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Drive Magazine
The midday Wisconsin sun glimmers off patches of snow as I hike uphill through the forest. The land here in Lodi, a small town less than 30 miles northwest of Madison, is a series of upward and inward twists and turns you don’t typically see in the Midwest.
I’m exploring the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, one of just 11 trails in the United States that has been given the National Scenic Trail designation by the National Park Service. More than 12,000 years ago, receding glaciers carved out the rise-and-fall terrain that attracts hikers, runners and snowshoers. Across more than 1,000 miles of trail, there are easy 1.2-mile stretches, gruelingly rugged 14.5-milers and everything in between.
I love baking. I grew up in a household where my mother was constantly making loaves of homemade raisin bread, pumpkin muffins, and decadent pancakes from my great-grandfather’s recipe (it still has a cult following among our friends and family).
For most of my adult life, I’ve carried on those traditions. Unfortunately, my son, who is now a preschooler, has a lot of food allergies and sensitivities. The litany of problems includes dairy, gluten, quinoa (which is in a ton of gluten-free items), eggs, oats that aren’t organic and certified-gluten free, peanuts, some tree nuts, and other random things like mangoes, which are apparently the poison ivy of fruit because they contain urushiol, the oily sap also found in poison sumac, oak, and ivy.
During the pandemic, my son’s allergies have become more problematic as many of his less-than-popular food options have vanished from grocery shelves. At the same time, products that didn’t previously bother him are now causing rashes. It’s the fallout of the FDA’s relaxed food labeling guidelines that allow food manufacturers the “flexibility” during COVID-19 to make “minor” ingredient changes without updating their labels.
Next Exit: An Exciting New Vacation
Drive magazine
Stuck in a travel rut? Start at the top of the chart with your usual go-to vacation spot and follow the questions to lead you to a new adventure, then turn the page to find more details.
Holland Herald
Want to feel like a local when you’re in Chicago? Embrace your inner urban explorer, soak up some culture, fit in some beach time and catch the vibe of this bustling city.
ABA Journal
Globe-trotting attorneys offer new-era strategies for efficient business travel.
In this age of ever-changing rules and regulations, business travel can be more difficult than ever. The reality is that the more preparation and planning that go into a business trip, the more likely it will be a success.
This story was also picked up by NPR affiliate Bay Area Bites.
At a time when the food retail business is controlled by a handful a large chains, independent grocers are few and far between. But that’s only part of what makes Sam Mogannam, founder of San Francisco’s Bi-Rite, a unicorn.
Chicago Parent magazine
Learning how to use gluten-free flours can be difficult. We talked to some experts to figure out how.
Where to Escape in Elkhart Lake
West Suburban Living Magazine
Growing up in Glen Ellyn, I spent every summer as I do now, driving three hours north into Sheboygan County for life on the lake. For nearly 60 years my family — first my grandparents, then my parents and I — have called Elkhart Lake a second home.
Even though I’ve since traveled the world, some of the best sunsets I’ve seen have been here, in the land of clear starry nights and Sunday morning sailboat races.
Where chefs like to eat Italian food in Chicago.
What it's really like to go dog sledding.
How "Mr. Chocolate" handles Valentine's Day.
Milwaukee Dining: From Cutting Edge to Traditional Fare
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
The bearded man quietly navigates the dimly lighted Hinterland restaurant to the corner table where my boyfriend and I sit. It's like the star of "Walker, Texas Ranger" has just appeared in this gastropub. "Does anyone ever ask you if you look like Chuck Norris?" I ask. "Every day," says Dan Van Rite, Hinterland's three-time James Beard nominated chef.
Since the days of bootlegging and Al Capone, Chicagoans have always liked their spirits and beer. Chicago has been right on trend, its craft breweries popping up as the movement has exploded across the country. There were 2,483 in 2013, up from 2,347 in 2012 and 1,521 in 2006 according to the Brewers Association.
TRAVEL + LEISURE
Tips for the cruise season.
Chicago Parent Magazine
RESTAURANTS & INSTITUTIONS
The economic chill gripping much of foodservice—bringing less-ambitious forecasts for new-unit openings and sales growth—has so far skirted at least one corner of the industry. Proving that little luxuries can thrive even when basic necessities are scrutinized, the frozen-yogurt segment is expanding inward from the coasts and keeping warm the industry’s entrepreneurial spirit.
This really is frozen yogurt’s second expansion wave.
MILWAUKEE MAGAZINE
From the parking lot, the lemon-colored ornamental building with scalloped windows and arched walkways looks more like a mosque rising out of the Wisconsin farmland than a winery.
But a short walk to the main entrance of Parallel 44 Vineyard & Winery reveals a Tuscan-styled patio overlooking nine breathtaking acres of vineyard – a little Napa Valley among the cornfields of Kewaunee, Wis.
6 Travel Trends in the Caribbean Market
American Express Open Forum
It’s a balmy 80-degrees on a late January day in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I’m sitting in the open air lobby patio of the famous Round Hill Hotel overlooking the Caribbean Sea. During my stay in a private 6-bedroom villa, I had the chance to mingle with an Austrian ambassador and his wife, and a French woman and her husband of more than 50- years who escaped Paris days before the Nazis took over the city during WWII. This is where the rich and famous come to relax.
Seven Great Chocolate Factory Tours
USA TODAY
Where to find the best chocolate tours while traveling.
USA TODAY
Where Chicagoans like to eat in this foodie city.
Prehistoric wonders at deep, dark depths
St. Petersburg Times
WILLISTON—There wasn’t a pitchfork or red-masked devil in the gateway as I entered Devil’s Den through a maze of bamboo and wood-planked paths.
CHICAGO READER
How one man found the perfect place to eat in Chicago.
David Friedman just wanted to go out to lunch.
“For many, many years there hasn’t been anywhere downtown to eat kosher food,” says Friedman. Even Shallots Bistro in Lincoln Park, the city’s only kosher fine-dining restaurant, had moved to Skokie in 2004.
“I’ve been in a position so many times where I wanted to meet with somebody, and they want to meet during lunch. There are only so many excuses you can use for not being able to meet during lunch.”
METROMIX
Where Chicago chefs find inspiration for the holidays.
We love all things Italian—including, of course, olive oil.
Unfortunately, according to the American Olive Oil Producers Association, as much as 75 percent of the extra virgin olive oil that is imported from Italy to the United States is unpure. The Italian Mafia is to blame: the Mob takes pure olive oil and cuts it with cheaper oils, then sells it at the higher price and pockets the extra cash.
TURIN, ITALY -- For most foodies, it doesn't get much better than coffee and chocolate. In Italy, one of the best places to go for such a decadent mix is Torino.
Located in the Piedmonte region known for its Barolo and Barbaresco wines, Turin is a northern Italian city with a decidedly French influence thanks to the House of Savoy, which ruled Italy from 1861 until 1946.
Connect Magazine
Travel Guide: Bridgeport Neighborhood
Chicago PArent Magazine
The Future of Foodservice: Here’s What to Expect
New Hope Network
Think salad bars and hot delis are gone for good? Not so fast, says Corinne Shindelar, the founder and former CEO and president of Independent Natural Food Retailers Association.
“It’s all over the board, just like everything else,” Shindelar says. “But that is one part of the grocery experience that is going to totally remake itself.”
Planning to come to Chicago with your family? If you have kids under 16, here's what you need to know.
Traveling with kids can be difficult. Finding the right hotel can make all the difference. Don't let the idea of a family vacation time intimidate you. It's important for the entire family to have fun, especially the parents.
To make things easier, many hotels offer welcome bags to help keep kids entertained or offer discounts to local museums. More importantly, every family-friendly Chicago hotel on this list, except for Hotel Lincoln–which is near Lake Michigan and North Avenue Beach–has a pool to help tire the kids out.
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel just couldn't resist. As nationally recognized chefs and restaurateurs patiently waited at The Publican restaurant in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood to hear who made the final list of nominees for the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards, Emanuel decided to joke.
"I am a middle child," he said. "I used to joke, we wrote a book called War or Peace and you could do either one of them. I say that only because New York usually hosts the stars of the culinary industry, but here in Chicago we produce them."
New York City's Evan Levine has always been a "huge hockey fan," rooting for the New York Rangers and watching the college football games of his alma mater, Northwestern.
For his job with Citibank, Levine typically travels two to three days a week all over the country, spending 85-100 days a year on the road. It's not always easy to find a place to watch a Rangers game.
Riding on the California Zephyr
AAA Living Magazine
A multimedia piece about what life is like on the Amtrak California Zephyr and why people ride it.
The AAA Living story included audio interviews with passengers who were riding the California Zephyr.
MICHIGAN AVENUE MAGAZINE
Boutique wine store owner Don Sritong brings his expertise to the restaurant world.
USA TODAY
What really makes The Bristol's well-known chef tick.
Crunch Time: How to Eat A Cricket
AMERICAN WAY MAGAZINE
I’m not a fear factor kind of gal. Sure, I’ve been dogsledding in Alaska, and diving and zip-lining in various parts of the world. But the thought of bungee jumping or skydiving terrifies me. Nor have I ever harbored a desire to be like the Travel Channel’s Andrew Zimmern, the host of Bizarre Foods, who eats things like blood pudding and rotten shark. That’s why I’m utterly shocked to find myself on the verge of eating a cricket.
PLATE MAGAZINE
For people who love Cajun and Creole food, the holy trinity is a culinary journey paved with onions, bell peppers and celery. But just as important—and possibly as much of a spiritual experience—are the iconic seafood dishes, from downhome to elegant, that make the most of Gulf seafood and illustrate the many cultural footprints on these cuisines.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
There is something about gathering together on a cold winter's night. What better way to gather friends and loved ones than around a dinner table talking and drinking for hours while eating delicious homemade ravioli?
Made right, the dough is light and thin, not thick and chewy. It is filled with spinach, sausage and cheese, covered in a rich marinara sauce that marinated for hours, even days, with meatballs that add juicy flavors and make one's heart want to sing.
USA TODAY
What the Girl and the Goat's chef really thinks about cooking and living in Chicago.
USA TODAY
Where to eat cheaply in Chicago.
Chicago Magazine
Last year, Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water. Turns out, the joke’s on us: Not only are top sellers Aquafina and Dasani just bottled public water, but the wasteful plastic packaging will still be lingering in the year 3000. But do water snobs have a valid argument that private water tastes better than tap? Chicago asked four sommeliers to blindly taste, then rank,seven waters—five private labels, plus tap water from Chicago and Elmhurst. Sniffing, smelling, and occasionally swirling, they recalibrated their palates, then rated them best to worst.
Some of the best chocolate cafes.
USA TODAY
Where to go for train-themed restaurants in Chicago.
FOODSERVICE DIRECTOR MAGAZINE
Soft Cheese Gaining Popularity
From aging soft cheeses on wooden boards to wash-brining fromage, Andy Kehler, co-owner of Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vt., knows a thing or two about soft cheeses.
Although he started his career as a carpenter, Kehler, who co-owns the farm with his brother Mateo, says he got into the cheesemaking business to “find meaningful work” in a bucolic setting of rolling hills and shallow soil.
9 Gluten-Free Trends to Watch in 2020
New Hope Network
Whether it’s for health reasons or having a medical condition such as celiac disease, more Americans are going gluten-free. Because of this, the market for gluten-free foods is bound to increase–it’s just a matter of how much.
Adroit Market Research projects a compound annual growth rate of 9.5% from 2019 to 2025 for a revenue of $6.43 billion by 2025, while Zion Market Research predicts the gluten-free product market will reach $7.6 billion by 2024.