This Week’s Episode: Ttowa, TWO, and Flo & Santos

Hello!

I hope you enjoyed the first episode of the new season of Check, Please! Be sure to tune in tonight as we have another great show in store. The restaurants this week are quite an assortment. Ttowa is a Korean restaurant; TWO serves seasonal, sustainable, small plate, farm-to-table fare; and Flo & Santos is a near-South Side pizza and pierogi joint. Seeing as I am half Italian and half Lithuanian, I loved learning about a place that serves both pizza and pierogi.

I enjoyed this episode for another reason as well, namely because it brought up a few dining topics I’m interested in exploring. Often times our dining experiences (or most life experiences for that matter) are affected by the expectations we set for them. How many times have you gone to a restaurant anticipating a certain style of cuisine only to be served something else and your experience was altered as a result? In this episode, Ttowa serves up home-style Korean food. Sounds great, right? Well, what if you were expecting a Korean BBQ place where charcoal fueled grills fire up hunks of marinated meat and leave you smelling a little smokier than when you entered? And for many, that’s what is assumed when referring to Korean BBQ – understandably so – as the majority of Korean restaurants in town serve up that experience. (Side note: this is changing with the arrival of Ahjoomah’s Apron, which we featured last year; Bill Kim’s growing “belly” empire; and Beverly Kim’s new kid on the block, Parachute.) Check out what guest reviewer Candice Gatlin has to say about Ttowa this week.

As I move on to thinking about TWO, I contemplate small plates, and wonder what people feel about this style of dining these days? It came into vogue about a decade ago and has since hit a fever pitch where finding a menu serving the traditional appetizer, entrée, and dessert progression is less common. For me, I like both styles. Sometimes I want to try a bunch of items and am grateful for the small plate style that allows me to do so, but other nights I just want an entrée all to myself that I don’t have to pass around the table. My guests this week weighed in on the topic, and I’d love to hear what you have to say as well!

As I close this week’s post, I promised you some photos from the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America event I emceed last week. It was an exciting, high-energy evening filled with culinary luminaries, dining enthusiasts, and superb food. If you want to see an interview with the inspiring Susan Ungaro, President of the James Beard Foundation, check out this interview with Ungaro on Chicago Tonight and a short interview with me about the event.

Be sure to tune in tonight at 8:00 pm and online, and let me know what you think of this week’s restaurants!

Cheers,
Catherine