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Roger Kamholz

Roger Kamholz

Contributor

Growing up in New York, Roger was exposed to awesome eats from an early age. He moved to Chicago for school but stayed for the food.

Roger got his start writing about Chicago bars and restaurants for Chicagoist. Now you can follow Roger as he rips a path through his city's food- and drinkscape with his Serious Eats: Chicago columns Knockout Noodles and The Vegetarian Option, and through his coverage of the local cocktail scene for Serious Drinks.


  • Website
  • Location: Chicago, Illinois
  • Favorite foods: Got a minute? Ramen, oysters, apple pie, turkey clubs, mezcal, pretty much all cheeses, pretzels (soft and hard), club soda, Twix and Rolos (tied), masala dosa, coffee, pizza (N.Y.-style), bourbon, Brussels sprouts, and salt & vinegar chips. Better stop there before this gets weirdly long.
  • Last bite on earth: A filet from Palm Too in New York....which is probably what will do him in.

Where to Drink Sour Beer in Chicago

Lambic. Gueuze. Wild Ale. Oud Bruin. Flanders Red. Berliner Weisse. Lately, when I belly up to new and familiar bars alike and begin dissecting the beer offerings, I hunt for these terms like X's on a treasure map. Thankfully, there's a cohort of ambitious, beer-focused bars in Chicago that not only stock their cellars with obscure and intriguing large-format sours, but also reliably devote one or two tap lines to the tart stuff. More

Behind the Scenes at Letherbee Distillers in Chicago

Since the debut of its Original Label Gin, Letherbee has unveiled a limited-release gin for autumn; a unique "absinthe brun," which aged in a charred oak barrel; and R. Franklin's Original Recipe Malört, an ode to the (in)famous Chicago-centric and wormwood-driven bitter liqueur developed in collaboration with Robby F. Haynes, bar manager at Chicago's first modern craft-cocktail destination, The Violet Hour. More

Knockout Noodles: The Fat Noodle at Fat Rice

while Macau may be known now as a mecca for gamblers, Fat Rice is not playing games of chance when it comes to pairing and building flavors. And therein lies the fun of eating this food: there are so many unfamiliar tastes to discovery anew, and the chefs have done the hard work of refining their dishes, that diners can freely submit to the strongest pull of their curiosities. More

Where To Drink Rye Cocktails in Chicago

With the proliferation of cocktail bars and cocktail-conscious restaurants in Chicago, there are dozens of rye cocktails to be had here, especially during this time of year, when meager temperatures demand that restorative sensation of heat rye drinks so generously provide. But around town, many rye drinks are darn good, while others are just ok. As a service to ourselves, I say, let's not waste a drop of precious rye on anything short of great. More

Chicago: Reno Brings Great Pizza to Logan Square

When Logan Square's Ciao Napoli Pizzeria closed last year, the restaurant group behind the neighboring Telegraph Wine Bar quickly snatched up the space. Since opening last November, their new restaurant and bar, Reno, has taken Chicago by storm (most recently landing on Eater's Pizzeria Heatmap). The osteria launched with morning, midday, and nighttime menus, offering up wood-fired bagels and pastries in the a.m., sandwiches at lunch, and an impressive array of pastas and wood-fired pizzas come dinner. More

First Look: Cocktails at Billy Sunday, Chicago

Much like at Yusho, Alex Bachman's deep commitment to crafting drinks is evident simply by reading the ingredients in Billy Sunday's cocktails. He's known to develop his own bitters, syrups and tinctures, and the highest cabinets of the back bar are loaded with jars of exotic botanicals. But for all the custom housemade potions he concocts, "Tradition is the core of it all," Bachman said. More

Knockout Noodles: Oiistar

When I was looking back on the year of eating noodles I had had in 2012, I couldn't help but peek a bit forward, as well, at the noodles 2013 had in store for me. And none excited me more than Oiistar, the now month-old ramen joint on Milwaukee Avenue helmed by Korean-born chef Sunny Yim. More

5 Festive Sparkling Wine Cocktail Recipes from Chicago Bars

It's that time of year again, when we all develop that natural inclination to reach for something bubbly. Here are five sparkling cocktail recipes from two of our favorite places to toast in Chicago: Sepia, where Josh Pearson presides over the handsome marble bar, and Pops for Champagne, a longtime fixture of the city's bubbly scene. We promise you'll have no trouble replicating these drinks in all their fizzy finery. More

The Vegetarian Option: Trenchermen

The Sheerin brothers have adopted a style (one that perhaps harkens back to Michael's days at Blackbird) at Trenchermen in which the complementary and contrasting components of a dish aren't incorporated together so much as they are gathered into coexistence. It lends their food a surprising clarity. It also makes it really fun to eat. More

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