The 2nd annual Chicago Tribune Food Bowl, a citywide celebration of food, drink and diversity, kicked off at City Hall restaurant with nearly 300 guests in attendance for the opening night “Collaboration Lab” party on Aug. 13.
Held inside a converted 19th century pipe factory in Fulton Market, the event was presented by Citi and featured tastings from local and international chefs and restaurants, along with the presentation of the Tribune Food & Dining team’s Game Changer Award.
The 18-day festival features more than 100 food and drink-related events around the city with a mix of dinners, parties, panels, pop-ups, demos, tours, cocktail tastings, classes and more. A free, three-day Night Market will be held on the Chicago Riverwalk.
During the opening night, food lovers mingled and enjoyed delicious offerings from Ina Mae Tavern, Frontier, The Swill Inn, Duck Inn Dog, City Hall, Untitled, Stan’s Donuts, Brown Sugar Bakery, Birrieria Zaragoza, Mi Tocaya Antojeria, and Turkitch Kitchen. Libation came from Just Water, Moody Tongue Brewing Company, High West Distillery, Jose Cuervo, and others. DJ Greg Corner provided background music.
The longest lines were for spotlighted Chefs Rosio Sanchez, a Chicago native now cooking at her restaurants Sanchez and Hija de Sanchez in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Diana Dávila, chef/owner at Mi Tocaya Antojeria in Chicago. Dávila served conejo (rabbit) tostadas with huitlacoche (Mexican truffles) and Sanchez offered vegan tostadas with sikil p’ak (Mexican pumpkin seed dip).
Other tastings from various restaurants included blackened cauliflower with alligator sausage, smoked pork belly sliders with Alabama white BBQ sauce, grilled cheese squares with poblano jam and giardiniera aioli, banana pudding, roasted goat tacos, red velvet cake donuts with Oreo crumbles and more.
A short program included remarks from Angus Dillon, co-creator of both the L.A. and Chicago Food Bowls, Colin McMahon of Tribune Publishing and Amy Carr, director of Tribune’s Life + Culture content. Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel presented the coveted Game Changer Award to Chef Erick Williams of Virtue restaurant.
“With his consistent culinary excellence, his outreach to young workers and community commitment and for attracting a national spotlight on the South Side restaurant community, Williams has changed the restaurant game in Chicago and beyond,” Vettel said.
Vettel shared what’s at the heart of CT Food Bowl. “All of the events are designed by the chefs themselves, keeping their neighborhoods, their food and their cultural backgrounds in mind.”
The CT Food Bowl’s charitable partner is Green City Market, a nonprofit that supports small family farmers and increases awareness and access to local, healthy, sustainable food.
Many of the festival’s event participants choose a local charity partner with a portion of their proceeds benefiting The Trotter Project, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago Chapter of Hip Hop is Green, Edna Lewis Foundation, Connections for Abused Women and their Children, James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Leadership Program, Gardeneers, Lakeview Pantry, Plant Chicago and others.
Freelance writer Candace Jordan is involved in many local organizations, including some whose events she covers.
More coverage: Find more photos and events at www.chicagotribune.com/candidcandace. Visit Candid Candace’s website at www.candidcandace.com, or follow her on Twitter @CandidCandace.
