Deviled eggs with ants, anyone? 🐜

PLUS: Chicago's not-so-secret speakeasies [READER]( [Food & Drink]( November 3, 2023 The voice on the phone cracked with emotion. “When I ask people, ‘Did you like it?’ I really want them to be honest. I mean, if there's something about it that's a mess, they can let me know as long as they’re not assholes about it. Because yeah, I'm a person. My feelings get hurt too.” That was Rafa Esparza explaining the rules governing feedback on his notorious Malort grilled cheese sandwich. You know Esparza. He was the raw, weeping, exposed nerve of a chef behind [Finom Coffee]( and [Evette’s]( and the industry rat who clocked time in dozens of kitchens like Momotaro, Kimski, and Yusho before he scaled back in pursuit of community organizing and the most [relentlessly hilarious story feed]( on Instagram. Lately, Esparza’s been sharpening his front of the house chops, hosting at Longman & Eagle. That’s because he’s opening a new restaurant called FAFO, which you can get an early taste of when Fuck Around and Find Out previews its upcoming menu at the next [Monday Night Foodball]( the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Ludlow Liquors. Esparza and partner Anthony Baier, sous chef at Kimski, already have a (for now secret) location locked down, which they plan on opening some time in the next three to six months. Why bring it to Foodball first? For one, I’d been bugging Esparza to play from the beginning, but also: “People who know how to eat go to Foodball,” he says. “That’s a good place to get the receipts from people who know what they're talking about. They're not going to be baffled by what you're doing. They get it.” Damn straight, chef. Esparza and Baier have raided Rodrick Markus’s [Rare Tea Cellar]( (RTC) for this menu, which features brioche fried in A5 Wagyu fat, topped with ricotta espuma, smoked whitefish roe, wild American paddlefish roe, and powdered [Tony B’s Steak Chips]( from Tony Balestreri, still recovering after killing it on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars. There’s a crispy kale salad with Closed Loop Farms microgreens and an onion dressing inspired by the tomato tartare from Esparza’s days at Momotaro; and Japanese 7-Eleven-style egg salad with chorizo verde crumble from chef Danny Espinoza’s new [Santo Chorizo venture](. There’ll be deviled eggs piped with RTC’s Electric Blue Sweet Seoul Matcha, topped with uni, salted black sesame seeds, spirulina hot sauce, and citrusy, crunchy black ants—a Chicago debut for these tasty arthropods. Tony B’s bringing steak and cheddar popcorn, and Esparza’s bringing up the rear with a tribute to his idol chef Paul Liebrandt’s legendary palate cleanser: a green apple and wasabi sorbet with truffle pearls, genmai cha, Okinawan brown sugar, and bergamot. And then there’s that Malort grilled cheese, which Espazra makes by folding Jeppson’s concentrate into whipped Merkts cheddar, tempered by white American cheese and seared tomato on Texas toast. “It’s like a noogie from your older brother,” says Esparza. “You know he loves you, but it’s gonna hurt for a little bit.” How long will it hurt? F*ck around and find out, beginning at 6 PM until sellout, this Monday, November 6, at 2959 N. California. Meanwhile, I know you’re licking your lips in anticipation of the new Foodball schedule. Look for it to drop next week. [F*ck Around and Find Out with Rafa Esparza and Anthony Baier at the next Monday Night Foodball]( The Evette’s, Finom, and Kimski vets preview their upcoming spot THIS MONDAY at Ludlow Liquors. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → [18th Street Distillery brings weird, wonderful new spirits to the midwest]( Drew Fox and master fermenter Mike Bancroft team up to create the next Chicago Handshake. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → [Not-so-secret speakeasies]( From tunnels to TikTok, the bars once used for illicit drinking look much different 90 years post-Prohibition. by [Jordana Comiter]( | [Read more]( → April 2021 [Silent senses]( For some the long-haul COVID-19 loss of taste and smell is more than an inconvenience—it’s a loss of livelihood. by [Molly Schemper]( | [Read more]( → Nominate your faves for Best of Chicago! The deadline to nominate your favorite bakeries, local foodies, restaurants, bars, pop-ups, and chefs is THIS Tuesday, November 7. Click below to cast your ballot today! [BOC NOMINATION BALLOT]( [Issue of Nov. 2 – Nov. 15, 2023 Vol. 53, No. 2]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE (PDF)]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@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 © 2023 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the receive emails from Chicago Reader Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616