After a winter of root veggies, one diner cries, Beet it!

[isilzha]

After a winter of root veggies, one diner cries, Beet it!

By Phil Vettel
March 27, 2008

No more rutabaga! I mean it.

Don't get me wrong; I love root vegetables. Roast me up some beets, throw a turnip in the blender and I'm a happy guy.

But it's the end of March. Subterranean vegetables have been a part of Chicago menus since, oh, October. And if I have one more hunk of braised meat on a bed of parsnip puree, I'm going to do something drastic.

Like move to Mexico.

I've given a name to my pain: Culinary Cabin Fever. It's caused by a prolonged, harsh winter and an endless stream of seasonal menus.

And I'm not the only victim.

"Every day, chefs are asking me what's new," says Tom Cornille of Cornille and Sons, probably the city's most respected produce wholesaler. "Even pastry chefs want to know what's new, when I'm going to get some rhubarb. But the only rhubarb now is imported from Holland or from a hothouse in Oregon."

Culinary Cabin Fever is an interesting problem for chefs who preach the gospel of locally sourced veggies.

"As much of an advocate as I am for local, regional produce," says Paul Virant, chef/owner of Vie in Western Springs, "around the middle of February I tap into a lady in Santa Monica who goes to market and FedExes us stuff.

More

[Chefnot]

Ok, so this is off topic, but this year in the garden I'm going back to my roots (fits perfectly) and growing stuff my grandparents raised....parsnips, turnips, etc. I'm pumped!

[BerryBaby]

I love winter vegetables. Maybe the restaurants need to change up the recipes from time-to-time to keep patrons interested.

[bluejeanz]

Originally Posted by Chefnot

Ok, so this is off topic, but this year in the garden I'm going back to my roots (fits perfectly) and growing stuff my grandparents raised....parsnips, turnips, etc. I'm pumped!

I love parsnips, turnips and rutabaga. My grocer carries them but I often wonder just how much of them they sell. I'm not a vegetarian but I think I could probably live on veggies with no problem. I rarely eat beef or pork and eat chicken maybe once every week or two. I'm just not a big meat-eater. When I see them advertise a meatlover's pizza on TV, I gag.

Can you tell me what the diff is between a turnip and a rutabaga other than the size and the outside color? They taste the same to me.

[Food Network Fan]

I think many kinds of squash tastes the same. I guess when things are in the same family flavors are similar.

The potato would be my favorite of the root veggies.