I remember eating Czernina years ago in Polish restaurants. Czernina, also called Czarnina, is a sweet and sour duck blood soup. It is made with duck blood, poultry broth, vinegar, sugar, and other flavoring ingredients. I also eat blood sausage when I can find it. One of the ultimate blood…

One thing missing downtown for decades was a good, standalone, Mexican restaurant. Broken English Taco Pub on Lake Street, between Wabash and Michigan Avenues, brings Mexican food to the Loop. Unlike Chicago’s traditional Mexican restaurants, the menu is limited to what they do well. Looking at other diners, the tacos…

Blood sausage sounds weird but tastes good. I have been eating it in one form or another for as long as I can remember. Blood sausage is made from animal blood, usually pork, and filling. The filling can be oats, barley, rice, onions, offal, or other local cereals, vegetables, or…

“…so much of life…is about trying to grab and hold memories…” (Rick Kogan/The Maestro/Chicago Tribune Magazine) As we get older we cherish memories. They are our lifeline to our past. This is especially true during holiday seasons. Our grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and others are gone. Cousins are spread across the…

Chicago is a great food town. We have food choices from the four corners of the world. From great steak houses to hole in the wall joints serving just one or two items. When I go out to eat, I only expect three things. No matter if it is a…

Mac and cheese is one of the staple comfort foods. From the Kraft boxed version to the numerous variations of stovetop and baked. It is creamy, cheesy and filling. The basic recipe is cheap eats, as are the boxed versions. Mac and cheese recipes date back to 14th Century Italy….

On Sunday, I had Bloody Mary’s and brunch in a bar owned by a Polish architect. The bartender/waitress was Polish. Later, I wandered through a mega-grocery store and food court owned by Filipino’s. While driving home down one of the city’s main thoroughfares, I saw businesses and restaurants owned by…

Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream? With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream. Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the melting flake Of the creamy, flavoured butter that your mother used to make? Yes you did, so…

My computer fried a few weeks ago. It took some time to get a new one, learn its intricacies, and get back to writing. A friend gave me a bag of Asian ingredients. Her daughter took up Korean cooking, then, switched gears and took up Indian cooking. She had this…

I found an old journal under a pile of books. It was strictly about cooking and food. It was loaded with various quotes, some from long forgotten sources. I thought I would share some of this rambling wisdom. Eating is serious. We eat to live, to survive. We also eat…