Category > Local 365
In the same way that U.S. Chinese restaurants have felt compelled to dumb down their menus with non-Chinese items like General Tso’s chicken, sweet and sour pork, and crab rangoon; so have many Mexican restaurants. Hard shell tacos are not Mexican, and the only place you will find burritos is in border towns. Yet so-called “Tex-Mex” cuisine dominates the U.S. Mexican restaurant scene to the extent that it hamstrings chefs from cooking authentic dishes, let alone taking Mexican cuisine …
Stovetop Mac and Cheese Macaroni came to the United States in the later half of the 18th century. Originally the food of the elite, the pasta was cooked for half an hour, drained, smothered with cheese and cream, and baked. Despite the fact that it was overcooked by more than three fold, the dish grew in popularity and made its way to working class tables by the mid 1800s. Of course, this caused it to be removed from the …
Winter Pantry Soup I’ve been bored with everything I’ve cooked since taking my husband to June in Peoria Heights for his birthday in January. Like Thad Morrow, Josh Adams does wonderful things with local food. So much so, that I feel inadequate in my kitchen for days afterwards. Not wanting to waste time that could be spent in the sunshine standing in line at the grocery store, I decided to go for a walk and make due with what …
When I was young, Christmas at our house meant friends and family dropping by for coffee in the days leading up to and after “the big day.” My mom always had a stash of zucchini and cranberry bread and sour cream coffee cakes in the freezer for these occasions. As a child I thought these visits were treats because of the baked goods. Of course I now know the real treat was for my parents to escape the hustle …
My mother’s favorite season was fall; no doubt it was because the first freeze allowed her to stop canning and freezing and not feel guilty about it. A child of the Great Depression, her great shame was wasting food. Each spring when my father would go to the quarry across the state line to get gravel for the farm’s driveways, she would enlist my brother, sister, and me in getting rid of past date food from the basement pantry. …
"I used to think, ‘I only have five tomatoes. What will a place like the Times Center do with five tomatoes?'" says Lisa Braddock, creator of Sunshine Harvest Sharing. "But , then I realized that they could put my five tomatoes with someone else's five and someone else's squash and make soup." The food pantry and feeding program listings on Sunshine Harvest Sharing allow backyard gardeners to easily get their harvest to people in their community whose access to …
I have now spent 14 years trying to get people to eat their vegetables in Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture. Like the adage that a weed is a plant that you haven't found something constructive to do with yet, I believe the same applies to vegetables. If you don't like a vegetable, it's because there is a recipe out there that you haven't tried it in yet. Unfortunately, okra is at the top of that list for many people. Many …
It's August and in Central Illinois no matter how hot or how dry, somehow there is still zucchini-zucchini from neighbors, zucchini from co-workers, zucchini from relatives, and in my case, zucchini from my CSA, too. Last week, I sliced it and threw it in the food dehydrator. But there is really only so much vegetable soup I want to make with rehydrated zucchini this winter. So, I began looking for ways to use it up in quantity and stumbled …
Invariably the uninsulated farm house my grandfather built only became hotter during the summer with the advent of canning season as my mom processed a seemingly endless stream of beets, corn, cucumbers, green beans, and tomatoes. We didn't have air conditioning until I was almost out of high school. Even then, it was only a single unit in the dining room, and my mom forbid us to sleep downstairs. She was right, going from heat to cold and back …
Several years ago I watched two children grab daikon radishes from the crates of the Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture pickup and begin to have a light saber battle that would have made Yoda proud. If only Western adults could muster such enthusiasm for this vegetable. Daikon puts Western radishes too shame size-wise. Smaller daikons are eight inches in length, but in loose, loamy soils they can reach nearly double that. And that seems to be the problem for Western …
Most Recent Food Comments
it’s quite choice. looking forward to seeing how it and its patronage grow and develop over the course of the year. could be a neat little ecosystem.
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
Most Popular Food Articles (60 days)
- Triptych’s “work of art” in danger
- Bar-B-Q on a budget
- Rick’s bakery serves up tasty pastries
- Aroma Cafe, putting the sexy back in toast
- Picking up dinner at Peking Garden
- Cafe Zojo steals the show
- Speakeasy-style cocktails shake up downtown
- Triptych bypasses another hurdle, waits for results
- BEST Food & Drink
- Champaign pulls rug from under food trucks
Most Recent Comments
High-profile whining. AKA Lobbying.
it’s quite choice. looking forward to seeing how it and its patronage grow and develop over the course of the year. could be a neat little ecosystem.
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Super cool! Excellent track, Excellent band.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.
Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
Facebook
Twitter
Full Site
High-profile whining. AKA Lobbying.