langhe Chef Cameron Grant attributes the diversity of his menu and the success of his restaurant, Osteria Langhe, to the Italian region of Piemonte. “It’s the culinary Disneyland of food and wine,” he says. The Scottish-born chef takes pride in honoring the food culture of Piemonte through his unique menu and curated wine list. Traditional Piedmontese dishes such as poached beef with tuna citrus caper aioli and prosciutto-wrapped rabbit loin are some of the unusual dishes people come in to try then wind up loving. For the rest of this year, Grant will focus on his pasta, developing six ravioli flavors for eventual distribution to national grocers. “I think we can bring something new to the table and highlight some fun flavors for consumers.”
Rafael Esparza/Photo: Monica Kass Rogers
49 Rafael Esparza Chef, Finom Café “My vision for Finom Café,” a coffee shop on the Old Irving Park neighborhood that specializes in Hungarian food, Rafael Esparza says, “was to build a community in a neighborhood that is relatively unspoiled by rapid gentrification and overdevelopment, and that still feels like the Chicago I grew up in.” The menu pushes a few boundaries, says Esparza: “the head marrow toast [veal brains and chicken liver on toast] is one of those dishes that people kinda order for the shock value, but once they try it, they love it. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone leave more than a few micro greens or pickled tomato pieces on the plate when we bus their dishes.” And bussing at Finom is done carefully, because “the teacups and most of the plates come courtesy of my mom’s china cabinet. So, to all: please don’t break them!”
Lamar Moore/Photo: Monica Kass Rogers
48 Lamar Moore Chef, Currency Exchange Café and Swill Inn Lamar Moore has big plans and a wide vision, but at the heart of it is his desire to be “able to teach and train [new chefs] and seeing the constant growth,” Moore says. ”That is very satisfying; to give back and nurture the South Side evolution.” He’s made his mark across Chicago, from the kitchen at Currency Exchange Café and Swill Inn to mentorship through the ProStart culinary training program. “Being able to teach and mentor more and building a culinary brigade—those are my goals,” says Moore. “I’m also hoping to build more of a global brand.” He’ll be taking his shot at that goal on television—catch him on Food Network’s “Vegas Chef Prizefight”
Lanie Bayless/Photo: Monica Kass Rogers
47 Lanie Bayless Spirits Director Guiding beverage choices at restaurants and bars like Topolobampo and Bar Sotano, Lanie Bayless tells us the spirits she selects “must either be from the Midwest—the closer to us, the better—or from Mexico.” Her interest in Mexican spirits is right for the times, she says, as the U.S. market is becoming more and more accustomed to, and enthusiastic about, mezcal. “Even though we have featured mezcal in our back bars and in our cocktails for decades,” Bayless says, “the amount of curiosity and excitement around it has really grown over the last five years. This has been an incredible opportunity for me and has led to more mezcal on every menu. Right now, I’m beginning to work with Bacanora and Pox [a relatively obscure Tzotzil Mayan spirit from Chiapas], which have me really jazzed.”
Kevin Beary/Photo: Monica Kass Rogers
46 Kevin Beary Bartender, Three Dots and a Dash At Three Dots and a Dash, Kevin Beary’s team serves up about 2,000 cocktails each Saturday night to eager drinkers at the speakeasy-style tiki bar in River North. From the start, Beary has made adjustments to add value to the South Pacific drinking experience. Case in point: shaved ice for drinks. “Shaved ice made from cold-pressed fresh juice and other well-balanced flavors like tea offer upgraded iterations of blended cocktails,” says Beary. “Blended ice allows us to incorporate fresh flavor elements without over-diluting.” And the experimentation continues: “We’ve been working with the weak elements for cocktails recently. Building on the principles of the early rum punches that have a fairly large proportion of weak elements such as tea, we’ve been experimenting with making teas from traditional leaves but more often spices and dried fruits to lengthen cocktails by reducing ABV and increasing flavors.”
45 Jason Vincent Chef, Giant and City Mouse Jason Vincent of Giant and City Mouse always has ideas. When he saw a space in Wicker Park where he could focus on cocktails, serve Chinese-American food, and be in a receptive neighborhood, it made sense to open Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar. Other things that make sense to Vincent include providing healthcare to employees, which he does through a three-percent bill surcharge: “If we can be a barrier between [lack of affordable healthcare] and our employees and reduce their stress so they give better service and do a better job at work, it’s a win-win,” he says. Sustainability is important: “If you run a restaurant and the seafood that you bring in does not say ‘sustainable’ or have a good ranking, don’t buy it.” Some things are more important than the bottom line, Vincent says. “We’re talking about the planet.”
Joe and Ann Marie Quercia/Photo: Monica Kass Rogers
44 Joe and Ann Marie Quercia Chef-Owners, Freddy’s Pizza Freddy’s Pizza is a throwback gem, a grocery that carries Italian products almost exclusively but is also a deli bar serving beautifully simple and satisfying lunch items like rapini and beans, sausage with potatoes and peppers, pizza and other warm items, including wonderful breads, most made in-house. And gelato! Every lunch, the aisles of the small store are lined with construction workers, cops, firemen and others who know where to score a wonderful meal. Joe tells us that his proudest moment is “when customers tell me Freddy’s is part of their childhood and family memories. I have served generations of people since working here in 1968 at the age of thirteen upon my arrival from Naples. It is an honor to have people from all walks of life enter Freddy’s and enjoy our creations.”
Chelsea and Art Jackson/Photo: Monica Kass Rogers
43 Art and Chelsea Jackson Chef-Bakers, Pleasant House Bakery “Chef-baker is a great way to describe us,” says Art Jackson, who started Bridgeport’s Pleasant House Bakery in 2011 with wife Chelsea; the two now own and operate Pleasant House Pub. “Having started out as traditional restaurant cooks and chefs, our love for British pies led us on the baking path. Like all areas of food and cooking, it’s the journey of discovering new foods and techniques, practicing them and then introducing them to the world.” Chelsea is especially thankful to her customers, “We’ve been fortunate to have such curious, friendly, welcoming customers. Especially when we opened our first location, we were off the beaten path and making a type of food that was new to many people in Chicago. Cooking for them has sparked some fantastic conversations and has given us the opportunity to share with others and learn from them.”
Duncan Biddulph/Photo: Monica Kass Rogers
42 Duncan Biddulph Chef, Tortello Tortello executive chef Duncan Biddulph returned from a culinary research trip to Italy with fresh ideas for his multifaceted Wicker Park restaurant and pastificio. “We [owner Dario Monni and I] are playing with the idea of hosting regional dinners focusing on specific regions in Italy and typical foods, specifically pasta,” Biddulph says. These dinners would further his restaurant’s philosophy of offering authentic Italian cuisine using traditional, nonna-style techniques, approaches and ingredients. Biddulph and the Tortello eagerly await patio season as they roll out new plans to transform their outdoor seating area into a communal gathering space. “There is always something to improve about [the restaurant] and engaging with our community is a big part of it. It brings a wholesome feel to the enterprise.”
41 Dan Pancake and Beth Partridge Chefs, Autre Monde Autre Monde is a fine-dining restaurant on a stretch of Roosevelt Road in Berwyn. It was a risk, Pancake and Partridge say, but “we were confident that there was an audience around the restaurant that would support a place like ours. At the time, there wasn’t really anything like Autre Monde in the area.” Now, nine years after opening, Autre Monde is as strong as ever, meeting “our original expectation of creating a neighborhood place where our local audience always feels welcome and comfortable. There’s quite a community built around restaurants and music venues on Roosevelt Road, and we seem to have fit right in.”
Dining and Drinking Editor for Newcity, David also writes a weekly food column for Wednesday Journal in Oak Park and is a frequent contributor of food/drink and travel pieces to the Chicago Tribune, Plate Magazine and other publications. David has also contributed chapters to several books, including Street Food Around the World, Street Food, and The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. Contact: dhammond@newcity.com
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