Today was an amazing evening full of wonderful food. Many folks think Chicago’s famous Taste of Chicago is a culinary event not to miss, but I respectfully disagree. If there’s a culinary event not to miss in Chicago, it’s the Annual Green City Market Chef’s BBQ. At this delicious event, chefs from many well-known restaurants come together to prepare some amazing dishes. Although named as a bbq, you won’t find too many ribs and traditional bbq fare. Instead, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the creativity of how these chefs transform bbq dishes into high end cuisine with such sophistication.
Every year more chefs join the BBQ to show off the best of Chicago’s culinary talent. This year more than 65 chefs came out to share their creations using various Green City Market vendors of local and sustainable products. In addition to food, locally made beer, wine, and beverages were represented. Here are some pictures of the event… and I highly encourage you to attend the bbq next year. It only gets better and better, as it should. This is truly the Taste of Chicago locals have come to know and love.
Salad of Mache & Pea Shoots with Shell Beans, Radish & Pear Tomatoes
Honey Herb Vinaigrette with Shaved Cheese
Strawberry Shortcake
Lula Cafe & Nightwood’s Jason Hammel & Amalea Tshilds
White Gazpacho, New Crop Garlic, Pancetta & Swiss Chard
Campagnola & Union Pizzeria’s Vincent DiBattista
Braised Lamb Sandwich, Arugula Pesto
Piccolo Sogno’s Tomy Priolo
Chilled Beet Soup
The Signature Room at the 95th’s Patrick Sheerin
Beer Braised Chicken, Roasted Beet & Coriander Relish
The Goddess & The Grocer’s Debbie Sharpe
Potato Salad, Housemade Pickles, Cucumbers & Beets
Province’s Randy Zweiban
Pan Con Tomate of Grilled Vegetables,
Goat Cheese & Tomato Jam Soaked Bread
Limelight: Food Illuminated’s Liz Tokarczyk
Lamb Bratwurst & Vegetable Slaw
Eli’s Cheesecake’s Jolene Worthington
Capriole Farm Goat Cheesecake with Blackberries
The Hearty Boys’ Michel Jericho
Pork Cursted with Guajillo, Summer Berry Compote & Zucchini Salad
Mado’s Rob & Allie Levitt
BBQ Beef Tongue Sandwich
Fig Catering’s Justin Hall
Arugula, Fennel & Cherry Tomato Salad
with Grilled Trout & Heirloom Tomato Vinaigrette
Seedling Farm’s Peter Klein
Pete’s Famour Summer Fruit Smoothie
Naha’s Carrie Nahabedian
Braised Elk with a Salad of Young Lettuce, Kohlrabi,
Candied Bulb Onions, Peaches & Tarragon
Prairie Grass Cafe’s George Bumbaris & Sarah Stegner Nambiar
Grilled Portabella Mushroom & Goat Cheese Crostini
Sunday Dinner’s Joshua Kulp & Christine Cikowski
Green City Market Burger with Summer Tomatoes,
Horseradish Cheddar & Arugula
Sepia’s Andrew Zimmerman
Lamb Merguez Sausage, Pickled Eggplant Relish, Harissa Aioli
Ricottoa Pound Cake & Cherry Preserves
Frontera Grill & Topolobampo’s Rick Bayless
“Tacos al Pastor” with Grilled Red Onions,
Frontera’s Three Chile Salsa in Corn Tortilla
West Town Tavern’s Susan Goss
Summer Vegetable Caponata Bruschetta, Goat Cheese & Crusty Bread
Boka’s Guiseppe Tendori & Elizabeth Buettner Dahl
Goat Cheese Cremeux & Sweet Cherry Gelee
Tru’s Tim Graham & Meg Galus
Pork Sausage “Truffled”, Pickled Ramps & Spinach
Capriole Goat Cheese Mousse, Preserved Cherries, Honey & Crispy Basil
Strawberry Pate de Fruit
Four Seasons Hotel’s Kevin Hickey
Lamb Burger with Feta & Heirloom Tomato Yogurt
Peach “Cobbler” with Pecan Caramel Ice Cream
The Chopping Block’s Shelley Young
Grilled Flatbread, Goat Cheese, Bacon, Onions & Herbs
Vie’s Pail Virant & Nathan Sears
BBQ “Bourbon Red” Turkey Sandwiches with Housemade Pickles & Soft Roll
Nomi’s Christophe David
Pork Belly “Apicus”
The Park Grill’s Bernie Laskowski
Green City Market Burger, BBQ Pork, Butterkasse Cheese & Balsamic Onions
Sofitel Hotel’s Martial Noguier & Suzanne Imaz
Cherry Soup, Lemon Sponge Cake & Lemon Verbena Ice Cream
Peninsula Hotel’s Kai Lerman
Spicy Lamb Burger with Cucumber, Mint & Harissa
Convito Cafe & Market’s Noe Sanchez
Bellini Napoleon of Golden Beets & Arugula, Goat Cheese
& Flamin Fury Michigan Peach Vinaigrette
Phil Stefani’s 437 Rush’s Ferderico Comacchio
Umbrian Style Hamburger, Grilled Tropea Onions & Focaccia
Sola’s Carol Wallack
Bacon Bread Pudding & Pickled Vegetables,
Housemade Ginger Ale, Maker’s Mark Bourbon & Blueberries
Drunken Goat’s Stephanie Izard
Slow Roasted Goat & Market Vegetable Slaw
Atwood Cafe’s Heather Terhune
Grilled Nectrine Shortcake with Honey Whipped Goat Cheese, Blueberries & Lavendar & Lemon Curd
MK’s Tony Galzin & Erick Williams
Smoked Squash Blossoms stuffed with Goat Cheese
Baby Wax & French Beans with Mint & Tomato Vinaigrette
Mini Soda Float of Basil Sorbet, Raspberry Vanilla Soda,
Summer Herbs & Shortbread Cookies
A Mano’s John Caputo
Chilled Yellow Tomato Gazpacho with a Crisp La Quercia Speck & Aquavit
Ritz Carlton Hotel’s Kevin Erving
Chi-town Sliders
Fruit Soda Floats
Blue 13’s Chris Surren & Dan Muranowski
BBQ Pork BElly, Sweet Corn Puree & Herb Salad
Coco Pazzo’s Chris Macchia
Grilled Local Trout with Butter Lettuce, Fresh Breakfast Radishes & Peas
North Pond’s Bruce Sherman
Goat Summer Sausage Crouton with Apricot Butter
Blackbird, Avec, & Publican’s Paul Kahan
Blood Sausage & White Corn Grit “Corn Dog”
Low & Slow’s Gary Wiviott & Colleen Rush
Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Lexington Red Slaw, Pickled Onions
Perennial’s Ryan Poli
Pork Belly Slider, Arugula & Strawberry Jam
Spring & Green Zebra’s Shawn Mcclain
Smoked Fingerling Potato Salad with Grilled Peaches & Pickled Mustard Seeds
Crofton on Well’s Suzy Crofton
Grilled Rabbit Sausage, Relish of Sumer Fennel, Pancetta & Mustard Seeds
Lockwood at the Palmer House’s Phillip Foss
BBQ Beef Brisket, Pickled Vegetables, Medjool Date & Tamarind Sauce
Urban Belly’s Bill Kim
Korean BBQ Beef, Vegetable Kimchi & Organic Brown Rice
Goose Island Brewery’s John Manion
Braised Pork, Green Onion Chimichurri
Spiaggia’s Tony Mantuano & Sarah Gruenberg
Grilled Zucchini & Pesto Crostini
Aigre Doux’s Mohammad Islam & Malika Ameen
Chilled Kohlrabi Soup and Basil Cake
Adobo Grill’s Freddy Sanchez
Zucchini Blossom with a Quesadilla of Asadero Cheese with Salsa de Molcajete
Chaise Lounge’s Cary Taylor
Smoked Blueberry, Yogurt & Oatmeal Crumble Panna Cotta
David Burke’s Primehouse’s Rich Gresh
Dry aged Rib Eye, Potato Salad, Carrot Slaw & Templeton Rye
Big Jone’s Paul Fehibach
Sorghum Cured Pork Belly on Crisp Hominy Cake
with Crowder Pea Puree & Beet Chow Chow
Eve’s Troy Graves
Beef Sandwich with Green Tomatoes
The Plitt Seafood Company/John G Shedd Aquarium
Smoked Whitefish Pate
Zealous & Duchamp’s Michael Taus
Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, Corn Chips scented with Lime Mini
Braised Duck Rillette Tartines with Cauliflower & Spiced Pecans
Ina’s Ina Pinkey, Smoque BBQ’s Barry Sorkin, & True Cuisine’s Jean True
Smoked Beef Ribs, Summer Salad of Green Beans, Fennel, Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Shallot Vinaigrette
Uncommon Ground’s Brian Millman
Marinated Grilled Lamb Kabob, Onions, Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
The Bristol’s Chris Pandel
Grilled Hot Links with Corn Pone
Hot Chocolate’s Mindy Segal & Mark Stuer
Summer Ice Cream
Carnivale’s Mark Mendez
Grilled Goat Chorizo, Cumin Yogurt & Summer Vegetable Escabeche
Osteria Via Stato’s David DiGregorio
Grilled Duroc Pork Tenderloin, Melrose Pepper Relish, Soft Roll
Socca’s Roger Herring
Smoked Whole Roasted Pig & Pickled Vegetable Socca
I read about this after the fact. I cannot tell you how sorry I am that I missed it!
I am sorry I missed it too. That is amazing, I wouldn't know which place/item to try first.
I knew I should have bought tickets… yum. Well, now I know to make sure it's on the calendar for next year!
That looks like so much fun!
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