Starting Your Day in Chicago?

My last post was about one of my food stops during a recent visit to Chicago. Here's another food recommendation, courtesy of radio station WBEZ. It's a list of the top 5 breakfasts in the Windy City.

Meli Cafe heads the list, a Greek diner with "organic produce, eggs, fresh-squeezed juices and homemade jams." Sounds good to me.

Manny's, the Marvelous Deli in Chicago

I want to send a very warm thank-you to the owners of Manny's Cafeteria and Deli in Chicago for hosting my brother Mark and me last weekend for an event to promote our new book, What the Great Ate.

Once our interview was concluded, we both had an early lunch. I chose the pastrami sandwich. God, was that a good sandwich. I also had a cup of matzo ball soup. It had been several years since my first visit to Manny's, but it was as authentic, wonderful and unpretentious as I had remembered it. If you find yourself in Chicago, it's a worthwhile pit stop for breakfast or lunch.

Soon after he won the presidential election in 2008, president-elect Barack Obama had lunch at Manny's with Mayor Richard Daley as he planned his transition to the White House. That photo above shows Obama and the mayor enjoying their meals.

Beyond the Spatula

Medical tweezers? They are one of the tools of the trade increasingly found in the kitchens of top-rated restaurants in New York, L.A., Chicago and other cities.

In this video, chef David Beran of Chicago's Alinea is shown using tweezers to assemble the garnishes for a pork-belly dish.