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!

Burrito Beach!

As a continuation of my last post, namely the idea of affordable grass fed beef, I have another happy announcement. Walking through the O'Hare airport last night, something caught my eye at Burrito Beach in the foodcourt where the H and K concourses split off. Burrito Beach, a local Chicago (healthier) fast food joint with a mere 7 locations, has teamed up with Bill Kurtis to offer his grass fed Tallgrass beef in one of its burritos: the Barbacoa Burrito, featuring only Tallgrass Beef. In addition, the company will donate a portion of the sales from each Barbacoa Burrito to the Green City Market in Chicago's Lincoln Park. And the price of all this? $6.79. Burrito Beach is partly advertising this as the next step in healthier options, emphasizing, for instance, that grass fed beef has as many as 100 fewer calories as the same portion of traditionally raised beef and lower saturated fat and cholesterol. I didn't happen to have one but hope to on one flight soon. (But note that Burrito Beach has only committed to carrying the Barbacoa Burrito through the end of the year -- so it may ultimately only be sold for about 2 1/2 months).

UPDATE: OK, today I finally got my hands on one of these and while I don't want to discourage people supporting grass fed beef, I don't want anyone to get their hopes up without reason either. The burrito was very mediocre. Worth a try if you have nothing better to eat.....