Joiners

This week, we're with our friend Wade McElroy, a man who has kind of done it all in hospitality. From working as a server, to helping open The Standard Hotel in New York, to designing bars with his creative partner Jeff Donahue, Wade has a diverse range of experience to draw from, and he's kind enough to share what he's learned along the way. We talk about making people comfortable with design, spotting good frames as a photographer, and some of our favorite Chicago bars. 

Our guest this week is Amy Cavanaugh, a food writer whose held positions at Plate Magazine, Time Out Chicago, and elsewhere. She currently works at Chicago Magazine as their dining editor and her knowledge of Chicagoland cuisine runs deep (and she has the Google Doc to prove it.) Our conversation runs the gamut, from the ideal Chicago hot dog and the fluctuating price of lobster rolls, to the ethics of restaurant criticism amidst the climate of Covid. An absolutely delightful conversation with a bevy of good tips to boot. 

This week, the table is crashed by none other than Chef Jonathan Zaragoza, the intrepid Goatboy of Birrieria Zaragoza. He walks us through the process of making birria (turns out it's good to start with a goat that's no longer alive), kitchen mishaps, and his family's less-than-legal culinary origin story. Listen to hear tips about the best Mexican spots in and around Chicago, the importance of under-promising and overdelivering, and so much more.

This week, we have the pleasure of speaking with Lily Wang, who along with her partner Joe opened up Nine Bar, an exciting new cocktail bar located in Chinatown. Nine Bar opened up in the back end of her family's restaurant, Moon Palace, which has been around for quite some time, and continues to serve its expansive menu to go.  Lily takes us through the process of growing the concept from a pop-up to a permanent fixture, unravels a fake Google review conspiracy, and extols the virtues of working fast behind the bar.

A good soup takes time. It's intuition and breadth of knowledge that brought this week's joiner, Ethan Lim, to his current station as the chef-owner of the renowned Hermosa Restaraunt, a one-of-a-kind dining experience built around intimacy, connection, and a profound seriousness. This week's conversation runs the gamut -- from Ethan's time selling cars for Mini and Tesla to his experience making meals for a surprising celebrity clientele. 

This week, the two-top is crashed by Ronnie Kaplan, business-owner, writer, and contributor to the great LTH Forum, a beloved resource for Chicago food enthusiasts and insiders seeking the best neighborhood restaurants and bars throughout Chicagoland. A formative interaction with the late Anthony Bourdain helped him find his place in the hospitality landscape -- and from this one-of-a-kind perspective, he delights us with stories, insights, and recommendations. 

This week, we're joined by John Manion, fire-breathing chef and raconteur. He takes us on a journey through his formative years as a Hemingway-inspired youth seeking connection in Brazil, to his salad days navigating kitchens across the US, and how it all lead him his current station: chef-owner of the renowned El Che Steakhouse.

This week we have Charles Joly, one of Chicago's most celebrated bartenders who has in many ways done it all. His skills have literally taken him around the world, and now he has a line of ready to drink craft cocktails, called Crafthouse Cocktails. Join us as we discuss Charles ascent from humble barback to World Champion Bartender. 

This week, we talk to the dynamic Zoe Schor of Split-Rail, a Boston native who cut her culinary teeth in the country's three biggest markets. In addition to telling us a bit about her new venture, Dorothy Downstairs, a neighborhood lesbian bar, she explains the difference between competing on Chopped and being in the weeds at a restaurant on a particularly busy night, and details the relationships she's formed via the food competition circuit. A thorough ribbing of the played-out "menu tour" format, the importance of fostering a culture of mentorship in the culinary space, unconventional pest control strategies: this episode has a little bit of everything. 

This week we're joined by Nicole Alexander of Siren Betty design. She has designed several beautiful concepts across commercial and residential spaces in Chicago and throughout the country. She tells us about her path, studying art and fashion in college, and finally finding herself in interior design.