Bottom came out just with some small char spots, but no big areas that were burned and bitter, just a bit of char flavor. My partner does the dough as a sourdough and did not adjust the recipe for the new oven aside from popping more of the bubbles by rolling out the dough a bit harder after the first pizza was a bit too bubbly. This batch was 718 g King Arthur bread flour, 482 g water, 14 g salt, 14 olive oil, 5 g garlic powder, and 143 g sourdough starter (fed thrice before making the dough) for a total of 8 pizzas.

If you are giving out grams, y'all are pretty serious with dough. Thanks.

This is the Weigh :D

We made it to the Fresh Farms in Niles (on Touhy) today! But not before going to the Devon one first. We got in the Devon location, which is tiny, and were looking high and low for the seafood counter....which doesn't exist. Fortunately we had nothing pressing to do, so we jumped back in the car to go to the one in Niles, and wow! Thanks for the recommendation. We only hit about half of the aisles but bought a ton of stuff, including mussels (and lemongrass) for red curry mussels for dinner tonight. And a few breads, one of which will be great for the broth.

Ordered a dinner salad with pistachio vinaigrette and a charcuterie board from a local pizza place. Enjoying it at home with the Muga Rioja my FT Secret Santa sent me. A nice way to relax after a long work week during tax season.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3f332b52d.jpeg

Organic kielbasa
cheese fondue (fribourg vacheron & gruyere) with ciabatta, Apple, and Cornichons
dessert chocolate fondue (72%) with broiled marshmallows, bananas, Rice Krispie treats, baklava, strawberries, pineapple, blood orange, and apples

Phew....glad you went to Niles, I would have looked like an idiot if you hadn't! I had no idea the Devon location didn't have seafood.
Anyway, glad you liked it. I was floored when I first walked into one just a few years ago. And for what it's worth, we usually only hit about half the aisles, skipping most of the middle aisles that have canned and dry goods you can get anywhere. You can pretty much walk around the perimeter from the produce section to the bakery and totally lose an hour of your day -- it happens to me just in the area with the area with the cheese, sausages, and smoked fish :).

I suspect it's as far for you to get there as it is for us from Northbrook. But it's unquestionably our go to place for special occasions, and worth the trip and the large crowds.

That sounds deluxe, especially the fondue with Vacheron.

thank you!
vacheron is like $28/lb. I haven’t ever bought cheese at this price point unless it’s the fancy one for a party presentation.
I don’t think our beloved fondue restaurant in Carmel CA uses this vacheron stuff; I’m sure it’s Sysco fondue cheese or Sysco blend of raclette / emmenthaler / Kraft “Swiss” cheeses. I’m sadly convinced that I’m now making fondue better than that beloved restaurant, which is my favorite restaurant in Carmel for the mix of cuisine / service; we have had New Year’s Eve supper there for 6-8 years except 2020. Their dessert fondue doesn’t have broiled (toasted) marshmallow, just regular marshmallow. And no baklava as a dipper.
Somehow the fondue pots only needed 2 hours of soaking and not an overnight soak like last weekend.

I'd estimate that the Devon location is about the size of a Trader Joe's, but with twice as many (narrow) aisles. And the meat section was literally half a cooler with some packaged chicken in it. (Wouldn't surprise me given the neighborhood if the communities have their go-to kosher/halal butchers.)

We basically did what you suggest and walked around the perimeter, though only explored about half of the produce section. And I could have spent more time by the pastries :) It's about a 20 minute drive for us, but not unusual for us to be within 10 minutes of there with some regularity (Evanston Home Depot, heading to the expressway, etc.) so I could see us shopping there with some regularity. One thing I didn't notice -- is there a liquor section? I feel as if I saw some booze scattered throughout, but didn't notice if they had a section. (Not a dealbreaker, since we are so close to the Evanston Binny's, but really just curious.)

Nice! Yes, sometimes it seems like it’s easier to source and apply high quality ingredients at home. Sysco has really set a low bar for ingredients for restaurants. We pretty much no longer go out for steaks now that we’ve found Costco to be a high quality vendor for bulk steaks and tuned up our sous vide process for steaks. Even with vacuum sealing, freezing, and defrosting, the steaks at home beat out anything I’ve had in a restaurant. Though we do appreciate that eating out means less clean up.

Also, that baklava sounds like a real treat! If you’re ever in the Denver/Aurora area, there’s a great shop for takeout baklava and other similar pastries that’s amazingly affordable and very nice quality: Shahrazad Bakery.

That's a great question, I know I've seen some beer near the bakery area, but there may not be liquor or wine there. We've never looked - we are literally a 3 minute drive from the Highland Park Binny's, so we usually just stock up there. Also, I won't go into details but we reluctantly accepted a large credit from a winery in lieu of a down payment we had made before COVID, which we've only begun to dip into, so well-stocked in the wine department. :)

Boring dinner tonight
Dover Sole with lemon & butter
orzo with spinach
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ba827f90a6.jpg

Interesting you mention this... I love Swiss cheese and have tried dozens of them over the years, including many expensive imported ones. Somewhat surprisingly, Kraft is near the top for me. I certainly don't seek out any of their other cheeses, but will almost always pick the Kraft "extra thin" Swiss slices. Good hot or cold.

grilled marinated chicken thighs
Mashed potatoes
chicken gravy
grilled kielbasa

as it’s now over a year... I always loved Max’s and mizrahi’s by the Binny’s.