Recap of Chicago Gourmet Hamburger Hop & Fest

It was a prime burger throwdown at Millennium park on Friday night, as the kickoff party to Chicago Gourmet pitted 15 of Chicago's best chefs competing for top burger honors. The event was sponsored by Chicago's very own Allen Brothers, and each chef could choose their own blend of meats and fat ratios to craft their burgers.

Food Network's Jeff Mauro(The Sandwich King) went with a prime 100% chuck grind, 80/20 fat ratio, to craft his crunch cherry pepper griddle burger(a mouthful just to say!). Rockit Bar & Grill's Chef Amanda Downing went with a prime chuck blend to complete her classic Rockit burger with melted brie.

The judges of the Hamburger Hop consisted of some heavy hitters. Graham Elliot, of Chicago and "Master Chef" fame, joined world renowned Chef Hubert Keller and creator of Blue Moon Brewing Keith Villa.

Having tasted every burger offered that night, I knew the judges had a difficult decision, but after the votes were tallied, Scott Walton of Howells & Hood won for his burger topped with kimchi and carrot bacon(mind blown!) Jeff Mauro won the peoples choice award for his burger, and for the record, that was my favorite burger of the night!

I also spent some time at the fest on Saturday drinking some wine, eating some delish samples from area restaurants and attending seminars and demos with local area chefs that were hosted by Bon Appetit's Adam Rapport and Andrew Knowlton.

Below are some pictures, and stay tuned this week for my video recap of the Hamburger Hop featuring interviews with all the talent listed above!

                                        The Winning Burger by Howells & Hood

Getting Ready For the Hamburger Hop at Millennium Park

This weekend is the Chicago Gourmet fest sponsored by Bon Appetit.I will be covering the kickoff party, The Hamburger Hop by Allen Brothers. It boasts some of Chicago's best chefs duking it out to see whose burger reigns supreme! Food Network's Jeff Mauro(The Sandwich King), Rick Gresh and many other chefs will be using Allen Brothers prime meats to make some of the best burgers around. The hardest part is finding room to try all 15 burgers(and beer)!

Graham Elliot will be one of the judges, I will be sure to make all the rounds and ask all those burning burger questions. Hope to see some of you guys throughout the weekend!

For more info on the event:
https://www.eventbrite.com/event/2552641018

Recap of live Cooking Demo & NBC appearance

Thanks to everyone who braved the rain and joined me for my all day cooking demo at the Lakeview East Festival of Arts on Sunday. Even though the weather was not ideal, we still had large crowds who were rewarded with lots of food, drinks, and giveaways! I featured some of the recipes from current episodes of FlavCity, and invited some area restaurants to join me and show how they make some of their signature dishes. Chrissy Camba of Top Chef fame rocked the house to a standing room only crowd, and showed us a spaghetti squash dish that was dynamite! Every demo had delish samples including guacamole and margaritas from Revolucion Steakhouse, Steak tacos from D.S. Tequila, and chocolate espresso waffles from Waffles. Of course I treated everyone to prime grilled steaks from Alleen Brothers, bruschetta alla Toscana, and tomato gazpacho. The feedback was really positive and I had a blast!

I went on NBC 5 Chicago last week to promote the event, and here is my interview along with some pictures from the cooking demo:

 

With Chrissy Camba of Top Chef fame

How Miles & Points Saved Me Thousands On My Trip To Europe Last Month

Last month, I spent three weeks in Italy, Austria, and Bulgaria on vacation and filming FlavCity episodes. As usual, I used miles to book my plane ticket and avoid a hefty peak summer airline ticket! I was able to fly inbound economy and outbound business class, and here is how I did it.

Chicago to Rome: I used 30,000 American Airline miles to fly economy. I booked this ticket well in advance bc this is a popular summer route. I have a nice stock pile of AA miles thanks to the lucrative sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles I got for the personal and business credit cards earlier in the year.

Sofia, Bulgaria to Chicago: I used 50,000 United miles to book a business class ticket using their star alliance partner, Lufthansa, , and boy was that a treat after three weeks of hustle and bustle! United is a transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards, and thanks to a my Ink Bold card, I have lots of these points!

Here are the links to the credit card info:
https://www.chase.com/online/business-credit-cards/ink-bold.htm
I applied for both the personal and business Bold cards, and was approved for both, So that's 100,000 points!

http://www.aa.com/pubcontent/en_US/disclaimers/BP-PLATHV.jsp
While the offer for an American Airlines card is not as good as the 75,000 sign up offer I got a few months back, it's still a nice chunk of miles. I would keep an eye open for a better offer if you're not in a hurry.

As always, these are cards that I am going to use use for everyday expenses anyways, so why not maximize the value I get from them. I understand people are wary of opening accounts but I have been doing for years, and my credit report is very high. I always cancel cards together, bc your credit report will take a minor, temporary hit.

FlavCity Interview on NBC 5 Chicago

Yesterday, I did a taped interview on NBC Chicago to promote the Lakeview East festival of arts & my cooking demo on Sept. 15th. It was short and brief, but always nice to get more experience in front of the camera..any press is good press..right!?

The interview will air tomorrow, Sept. 12th, on the noon news. It also re-airs on the Saturday morning.

Don't forget to come join me this Sunday for my live cooking demo at the fest. There will be lots of yummy samples, area restaurants, and even Top Chef contestant, Chrissy Camba, will join me for a demo!

http://lakevieweastfestivalofthearts.com/cooking-demonstration/

Live Cooking Demo in Chicago this Sunday, the 15th!

The time is almost upon us. I will be cooking and hosting a live demo at the Lakeview East Festival of Arts on Sept. 15th from 11am-4pm. I will be cooking tasty recipes and be joined on stage by some of the areas top restaurants. Bar Pastoral's , Chrissy Cambra, of Top Chef fame, will be joining me at 2:15pm. There will be lots of free samples and maybe even some margaritas from our friends at Revolucion steakhouse!

Here is the fest info. Please come on out and join me for some good times!

http://lakevieweastfestivalofthearts.com/cooking-demonstration/

Cooking Demo, Hamburger Hop, & More!

It's great to be back in Chicago after a 3 week trip in Italy, Vienna, and Bulgaria. Italy continues to amaze me with the food, cities, and beauty every time I go there. Vienna was full of schnitzel, brats, and beer..and some pretty nice museums(I can only take so much of that though!) This was my fourth trip to Bulgaria, and the cuisine is so similar to Greek and Jewish cuisine, there is nothing not to like!

September 15th, I will be be cooking and hosting an all day demo at the east lakeview festival of arts in Chicago at 3300 N. Broadway st. As a resident of the neighborhood, I am thrilled to participate in this event, and what makes it even more special, is my wife will be one of the artists displaying her oil on canvas work at the fest! So please come on down and check it out! http://lakevieweastfestivalofthearts.com/

Later in the month is the Chicago Gourmet food fest at Millennium Park. I will be covering the kickoff party, The Hamburger Hop, and the event is sponsored by Chicago's very own Allen Brothers. Some of the Chicago's best chefs will once again square off to see whose burger reigns supreme.

Here are a couple pics from a food fest I came across in Vienna.