Food News: Brunch Bites Returns to River North + GIVEAWAY!

UPDATE: A winner has been picked and confirmed. The giveaway is now closed, but tickets are still available for purchase.

Brunch Bites is back in Chicago on April 21st for another year of brunchy goodness!

This innovative event features some of River North's finest brunch destinations in a neighborhood-wide food treasure hunt that sends participants on a self guided walking tour in search of delicious food and awesome cocktails. There's 8 participating restaurants this year; 6 returning from last year's line up and two new additions.

Pick up tickets and check out the full list of participating restaurants and what they'll be serving HERE. Jump on it, because last year's event did sell out!

Want to see what last year's festival was like? Check out this post

Want to try your luck at winning a pair of tickets? Leave a comment below this blog post to be entered! A winner will be chosen at random next week. For extra entries, keep an eye on the Bunny and Brandy social media pages! Good luck!

Festival Recap: Brunch Bites Walking Tour

Normally, Brandy avoids physical exercise at all costs, preferring activities that require as much sitting as possible. But when said physical activity involves brunch, she's more than willing to lace up her special comfy sneakers (with their accompanying custom molded cushion inserts), put her hair into an immaculate bun, and prepare to perspire. Such was the case last weekend when Brandy attended the Brunch Bites Walking Food and Drink Event in River North, in which she and several hundred ticket holders were able to make their way to eight different participating restaurants for mini versions of signature brunch dishes and cocktails. "Well, I suppose it is a rather nice day," Brandy reasoned, "so might as well get out and get some sun. And some bacon. And a cocktail or two... or eight."

After receiving her lanyard and official map at the check in, Brandy was on her way. Her first stop was to GT Fish & Oyster, where they were serving one of her favorite little bites, an Oyster 'Po Boy Slider with kimichi and peanuts, along with a mimosa with fresh apricot puree. The crispy little sliders were just as delightful as Brandy remembered, and the fresh burst of fruity flavor in the champagne shot was the perfect start to an exhilarating morning.

Across the street and down a little ways, Brandy entered Bottled Blonde, where they were serving up a delectable Prime Rib Benedict with a spicy hollandaise, green onions, and potatoes, accompanied by a small glass of White Sangria. Brandy devoured the dish quite quickly, savoring the tender meat, the crispy potato cake, and the little kick of the sauce. The sangria was a pleasant surprise, packing quite a potent punch into a few sips.

Brandy then headed to the farthest western point, Hutch Cafe, where they were offering up one of her recently discovered favorites; Nutella Poppers. The dough was just as light and chewy and the middle just as decadently chocolaty as when she'd first sampled these little pockets of heaven a few months ago. The cocktail was called a Spicy Sunset and added a touch of jalapeno to a traditional mix of orange juice, tequila, and strawberry puree.

Backtracking towards the center of the circle, Brandy stopped into Brunch for one of their Banana Bread French Toast bites, which came drizzled with a rum based Bananas Foster sauce, and a tiny yet adorable carafe of mango and ginger sangria.

Moving North, Brandy's next location was Dolce Italian in the Godfrey Hotel. Here, she was handed a small plate of an amazing gnocchi, which had been dressed with plenty of cheese and crispy panchetta. This plate was one of Brandy's favorites of the day, and she almost contemplated trying to sneak a second one. The cocktail was a traditional, but refreshing, peach bellini.

Next up was Zed451, which Brandy still holds in very high regard as one of the best brunch buffets in town. Here, they had not one, but two cocktails for brunchers to choose from; a mimosa, or a coffee based cocktail called Drink Your Breakfast, which was what Brandy gravitated towards. The rich and creamy flavor was the perfect break from the mostly fruit based drinks of the other locations, and the coffee gave Brandy a much needed boost to get through the final lap of her journey. The bite was a mini Chicken and Waffle, spiced up by a bit of buffalo sauce.

Finally, Brandy traveled south to Hub51. They were presenting a pretty little avocado toast with a touch of mascarpone and radish, along side a Salty Dog, with vodka, grapefruit juice, and rim of black sea salt. The avocado toast was surprisingly light, which made it ideal among some of the more protein themed bites of the day, while the cocktail was made extraordinarily flavorful by the black salt.

Brandy's last stop was River Roast, where she relaxed in the upper bar with a glass of a special punch (made with rye, rum, sherry, champagne, lemon, and best of all, Earl Grey tea) and a beautiful little deviled egg, which had been topped with trout roe for a burst of salty goodness. As she gazed out on the river outside, Brandy smiled to herself. As if getting to try all of the dishes and cocktails hadn't been reward enough, she had also been bestowed with the gift of being able to truly enjoy Chicago on one of the very few beautiful days of the year.

The writers of this blog were invited to attend this event for free by the organizers in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Festival Report: Chicago Gourmet 2014

Being as old as Brandy is, it's hard for her to remember a lot of things in full detail, but one thing she is reminded of every year is what it's like to be a child at Christmas.  The anticipation the night before, the surge of excitement when the morning finally dawns, the joy at the sight of all the presents under a sparkling tree, all of this Brandy experiences in late summer every year when the Chicago Gourmet festival is upon us.  "Yes, it is foodie Christmas," Brandy fondly sighs, "From June when the tickets go on sale to that glorious weekend in September I feel just like I felt when I was a child in the lead up to Christmas."

This year's festival promised to be the most extravagant ever with plenty of star power to boot.  Chicago icons like Rick Bayless, Graham Elliot, and Stephanie Izard as well as national super stars like Carla Hall, Spike Mendelsohn, and Masaharu Morimoto and so many others were all present for demos, book signings, and tastings.  "The difference between this and a music festival is the simple fact that people can interact with their favorite stars here in a more personal and direct way," Brandy observed, "These chefs are here to give their food, like a gift, to the masses, not show off.  Perhaps that's why there seem to be no egos among even the most accomplished chefs.  Everyone is happy to shake hands, sign autographs, and talk food no matter how many James Beard Awards they have under their belts!"

After the inaugural toast made by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Brandy took a minute to bask in the beautiful weather before diving in head first to the tasting pavilions, gathering up as many bites as she could before the change over at 3:00.  There were surprising amounts of the same sorts of things (lots of sliders, several octopus dishes, and on the sweet side at least five different kinds of donuts), but plenty of restaurants and chefs easily stood out in the crowd.  Lines at the Supreme Lobster Pavilion were as long as ever, but the new BBQ Pavilion also got it's share of attention.

As always seems to happen, Brandy found favorites right away.  Jared Van Camp brought Leghorn's famous Hot Chicken Sandwich, which was a pretty substantial portion of fried chicken breast on a soft house made bun with shaved vegetable slaw and just a touch of hot sauce.  Paul Fehribach from Big Jones showcased an end of summer bisque made of eggplant and pecans, served chilled with poached shrimp and wax beans, which made for a nice change from the usual fall flavored squash soups others were serving, though Jon Keeley of Gemini Bistro and Rustic House had a pretty tasty butternut squash soup with pumpkin seeds and bacon lardons.  Jimmy Bannos Sr. of Heaven on Seven and The Purple Pig had a Creole chicken and cheesy grits that Brandy would have happily eaten a full sized plate of, and in the same pavilion, Stetson's Modern Steak and Sushi had an amazing cup of fall vegetables with mandarin orange, roasted fig, goat cheese, spiced pear puree.  There was an over abundance of seafood dishes, but Brandy's favorite among the crowd was the lobster mango roll from Jellyfish, which was not only tasty, but one of the prettiest dishes there.

Dessert seemed to have a particular emphasis this year, as Brandy was very pleased to see.  Donuts were at the forefront, with Glazed and Infused bringing a goat cheese and red wine glazed cake donut, Firecakes giving attendees the choice between a vanilla, chocolate, and "almond joy" flavored, custard filled yeast donuts, and Stan's Donuts stealing the spotlight with their Chicago Mix donut, which was topped with caramel corn and filled with a cheddar cream.  "Not sure how I feel about this one," Brandy said, studying the neon orange interior of the pastry, "But it certainly is unique!"  Other sweet favorites included Bistronomic's version of a Kit Kat bar, composed of feuilletine, chocolate hazelnut ganache, and served with orange Grand Marnier sauce and The Langham's pistachio and cherry tart, which was a such an intricate dessert that the station displayed one of the desserts cut in half to show all of the layers inside.  Another major crowd favorite was surprisingly from Francesca's Restaurants, which brought a sweet corn butterscotch bread pudding with blueberries, caramel corn, and vanilla ice cream.

Even though the amount of wine in the main festival was overwhelming as always, Brandy made a major effort to visit the Grand Cru this year, the showcase for international wineries that often invites the best chefs at the festival to create small dishes that pair perfectly with the wine.  While Brandy may not be the most sophisticated wine drinker (she pretty much just worked her way through the lines, holding out her wine glass for a pour, and then moving on) she was pleased to see chefs like Stephanie Izard and Andrew Zimmerman were hurriedly feeding the crowds themselves at the back of the space.  Brandy's favorite among the group were Tony Mantuano and Chris Marchino from Spiaggia, who served pickled black mission figs with Castelmagno cheese, ‘nduja sausage and fennel.

Next, Brandy jumped over the Bon Appetite Mainstage to take in a chef demo or two.  She caught the very end of Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto's demo, in which he showed off his knife skills by breaking down a gigantic fish (as well as singing) in front of the crowd.  After that, Carla Hall (from Top Chef and The Chew) made a cheddar cheese and apple pie, proving to be just as quirky and lovable live as she is on television.  After that came Jeff Mauro, otherwise known as The Sandwich King, whose comedy training came out while he prepared rustic Italian favorites, even inviting his son to come up and help with the dish's prep.

Finally, Brandy took one more turn around the tasting pavilions (and as many of the cocktail tents that would serve her).  Davanti Enoteca smartly pandered to the crowds a little bit by serving the ever so fashionable cheese, burrata, with stone fruits, microgreen basil, and saba and RL Restaurant had a very simple yet classic Crab Louis with avocado.  Three of Brandy's brunch favorites made the list of standouts: ZED451 which brought their signature stuffed pepperdous as well as a steak tartar, Koi had a cold noodle and peanut salad sweetly served in a take out container, and Nana, who had one of the most unique dishes at the festival, which was a fried Mexican pasta topped with a farm raised shrimp (they were so proud of the shrimp, in fact, that they had a live one in a tank at the station and gladly told anyone who would listen about their partnership with The Salty Prawn), avocado, and sweet corn.  720 South Bar and Grill brought a lobster salad on a sweet corn macaroon, which Brandy loved as it straddled the line between sweet and savory.  Lastly, Brandy finished off with a fall vegetable terrine from Café des Architectes at the Sofitel made with red pepper, eggplant, yellow and green zucchini, topped with house-made goat cheese and pepperone.

As per usual, Brandy had to be practically torn away from the gates as the fesitval closed down for the night.  "And now the worst time of the year," Brandy whimpered as she waddled her way to the bus, "The longest possible wait until next's year's Chicago Gourmet Festival."  Brandy may have even started to weep from despair if it wasn't for the fact that she fell into a deep slumber the moment she sat down on the bus, only awaking just in time for her stop when her knitting needles fell from her hands.

Remember to check Bunny and Brandy's Facebook page for even more delectable pictures, and check out this piece from Time Out Chicago, where the writers behind Bunny and Brandy talk about their favorite fall flavors from this year's festival.

The writers of this blog were invited to attend this festival at no charge in exchange for an honest recap of the events.

ZED451 or The Bounty of the Harvest

The Slow and Savory Review

Brandy has survived a lot of things in her life.  At one time in her life, avalanches, earthquakes, train derailments, jumping out of planes, off of buildings, and into canyons were all just a rather mundane part of her day.  But in recent years, she has found herself winding down some and being more content with a good book and a cup of tea as opposed to unexpected adventure.  "I leave the globe trotting to Bunny now," as she says, "She grew up in a convent in Devonshire, so she got a late start in adventuring, but now that she's accompanying Benedict on his archaeology trips, she's getting a good taste of what I already had.  I was born into adventure.  Quite honestly, I was.  My mother went into labor while skiing down the side of a mountain!"

These were the types of stories Brandy was relating to a new friend, one Mr. Bari Bronzo, a muscle bound former personal trainer whom she had met recently at a charity cocktail party.  Mr. Bronzo was just beginning to find an interest in "extreme traveling" and someone had suggested he talk to Brandy about her extraordinary skill in lackadaisically surviving life's little surprises.  "But how do you keep your self prepared for the worst?" Bari asked Brandy.  "Always have a good brunch, of course!" she laughed, "That way you've had a good meal in your stomach that can last through almost anything."  Bari seemed to find this advice amusing, so Brandy challenged him.  "Alright, Mr. Know It All!  You come to brunch with me and I'll show you exactly what I mean!  I have the perfect place in mind too.  ZED451 is infamous for a very indulgent brunch buffet, so if you can make it through that, then you can make it through almost anything!"  "You're on, lady!" Bari responded.

The inside of ZED451 was truly astounding, not just because everything was so polished and pretty, but the actual expanse of the 18,000 space was simply breath taking.  On the ground floor there was a chic lounge with a fire place (fire, Brandy was told, was a major theme for ZED), comfy furniture, and a huge projection wall for showing sports on, as well as a beautiful, intimate wine closet that could easily host a small party of viticulturists for some tastings and sippings while they admired the selection all around them, not to mention toying with the interactive wine glass chandelier.  Upstairs, there was the gorgeous rooftop, complete with it's own bar, which not only gave patrons a stunning view of River North, but also housed a fascinating sky light into the main dining room, which at night would send a warm glow up and out onto the roof.  "Such a pretty spot!" Brandy exclaimed, "I'd be tempted to say that I'd come up here for drinks even in the dead of winter."  "Don't think you'd survive if you came up here during a winter like last year," said Bari, who was admiring some of the foliage.  "I might if  had enough drinks in me," Brandy mumbled.  Also upstairs were several gorgeous event spaces, perfect for small private gatherings, or even full wedding services, complete with ceremony and reception.  Back downstairs was the main dining area, which was already in the full swing of brunch service when Brandy and Bari took their seats.

First, they both started off with a glass of the Ginger Bourbon Lemonade.  The lemonade was actually a staple of the menu at ZED, though the flavors infused into the bourbon differed from season to season.  One sip of this refreshing, zingy concoction and Brandy was in love.  "Goodness knows I'm not a huge fan of summer, but I'll be damned if tasting this liquid sunshine doesn't make me a little sad to see it go," Brandy sighed, and the somewhat stone faced Bari agreed.

For the first portion of their meal, Brandy and Bari were set loose among the Harvest Tables, which consisted of several segmented curved buffets surrounding a huge circular fire pit, each of which was loaded with plates of salads, cheeses, sliced meats, desserts, and a few hot dishes. Brandy's favorites among the salads were the Sauteed Mushrooms, which were nicely rich and earthy, the Kale and Quinoa Salad, which had a nice nuttiness to it, and the Brussel Sprout Caesar, which was crisp and fresh tasting.  Bari loved the charcuterie table, which was beautifully dressed with a multitude of cheeses, sliced meats, pickles, olives, and other accompaniments.  "I could live on this spicy stuff," Bari said, brandishing a roll of meat at Brandy, "Protein is the key to a filling meal, after all."  The hot dishes on the harvest tables were favorites for both Brandy and Bari: the Vanilla Scented Oatmeal was creamy and hearty, the Duck Fat Home Fries were decedent, and the Panatone French Toast was eggy and full of fun textures.

Then the "sides" started arriving at the table.  These consisted of a few hot dishes brought directly from the kitchen.  The Tomato Basil Fritata was herbaceous and fluffy, while the Cinnamon Rolls envied Ann Sather's in both size and flavor (Brandy was so overwhelmed by food that she resorted to digging into the doughy center of her cinnamon roll to enjoy the best part of it's raisiny goodness).  But the true star was the Maple Cajun Bacon,  This, we assure you, was not your average side of bacon; this bacon was thick cut (hand cut, in fact, by the chef every day), coated in a secret Cajun spice blend, then doused in maple syrup, and served to crispy perfection in a cast iron pan.  Brandy and Bari stopped mid conversation as they both put that bacon to their lips and did not speak again until the entire pan was empty.  "That," Brandy breathed at last, "Was the single best piece of bacon I've ever eaten." she said, "It was smokey, meaty, salty, sweet, spicy... everything was just so perfect!"  Bari nodded in agreement.  "I might be ruined on bacon forever after that," he said, starring at the empty pan forlornly.

No with a taste for meat on their lips, Brandy and Bari moved onto the next phase of their brunch by taking two black stones from a small silver plate in the middle of the table and placing them in front of their plates.  This signaled to the multitude of white coated chefs circling the room to begin bringing over the proteins.  Huge chunks of meat of spits were brought to the table and carved before their very eyes: juicy Maple Bourbon Glazed Ham, succulent Buttermilk Herbed Bottom Sirloin, Roasted Turkey breast with Cranberry sauce, and Citrus Dusted Salmon all made their rounds to the table, leaving Brandy and Bari practically gasping for breath between each bite.  Two of the more original offerings were the Chicken and Waffles, a small version of the Southern favorite with a piece of barbecued chicken and a cornmeal waffle, and the Crab Cake Benedict, which made for a lovely little two bite delight.

Lastly, Brandy and Bari pried themselves away from the their seats to indulge in some of the desserts on the harvest tables.  Along with a beautiful spread of fruits and fresh yogurt, some less health options presented themselves.  There was a delightfully fudgy Brownie, a rich and indulgent Strawberry Cheesecake, a surprisingly light Red Velvet Cupcake, and a bright and lovely Lemon Lime Tart.  "I don't think I can take much more of this.  I mean physically," Bari moaned.  "I'm feeling just fine.  In fact, I might ask for some more of that bacon," Brandy said, to which Bari responded, "Ok, maybe I can make room."

ZED451 was most certainly one of the most unique brunch experiences Brandy had ever had, and at a very reasonable price of $34 a person, Brandy was sure she'd be having that brunch again.  The food was all beautifully presented, and the uniqueness of the table side protein service was simply stunning.  "Uh... I don't know if I can make it to the train station!" Bari Bronzo groaned. Brandy, gracefully rising from her seat said simply, "Well you're in luck!  ZED has a complimentary shuttle service that will take you anywhere in the downtown area!"  "Yes please," Bari whispered before falling into a deep slumber at the table.  "I probably should have mentioned to him that the key to surviving a brunch like this is to pace yourself on the bourbon lemonade," said Brandy.

The writers of this blog were invited by the restaurant to dine free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

The Short and Sweet Review