Fall eats and treats in the Square!

Something about this time of year makes the sweet tooth hyperactive, right? I mean, come on, it’s one thing after the other: the trick-or-treat grab bag, Thanksgiving’s creamy pumpkin pie, holiday cookies covered with sprinkles, figgy pudding. Well, you can satisfy that sweet tooth and so much more during this brief break between holiday engorgements by attending Logan Square Kitchen’s Pastry Market on November 12 and 13. Admission is only $1 and kids are free!

Just try to make it through this sentence without drooling a little: The market will give you a chance to munch on scones, cranberry crostatas, savory maple-leaf shaped pastries, pumpkin cheesecake brownies, buche de noel samples, deep-fried ricotta beignets, carrot cake, cream puffs, truffles, caramels, gourmet chocolates, macarons, gluten-free treats, miniature pies, and much, much more.

You really should check out the pastry market if you haven’t before. Zina Murray, the owner of Logan Square Kitchen, says, “It’s this delicious experience because it’s the only time that you’re going to have 18 amazing local food artisans all together in the same room like this. Everybody makes market specials or debuts new products here that you’re not going to see anywhere else.”

Valentine's Pastry Market, photo © Christina Noel Photography
Courtesy of Logan Square Kitchen

The pastry market is also a great excuse to come check out the two-year-old Logan Square Kitchen, an awesome multi-use, LEED-certified space that does the neighborhood proud. Zina says that she started holding the markets in 2010 to contend with city license use requirements and to show off the space to potential event-holders. “The first one was really lightening in a bottle…No one had ever seen a market like that before.”

If sweets aren’t your thing (if that’s possible?), Zina has something else to entice you: “You’ll get wonderful new ideas for winter cocktails because the Logan Square Kitchen is working with a liquor distributor and mixologists from Lula and Longman & Eagle to develop great winter cocktails and we’re going to sell small tastings and give away recipe booklets.”

The Details:
Logan Square Kitchen Pastry Market
November 12-13, 2011
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
2333 N. Milwaukee Avenue
 
And again, if sweets aren't your thing, and you missed the Logan Square Harvest Dinner, it’s okay, you still have plenty of opportunity to enjoy the season (gastronomically speaking) at local Logan Square restaurants!

Here’s a small bite of what you’ll find throughout the month:

El Cid
--Tamales (a savory fall favorite) with cactus
--Atole, a thick, creamy milk-based drink flavored with cinnamon and guava
--Mexican hot chocolate

Longman & Eagle
--Nichols Farm pumkin agnolotti with foie gras, walnuts, brown butter and wild huckleberries
--Venison sausage with poached crab apple, sauerkraut pierogi, porcini mushrooms, saba, and whole grain mustard
--Roasted leg of antelope with knefla, piggy sprouts, gingerbread sauce and huckleberries
(Also, don't miss the special Thanksgiving day feasts! On November 24 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. for $65.)

Lula Cafe
--Pumpkin and apple salad with apple, mascarpone, sesame-Sichuan peppercorn brittle
--Heirloom winter squash soup with grilled frisee, pear, cocoa nib, tamarind, goat cheese
--Celery root 'risotto' with rutabaga, klug farm grapes, nasturtium, black walnut

Masa Azul
--The Smoking Jacket: Casa Noble reposado tequila, sweet potato-avocado leaf puree, malbec red wine, fresh lemon juice
--Miss Mistletoe: Don Fulano blanco tequila, Jo Snow cherry-thyme syrup, lemon zest topped with Gruet blanc de noirs sparkling wine and a thyme-skewered cherry
--Sweet potato tamale

Telegraph
--Grilled amish half chicken, delicata squash stuffing, tamarind, annatto seed, cilantro
--Braised rabbit casareccia pasta, lavender, seasonal nut bolognaise, sunchoke puree
--Grilled sturgeon, puy lentils, coco beans, edward’s ham, swiss chard, green tomato relish

 ¡Buen Provecho! Bon Appétit! And Good Eats!


-Tamara Matthews