at chicagotribune.com, Josh Noel wrote:It began with one text message.

On Saturday morning, Jason Vincent, the chef behind Giant and Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar, reached out to his longtime friend and former boss, Jason Hammel, the founder of Logan Square dining staple Lula Cafe.

Vincent asked to get together Sunday, to talk through the public health crisis that was fast becoming a restaurant industry crisis: What could they do to take care of their employees amid cratering business? To boost the chances of their businesses surviving? To be good community stewards? Hammel agreed.

Vincent reached out to a few more restaurant owners to add a few more bodies to the conversation: Diana Davila of Mi Tocaya, Joe Frillman of Daisies and Abe Conlon of Fat Rice. Someone asked if they could invite a few other people. Vincent said sure.

By 1 p.m. Sunday, the meeting that had begun with a single text message had become a standing-room affair at Chef’s Special. Every chair and stool was occupied. People stood behind the bar. In the back of the room, late arrivers raised themselves on tiptoe to see what was happening.

The gathering took on a tone of therapy as much as strategy.

“Everyone wants community right now,” Vincent said. “And it was really beautiful.”

The restaurant owners had purposefully not announced the meeting beyond informal texts and calls. They also decided not to invite media or stream the discussion on social media.

At a perilous moment where it seems as if any of their businesses might be in peril — and certainly the livelihoods of the vast majority of their employees was indeed in peril — they wanted to close ranks. To talk and listen, to learn and share anxieties and ideas.

Rick Bayless showed up. Stephanie Izard, too. And Paul Kahan.

Those veteran voices spoke, offering honest, unfiltered opinions about how to survive an industry crisis no one in the room had envisioned even a month ago. Hammel, who launched Lula in 1999, well before Logan Square was a destination neighborhood, took much of the lead. But more than a dozen people spoke during the hour-long meeting.

"Nobody pulled punches or pretended they weren’t freaked out,” Vincent said.

Bayless called the meeting “one of most amazing experiences in my 33 years in the business."

“We had people in that room asking for recommendations on what to do, ways to get a loan," he said, stating the crowd numbered 74 chefs and restaurant owners. "People who poured their lives into places that they have to close. It was super intense.”

But most of the concern rested on their employees.

“We have people who work paycheck to paycheck, and they haven’t been getting full paychecks for awhile," Bayless said. "And now, nothing’s coming in. These are people I’ve been working with for 30 years; I can’t turn my back on them. And all that was before the announcement.”

“The announcement” came shortly after the meeting ended: Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered all Illinois bars and restaurants to close for dine-in business for at least two weeks. But most if not all of the business owners in the room had seen their fortunes dipping for weeks. Pritzker’s shutdown order had seemed inevitable.

“We’ve had almost no people in our restaurants,” Bayless said. "We’ve been in total triage mode, thinking of what to do. In some ways, this puts a start time to it. This mode is more drastic, but the other was that nobody was getting enough hours, and there wasn’t enough revenue to keep open. At least now we know what’s coming next."

Now the concern is that the shutdown order will last well beyond two weeks.

“The fear that lies with the chef-owners is that we can figure out something for maybe two weeks, but not for two months,” Bayless said.

Many Illinois restaurants, which can stay open for carry out and delivery, have begun to furlough employees with a twofold hope: of bringing them back when business returns to normalcy, and that the businesses can pay bills and taxes and rents long enough to survive.

Some restaurants have girded for a possible shutdown for weeks, devising new revenue streams — such as delivery and subscription services — while also constantly weighing the benefits of closing to help stem the spread of COVID-19 versus getting employees a few more nights of salary.

Davilia, whose Mi Tocaya has become a James Beard-award finalist since launching three years ago, is less immediately well positioned to transition to the new reality. Almost all Mi Tocaya sales are dine-in, Davila said.

“We are trying to figure out how to convert a dine-in business to a to-go business,” she said. “I will come up with a to-go menu, but how do I market it? How do I get this information out there? How many people can I employ to execute this? Will I have any business? I don’t know. But I have to try.”

The meeting made clear that most people in the room were wrestling with similar calculations, Davila said. This Sunday, she said, Mi Tocaya had 16 reservations — down from the 100 of a typical Sunday. She chose not to open, knowing she would be shut down for at least two weeks, anyway.

“It can be very daunting to think, ‘Where do I start?’” Davila said. "Listening to (other chefs at the meeting) provided a clearer path on what to do next and what my message should be to my staff.”

Davila said she will keep the restaurant open for staff meals every afternoon, and will make Mi Tocaya available to her 24 employees, many of whom are now furloughed.

“I can’t provide them with hours, but our doors are open to them,” she said. “They can use space for social reasons; they can draw, paint, dance, whatever. I want to provide a safe place for them.”

By the end of Sunday’s meeting, the group had devised a letter to Pritzker, outlining the help they needed to survive the shutdown. Written mostly by Hammel, the letter called on the governor to support emergency unemployment benefits for hourly and salaried industry workers, to eliminate the payroll tax and to push for rent and loan abatements for affected workers.

The social media team from Honey Butter Fried Chicken offered guidance on how to share the message, and what social media channels. By 6 p.m., many of the people in that room were sharing videos of themselves reading a statement.

People left with, if not quite a sense of optimism, a sense of unity.

“When your heroes and understood leaders in the industry make clear they’re suffering and they’re worried about your suffering, it’s one very important form of leadership in this mess," said Pete Ternes, co-founder of Bungalow restaurant and Middle Brow brewery in Logan Square. "When you can’t get certainty from the government, it helps to know industry leaders are at your back and fighting with you.”

As the meeting broke up, in part to hear Pritzker’s announcement, everyone said goodbye with back pats and by bumping elbows.

G Wiv wrote:I'm thinking either baked spicy wings, congee with wings

Baked spicy wings

Jewels strip steak

Second, much is to be honored in the bounty of what the Italians call “cucina povera,” the cooking of the poor. It uses less expensive cuts of meat protein (or, indeed, little or no meat at all); stretches ingredients with pulses, grains or vegetables; and uses lengthy cooking methods to develop layers of flavors and aromas.

annak wrote:I'm keeping a journal of the meals we eat while in isolation (which we've been doing since friday). Also noting weather, activities, big events in the news...

gastro gnome wrote:Stores are out of bread so I made some.

at npr.org, Colin Dwyer wrote:The coronavirus has not been kind to supplies of toilet paper. Along with the obvious items, such as hand sanitizer and other disinfectants, the rolls of tissue have been increasingly hard to find at local markets, as people stock up to hunker down during the global pandemic.

But please, for goodness' sake, don't panic if you run out.

That, at least, is the earnest request of the police department in Newport, Ore.

"It's hard to believe that we even have to post this. Do not call 9-1-1 just because you ran out of toilet paper," the department told residents in a reminder posted to Facebook last weekend. "You will survive without our assistance."

ronnie_suburban wrote:

gastro gnome wrote:Stores are out of bread so I made some.

Not sure what happened, gg. Your image, which looked great, was displaying correctly earlier. What kind of bread did you bake? I was thinking about doing the same but so far, I've been able to find decent bread when I've looked for it.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I realize that this is only very peripherally related but I had a good laugh when I saw this headline. It was reminiscent of a Portlandia episode . . .

Oregon Police Remind Residents: Don't Call 911 If You Run Out Of Toilet Paper

at npr.org, Colin Dwyer wrote:The coronavirus has not been kind to supplies of toilet paper. Along with the obvious items, such as hand sanitizer and other disinfectants, the rolls of tissue have been increasingly hard to find at local markets, as people stock up to hunker down during the global pandemic.

But please, for goodness' sake, don't panic if you run out.

That, at least, is the earnest request of the police department in Newport, Ore.

"It's hard to believe that we even have to post this. Do not call 9-1-1 just because you ran out of toilet paper," the department told residents in a reminder posted to Facebook last weekend. "You will survive without our assistance."

=R=

G Wiv wrote:Leaning toward congee as one cup rice yields 10-12 cups of filling comfort packed congee.

Congee, simple, satisfying, inexpensive, delicious. #homecooking #socialdistancingcooking

G Wiv wrote:

G Wiv wrote:Leaning toward congee as one cup rice yields 10-12 cups of filling comfort packed congee.

CongeeP20.jpg

Congee, count me a Fan!

Jefe wrote:Curious Gary, which rice (since you schooled me on the correct variety for toasting & grinding)?

Xexo wrote:The no knead sourdough bread recipe from Breadtopia.

G Wiv wrote:It's my understanding, short grain or regular long grain will work fine. According to what I've read basmati does not work well for congee, though I have no idea of the reason.

A woman on one of my FB cooking groups posted this -

“I love to cook more than anything. It is my respite from my job as a physician. If you are looking for a way to help us outside of providing meals and snacks for your local health care workers, please please please consider stopping cooking and spending a day on your phones contacting local businesses and asking them to donate their N95 masks or surgical masks. Especially dental, orthodontic and aesthetician offices, nail salons, construction sites and pest control businesses. Please gather masks and donate to your local hospitals, outpatient clinics and urgent care centers. We're running out and we are sitting ducks. We would literally rather have these than food. Please.

Edited to say, feel free to share.”

My state has donation drop off and mail in sites, maybe yours does too

janeyb wrote:Since then, we have done some pre-ordering from Meijer. You can pick-up curbside for a fee. But they are out of things that are now considered rare (flour, toilet paper, liquid soap)...

Cathy2 wrote:If you have reason to go in the direction of Midway Airport, I saw toilet paper, paper towels and bleach at Continental Sales. They limited two items in the paper category, so bring someone with you.