The Bear (based in Chicago) is back on Hulu for Season 3 and already attracting a lot of attention and, of course, controversy. Given that Chicago is a great food town it was only a matter of time before a savvy tour operator in the Windy City created a “The Bear” Chicago Food Tour. This has now happened with the launch of Chicago Food & City Tour’s “Yes, Chef! Chicago : A Bear – Inspired Food Tour.” Our own newly Chicago-based, informed foodie, Terri Henry, shares her recent adventure on this Chicago tour which also included as guests a Staff Writer and Photographer for The Chicago Tribune.
For the time being “this is the only Chicago food tour that takes guests to the restaurants featured in the TV phenomenon, “The Bear.” The tour takes the guests to the actual spots where Chef Carmy, Chef Sydney and Richie cook up their magic, and pairs each stop with the insider stories that connect the dots between the show’s fictional drama and Chicago as a real-life foodie destination.” And, yes, there is a stop at the real Chicago Italian Beef shop that inspired the original “Mr. Beef” in the series. Tour guests enjoy their sandwich in the dining room featured in the series.
Hey there, it's Jet Tila, the emeritus host of the SoCal Restaurant Show and judge on Food Network's Cutthroat Kitchen with Alton Brown. You're listening to the very best in Food 411 on AMA 30 KLAA. And welcome back. It is the SoCal Restaurant Show and we're here with you every Saturday morning from 10 a.m. until 12 noon right here on AMA 30 KLAA, the home of Angels Baseball 2024. And you can also catch us on the AMA 30 Angels app. I'm Andy Harris, the executive producer and co-host of the show, putting it all together. And we're enthusiastically presented each and every week by Melissa's World Variety Produce and West Coast Prime Meats. And do keep looking for us on social media or on all the platforms. And particularly in this next segment when we're talking about Chicago food as presented by the bear on Hulu, you'll be wanting to go over to our Instagram and our Facebook feed to make yourself look really hungry. Regular listeners to the show will be familiar with the name of Terry Henry, who is involved in food and marketing PR in the restaurant and hospitality business, been very active for the last few years in Long Beach, is actually continuing to do select activities in Long Beach, but has made the move to Chicago. Terry Henry also is a huge fan of the bear and with that is the background. It is a pleasure to welcome Terry Henry back to the show in a little bit of a different role. Good morning, Terry. Good afternoon from the beautiful city of Chicago, Andy. Thank you for having me. Well, you know, Terry, what I like to do when I go into any new city and want to get acclimated on what the food scene is. The first thing I do is is I seek out the best food tour in that city and book it and do it. So, of course, you as a fan of the bear and season 3 is just out right now and definitely getting a lot of media attention. There's a lot of conversation. You found the Chicago Food Tour, the brand new Chicago Food Tour, and it's got quite a name. Yes, chef, explanation point, Chicago, a bear inspired food tour. And not only did you partake of the tour, but you did some great images, also some video that you've allowed us to post on our Facebook and Instagram feed, which we've done. But we want to hear all about it. But first, Terry, you didn't know it at the time, but there was also a media crew that was along on the tour from a very well-known Chicago publication. What staff writer and what photographer from what paper in Chicago were part of your tour? You may have may have heard of the Chicago trip. I don't know. It's been passing. Oh gosh, I can't remember the photographer's name that the reporter was Katie. Yeah, we didn't know. We just heard I was there with a friend and we got on the bus. There were 30 people on the tour, which typically, for a food tour, that kind of rubbed us the wrong way at first. But then we realized that, you know, it's not a walking tour. You have to get in the bus to go to these different spaces that primarily were visited by Chef Sidney, episode two, season three. So, you know, there was no walking. So, I thought we kind of understood it there, and it was a great group of people. And, yeah, we bought the bus and the and the guy says, dressed in his white t-shirt and his blue apron. Yeah, we have a photographer on board saying, I'm like, oh great, it's gonna be for like their marketing stuff or what? And then we sit down at the first place at the beef, and the reporter introduces their self as a writer for the Chicago trip. So, yeah, that put a different spin on it. Definitely did. And, you know, we will tease this, but kind of also give the the epilogue. This ended up being a major feature piece in the Chicago Tribune with pictures. And there you go. And I know you were quoted. What is your quote, Terry? I know you probably had a lot more to say, but they select what they want. I just kind of said, you know, my friend said that, you know, they had just seen Jermy Ellen White on one of the Jimmy's late show talk shows. And, you know, I kind of added that, yeah, we were ready for season three and excited to be there. Now, question for you, in terms of the composition of the 30 attendees of, you know, your version of the Yes Chef tour, what percentage would you say were locals versus visitors? Because from what I'm understanding, this is, you know, people would expect a tour like this. Oh, you know, it's all out of town, folks. And I understand it's not going that way. It was probably about half and half. I mean, this show is definitely, you know, a love letter to the city of Chicago. And I think even if you're from here, I cannot honestly call myself a Chicagoan just yet. I've only been here for two months. But, but still, I think, I think that you can always find somewhere new and learn something new. And, and the show has just really put a spotlight on unique food items that are, you know, a lot of them are only found in Chicago. Absolutely. Now, the million dollar question, Terry, is one of the first stops on the tour, I believe, was to Mr. Beef, which actually, yeah, inspired the bear. And the pilot was actually filmed in Mr. Beef. And when it got picked up, they had to build a set because you can't disrupt a tiny little restaurant like that with a TV series. So the question is, does the Italian beef sandwich at Mr. Beef live up to the expectations? I would, I was resounding. Yes. I had never had it before. I've been looking for one to try since I've been here, but that was my first one. And, you know, admittedly, I was pretty hungry, you know, because we're not going to eat before you go on a food chair, right? And that's, you know, not likely. Yeah, but it was, I think I inhaled that thing. It was so good. And it was so cool because we were sitting in the space where they show where you where they have the family meal before before service, you know, this whole back area dining room space of the restaurant. And it was, it was just really cool. It was, it was, you know, I mean, you see stuff like that all the time, but not so much in Chicago and trains going by overhead. And it just really gave me a feel of the city. You know, and obviously the bear has had an enormous impact on their business. So much so when the staff writer from the Chicago Tribune that you're talking about tried to interview someone for Mr. Beef, as they were putting the article together to get some comments, the manager on the phone told them that they were too busy to talk. It was, you know, when we first got there, you know, it was reserved people in the back and everything, but there weren't so many people inside. But by the time we there was aligned, out the door, down the block, and it was, it was so hot that day, it had to be 95 degrees, you know, with Midwest humidity on top of it and line up the door and down the block. Well, and right. And you know, what we like to say or like to showcase on the so-called restaurant show is this is still a family owned, independent restaurant. So, you know, good for them. And also great for the creative team of the bear that they wanted to highlight an establishment like this, because of course, Chicago is mainly known for very, you know, high end fine dining restaurants, which are also portrayed in the series. But it's nice to also help some of the little guys. And speaking of which, tell us about the iconic pizza place that you went to. Pizza logo. Yeah. In the episode, Jeff did get, you know, get the piece to go from the window. We sat inside. Again, it was so, so hot. But that is also the area. If you guys remember that where she walks down an alley and tries to poach back in the house, kitchen staff. Yes. And then Chef comes out and yells at her and she kind of gepers away. But that's an actual alley. That's right behind people, low bow. That was pretty, that was pretty, pretty interesting too. Definitely fun. Then, of course, talked about on the series are also some sweets. Tell us about Rosser's bakery and what you had from them. I think that was more a nod to Chef Marcus's pursuit of the perfect donut. Because I don't think that was in the episode with Chef said, but we had a glazed donut pop with strawberries. That was as big as my head. I started to eat. I'm like, oh, I'm just going to have a couple of bites of this. Before I knew it was gone. But my favorite was the Sunday, the Hothead Sunday at Marj used candies that has been there for, I don't know, 50 years, a hundred, something like that. We're actually more than 50 years because there's actually a booth in there that it's kind of a secret knowledge thing where the Beatles actually sat at in 1963. That's way over 50 years. Then apparently Nick Jagger came in a couple years later and wanted to sit at the same booth where the Beatles sat. I could tell you where it is. I'm not going to share that on the radio. You better keep some things to yourself, Terry, but you're down playing this. You shot some video of the decadent hot fudge sauce going over the ice cream. I do believe they actually make the ice cream and hot fudge sauce there, which again, they get props for that. What a way to end your tour. Talk about satisfying decadence. That would be it. Now, Terry, it's obvious you recommend this tour. Do you happen to know the website for this tour company? It's very simple. ChicagoFoodTours.com and they did an amazing job they do tours. I believe in Greektown. They do them in Chinatown. They do a basic Chicago food tour. So they did a great job. The guide was great too, Casey Ross. He did a great job. So props to him too. And you should mention that he's an actor. So, you know, that kind of fits, don't you think? Yeah, it does. And he hears his leg. If somebody else gets that role that I tried out for in season three, I'm really going to be mad because, you know, a bearded ginger. I'm man. Maybe, you know, there's always hope for season four. And I think this was a very reasonable considering, you know, bus tour. You're all over Chicago. All this food. You couldn't have come away hungry. Do I have the price right? It's $129 for adults. Yeah. Terry, very, you know, very fair for what it is. Ladies and gentlemen, Terry Henry, we're going to be talking about one of her latest projects a little later in the show because Long Beach Burger Week is coming up. And we will be talking about that. Terry, thanks and to be continued. And definitely enjoy your new home in Chicago. We look forward to hearing more food stories. You are listening to the SoCal restaurant show. When we return, we're off to New Orleans. It's the jambalaya girl. You're going to want to hear this story. We're proudly presented by Melissa's world variety produce and West Coast Prime Meats. Stay with us.
