Not exactly breaking news, since it hit the streets October 6, but for the record here’s what I’ve been working on for the last month — a feature on the agonizing bureaucratic odyssey of the shared-use Logan Square Kitchen. I have to confess here that when I hit send on the last round of revisions, … Continued
I spent a several weeks this summer hanging around with Sarah Kavage, creator and executor of Industrial Harvest, an elaborate — and supercool — project aimed at sorting out and making manifest the intimate relationship between the commodity futures market, the city of Chicago, and the food we eat. And then I wrote about it, … Continued
I just spent a very long three days at this year’s FamilyFarmed expo, “live blogging” it for the Reader and, g-d help me tweeting it to boot. You can read the results over on the Reader blog, where I weigh in on the sad saga of shared-use kitchens, whole-beast cookery, urban chickens, and bunch of … Continued
My story on anarchist coffeepreneur David Meyers and the nascent Chicago Coffee Confederation is up/out now at/in the Reader. What didn’t make it into the story so much is the larger picture of the Chicory Center philosophy. Meyers’s On-the-Fly Farm is sort of operating at a low simmer right now, but the idea was (and … Continued
Slow Food USA president Josh Viertel kicks off the new soup season at Hull-House on August 25. More, here.
I hear it is back-to-school time out there in the rest of the world, which means it is a good time to plug next week’s Slow Food-sponsored Eat-In at Daley Plaza. Moving kids away from a diet of high-fructose corn syrup and processed meat byproducts would seem to be an a priori go0d, but even if … Continued
I’m on my way out this this morning to interview David Meyers, of Resistance Coffee fame. David is an energetic — and presumably well-caffeinated — anarchist and activist, a lynchpin of Chicago’s growing coffee subculture. His coffee is rich and chocolatey. And, he delivers. I’m hopefully writing something up for the Reader, for a few weeks … Continued
Sula has the scoop. I guess institutional affiliation still counts for something in the press, as Laurino’s office has yet to return my phone call. Interestingly, in a note Mike forwarded me from a Laurino staffer publicist representing Laurino’s office, the resolution is called the “Community Garden Resolution.” Which may prove some sort of point about … Continued
Local food-policy wonks were scratching their heads this weekend at a New York Times report that the City Council has passed a “Green Food Resolution.” The news, it turned out, was premature — the nonbinding resolution, introduced by 39th ward alderman Margaret Laurino — hasn’t passed, it’s just in committee. But its provenance is still sort … Continued
[OK this may be the excuse I need to go check out the Hull-House soup event. I’m just reposting the announcement in full from the Advocates for Urban Agriculture Google group, as they seem to not have updated their web site in a while.] Calling all home preservationists, chefs, and lovers of jam! Summer Jam Off … Continued