Food

Bongo Room’s 25th Anniversary for the Chicago Tribune

Full disclosure: I worked at the Bongo Room for much of my twenties, and it was one of the best jobs I have ever had. However, that doesn't take away from the incredible feat of the owners, John Latino and Derrick Robles, successfully…
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Crain’s Best New Event Spaces 2018

This was my second year doing the Best New Event Spaces story for Crain's Chicago Business, and it's one of my favorites. It's a beast of a feature, for sure. But I love being able to chat with entrepreneurs about what drives them and how…
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Plate magazine: Misconceptions about Irish food

This story for Plate Magazine is one I've wanted to write for years! It's about all the misconceptions surrounding traditional Irish cuisine. (Spoiler: put down the corned beef and cabbage.) It's always so much fun to speak with chefs…
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Tales of the Cocktail: How to get your bar team on board

For Tales of the Cocktail magazine, I talked to three different beverage directors about how they got their bar teams to get on board with ambitious new programs. They had some really fun ideas! Click here to check it…
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Crain’s Best New Event Spaces 2017

It was such an honor — and so much fun — to work on this feature for Crain's Chicago Business. It's a list of the city's best new event spaces, and it involved visiting so many incredible spaces. Narrowing it down to the strongest,…
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Lucky Peach: We Love Mom

One of my favorite assignments in my entire career — I got to sing the praises of my amazing mom and our New Year's Day goulash tradition for Lucky…
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Plate: Hewn Bakery

I love when I am assigned to cover someone doing something super innovative and cool, like this piece for Plate online. At Hewn Bakery in Evanston, Ill. they've embarked on a three-year project to resurrect heritage grains that haven't…
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Plate: Chefs vs. Critics

One of my favorite food stories that I've done. I talked to both chefs and critics about the changing role of the restaurant reviewer for Plate online. It was fascinating to get so many different points of view, and to dig into the…
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Tasting Table: Bar Snacks

An August 2014 story for Tasting Table on some of the best bar snacks in the country. Considering that the first sip of a cocktail has me calling for a food menu, I was well suited for the…
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Splash: Gardeneers

I love gardening, I love supporting small farms and gardens, and I was once a teacher in an underserved neighborhood. So I was honored to cover Gardeneers, a non-profit organization that's bringing gardens and healthy food into underserved…
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