the tribune has put out a call for information on this year's farmers markets. i'm looking forward to the article, since the city of chicago's site still has listings for 2001. is it summer yet?

speaking of the trib, they had an interesting article on the rise of caramel this week. to me, the only thing better than chocolate is chocolate with caramel, so it was a nice read. i still would like to try making my own soft caramel candy sometime; maybe if i keep saying it i'll actually do it someday.

it should be noted that a tribune login is required to view the caramel article. they ran a great story on chicago's blossoming tortilla industry a few months ago, but i can't even find a google cache of it. as an obvious documentation freak, it really pisses me off that you have to pay to access tribune articles that are more than a week old. information should be free; i'll leave it at that and climb down from my soapbox now.

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alicia directed me to a great site, and i want to link to it before i forget - the american sushi reference, specifically chicago's listings. there aren't as many reviews as i'd like, and it's not a complete list (right away i looked for new tokyo, it's missing). but it's such a great reference, tons of information. gotta love it.

oh, and the nytimes has a great article on catching giant tuna, my fave sashimi. i didn't know that tuna are not farmed (raised in captivity from egg to death) but caught. anyway, reading the descriptions of fishing in mexico, slicing up tuna belly and 190-pounders just fueled my craving, as if it weren't strong enough.