Mash Tun & Graze Publish Food & Drink Essays | Chicago
Two new Chicago publications are at the top of our list
May has been quite a month for Chicago food–but not because of splashy restaurant openings.
Two new Chicago-based journals went to press: one celebrating craft beer culture in Chicago and beyond, another capturing the multifaceted nature of food–as art, literature, history and poetry.
Ed Marszewski of Public Media Institute and Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar is the editor of the new Mash Tun: A Craft Beer Journal (available at Quimby's and Maria's; $8). Its 145 pages contain an eclectic assortment of beer-centric work, like tales of drunken literary greats; an interview with Half Acre Beer Company's Gabriel Magliaro; writing by The Publican's beer director, Michael McAvena; and an illustrated history of Imperial Stout.
We'll be referencing some of its useful compilations in the future, specifically a list of good beer bars across Asia, and "15 Illinois Beers You Need to Drink a Lot Of."
A spin through the pages of the new literary journal Graze traverses an expanse of physical and emotional space. It holds an essay about Cambodian prahok (fish paste) and a short tale of a lover dropping a pan of eggs. There's a poem about a Samoan cookhouse in Northern California, and a series of photographs entitled "After the Guests," which evoke the work of another Chicago artist, Laura Letinsky (find where Graze is available here; $10).