Grubtrotters

Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer

“True Blood” co-stars and real-life romantic partners Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer lunched on the back patio of Gjelina Tuesday. I’m loathe to share that “news,” given that my favorite new neighborhood joint is crowded enough as it is.  I was enjoying a meal of Jidori chicken there with Curtis Duffy, chef at The Peninsula hotel’s Chicago’s restaurant, Avenues, which received a perfect four stars from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. He and his wine director Michael Muser are in town sampling the cuisine at restaurants such as Michael Mina’s XIV, Fraiche, Comme Ca, Sona, The Bazaar and Providence. I can’t wait to make it back to Chicago to try a meal by Duffy, who worked previously for Chicago icons Charlie Trotter And Grant Achatz of Alinea.

They shared a few interesting foodie gossip tidbits at our meal. Turns out the Wall Street Journal had been planning a story on Jidori chicken, which is sometimes called the Wagyu beef of chickens. Duffy serves Jidori chicken at Avenues, and they’re supposedly pampered and raised in such purity you can eat the chicken raw. (Not that anyone would ever test that theory.) Anyway, this has not been confirmed by my friends at the Journal, but rumor has it the paper spiked the story because the suppliers of Jidori chicken didn’t want to talk. They claimed their product is in such demand from top chefs that they really don’t want or need any more business that a publicity onslaught might bring.

Of course, anytime someone shies away from press coverage, I get a little suspicious. Are their chickens really as fresh and pure as they say?  It’s hard to know if they won’t let the media inspect their farms and processing plants. Sounds like the job for an intrepid undercover reporter. Stay tuned. — Jenny