Prarie Fire & Taxim (Eating Well in Chicago)

In the past I've tried to spotlight places that serve grassfed beef or go out of their way to focus on local produce and pastured meat (such as Burrito Beach's Tallgrass beef burrito and DMK Burger Bar). I've neglected to write about one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago (Taxim) and a pretty new restaurant near downtown (Prairie Fire).

Taxim is a (gourmet) Greek restaurant in the Bucktown/Wicker Park area of Chicago. It is on Milwaukee right by the North/Milwaukee/Damen ("Six Corners") intersection. Everything at Taxim is homemade. They make their own pita bread for their homemade chickpea and eggplant dips, their own phyllo dough for their version of spanakopita (it's made with leeks and dill instead of spinach and it's quite literally amazing), and so on. They source their vegetables locally as well as their meat -- local farm-raised chicken, lamb from Mint Creek, and so forth. The menu also features plenty of vegetarian and seafood dishes (without question the best octopus dish I've ever had in my life). They also feature a 100% Greek wine list. I have been there many times and consistently love it. Numerous people I've taken there have said it is among the best meals they've had in Chicago. They also feature different size courses (small, medium and large) so if you're in the mood to try a bunch of different things they're already set up for that. Definitely check it out! (And invite me!)

Newly opened Prairie Fire is the sister restaurant to Praire Grass in Northbrook. The West Loop restaurant near Clinton and Lake focuses on comfort food but uses only local, seasonal ingredients. They feature dishes using Bill Kurtis' Tallgrass beef, Mint Creek's lamb, etc. (I'm a big fan of both and have previously written about Tallgrass here, here, here and here, and Mint Creek here and here.) Vegetables are from local farms and taste like it. I've been a couple times. The first time I had the "#1 Sirloin Burger" which had a thick amish blue cheese crust on top of a good size grassfed beef patty with no bun. It was good. The second time I split two dishes: the moussaka with Mint Creek Farms lamb and the phyllo strudel with spinach and feta. I thought the moussaka was just OK and the phyllo strudel didn't do it for me at all. Then again I had a cold so perhaps my taste buds were less than perfect. I can say their desserts all look amazing. I've had their homemade cookies with homemade ice cream and it is hard to eat either anywhere again as nothing compares. They also have a small but interesting cocktail list using local liquors and other very interesting ingredients (I have yet to try any though). But regardless of some of my hesitations, many people I've talked to who have dined here really like it and I commend them for what they are trying to do. Maybe they haven't quite got it all right yet, but I think they're on their way. (Right now they are also participating in Chef's Week.)

If anyone has tried any new restaurants that make an effort to feature local produce or animal products, I'd love to hear about them here. Please leave a comment or get in touch with me and write a guest post!

Goat Stew

After eating fully vegetarian meals since going to the farmers market (not all vegan as I enjoyed some of Saxon Homestead Creamery's amazing green fields cheese -- you can taste the grass!) I had to try some of the meat I bought from Mint Creek Farm.  I made some goat stew with Mint Creek's goat kabob meat.  This is a very cheap cut and reminded me that those who complain of grass fed meat's prohibitive cost should consider that those who can't afford a filet from a grass fed steer don't need to buy a filet from a corn fed steer -- they could buy the cheaper cuts which, prepared properly, are in my opinion sometimes better.  The meat was certainly "gamey" and I do believe I could taste the grass.  Michael Pollan meets a farmer who raises cattle, pigs and chickens in the Omnivore's Dilemma who calls himself a grass farmer.  Healthy grass is the key to it all.  Well Mint Creek seems to agree.  What's the first thing they discuss on their website?  Nothing short of the types of grasses on their fields that their sheep and goats are eating.  There's no discussion here of marbeling, tenderness, cheap prices, or other descriptions of the end product (the butchered meat in your fridge or freezer).  Instead Mint Creek discusses the individual types of grasses their animals eat, and mentions what this means: simply healthy animals.  From that the rest follows.

I have to say that my mood and energy levels have been up and I noticed it considerably throughout this holiday weekend.  While there may be other explanations, I am so far convinced that eating some meat is the right move.

I perhaps prematurely defrosted the lamb kidney so I'm going to have to find a good recipe for that and freeze the finished product.

Farmer's Market!

One of the best things about summer is the farmer's markets.  Most of the Chicago neighborhood farmers markets have not started yet (they will open in early June), but some of the ones downtown and a few others have been open for weeks now.  I went to the one at the Daley Center on Thursday and was a bit disappointed as I remembered that the ones downtown are often more fairs then farmer's markets (ad of course you have to be pretty strategic about what you buy).  Today I hit up a little market off Armitage just east of Halsted, and then the mega Green City Market.  I'm embarrassed to say this was my first time at the Green City Market.  It's on Clark just north of North Ave.  GCM is huge with a tremendous variety, including all the grass fed and pastured dairy, eggs and meat you can imagine.  I walked away with two types of raw cheeses from Saxon Homestead Creamery (these are full milk fat from grass fed cows -- you can't get more authentic than this), goat meat, lamb kidney, lamb liver and lamb chorizo sausage from Mint Creek Farm (all totally free range grass fed) and turkey drumsticks from T.J.'s Free Range Poultry (completely pasture raised).  (I realize not everyone finds the thought of organ meat apetizing, but it is believed to be extremely healthy for human consumption -- something I'll talk more about another time.)  Mint Creek and T.J.'s also sell eggs from pasture-raised chickens and other vendors were selling milk from grass-fed cows (sadly it was all pasteurized but it's illegal otherwise).  I also picked up some amazing foraged mushrooms, farm-made pasta sauce, and some veggies.  

The meat was all frozen, which in some ways was unfortunate, but the only way to be able to buy any type of meat any time of year is to buy it frozen or to buy it from around the world.  Of course this is local, seasonal eating.  Asparagas was all the rage with things like tomatoes (that don't get going until later in the season) hard to come by (and not very good looking when you saw them).  

One of the things I was surprised to learn recently is that just like vegetables are seasonal, so are animals.  Farmers only slaughter certain animals certain times a year -- due to the times when they are born and then reach proper size and maturity for slaughter.  So if you want fresh chicken all year round, it can come from down the street when chickens are "in season" but 6 months later they will be coming from New Zealand.  So the freezer may be a decent compromise.  

I'm really looking forward to checking out the Green City Market in the future and exploring the neighborhood farmers markets as they begin to open over the next few weeks.