Something & Tonic

Regrets are not included. [READER]( [Food & Drink]( Earlier this week, for the first time in a long time, I found myself downtown with time to kill. I’d inched down the expressway in my air-conditionless hooptie, believing easy pandemic parking was still a thing. So by the time I squeezed into a space six blocks from my destination, I was hot and bothered and in desperate need of an eye-opener. So I did another thing I hadn’t done in a long time. I popped into the Gage, planted myself on a stool, and ordered the bar’s signature Spanish-style G&T, the kind you get in a giant, sweaty balon glass that could support several goldfish if it wasn’t supporting iced Citadelle gin and the next morning’s regret. Of course, the thing that redeems this kind of dissolute day drinking is the bottle of Fever Tree tonic water that comes to the side, infused with quinine, the miracle alkaloid extracted from the cinchona tree that’s kept malaria at bay since the turn of the 17th century. That’s what I told myself anyway. The truth is modern tonic water doesn’t contain enough quinine to treat malaria, but it is the “most iconic mixer in the world,” according to Nick Kokonas. No, Kokonas is not the owner of Alinea or Tock, but the long time Chicago bartender (Longman & Eagle, Green River), best known for his run at The Heritage in Forest Park, where he developed the Something & Tonic, a weekly rotating cocktail built on some kind of cinchona bark foundation. [Something & Tonic]( is also the title of his new historical cocktail book that examines the cinchona tree’s role in "imperial colonization, religious prejudice, denial of science, corporate greed, and extreme nationalism." In other words: "the story of the development of modern civilization." not a downer though. There are 60 original tonic-based cocktail recipes therein, from The Humble Highball to espresso tonic, from tonic and beer to the classic Spanish Gin Tonica. And you needn’t enjoy it in armchair isolation. On Monday evening Kokonas is hosting an actual IRL tonic bar pop up and release party at Avondale Bowl. [$30 buys your entry]( a copy of the book, a swag bag, a spirits tasting, and a free cocktail from the menu Kokonas will be mixing. And bowling, of course. Regrets are not included. [Gemma Foods is Chicago’s next pasta juggernaut]( Former Formento’s chef Tony Quartaro’s fresh handmade and extruded shapes aren’t just for his neighbors anymore. By [Mike Sula]( [@MikeSula]( [Get baked with Bambi Banks-Couleé]( The drag superstar is decolonizing weed “from the kitchen to the couch” with her new cooking webseries. By [Salem Collo-Julin]( [@hollo]( [Chasing the perfect pickle]( Vargo Brother Ferments pretty much anything you can think of. By [Mike Sula]( [@MikeSula]( [Grow your own insurgent fungi farm]( Four Star Mushrooms is selling its spent substrate to gardeners and other subversives. By [Mike Sula]( [@MikeSula]( [Boonie Foods imagines Pinoy food past, present, and future]( Former Arami chef Joe Fontelera’s pandemic pop-up settles in at Revival Food Hall. By [Mike Sula]( [@MikeSula]( [The TikTokers shaping Chicago’s restaurant scene]( How going viral became the industry’s most crucial ingredient By [Kayla Huynh]( [@_kaylahuynh]( 2017 [The foodways of Chicago’s new immigrants]( Newcomers from five countries discuss the differences between eating here and in their homelands, where they dine out and shop for ingredients, what kinds of adaptations they’ve had to make, and which American foods they’re learning to love. By [Reader]( [Issue of Jun 10 - 23, 2021 Vol. 50, No. 19]( [Download Issue]( (PDF) [View this e-mail as a web page]( [DONATE]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2021 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. You are receiving this e-mail as an opted-in subscriber via our website, Facebook, or event to one or more of our newsletters, memberships, or e-mail lists. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader 2930 S. Michigan Ave. Suite 102Chicago, IL 60616 [Add us to your address book](