@chitribfood
Explore variety of Indian vegetarian recipes from authentic South Indian recipes to North Indian dishes, global cuisine and eggless baking. Enjoy healthy, restaurant style recipes with easy step-by-step pictures, videos to make cooking fun and effortless.
197
Posts
Farmers markets are a dazzling display of America’s heartland year-round, but they shine especially during the summer months, when locals leisurely stroll the grounds, filling tote bags with just-plucked produce, enjoying live tunes and meeting the hardworking people behind the booths. Now, those folks are inviting us to come to them, opening their dining rooms and barn doors for immersive, communal feasts that offer what we crave most: connection to the land and each other. Discovery drives it all — seasonal menus from the region’s best chefs, a road trip in sight, and the chance to make a weekend of it, enjoying these towns in late summer splendor. The fact that many of the events champion charitable causes only has us packing our bags faster. From community burger nights to multicourse meals, here are the best farm dinners to travel for — plus, where to post up, post-meal. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: People relax while having a Summer Supper in a greenhouse at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan on Aug. 7, 2025. Photo 2: Executive chef Alex Skrzypczyk prepares individual portions of cream cheese mousse with toasted almond meringue and berries. Photo 3: Slow-baked salmon with buttered cabbage, sweet corn, and dill oil. Photo 4: Guests tour the farm prior to their Summer Supper. Photo 5: General manager Anna Rafalski and sous chef Jason Garland, right, add coarse salt to family-style platters of the season's first tomatoes with peaches and kale pesto. ? Nicole Schnitzler / for the Chicago Tribune ?️ Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
Gen Z is an easy target. Born between 1997 and 2012, they’ve been blamed for everything from the downfall of skinny jeans to the end of basic phone etiquette. And now, if headlines are to be believed, they’re destroying the wine industry too. Health-conscious, sober-curious and strapped for cash, they say, Gen Z barely drinks. And if they, do, they’re skipping wine in favor of hard seltzers, cocktails or cannabis infusions. But is Gen Z truly to blame for wine’s decline? Or are they simply the most visible face of a broader cultural shift? Statistics about Gen Z, wine and alcohol are murkier than headlines suggest. Much attention has been paid to reports that young adults drink less alcohol than older generations. However, recent data from drinks industry research group IWSR suggests Gen Z is catching up. What’s clear is that alcohol consumption overall is trending downward, especially when it comes to wine. In 2024, global wine consumption fell to its lowest level in more than 60 years. Moderation in alcohol has become a cross-generational trend and Gen Z (currently aged 13-28) is coming of age in an increasingly different drinking culture than their parents or grandparents. “It may not be that Gen Z is drinking less,” says Ting Ting Shi, 25, a sommelier at Miru, the Japanese restaurant at the St. Regis Chicago. “But they’re probably drinking less often,” she says. For a lot of younger people, drinking tends to be more intentional than habitual, she describes. It’s more likely to be focused on specific occasions, she explains, a Friday night out, for instance, rather than a routine glass of wine with dinner or beer after work each night. And for many Gen Z drinkers, wine isn’t an obvious choice yet. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo: Ting Ting Shi, center, the sommelier at Miru, talks to diners on the restaurant’s terrace on July 23, 2025. ? Anna Lee Iijima / for the Chicago Tribune ?️ Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
Elawa Farm, a historic former country escape built by a couple with a meatpacking fortune, has evolved into a foundation with an ethereal cafe, elegant market and earnest mission. The Cafe at Elawa Farm opened last October in Lake Forest, the fabled North Shore suburb 30 miles or so from Chicago. It is, in fact, a cozy place for breakfast or lunch with delicious pastries and coffee in an extremely lovely setting. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: The gardens at Elawa Farm Foundation on Aug. 8, 2025, in Lake Forest. Photo 2: The mushroom ragu pasta. Photo 3: People walk past the Cafe at Elawa. Photo 4: The gluten free blueberry lemon doughnut. Photo 5: People shop in the Elawa Market. Photo 6: Chef Lee Kuebler. ? Louisa Kung Liu Chu / Chicago Tribune ?️ Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune / @WescottImages
Imagine this: It is late afternoon. Rather than returning home from the series of errands you ran throughout the day to prepare for dinner or a late night dancing to techno in an underground bar, your main social event of the day has already begun. A rising DJ with an ever-growing social media following is playing a mix of contemporary R&B and underground Afrobeats. Millennials are commingling with Gen Xers and Gen Zers as the packed room overflows onto the street. And instead of sipping a gin and tonic or a beer, you’re drinking a coffee by Tizoc red de Totutla from Puebla, Mexico. The nightclub scene is not dead. It’s just been transformed into something different. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: Diego Ramirez, left, and Bianca Silva, listen as DJ JMT performs at Drip Collective (@drip.collectivechi) in the West Loop on June 28, 2025. Photo 2: DJ JMT performs. Photo 3: Denine Johnson, right, and her daughters, Raiylah, left, and Daijeline Johnson, of Southfield, Michigan, dance to DJ JMT while they wait in line. Photo 4: Customers chat while DJ JMT performs. Photo 5: Drip Collective in the West Loop. ? Britt Julious / for the Chicago Tribune ?️ Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune / @emeslar
Cerdito Muerto, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar with a contemporary Mexican American kitchen that’s transformed an old family home that survived the Great Chicago Fire, opened in Pilsen on June 26. The name translates in Spanish to “the dead piglet,” but is meant in a playful way, said Emidio Oceguera, owner of the debut business. “Being a first-generation Mexican American son of farmers and ranchers, pigs and piglets are pretty endearing in our culture,” said Oceguera. The space was his mother Consuelo Oceguera’s restaurant, Tacos Palacio, and his late father Miguel Oceguera’s neighborhood pool hall. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: Cerdito Muerto (@cerditomuertochicago) owner Emidio Oceguera at his new contemporary Mexican American cocktail bar in Pilsen on July 30, 2025. Photo 2: Guillermo’s paloma. Photo 3: Potato flautas, made with avocado and Valle Alto queso. Photo 4: The exterior of Cerdito Muerto in Pilsen. Photo 5: Piña Colada Güera. ? Louisa Kung Liu Chu / Chicago Tribune ?️ Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
While festivalgoers swarmed Grant Park over four days at Lollapalooza and artists graced the stages, caterers behind the scenes set up their extensive lineup of gourmet VIP meals to feed the performers and their crews each day. But a lot of that food goes to waste, said Maria Brunner, founder of Musically Fed, a national nonprofit that partners with the music industry to fight food insecurity. “Right now, as we speak, 20 hotel pans are being taken to Centro Romero — there’s some chicken and some sides,” Brunner said last week. “And the interesting thing about outlets like this is they’ll double it. They’ll use magic to turn it into a lot of food.” During Lollapalooza, Musically Fed and its volunteer team were on-site each day to collect, organize and distribute unused food to organizations supporting unhoused individuals, veterans, women in crisis and low-income families — including Centro Romero, Deborah’s Place, Pacific Garden Mission, Care For Real and Lincoln Park Community Services. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: Ravinia Williams, left, a manager at Deborah's Place, watches as volunteers from Musically Fed drop off uneaten food, originally provided to musicians and crews at the Lollapalooza festival, on July 31, 2025, at a Deborah's Place supportive housing facility near Chicago’s Lincoln Park. Photo 2: Musically Fed volunteers Kat Nutter, from left, Lauren Nutter, Hunter Adams and John Hozack bring uneaten food to Deborah's Place. ? Zareen Syed / Chicago Tribune ?️ Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita, the newest Mexican restaurant by the first family of pork in Chicago, brings 50 years of tradition and transformation to a flagship committed to the community in Little Village. Inocencio Carbajal opened the original Carnitas Uruapan in 1975 with his wife, Abigail Carbajal, in Pilsen. While El Güero, as the family patriarch is known in the neighborhood, a nickname for his fair skin and green eyes, still roams the dining rooms, his son now runs the family business built on carnitas, and hospitality just as tender. Marcos Carbajal, a former banker and second-generation owner of the enterprise, expanded with a second location in Gage Park in 2019. They celebrated the grand opening of the third and largest restaurant in January. Carbajal was named a James Beard Awards semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur this year. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: The carnitas "Especial" meal at Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita restaurant, 3801 W. 26th St., Chicago, on July 24, 2025. Photo 2: Cheese corundas. Photo 3: Inocencio Carbajal, founder of Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita. Photo 4: The complimentary chicharrón and salsas. Photo 5: The Gansito paleta. ? Louisa Kung Liu Chu / Chicago Tribune ?️ Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
The origin story behind the ice cream sundae comes swirled with mystery, history, as well as chocolate and even a cherry on top. Whatever the story, the ice cream sundae lives on, with old-fashioned chocolate and cherry, which you can find at Margie’s Candies with lots of whipped cream, of course, to more modern creations made by top chefs around Chicago. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: The seasonal sundae with salted vanilla gelato, blueberry sorbet, cornbread toffee and buttermilk caramel at Void (@void_chicago) in the Avondale neighborhood. Photo 2: The Dark Chocolate Citrus Sundae at Monteverde Restaurant and Pastificio (@monteverdechi) on July 8, 2025. Photo 3: The Dubai sundae at Karak Café (@karakcafe_illinois) in Lisle is seen on July 17, 2025. The ice cream dessert features scoops of vanilla drizzled with chocolate and pistachio cream. ? Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Kayla Samoy, Ahmed Ali Akbar, Zareen Syed and Lauryn Azu / Chicago Tribune ?️ Brian Cassella, E. Jason Wambsgans and Zareen Syed / Chicago Tribune / @briancassella and @ejwamb
Owners of the queer and women-owned Artis Restaurant and Lounge in Chicago’s River North neighborhood said the decision to reopen or shut down for good following a mass shooting outside its doors earlier this month had nothing to do with public pressure or political hostility. “I’m a mom and I’m a wife, and this is the second time that I have dodged gunfire this year,” said Brandi Artis, chef and co-owner of Artis. While Brandi and her wife, Brittany Artis, were on vacation in Puerto Rico earlier this year, she said they had to run and take cover from shots fired while out at a dinner. “I got to go home to my kids twice this year. I couldn’t have been that lucky.” The Creole restaurant was temporarily closed after the July 2 shooting that Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling described as a moment of sheer horror. According to police reports, a dark vehicle drove past Artis at 311 W. Chicago Ave. at about 11 p.m. during an album release party for local drill rapper Mello Buckzz. Three people inside the car fired shots into a crowd on the sidewalk, police said. The car fled the scene, but the attackers shot 18 people in just a few seconds, killing four. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: Pedestrians pass Artis Restaurant and Lounge, in the morning hours, July 3, 2025, after a drive-by mass shooting that killed four people and wounded 14 in Chicago. Photo 2: A notice indicates that Artis Restaurant and Lounge, 311 W. Chicago Avenue in Chicago, has been ordered closed by the police superintendent, July 3, 2025, after a mass shooting. ? Zareen Syed / Chicago Tribune ?️ Audrey Richardson and Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
Mustard on deep dish? Bizarre. Does it work? Apparently, yes, according to the good folks at Portillo’s and Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, who are teaming up for a new crosstown collaboration: The Chicago Dog Deep Dish. “At least we didn’t put ketchup on a Chicago-style hot dog!” said Katie Maldonado, a Lou Malnati’s representative. “We knew this would raise eyebrows, but we were committed to staying authentic to the Chicago dog experience and that means mustard.” The pizza will be available for 30 days (or while supplies last) at Lou Malnati’s full-service restaurants in the Chicago area, Milwaukee and Arizona, and can be ordered for dine-in, carryout or delivery. The pizza, which is only available in the small deep-dish size, will not be available at carryout-only locations. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: Chicago Dog Deep Dish pizzas are served during an event by Lou Malnati’s and Portillo’s to celebrate National Hot Dog Day, July 16, 2025, at the Lou Malnati’s in the Gold Coast neighborhood. The pizza features mozzarella cheese, canned plum tomatoes, fresh diced tomatoes, mustard, relish, Portillo’s hot dogs, sport peppers, white onions and celery salt. Photo 2: Mike Szorc, of Norwood Park, tries a free slice of Chicago Dog Deep Dish pizza during an event by Lou Malnati’s and Portillo’s to celebrate National Hot Dog Day, July 16, 2025, at Lou Malnati’s in the Gold Coast neighborhood. After trying a piece Szorc bought more to take home. “I thought it was outstanding,” he said. “An original Chicago thing to put on a pizza.” ? Zareen Syed / Chicago Tribune ?️ Dominic Di Palermo / Chicago Tribune
Mahari (@mahari_restaurant) brings not just the vibrant cuisines of the African diaspora to Chicago, but chefs tracing their cultures and blazing their own paths, writes Tribune restaurant critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu. Executive chef Rahim Muhammad owns the restaurant in Hyde Park, the neighborhood where he was born, with his mother, Shawn Muhammad. Mama Shawn, as everyone calls her, is a chef as well who does all their desserts, he said. The restaurant’s name held meaning in their family long before they opened in January. It can be translated as “gift” in the Swahili language, Rahim Muhammad said, and it’s also his oldest daughter’s middle name. “We wanted to find one word that encompasses the beauty behind it,” he said. “And it was Mahari.” The restaurant has become an escape from the everyday, where “people feel like they’re on a retreat somewhere,” Muhammad said. A woven grass ceiling over the main dining room with warm-hued tiled tables enhances that feeling. “It’s a very homey place,” said the chef, who was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Because a lot of us have a strong representation in Southern hospitality.” It feels very exotic, he added, and communal too. I felt the power of community during my two visits, writes Louisa Kung Liu Chu. I can’t tell you how many times I witnessed friends surprised to find one another, from younger groups standing at the back bar at brunch to older diners seated for dinner. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: The sambusa trio, filled with spicy beef, pulled chicken or fine lentils, at Mahari. Photo 2: Salmon cala fritters. Photo 3: Executive chef/owner Rahim Muhammad and his mother/co-owner, Shawn Muhammad, at Mahari in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago on July 9, 2025. Photo 4: The prawn and polenta dish. Photo 5: Mahari's French toast flambé. Photo 6: Beverage director Lisa Brown at Mahari. Photo 7: The dining room at Mahari Photo 8: Executive chef/owner Rahim Muhammad in the kitchen of Mahari, in Hyde Park, on July 9, 2025. ? Louisa Kung Liu Chu / Chicago Tribune / @louisachu1 ?️ E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
It’s the lunch rush on a busy Wednesday at Dengeos in suburban Skokie. The restaurant’s menu reads like the guest list for a party dedicated to fans of Chicago greasy spoons — mustardy hot dogs, Italian beefs, Polish sausages and mostaccioli abound. And, of course, gyros. Dengeos is a Greek restaurant first and foremost, and it’s been serving up the yogurty, salty pita pockets since 1972. Behind the counter, between the shuffle of cooks and kitchen staff, Dengeos owner Nick Theodosis shows off the key to the joint’s long-running success: three large machines, each with its own cone of rotating, sizzling gyro meat. “These are the autodoners,” said Theodosis. “And this,” he picked up a device that looked like a handheld Dyson fan, “is called the Wizard. It shaves the gyro paper thin.” In 1974 and 1975, only a few years after Dengeos first opened, two Chicago-based companies, Grecian Delights and Kronos Foods, began mass-producing the world’s first hydraulically pressed gyro cones. This modern marvel of rotisserie meat allowed for a more consistent, and therefore easier-to-sell, product. Eventually, the two companies merged in 2020, but in the years prior, they helped turn an ancient dish (some estimate the cooking techniques behind the gyro could be at least 2,000 years old) into a fast-casual staple, one that launched as many Dengeos-style Greek eateries as Helen launched ships from Troy. Tap on our bio link to read more. ----- Photo 1: The gyro sandwich at Dengeos in Skokie. Photo 2: Line cook Juan Salas shaves gyro meat off its cone at Dengeos. Photo 3: A gyro sandwich is prepared. ? Charlie Kolodziej / for the Chicago Tribune ?️ Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
Discover More Creators
@saveurmag
SAVEUR is an independently owned media company specializing ...
@edgemedianetwork
EDGE is the largest network of local Lesbian, Gay Bisexual a...
@getahugco
Welcome to our whimsical world of joy and imagination, where...
@raisingprimalbabiesandbeasts
Hi, I’m Bianca, the voice behind Raising Primal Babies and...
@brownsvillecic
The Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC) is ...