New Episode: Calumet Fisheries, Yusho, Antico Posto
New episode premieres Friday, October 26 at 8:00 pm
One of the aspects that viewers seem to like most about Check, Please! is the diversity and juxtaposition of our featured restaurants, and this week is no exception. We’ve got something old, something new and, if there is such a thing as a “neighborhood restaurant” in a big mall, we’ve got one for you.
We had a great time checking out Calumet Fisheries, a south side Chicago institution that has been family owned and operated for over 60 years. We interviewed Calumet Fisheries owner Mark Kotlick about the history of his restaurant and what makes it so smoky and one of a kind. Although all of his seafood is cooked, take a look at part of his “raw” interview above.
We also have newcomer Yusho on the show and we have a wonderful interview with chef/owner Matthias Merges. He describes his Logan Square spot this way: “The cuisine of Yusho is inspired by Japanese street food and Asian street food, but we’re not Japanese and we put our own take on it using seasonal and local ingredients and creating our own kind of ‘Yusho cuisine.’”Before opening Yusho, Chef Merges spent years as Charlie Trotter’s chef de cuisine and was quoted extensively in Mark Caro’s multipart series on Trotter in the Chicago Tribune earlier this year. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, it’s really a fascinating, long look at Trotter’s career and the people who worked with him. Here’s part two, which includes extensive interviews with Merges.
We’re ecstatic for our host, Alpana Singh, as she’s gearing up to open her own restaurant, The Boarding House, later this month! You may have noticed that we haven’t featured Lettuce Entertain You restaurants in quite awhile and that’s because Alpana worked there for almost the entire time she has hosted the show. But now that she’s no longer with Rich Melman’s iconic brand and company, we’re featuring our first Lettuce restaurant in almost a decade with Italian cafe and wine bar Antico Posto on Friday’s episode.
I hope you enjoy the show!