Kitchen 56
Spice up your cocktail with gourmet eats
Heart of The House Chicago
Chef Lamar Moore
Southside Pride Polish
What was the inspiration behind your Chicago Southside Pride Polish?
I am an avid south-sider of Chicago. When I was a kid I loved coming down the expressway smelling the aroma of seared hotdogs and caramelized onions from Jim’s. This is my version of that, as a nod to what has been a staple in Chicago for years.
Original Jägermeister works great with this recipe. It adds some additional sweetness and flavor to the onions, as well as counterbalance the tartness that you get from the Alabama BBQ sauce.
Man, I love my city! We are super sports fans, emperors of the “Windy City,” not afraid of much, and Chicago has some of the best food around. What is not to love about Chicago?
Jef Tate's Cocktail Pairing
Bucket Boyz Tipple
Photo by Nate Laird @jagerlifeatx
Hey, Jef, can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind your creation?
My inspiration behind this cocktail is a nice frosty cold one to pair with Chef’s Southside Pride Polish. In remixing a cold carbonated beverage that cuts through the rich taste and textures of a Polish, I created a Jägermeister highball.
Cocktail Name: Bucket Boyz Tipple
Recipe:
- 3/4 part lemon juice
- 3/4 part simple syrup
- 1 part Jägermeister Cold Brew
- 2 parts Cognac
- 2 parts Topo Chico or Champagne (If you are feeling celebratory)
Glass: Frosted Beer Glass
Garnish: No Garnish
Method: Combine all ingredients into a shaker tin, shake till the tin is almost too cold to hold, and double strain with a Hawthorne and fine mesh strainer into a frosted beer glass over fresh cubes or one large cube and top with Topo Chico or Champagne.
What do you love the most about the city?
I think the go-to answer for this is usually something about the grit, hard-nosed, blue-collar makeup of the city. While I do love that, it’s one of the byproducts of that attitude that keeps me sane and in love with this city. Chicagoans are absolutely HILARIOUS. Hands down, some of the funniest people I’ve ever come across in life are from Chicago. The stars and standouts from their respective eras are well known: the Belushis, Marla Gibbs, Kathy Griffin, Lil Rel, Vince Vaughan, Bill Murray, the great Red Foxx, the great Robin Williams, the great Bernie Mac—are just a few. But even the average kid surviving at the Chicago Public School lunch table will roast you in under 10 seconds lol.
GRAB YOUR TOOLS & LET'S MAKE IT TOGETHER!
Video by Nate Laird @jagerlifeatx
Chef Lamar Moore was born and raised in the south side of Chicago. He began showing his love for the culinary arts at the age of eight. Growing up in a large family, Moore learned the importance of cooking with love, taking care of people, and giving back to those less fortunate. His grandmother was extremely influential in his culinary journey. Hailing from Mississippi, she passed on a great appreciation of Southern food and culture to her grandson, as well as the importance of cooking from the soul.
Since catching the culinary bug as a young boy, Moore has dedicated years of blood, sweat, and tears to get where he is. He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in 2003 and decided to head West to San Jose, CA, where he secured a job at McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants. After seven years, he returned to Chicago, where he became the sous chef for Chicago's professional football team, before moving on to a series of restaurants working as a successful chef and restaurateur. Moore has had the privilege of cooking for professional football championships, professional football championships, and even Barack and Michelle Obama on multiple occasions, but he admits his grandmother will always be his first and biggest fan.
Moore has appeared on popular top culinary competition shows like “Welcome To Waverly” and “Chopped.” “Beat Bobby flay and “Vegas Chef Prizefight,” where he earned and won head chef of the all-new $10 million steakhouse, Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse at Flamingo Las Vegas. Moore believes food is an opportunity to step back from the world and connect with people on a deeper level and has brought this spirit to the fast-paced world of Las Vegas. While Moore has enjoyed many successes, there is still more he wishes to achieve-- he strives to prove to his family and himself that all his hard work has not gone in vain and that he can represent both the South and the South Side in the bright lights of Vegas. Now he helms the kitchen at a top restaurant, where he brings American southern influences to west loop Chicago.
Chef Lamar Moore’s advice to aspiring chefs: don’t stop cooking, feel food from your soul, take care of your team, never ever stop learning, and humble your ego.
Jef Tate, Chicago, IL: A native of Chicago’s East Rogers Park neighborhood and second-born son of immigrant parents from Jamaica & Belize, Jef Tate comes from a rich culinary tradition. He draws heavily from this tradition while creating the bar. Tate has received various awards and accolades in just a few short years, including Liquor.com Legacy Cocktail Competition US Finalist in 2019, ROOF on the Wit Fire & Ice Championship Ice Winner in 2018, and the Best Use of Magnus Award from the Chicago Reader Cocktail Challenge in 2017. In 2019, Jef opened a 9-seat, a speakeasy-style bar inside the Fieldhouse Jones hotel, rated one of the best bars in Chicago by Chicago Magazine. Shuttered by COVID, Mr. Tate has now moved on to head up the beverage program at one of Chicago’s award-winning bars.
