John Carruthers

4/8/21

<i>Personal Trainer: Cooking</i> offers two screens, one kitchen, and a whole world to explore

Personal Trainer: Cooking offers two screens, one kitchen, and a whole world to explore

Welcome to Gamer Week, in which The Takeout will be celebrating the edible side of video games all week long.

2/9/21

Ditch pizza fundamentalism and embrace the glorious abomination that is Taco Pizza

Is there a food snob worse than the pizza fundamentalist haughtily turning up their nose at anything cooked under…

1/11/21

The best uses for leftover giardiniera oil, ranked on the Farina Scale

Adaptability is the mark of a great home cook. When I’ve got too much of something, one of my favorite things to do…

1/5/21

“I am <i>wooooounded</i>”: A jaunty stroll through the official <i>Frasier</i> cookbook

“I am wooooounded”: A jaunty stroll through the official Frasier cookbook

As a low-attention-span indoor kid, I had two great loves growing up. The first was American football—the Bears…

8/7/20

The Pizzadad Chronicles, or my obsessive quest to make the best Chicago tavern-style pie at home

You first feel like a father when you hold your tiny, precious child. But you first feel like a dad when you find…

7/2/20

Al pastor from the corner store: How to make Spam tacos

One of my favorite food experiences—or, honestly, one of my favorite experiences, period—is that first bite of a…

5/3/20

Make Italian Beef at home and become an honorary Chicago meatball like me

You know those hyper-regional dishes so pervasive in their area of origin that locals all assume they’re universal?…

4/23/20

I made White Castle Pâté and I’d do it again

Even before the current stay-at-home reality, I spent a lot of time on Twitter, both for my job and because I’m the…

4/1/20

Let’s make some hoosh, the survival stew of famed Antarctic explorers

If you’re like me, you’ve spent at least parts of the last couple of weeks animorphing into a nauseated ball of…

2/7/20

It’s high time we electrocute some hot dogs and see what happens

There’s not a ton of debate as to the best way to cook a hot dog: steamed/simmered is a dog stand tradition, grilled…

1/29/20

The hot dogs of Molokai: On living in paradise with a stolen grill

It’s the dead of winter, and most of the fun holidays are behind us—but there’s still months of cold and slush to…

1/24/20

Let’s raise a whisky glass to haggis, the chieftain of the sausage race

You may know haggis as the national dish of Scotland. But more likely, you know it as one the hackiest jokes in the…

12/27/19

Witness the glorious hot dog singularity that is “CHI”michurri

This time of year, we tend to throw around the term “Christmas miracle” willy-nilly: good parking spot, early…

12/11/19

Ingredients in a Beer Mile: water, malt, hops, yeast, merciless entropy

There are certain inadvisable things you do because they seem like they might make a pretty good story later: jump…

10/21/19

Make smoked trout dip only if you’re prepared to be hooked forever

Like any good Corn Belt Catholic, my earliest experience with fish was being forced to eat it on Fridays instead of…

10/8/19

Apple Butter-Cheddar Better Burgers are the cable-knit sweater of fall grilling

Summer in Chicago gets all the press, but fall around here is the real ass-kicking season. It’s got all the outdoor…

9/10/19

Buffalo Wild Wings vs. Wingstop: A chicken fight for wing supremacy

Buffalo wings are one of the food world’s great equalizers. Find the world’s most expensive Wagyu steak, chef it up,…

8/29/19

Slider down the middle: Secrets of my mom's homemade White Castle

You may not suspect this from my current status as Meatboy Extraordinaire, but I was one of those picky-eater kids…

8/19/19

I crammed the entire state of Wisconsin into a corn dog

I may be a proud Chicagoan and a humble FIB, but I have a deep and abiding love of Wisconsin. And it’s not just…

8/13/19

<i>The Takeout</i>'s fantasy food draft: Best classic cocktail

The Takeout's fantasy food draft: Best classic cocktail

Welcome, dear readers, to The Takeout Draft, our recurring feature that combines our love of food, fantasy sports,…

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