Slideshow

50 Photos That Tell The Story of 2012 in Chicago Food

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If you’re at the office, it’s going to be a quiet week, so quiet you could fire a T-shirt cannon and not hit anybody. So we’re going to help you kill time by looking back at the year in food 2012, as we chronicled it here at Grub Street Chicago. Today we go through the dozens of slideshows we’ve run this year to tell the story in pictures. It’s chefs you know and love, it’s food to salivate over, it’s events from EMP at Alinea to Edzo’s at Lollapalooza— it’s 50 carefully curated (to use a very-2012 word) examples of food porn, mostly by our man Huge Galdones and ourselves, but with some other shots by various friends-of-Grub-Street. Watch it below (each one links to the original slideshow it came from, if you want to see more of anything). Then come back tomorrow for great interview moments, and Friday for a look back at our favorite videos.

Ryan Poli at work at the grill shortly before the opening of Tavernita. Photo: Galdones Photography LLC 2012
Jared Van Camp showing off his just-installed pasta cookers at Nellcôte.
Phil Rubino and John Des Rosiers at Moderno in Highland Park, shortly before opening.
Kevin Hickey (Allium) and Jared Rouben making beer at Goose Island.
Jean Banchet congratulates Dave Beran and Will Douillet on Next’s Jean Banchet Awards. Photo: Galdones Photography LLC 2012
The caipirinha from Next El Bulli. Photo: Roger Kamholz/? Roger Kamholz
Rick Bayless tweeting from the Frontera Farmer Foundation event at Frontera/Topolobampo.
Eddie Lakin of Edzo’s at Lollapalooza’s Chow Town, with the special French fry paper cone he found which includes a compartment for ketchup. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Tagliolini Nero with crab, sea urchin at Balena.
Sixteen: Four Story Hills Farm poussin and New Zealand langoustines, with ramps, artichokes “en barigoule,” and first of the season morels.
From Andrew Brochu at Graham Elliot: Soft-boiled farm egg, crumble of brioche and mustard-coated sunflower seeds, asparagus, mustard gel, cherry bomb radish, mustard greens, baby petite red mustard and radish flowers.
Dessert at now-gone RIA. Photo: Derek Richmond/Derek Richmond 2012
The dish is called Allium, but the restaurant is Acadia: baby fennel, garlic scapes, spring onion, leek ashen potato, onion soubise.
Whipped foie gras, cassis de Bourgogne, fresh herbs and pink peppercorns, at Telegraph, from our foie gras roundup.
A levitating appetizer plate at Tru.
Ramova Grill, R.I.P.
Tacos at Carniceria Aguascalientes, from our taco slideshow.
T-shirt at Baconfest.
Stephanie Izard with the main course for a Virtue Cider debut dinner at Girl and the Goat.
Barbecued mutton, from Kentucky bourbon dinner at Big Jones.
Whole hog decked out for judging at Praise the Lard in Murphysboro, Illinois.
Jason Vincent of Nightwood crowned King of Porc at Cochon 555.
Grayson Schmitz, briefly a Chicagoan, looks over student-made pretzels at an event with 5 Lizard Cerviceria.
Laurent Gras and Thai Dang at the Embeya pop-up preview. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Jacques Torres at a private choucroute garni dinner by his friend Jean Joho at Everest.
Plating a course from the Dark Lord dinner at Publican Quality Meats.
Black olive and sesame crusted sea trout, fresh garbanzo bean hummus, roasted beets, sumac at The Trenchermen. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Smelt, fermented leek, Indian cucumber, rue, at the short-lived Beverly Kim version of Bonsoirée. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Embeya: sea snails, pork, lemongrass, garlic. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Duck prosciutto, Next Kyoto.
Fried fish head special at Fat Rice. Photo: Photographer: Huge Galdones/Copyright: Galdones Photography LLC. All rights reserved.
Trout at Table, Donkey and Stick. Photo: Photographer: Huge Galdones/Copyright: Galdones Photography LLC. All rights reserved.
Heart at Perennial Virant, from the Off-Menu Dishes slideshow.
Smoked Edwards Surryano ham with avocado, apple, mint and mojo verde, at Avec.
Soup with duck confit at Masa Azul.
Art Smith and Takashi Yagihashi at Chicago Gourmet. Photo: Photographer: Huge Galdones/Copyright: Galdones Photography LLC. All rights reserved.
Alpana Singh and chef Christian Gosselin at a walk-through of the Boarding House space.
Kristine and Mama Subido debuting Pecking Order fried chicken at Dose Market in May.
Amy Morton and Nicole Pedersen at Found. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
A wedding at Publican Quality Meats, performed by Craig Perman (Perman Wine Selections).  Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Phillip Foss and crew plate their 80s Week menu. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Midnight ramen at EL Ideas, put on by Kitchit Chicago. Photo: Photographer: Huge Galdones/Copyright: Galdones Photography LLC. All rights reserved.
Matt Kirkley wrestles a crab at L2O.
Thomas Bowman and Nate Meads at a preview for Baume & Brix.
Thomas Keller at a dinner at The Bristol. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Michael Ruhlman, Brian Polcyn and Rob Levitt at the butchering demo at Floriole Cafe & Bakery. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Daniel Humm, Grant Achatz and the Alinea crew at Eleven Madison Park.
Achatz and Humm during Eleven Madison’s Park’s visit to Alinea. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Nathan Myhrvold, Maxime Billet, Jim Clendenning and Charlie Trotter at Trotter’s farewell dinner. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Our man Huge Galdones, shooting at Table, Donkey and Stick.
50 Photos That Tell The Story of 2012 in Chicago Food