Recent Top Chef contestant Justin Sutherland is starting restaurants with breathtaking velocity, and today’s is a revamp of a Cathedral Hill bar. The former Fitzgerald’s is now The Fitz and will open for business at 3 p.m. The partitions are lighter, the TVs are ample, and the menu is stacked with exclusive varieties of pizza styles, including a severe contender for the great deep dish on this side of Michigan Avenue.
The remade menu was overseen by Sutherland, his chef consigliere Donald Gonzalez, who oversees all eating places in Sutherland’s universe, and Fitzgerald’s Graham Messenger. Pizzas are named for places, and every unique via the latitude and longitude is on the menu. The three deep-dish sorts, named for 3 Chicago neighborhoods, are gaining steam as the most buzzed-about objects on the menu. There are also thinner crusts with traditional and fancier toppings available.
Other new menu gadgets include ribs, a new edition of the spot’s famous burger, and a fennel and endive salad, unlike something else served in a typical pizza spot. Cocktails are named after world explorers and dip into the tiki realm of flavors. In addition to the brand new menu, the room has been given a big refresh. What changed into the awkwardly designed and darkish Salt Cellar is brilliant and welcoming with a piece of a beachy bent. The walls are white; the open kitchen has been included via a wall that now sports activities huge, high-definition TVs, inexperienced flora cling from the bar, and enliven corners. Even the backroom, once a huge dark nook, has been revived with a sparkling coat of white paint.
The Fitz is the ultra-modern in a whirlwind of eating place openings that Sutherland has led following his run on Bravo’s Top Chef. After taking the lead on the Madison Restaurant Group, which owns his Handsome Hog, he opened Fire & Whiskey, a steakhouse in Wisconsin, closed and planned to re-open Pearl & the Thief, launched Ox Cart Arcade, and guarantees extra plans coming. Madison Restaurant Group additionally consists of Gray Duck, the unGoogleable Public Kitchen + Bar, and Green Lantern, a bar below Public.
Most of you know the way lots I like to cook. As a result, the nickname The Cookin Momma. I prepare dinner for almost anything, but my favorites are soup and pizza. Who would not like pizza? I discovered years past how to make my dough that FINALLY tastes like it came from the pizza store. Yes, I learned how to make and keep fashionable pizza at home. There are principal hints: it must be high-gluten flour, and you must allow the dough to ferment for at least days. I am not only going to proportion the right pizza dough recipe. However, I’m going to use a few cooking techniques, too. And you may use those strategies even in case you buy your dough.
The Dough
Suppose you want to make your dough (which I fairly propose), then here’s the recipe. If not, it is OK; the cooking techniques underneath will still work. You can knead the dough with the aid of a hand, use a stable mixer like a kitchen aid, or even use a bread device. I like cleaning, so I use the bread machine as it has a dough cycle. I plop it in there, and 1 ½ hours later, it beeps, and I’m exact to move. This will make sufficient dough for two 12-inch pizzas.
1/4 – half-teaspoon dry yeast
1-cup water
1-teaspoon sugar
1-teaspoon salt
1-teaspoon oil
3 to 3 ½ cups High Gluten Flour (I use King Arthur Flour Perfect Pizza Blend). The quantity of flour will vary according to your humidity degree. The dough needs to be exceptional and stiff. Cut the dough in half, shape it into two balls, and place each in a bowl gently blanketed with olive oil. Loosely cowl every bowl with some plastic wrap. (I certainly use a brand-new plastic shower cap). Cover within the fridge and allow it to live everywhere for 2 – 10 days. After two days, the dough is ready to apply. Tip: When you are prepared to apply the dough, permit it to sit down for an amazing hour so that you can set room temperature before rolling it out. You can roll it out ahead of time and cowl it with a cloth until you’re prepared to use it. I constantly do that, not to roll and clean while my visitors are here. (I also get all my toppings equipped in advance of time.)
