The Trenchermen | Photo Credit: Nathan Michael
MIDDLE OF THE DAY | CHICAGO
By Chef Pat Sheerin
There is something awesome about Chicago and exploring in the middle of the day. You can easily work your way from one end of the city to the other in the daylight and you get to see how our city is laid out, the neighborhoods and the parks.
Sub Sandwich from Fontano's
One of the advantages of being a cook is that you're off during the week, so it's much less hectic. The green spaces are a favorite part of the day. My wife, kids and I live in the south Loop neighborhood and we're drawn to the lakefront. The museums, the open space all with the backdrop our skyline.
I have a really bad sandwich fetish, things "enrobed" in some sort of carbohydrate, whether it's a sub from Fontano's with sweet and hot or torta ahogado down in Pilsen. I'm always looking for a great sandwich. They transport easily and are regularly packed with flavor.
332 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Il 60604 | 312.663.3061 | www.fontanosonmichigan.com
THE TRENCHERMEN
Pat Sheerin is the chef and partner of Trenchermen in Chicago's Pilson neighborhood. Located in a 1920s building that housed the Luxor Russian Baths, later became a transient hotel and then a brothel. The Trencherman opened in 2012.
"When you come to Trenchermen, we want you to try our octopus posole because it's a nod the Pilsen neighborhood. We're inspired by the Chicago neighborhoods and we take all of the components of posole but utilize Spanish octopus. We source our masa for the dish from Pilsen, as well. It's amazing to go el Popocatepetl and have the smells of fresh ground nixtimalized corn. I'd also recommend the Duroc Pork loin dish. This is a very personal dish in that it combines childhood food memories with my first fine dining position. We'd eat a lot of neck bones and sauerkraut, sometimes with kielbasa, sometimes not and it got built up by learning how to make choucroute garni at Everest.
If you're in our bar. get the pickle tots. It's a great introduction to what we do at Trenchermen, by using nostalgia to find a common denominator with our guests and our burger is solid. We grind in house, make the buns, as well and it's straightforward, but done really well."
Trenchermen | 2039 West North Avenu, Chicago, Il 60647 | T: 77.661.1540 | (Make a Reservation) | www.trenchermen.com
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