Instant classic.

This is what my family all agreed after tasting the Friday special from RingO's Donuts: Peach-filled. I am salivating thinking about the fried fabulousness of the glazed delight. I cannot possibly explain how much I enjoy peaches, so I'll let Nicholas Cage do it for me. Sadly, it isn't Friday yet, so I'll have to report on the business instead (based on the evening's research).

With 27 varieties, even if you can't get there on Peach-filled Donut day, you'll have no trouble finding something you'll love, whether tried and true classics or new instant classics waiting to be discovered. My second favorite was the Honey Bun, which I devoured far too quickly to come up with anything clever to say about it. My parents and I also really enjoyed the Key Lime yeast doughnut that looks like a normal doughnut with its hole filled and topped with dollop of delicious key lime cream in the center. There is the Orange Juice cake doughnut, which is a cake doughnut with a distinctive taste of kiwi. [Editor's note: It doesn't taste like kiwi. Obviously, it tastes like joy.] And then, for those who follow the trends of haute cuisine, there is the Squealer, a maple bacon doughnut. Owner/chef, J. Kirk Ring, notes that "In Smithfield [home of world famous cured ham], you have to have something with a pork product."

But that's not the only way, RingO's appeals to local taste. Since opening in March 2009, the business has sold donuts to frequent sell outs, a wonderful success story for such a young business. I'm not sure I could join Ring in getting up at 3:30am six days a week to make donuts, but I would willingly stay up late enough to eat them!

(Thanks to The Daily Press and Eric Gillard for unknowingly contributing to this post by doing all the non-eating research. And thanks to this person who put the Nick Cage scene to music.)

Free Ben & Jerry's: Take the dough out of politics!

Received this email:

"At Ben & Jerry's we're so fond of dough we invented Cookie Dough ice cream! But when it comes to politics, there's no place for "dough". So why are corporations allowed to spend as much money as they want to influence our elections? Join us to take back American democracy with a Constitutional Amendment that will keep corporate money out of our elections.

"To kick off this campaign, what better way to show our support of the people's right to have their voices heard than to give away free ice cream! On February 14th from 5pm - 8pm, visit a participating Scoop Shop to get a free scoop of Americone Dream. It's the flavor's 5th anniversary too!

"Take action at getthedoughout.org!"

Häagen-Dazs it again.

I stumbled across two Häagen-Dazs Limited Edition flavors that were new to my grocery experience. Score. First, there is Spiced Peach Crumble, which is pleasant but, like last year's Blueberry Crumble, could use more of the crumbles and bits of fruit. Second, there is a delightful and creative entry: Cranberry Pumpkin Spice.

As this blog's resident pumpkin expert (not to mention sole contributor), I can report that in numerous years of documented pumpkin consumption this is the first and only item to cross my path that pairs cranberry with pumpkin, a pairing so obvious it eluded us all. At first bite it is clear that Häagen-Dazs is able to handle pumpkin with the same elegance it treats all its flavors. Rich, creamy and full of spice, this is what anyone would look for in a pumpkin ice cream. The second bite bringeth the cranberry swirl and, behold, it was very good. Lighter than Ben & Jerry's delightfully subtle Pumpkin Cheesecake, this flavor offers the same sour zing but with a fruity afterthought.

Thank you, Häagen-Dazs. I shall be experimenting with pumpkin and cranberry pairings for the rest of my life.

I think I’m in love.

Okay, that phrasing was hasty. I am in love.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Thanks to dozens of hours spent on the road living a semi-vagabond life, my participation in the pumpkin challenge was at an all-time low this year. It is difficult to cook new recipes when you don’t have a kitchen. Still, the year was not without discoveries. My favorite invention was the oh-so-yummy turkey, cheese and pumpkin butter toasted bagel sandwich.

Last year I consumed 40 pumpkin items between September 15 and October 31, this year I did not even achieve half that number. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Here’s the list:

pumpkin pie, pumpkin bagel, pumpkin cream cheese schmear, pumpkin waffle, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancake, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin milkshake, pumpkin pecan roll, pumpkin frozen yogurt, squid ink pumpkin and squash ravioli, Snap-o-lantern ice cream, pumpkin whoopie pie, pumpkin spice gelato, pumpkin pie ice cream, pumpkin butter

How did my competitors fare this year? Have I been dethroned?

Cicada Ice Cream

I’d gladly take things that go bump in the night over things that go chirp in my stomach.

When Sparky’s in Columbia, MO created cicada ice cream it became an instant legend, not just for being the most gastronomically grotesque creation of the year, but also for batting a thousand. Only one batch was made and it sold out in just thirty minutes. The store pulled the flavor before it made a second batch because the health department did not give its endorsement; apparently the most hygienic cicada preparation has not been fully researched.

In all seriousness, more spooky than brown sugar and bug ice cream is that anything “not specifically provided for in the local health code” is understood to be illegal. Bureaucratic red flagging in food regulation is the same battle being fought by Nice Cream in Chicago. I’m certainly no authority on the subject, but I worry for the future of small businesses.

(Thanks to Laurie for the tip.)

Cubism or Zombie?

Picasso believed in two things: ice cream and zombies.

In all seriousness, I once went to an ice cream shop in D.C. (which shall remain nameless) that had a huge mural of Guernica, only each of the characters doomed to die in the horrible bombing were holding ice cream cones. Appalled, I remarked to my brother how completely and utterly tasteless the mural was. Loudly, I might add, which probably explains the pay-and-get-out attitude of the proprietor. Whoops.

Hey, the word "zombie" reminds of something! A creative writing curriculum I wrote for elementary schoolers called "Brains! or, Writing with Zombies" was recently published. Money from the sales go into the programs at 826, free after-school tutoring and creative writing centers in several US cities.


Note from 2012: Read some of the amazing and hilarious zombie stories written by my young students as published in 826CHI Compendium Vol. 3!

The Sixth Annual Pumpkin Challenge

This could be your year to win. Your chances are better this year because the reigning champion will be less of a contender. Baffling as it may sound, I will be preoccupied by a number of life events that people claim to be more important than pumpkin season. I mean no dishonor to the Great Pumpkin and hope he will not bypass my patch this year. But ho! Perhaps you are new to the Pumpkin Challenge!

Every year, from September 15 through Halloween, all are invited to consume as many pumpkin foods as possible. So epicurate a cornucopia of new recipes and buy out the grocery. Or, better yet, try and beat my record. Here are the rules:

• The only beverage allowed is the milkshake.
• Food items may not be doubled. (Two slices of pumpkin cheesecake count as one item. The only way it could count for two different items is if the second item has a distinct enough difference of flavor that it warrants a different name AND the item comes from a different source than the first item.)

Why have was the Pumpkin Challenge created?

Originally the short-term goal was to encourage pumpkin season to start earlier than October, since they are mostly only offered around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Happily, this year and last year have shown progress of pumpkin activity in early September! The long-term goal is for pumpkin products year round. If you aren't currently active in the off-season of the Pumpkin Challenge, my hope is your participation will help you branch out into new pumpkin dishes (not just pie, bread and muffins) and give you post-autumnal pumpkin pangs.

Greatest Desserts: Rhubarb & Crème Fraiche Sherbet

I have bonded between bites of a rhubarb cobbler and made lifelong friends. Some would attribute this to my winning charisma, but I know better. When shared, the tartness of rhubarb transforms its consumers into both addicts and a support group. In short, when we eat rhubarb together, we are forever linked. And though these uniting forces cannot be denied, I have found a rhubarb product brings my altruism into question.

Snookelfritz creates seasonal artisan frozen desserts, emphasizing sustainability and using local ingredients. Their pints are sold at Chicago farmers markets and some neighborhood stores. While many of their flavors are nothing short of creative (raspberry-rose petal, roasted strawberry-brown sugar, maple-candied), their Rhubarb & Crème Fraiche Sherbet stands out as being among the finest frozen desserts I’ve ever had.

Though there is never a need to dilute pure rhubarb, this sherbet creates a balance of flavors that (rather that compete with another) seem to ask one another to dance. Unlike the overpowering strawberry with which rhubarb is usually paired, the subtle crème fraiche gracefully lets the rhubarb take the lead while it is whirled round and round. And the texture of the sherbet is the light, soft footing that effortlessly carries your taste buds across the dance floor.

I will say it again: this is one of the finest frozen desserts I have ever had. As I think now, the Brown Butter ice cream at Toscanini’s (in Cambridge, MA) comes to mind as another on this short list, as well as the Mile High Blackberry Ice Cream Pie on Virginia’s Skyline Drive. Snookelfritz’s Rhubarb & Crème Fraiche Sherbet is one for the history books.

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Update: Snookelfritz appears to have stopped being in business. This may or may not be because of the same shutdown that killed Nice Cream.

Chicago Blackhawks Ice Cream: Phase 4

What is Chicago Blackhawks ice cream? As far as I know, no such flavor exists outside my kitchen. Together, gentle reader, we will explore this question to create the definitive Chicago Blackhawks ice cream…even though hockey current events mean we will be enjoying our treat from a dish instead of a cup.

After exploring strictly the visceral elements of hockey in Phase 3, I decided to retreat back into the team color approach taken in Phase 2…or so I thought.

Pictured is black cherry ice cream with brownies, which is not the deep red color I expected. Truth be told, the whole thing was a disaster. (Let’s be honest, though: Bad ice cream is better than “good” almost anything else.) My ice cream maker wasn’t producing anything thicker than a milkshake, I overcooked my brownies and I forgot to put in the white chocolate chunks, an addition my brother suggested to keep the visceral “shattered teeth” motif. But I am not ungrateful; I ate the messy liquid and stuck the leftovers in the freezer, hoping its frozen consistency would be somewhere between soup and a rock. The leftovers, though ice cream, lacked the punch I’ve had in other fruit ice creams I’ve made. The brownies were a fantastic touch, but again the cherry ice cream was yellowish brown, not red. This was easily the low point on the journey to hockey/ice cream marriage.

The Death of Local Chicago Ice Cream?

Finding homemade ice cream in Chicago isn't easy. I can think of only two scoop shops that specialize in homemade ice cream, one gelato place and a few artisan ice cream makers that distribute at farmers markets and grocery stores. But that last category could soon be eliminated.

Friend and fellow blogger, Dawn Xiana Moon, made me aware of this news story. In short, small artisan ice cream makers in Illinois are being targeted by Public Health to maintain the same standards that are held for billion dollar national ice cream makers. These licenses were not mentioned when the businesses were created, so why are they being brought up years later? Effectively, this could end the use of local, organic ingredients and, by doing so, end small business ice cream production in Illinois.

Nice Cream is first on the hitlist. And you can help. You can donate to their Kickstarter page or attend their fundraiser. Also, stay tuned to the Nice Cream website on further instruction for writing a letter to the state.

UPDATE: Dawn has more info.
UPDATE #2 (3/23/2012): Here's the latest.

The Great Waldough Search

Finding doughnuts in Chicago that aren’t from the ubiquitous Dunkin Donuts is not easy. The best reviewed donut place on Yelp (Old Fashioned Donuts) is all the way down on 112th Street and the other major players (Huck Finn and Dat Donut) are at closest 34th! Speaking for northside Chicago, this is unacceptable.

Doughnut Vault heard the call when they opened their River North business, a converted elevator shaft with fancy décor. But while their donuts are meaty, their hour-long lines are frustrating, their options somewhat simple and their supply extremely limited. Happily, Chicago’s Year of the Donut was only getting warmed up.

Dirty Betty’s offers lower-fat, baked donuts with inspired flavor combinations. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but Pomegranate Glaze (top left) wins with me. Another flavor, Ginger with Key Lime Glaze (bottom left), is more citrusy than most pastries hope to be. And the chocolate glaze on their Chocolate Toffee (top right) doughnut is the easily best chocolate topping I’ve ever had on a doughnut. Unlike Doughnut Vault, where the only difference between their yeast doughnuts is the glaze, the doughnuts at Dirty Betty’s are unique from one another in every way and they’re all delicious.

Since Dirty Betty’s lives inside Cookie Bar, I wasn’t at all surprised by the range of options. The daytime business, a 70’s disco cookie joint, makes Jalapeño Chocolate Chip, Red White & Blueberry and, my favorite, the Potato Chip Chocolate Chip cookie. Can’t decide between cookies and doughnuts? Then you should go on Saturday when they make both cookies and doughnuts all day.

How good is Dirty Betty’s? I’ve been making a mental list of best donuts I’ve had, absolutely certain that Dirty Betty’s makes the list.


Note from 2012: I have since tried Dat Donut and in my opinion it wasn't any more special than your average mom-n-pop doughnut shop. Two more Southside locations to go.