Bronze Age eats in ancient Avondale

Plus: Connecting "Hillbilly Elegy" & "The Bear" [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( [Food & Drink]( | July 19, 2024 “I at last realized that eating was a spiritual function and that meat, bread, and wine were the raw materials from which the soul is made.” That was the unnamed narrator in Nikos Kazantzakis’s Zorba the Greek, just after he housed a couple of chargrilled chicken kebabs.  Probably. Souvlaki’s been around since antiquity, so that’s my bet.  And I’m betting we could all use some Bronze Age spiritual buttressing in the depths of this unsettling summer, which is why Meze Table is coming to the rescue at the next [Monday Night Foodball]( the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at [Frank and Mary’s Tavern](.  The long-awaited [three-peat]( from the Greek pop-up/farmers’ market super duo Elizabeth Gartelos Morris and Beth Salentiny couldn’t come soon enough, headlined by a pair of chicken souvlaki skewers served atop roasted vegetable couscous, with tzatziki on the side. Or keep it all in hand with a beef-pork gyro sandwich topped with pickled onions and marinated tomatoes.  Anchor these with their signature five-dip board: tzatziki, hummus, baba ganoush, htipiti, and skordalia, served atop lavash, with pickled veg and/or their feta and Calabrian chile–roasted olive medley.  Their "More-Cheese-Than-Spinach" spanakopita adds some secret menu intrigue to the evening, while tahini brownies with vanilla ice cream and smoked chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches finish it off.  It’s dine-in only, philos, but as always, the [Beths]( will be well-stocked with takeaway provisions from their [hectic farmers’ market schedule]( like those olives, pickled onions, caponata, and salad dressings.  [Preorder now]( or walk right in beginning at 5:30 PM this Monday, July 22, at 2905 N. Elston in ancient Avondale.  Meanwhile, the great Malaysian power couple [Kedai Tapao]( finish off the current schedule on July 29, followed by a brand-new late-summer lineup.  Kali orexi! [It’s Bayan Ko for breakfast]( Raquel Quadreny and chef Lawrence Letrero’s Cuban Filipino mom-and-pop returns bigger and better. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → [It’s Bronze Age food for the soul when Meze Table return to the next Monday Night Foodball]( Check out the Beths’ Greek food revival at the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Frank and Mary’s Tavern. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → [Reader Bites]( celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene. Have you had a recent food or drink experience that you can’t stop thinking about? Share it with us at [fooddrink@chicagoreader.com](mailto:fooddrink@chicagoreader.com?subject=Reader%20Bites&body=). [Roasted chicken and red pepper relish sandwich at Sfera Sicilian Street Food]( The focaccia, made in-house, is a salt-kissed delight, oily without being greasy, crispy but soft. It’s airy but strong enough to hold—rather than disintegrate under—a healthy smear of basil pesto and the red pepper and almond relish chicken salad, lightly dressed with arugula, which lovingly sits between the sandwich’s pleasingly square slices. The combination is alchemical. It has the power to transform my day. — Katie Prout [Thrill of recognition or contempt for inaccuracy]( July 2022 | Hulu’s The Bear might not “get” Chicago, but audiences enjoy this rendering of it anyway. by [John Wilmes]( | [Read more]( → [two trays of food with fried fish and mac and cheese on a table]( [One City Tap and Slide Bar prove there’s still a future for the south-side neighborhood bar]( June 2018 | “The liquor license is hard to get. Especially on the south side. Especially for Latinos.” by [Emeline Posner]( | [Read more]( → Get the latest issue of the Chicago Reader Thursday, July 18, 2024 [READ ONLINE: VOL. 53, NO. 24]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE (PDF)]( [Donate to the Chicago Reader.]( [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [Twitter icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [YouTube icon]( [Website icon]( [Logo] You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from the Chicago Reader. Want fewer emails from us? [Click here to choose what you want us to send you](. Or, [unsubscribe from all Reader emails](. We’ll miss you! [Sign up for emails from the Chicago Reader]( | [Forward this e-mail to a friend]( © 2024 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616