Julia Thiel
Bio:
I've worked at the Reader since 2007 and have had more titles than I can remember right now, the most current being staff writer. I write Key Ingredient, a chef-to-chef recipe challenge that won a James Beard award last year, and review pretty much anything that moves (or doesn't): restaurants, theater, books. Most of my articles focus on booze or food, from a Frenchman making quinoa vodka to a brewery that aspires to be off the grid. I also like to write about my personal failures, like getting lost on a bike ride to the Indiana Dunes or making mozzarella that could double as a SuperBall. Currently, I'm heading up the Reader's Bedbug Investigation Unit. Semicolons are my favorite punctuation mark, followed closely by em dashes--but I'm in a recovery program for chronic over-users and am not allowed to use them anymore.
I've worked at the Reader since 2007 and have had more titles than I can remember right now, the most current being staff writer. I write Key Ingredient, a chef-to-chef recipe challenge that won a James Beard award last year, and review pretty much anything that moves (or doesn't): restaurants, theater, books. Most of my articles focus on booze or food, from a Frenchman making quinoa vodka to a brewery that aspires to be off the grid. I also like to write about my personal failures, like getting lost on a bike ride to the Indiana Dunes or making mozzarella that could double as a SuperBall. Currently, I'm heading up the Reader's Bedbug Investigation Unit. Semicolons are my favorite punctuation mark, followed closely by em dashes--but I'm in a recovery program for chronic over-users and am not allowed to use them anymore.
Julia Thiel writes about booze every Wednesday.
- Food & Drink, Key Ingredient, May 23, 2013
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Tony Diaz of Maude's Liquor Bar works with cactus, the Slimer of succulents
The pads of the prickly pear, transformed into a paillard
- Arts & Culture, Summer Guide, May 16, 2013
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Summer Guide: Two cycling day trips to three brewpubs
A guide to biking for beer outside the city's limits—yes, Three Floyds included
- Food & Drink, Summer Guide, May 16, 2013
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Chicago Craft Beer Week's cup runneth over
The 11-day week may be too much for one beer-nerd brain to process.
- Blogs, Bleader, May 15, 2013
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Drinking on Soldier Field: The first American Beer Classic
More than 100 breweries graced the football field this past Saturday.
- Blogs, Bleader, May 15, 2013
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What to do for Chicago Craft Beer Week
More than a dozen of the most promising-looking events from CCBW
- Blogs, Bleader, May 8, 2013
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One Sip: Solemn Oath's Whisper Kisses farmhouse ale
Solemn Oath promises to make beer you'll fall in love with—and then take it away.
- Food & Drink, Key Ingredient, May 2, 2013
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John Asbaty of Panozzo's takes honeycomb tripe from "funky" to "fresh"
A love-it-or-hate-it variety meat gets transformed into sausage.
- Blogs, Bleader, May 1, 2013
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"It's a whiskey tasting, not a water tasting": WhiskyFest 2013
Tasting Pappy Van Winkle, Lagavulin Distillers' Edition, Balvenie 17-year DoubleWood, and more at this year's Chicago WhiskyFest
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 30, 2013
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Drinking Malort at 9 AM
Abraham Conlon's version of Epoisses, and several other dishes local chefs are making for the Key Ingredient Cook-Off on Friday.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 26, 2013
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The High Noon Saloon wins at churros, fails at everything else
Wicker Park saloon offers Tex-Mex food, sort of like its neighbor Big Star, but fails to measure up.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 24, 2013
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The best of the Glunz Expo: New beers and new-to-Chicago beers
Highlights of the Glunz Beer Expo: Ten Ninety, Saugatuck Brewing Company, Furthermore Beer
- Food & Drink, Key Ingredient, Apr 19, 2013
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Key Ingredient: Jonathan Zaragoza gets into muddy-tasting amphibians,
skin and allChallenged with live frog, the Masa Azul chef takes a trip to Chinatown and goes from there.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 19, 2013
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Antitheft device the BikeSpike finds funding through Kickstarter
The BikeSpike, a bike tracking system developed by local entrepreneurs, is about to go into production.
- Food & Drink, Food & Drink Feature, Apr 18, 2013
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Raising the potluck bar
A supper club of ambitious amateur chefs takes themed dinners to the next level.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 17, 2013
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One Sip: Ada St.'s velvety, surprising Fistful of Dollars
Ada St.'s recently expanded cocktail menu has some excellent offerings.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 10, 2013
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Whale watch: Ambergris surfaces at Billy Sunday
An ambergris-laced cocktail at Billy Sunday, plus an excellent old-fashioned.
- Food & Drink, Key Ingredient, Apr 5, 2013
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Abraham Conlon of Fat Rice shows the "right way" and "wrong way" to cook a porcine reproductive organ
Braised, deep-fried, stir-fried—pig uterus has its merits.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 3, 2013
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Drinking elsewhere: A visit to a small winery in Chile's Maipo Valley
A Chilean motorcycle-racing champion sends me to Huelquen, an organic winery near Santiago.
- Blogs, Bleader, Mar 27, 2013
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Ale Syndicate: A brewery of many names finally produces some beer
The brewery formerly known as New Chicago Brewing Company and New Chicago Beer Company, from brothers Samuel and Jesse Evans, has released its first beer.
- Food & Drink, Key Ingredient, Mar 22, 2013
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Jake Bickelhaupt of Sous Rising aerates lobster guts
The underground chef pulls out all the stops with tomalley.
