ML - Michigan Avenue

2013 - Issue 7 - November

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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ON THE TOWN FROM TOP: Sol Flores and Rev. Stan Sloan toast to a successful holiday fundraising season; Shrimp & Three Sister's Grits. continued from page 92 SF: I agree—that's number one. You can have a beautiful space and eat here and feel welcome. It feels chic, comfortable, but not over the top. Are there particular dishes that you've had here that you enjoy? SS: I usually get the fish—it's always excellent. SF: I've also had great salad and cornbread here. How is your work as a nonprofit changing as we approach the holiday season? SS: The holidays are crazy for Chicago House, from our holiday appeal to having 50 kids who live with us who won't get presents if we don't match them up with individual donors. SF: At the end of summer, La Casa Norte opened up a new emergency overnight shelter for homeless teens in Logan Square with 10 new beds, and in September we launched a facility with 30 additional beds in the Back of the Yards at 37th and Wood. From fall until the holidays we're working to manage the expectations of the community to find out if it's making a difference. And like you, we get really busy around the holidays. SS: Is holiday appeal a big deal? SF: It is a big deal. I want to make it a bigger deal. [Appetizers of fried green tomatoes with buttermilk dressing and a salad of heirloom tomatoes and corn with pickled red onion, fried ricotta, and basil are presented.] SS: Thank you, this looks beautiful. SF: I want to hear more about the TransLife Center—so exciting! SS: It's so good. Two weeks after the residents moved in I made a surprise visit, and they said, "We just had a baseboard party"—the residents were on their hands and knees cleaning all the baseboards from the basement all the way up to their rooms. That's the kind of care they're taking of the place. We were hoping it would be magical, and it's more magical than we thought it would be. What do you think of the food here so far? SF: The texture of the fried green tomatoes is very nice; they're not overly ripe. SS: And all of this was grown in the on-site garden, which I didn't know before. SF: Yes, they have a gorgeous garden out there. This salad just looks so beautiful—I love the basil and the fried ricotta. Looking forward to 2014, what are some of your ambitions? SF: How do you know we're ambitious? [Laughs] SS: In 2013 our challenge was for the transgender community, and as we look into the future, that challenge will continue to be LGBTQ-focused and in particular around homelessness and economic disparity in the community. So that's what is ahead for us. SF: Wow, I love it—ambitious and inspirational. We had a huge growth spurt this year, so 2014 is really about sustaining that and making sure we're serving our folks to the best of our capability. For me it's also about some really expansive fundraising: We have a capital campaign that we are 94 "Part of the magic is creating a welcoming space in a part of the city that people wouldn't normally venture to." —REV. STAN SLOAN taking on, and we're still in the silent phase and looking for some key donors. SS: You're in the silent phase until this gets published. SF: Right? [Laughs] But it's all about building this magnificent 55,000-squarefoot facility that will be a comprehensive community center with housing on North Avenue, in an area where there's a lot of urban blight and abandonment. The state is going to provide housing, jobs, and amazing opportunities. So from my perspective 2014 is about closing the deal. [Entrées of seared red snapper and shrimp and grits are delivered.] SF: That looks gorgeous, look at the colors—it smells wonderful, too. SS: The snapper is so good. Their fish is always so good and fresh. SF: I'm really happy with the texture of the shrimp and grits, too. It's wonderful. It tastes like grits, but almost has a polenta texture. So what's your target goal? SF: Once we have the money in place, it's about a year of construction. It's a huge project, the most money we've ever raised. You know what, if by the end of next year we're sitting here and the world says, dream a little smaller, we can't afford $15 million, we'll still do a great project, we'll just recalibrate the design. It won't be as magnificent, but it'll still be great. SS: And anybody who knows Sol knows that that's not going to happen. SF: Yeah, I'm tenacious about this project. I'm going to pull out every card— I'm going to invent new cards! Any final words on Inspiration Kitchens? SS: It's the perfect place to reconnect with a friend. Will you be back? SF: Absolutely. It's great food and a great cause, so it's easy to support. MA MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 092-094_MA_Taste_OTT_Nov13.indd 94 10/21/13 10:32 AM

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