Getting inspired: On March 17-19, The Inspired Home Show—a massive display of current and upcoming products focused on cooking, cleaning, containing and much more—occurred at McCormick Place.
Battery-run lawn mowers, absorbent stone mats, diamond-dusted cookware, large pet dryers and even pepper spray were on display for members of the media and potential vendors to hear about, experiment with and sample. (Unfortunately, this event is not open to the public.)
There were dozens of talks and related events (e.g., an influencer expo) aimed at helping and informing attendees. Just a few of the sessions included "How to Pitch Your Product," "Tableware 2024: Where is the Business Going?," "Launching Your Product Through Crowdfunding & E-commerce" and "What You Need to Know About Intellectual Property." In addition, there were cooking demonstrations by such chefs as Alex Keeney, Dee Dee Saracco, Juan Carlos Carvallo and Rick Bayless.
And with an eye toward the future, the winners of the 2024 Student Design Competition were present with their inventions.
Brands such as Dash, Joseph Joseph and Hell's Kitchen were on display to help everyone from home chefs to restaurateurs. To read the full roundup, visit future3733.substack.com.
Market value: Green City Market will open its two outdoor farmers markets one month ahead of schedule, per Block Club Chicago.
The Lincoln Park location will reopen April 6, running 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 23 at the park, 1817 N. Clark St. The market will also run Wednesdays on May 1-Oct. 30.
The West Loop market will reopen May 4, running 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 23 at 115 S. Sangamon St.
Thankfully, one thing that won't change is the market's policy of triple-matching Link (also known as SNAP or EBT), up to $25.
Say Uncle: On the flip side, say goodbye to the chocolate pinata. Uncle Julio's has closed its only Chicago location, at 855 W. North Ave., after 32 years, per ABC 7 Chicago.
"We want to express gratitude to our guests for sharing great times with us at our North Avenue location for the past 30 years," said Uncle Julio's President RJ Thomas in a statement. "Our employees have all been offered positions at our other restaurants so they can continue as valued members of the Uncle Julio's family."
Uncle Julio's Mexican from Scratch has other locations in Schaumburg, Skokie, Naperville, Oakbrook, Orland Park and Vernon Hills.
Filipino feasts: In case you didn't know, April is National Filipino Food Month—and Sunda New Asian (with locations in Chicago's River North and Fulton Market districts) and owner Billy Dec are ready to help you celebrate.
Menu highlights include adobo pork belly, lumpia, adobo fried rice, chicken inasal (with lemongrass, tomatoes, red onion, achiote glaze, chili lime vinaigrette and grilled lemon) and Sunda sundae (with shaved ice ube milk, ice cream, lychee, mango coconut gel, jackfruit and flan), among other offerings. Then there's the Kamayan feast (which feeds up to four guests), complete with adobo pork belly, crispy pata, chicken inasal, garlic shrimp, lumpia egg rolls, green beans, jasmine rice and dipping sauces.
The River North location's brunch will also mark the month with Ticino grilled cheese and an island breakfast plate consisting of silog—sinangag (garlic fried rice) and itlog (crispy egg).
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Malort mania: Malort—that "unique" Chicago liqueur—is experiencing a renaissance at AceBounce, 230 N. Clark St.
The spot created four Malort cocktails and mini-Chicago-style hot dogs in March to celebrate the city's 187th birthday on March 4. However, due to popular demand (!), the drinks and mini-dogs will be offered throughout April. The cocktails are The Hugo (Malort, Campari, pineapple juice, orange juice, lemon juice and simple syrup), The Shelby (Malort, tequila, lime juice, orange juice and topped with ginger beer), The Allan (Malort, vodka, lemon juice, Pamplemousse liqueur, and passionfruit and strawberry purees) and The Alanna (Malort, gin, lemon juice, grapefruit, agave and egg whites).
Sweet deal: McDonald's and Krispy Kreme are expanding their partnership, which launched in 2022 in Louisville, Kentucky, according to Yahoo! News.
Now, Krispy Kreme will deliver three of its most popular fresh doughnuts to McDonald's daily—the Original Glazed Doughnut, the Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles Doughnut or the Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled Doughnut. The chain restaurant is doing a phased market rollout starting later this year.
Pop life: Don't forget my other Substack: "Pop-Eds: My takes on pop culture." Thank you so much to the people who've already subscribed. Among other things and people, my latest entry discusses a controversial race, bad local ads, Diddy and a rare misstep by Kelly Clarkson. Subscribe to andrew449.Substack.com to get all my thoughts.
Drop me a line (hot news, tips, etc.) at future3733@yahoo.com .
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