Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
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During a fl eeting six-to-eight-week season each autumn, coveted white truffl es from the Italian town of Alba make their way onto the menus of the city's most discerning dining destinations. At River West's Piccolo Sogno, chef Tony Priolo has grand plans to serve them two ways: by shaving a generous seven grams of the truffl e over either a simple tagliolini with butter or a white risotto, and by serving a truffl e-infused sunny-side-up egg (soaking the egg in white truffl e overnight) over pasta. Still, Priolo wants to keep things simple. Says the veteran chef, "I try to utilize truffl es in their purest form so customers can enjoy and experi- ence the taste." 464 N. Halsted St., 312-421-0077; piccolo sognorestaurant.com TRUFFLE TIME Bernie's Lunch & Supper serves Mediterranean small plates in a breezy space designed by the powerhouse fi rm 555 International. SWEET SURPRISES With the approach of the holidays, two of Chicago's top bakeries are offer- ing sweet alternatives to typical seasonal desserts. Logan Square's Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits (2051 N. California Ave., 773- 276-8888; bangbang pie.com) puts a creative twist on the classics with pies like sage pumpkin- seed brittle, apple crumble with salted rosemary caramel, and pecan with gooey chocolate. And at Lincoln Square's Baker Miller (4610 N. Western Ave., 312-208-5639; bakermillerchicago.com), sweets lovers will fi nd a variety of confections, including frozen take-and- bake buttermilk biscuits and sourdough cinnamon rolls; custom cookie tins featuring butter cook- ies made with butter cultured in-house and Russian tea balls crafted with freshly milled soft pastry fl our; and a but- terscotch pie fi lled with a from-scratch whiskey and smoked salt butterscotch custard and topped with a house-made oatmeal cookie crust. COOL JERKY Jerky has long been considered a humble convenience-store staple, but Chicago native Ricky Hirsch is turning that notion on its head. With Think Jerky, he has worked with chefs like Gale Gand and Matt Troost to create an all-natural alternative in fl avors such as Thanksgiving (with free-range turkey and cranberries). "Jerky is high-protein and low-sugar but has never been considered cool," says Hirsch. "We've modernized it, rebranded, and taken it from junk food to health food." Available at Mariano's; thinkjerky.com now open 102 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM Baker Miller puts a whole- grain spin on bars, cookies, and other pastries. Detroit Import A MOTOR CITY RESTAURANT GROUP TAKES ON THE WINDY CITY WITH BERNIE'S LUNCH & SUPPER. When Zack Sklar of the Detroit-based restaurant group Peas & Carrots Hospitality was developing his fi rst Chicago con- cept, he knew he had to bring his A-game. "We love Michigan," he says, "but people in Chicago are more adventurous with cuisine." Now Sklar is sharing his culinary creativity with the Windy Cit y at the newly opened Bernie's Lunch & Supper. Named after Sklar's grandfather and designed by the pow- erhouse Chicago fi rm 555 International (Embeya, Girl & the Goat), the River North restaurant beckons with exposed brick, cozy camel leather chairs, and a pop of color in turquoise ban- quettes, plus a menu of Mediterranean-inspired small plates like lamb hashwi (a hummus dish made with lamb and lamb fat) and pickled mussels with goat cheese, jalapeño, and basil. Says Sklar, "It's been exciting to come to another city, share what has always been important to my family, and pay hom- age to my g randfather." 660 N. Orleans St., 312-624-9892; bernieslunchandsupper.com MA TASTE Spotlight