Michael Nagrant biography

I never met an organ meat I didn’t like. Well, that’s not entirely true. The goat eyeball taco at the Maxwell Street Market was a …

• Au Cheval ups the ante on traditional diner fare

  It doesn’t sound nearly as noble as “death by chocolate,” but if you wanted to commit suicide by carbohydrates, there is no better place than Au Cheval, a new gourmet diner in Chicago’s West Loop. In fact if you like food, like really like food …Read More

• Bread &Wine is a mighty fine addition to the Northwest Side

  I’m one of the luckiest men alive. I get paid to eat in the best restaurants in Chicago. I recognize, however, that whether for financial reasons or cultural expectations, not everyone has the same opportunity. Sometimes it’s a matter of proximity. The Northwest Side of …Read More

• Purple Haze — Red Violet loses way along road to Chinese cuisine

  Red Violet, a new modern Chinese restaurant in Chicago’s Hubbard Street corridor, is named after the idea that the Chinese believe universal harmony is achieved when red and blue are combined to create the color violet. Boy, is this place misnamed. That is to say …Read More