We don’t know if this is really New York Times Dining Columnist Frank Bruni, as Mo Rocca’s involved, but if it is, we give thumbs up to Bruni for allowing himself to be the object of satire. Rocca has Bruni parse various versions of Mac and Cheese. Thanks to reader Bill Lambert for the tip.

Of course, before there was chicken salad, there had to be mayonnaise—today, perhaps the mostly widely used and least respected of France’s great sauces. There are a few stories about the creation of mayonnaise. The most common and widely accepted story is that it was invented in 1756 to honor the victory of French Admiral La Galissoniére and Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu, who had commanded the siege against the British at Port Mahon in Minorca. In whipping up a victory feast, Richelieu’s chef created a new sauce to celebrate the occasion. The sauce was dubbed Mahonnaise, in honor of the Duc’s victory at Mahon. This tale seems likely both because the date corresponds to the world’s initial awareness of the sauce, and because there are regions where the name is still pronounced Mahonnaise. An alternate version of the tale is that Richelieu’s chef simply took with him to France a sauce he discovered in Mahon. There is also a claim in some parts that mayonnaise is connected in some way with the town of Mayenne. However, whichever tale is true, mayonnaise as we know it was developed by the French. More »

Chicago Reader’s Mike Sula says there’s a potential new restaurant, Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen, going up at 4911 N. Kedzie.

Top Chef has added a bunch of sponsors to their upcoming season, including Clorox, Toyota, Verizon Wireless and Michelob. Sounds like a potential quickfire challenge: construct a dish of Clorox and Michelob while one of your team members drives you 100 mph down Lakeshore Dr. in a Toyota Prius.

According to the Sun Times, some local McDonald’s don’t have room for all their food items on the overhead display menus. As a result they’re leaving stuff like milkshakes off the boards, even though you can still get them. In a way, McDonald’s now has a secret menu….

Drove out to Geneva last week to Bien Trucha (410 W. State St.) to check out the digs. This is not your mama’s taqueria. Sizewize, it makes the La Pasadita on the East side of Ashland as you drive Northbound seem like a palace. There’s also no customary dinginess, rather the place could have been done by Oprah fave Nate Berkus. The kitchen matches up with the decor, turning out a slew of exciting and unexpected things. The guacamole pictured above though was a revelation. Instead of tomato, those reddish nuggets are watermelon. I’d had guac with a few pomegranate seeds on top and that always made sense, but I never made the leap to a full on fruit infusion. I wish I had. All of my guac will now feature fruit.

Last year, Xni-Pec restaurant might have been the best thing to happen to Cicero since Betty Loren Maltese got locked up. Putting a regional Yucatecan restaurant in the same category as the incarceration of a multi-million-dollar embezzler might seem like hyperbole. But for most, the Yucatan is Cancun, which means most people’s conception of Yucatecan cuisine is Senor Frogs or Carlos ’n Charlies. Any restaurant that challenged such notions had to be exceptional. More »

Midwestern Food Alliance is holding its Spring Symposium, “Sweets: A Journey Through Midwestern Dessert Traditions,” a program about the history of sweets in the Midwest, including the important dessert traditions that started here and continue here in small towns and big cities alike. More »

Great editorial in the New York Times from a midwestern farmer who’s being penalized because he’s trying to expand his organic fruit and vegetable crop.

Trib’s architecture critic Blair Kamin gives Sixteen restaurant a big dose of aesthetic scrutiny. He’s pretty lukewarm about the digs, but loves the view and is grateful the Donald didn’t name the restaurant after himself.

Turns out the fare served at your run of the mill Chinese spot is as American as Apple Pie. Dude, I was so positive that Almond Boneless Chicken was passed down from dynasty to dynasty. Bummer.

Of Shikago, reviewer Laura Bianchi says, “Dining in Chicago’s top restaurants is always an adventure, but once in a while an experience really stands out.” This piece is a technically fine review, but it’s so full of rote blow by blow course descriptions, and trite aphorisms like “service was smooth as silk” and “Dinner was letter-perfect.” 353 of 587 words are all about what Bianchi ate, while she leaves the reader with one note about how the 40th floor private dining room is a must have for corporate events. I’d think business readers would want more? Where’s the context about how Shikago fares against other downtown fine dining Asian options? How’s the noise level? Can you have good lunch meetings without yelling? What’s the woo factor for impressing new clients? It seems there are a lot of ways these reviews could be more helpful to Crain’s ideal business reader.