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• Fall fashion applies to cuisine as much as it does to clothes

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Milo's »
Address: 2870 S. Philo Road Urbana, IL 61802
Phone: (217) 344-8946
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Radio Maria »
Address: 119 N. Walnut St. Champaign, IL 61821
Phone: (217) 398-7729
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Pop culture took the traditional, cliché meanings of our favorite fall fruit and revamped them to a whole new level. The lonely cougars of Desperate Housewives adopted the apple’s symbol of sin and the famous scene of the ‘90s flick American Pie put a whole new meaning to your grandma’s famous homemade dessert.

To keep the trend going, local venues in CU are spicing up their menus by adding apples, along with other autumn favorites.

Annie Murray, one of the owners and chefs at L.A. Gourmet Catering, said fall is a great season for harvest. Murray runs the business with her sister, Lauren.

To outdo the typical catering styles, they serve events with an “interactive stations” option. This allows guests to do essentially what they love most—eat from the time they arrive until the time they leave. These stations include Thai, cheese, fruit and crudites, chocolate, salad, Mexican, carving (all meats, of course), seafood, sushi, pasta and candy.

According to Murray, with vegetables currently at a great point in season, their menu is changing, along with the weather.

“Right now it’s fun to write the fall menu,” Murray said. “Some options are squashes, pumpkins and apples.”

Just to name a few from their long list of fancy hors d’oeuvres, their menu includes a brie, apple and fig quesadilla, grilled pepper bruschetta and asparagus wrapped prosciutto. Their selections can’t help but make you think you are dining with class.

Not only that, but, according to Murray, you are eating fresh. L.A. Gourmet receives their produce mostly from local suppliers.

“Our cheeses are from local cheese farm — like our goat cheese is from Bloomington,” she said.

L.A. Gourmet is not the only venue that has “the fresher, the better” mindset. Jane Anderson, manager at Milo’s, said their fish is never bought frozen. According to Anderson, suppliers for Milo’s, are also seeing a shift from the previous summer-style food.

“The colder the weather, the heartier the food,” Anderson said. “In the winter time, we have chicken pot pie.” Anderson said the cold weather chef will be working on adding in more stocky vegetables as well, like potatoes.

Anderson explained that their unique list of salads leave the customers who looking for something lighter satisfied and their heavier menu, including lamb, filet mignon and duck, fulfill those who are following the trend of fall temperatures. “We look to have a customer base of a broad range of people,” Anderson added. “There is something for everyone.”

Of course, there is a middleman. The pizza salad, a cheese pizza shell with mixed greens, basil vinaigrette and roasted tomatoes, was a summer favorite and remains on the menu.

So, what can follow all of this comfort food? The answer is not a Snuggie and a hot chocolate. Radio Maria in Downtown Champaign offers a variety of wines and cocktails that will warm the stomach a little differently than the average cocoa. Jacob Daugherty, the beverage manager, said people are looking for more “old school” cocktails.

“A cocktail needs to have four ingredients to be a real cocktail,” he said. One of the popular four-part cocktails on menu is the Sazerac, a whiskey cocktail. Daugherty made it clear, however, that vodka is still “king.”

Continuing with the harvest theme cropping up around CU restaurants, wine-grape harvests are in season as well. Tempranillo, an early-ripening red grape (“temprano” means “early” in Spanish), and malbec are top choices among customers, according to Daugherty. “Malbec has a good reputation with wine spectators and is getting a lot of press,” Daugherty said.

When it is time to get really cozy, Daugherty gave a preview of a winter drink — the hot toddy which contains buttered rum.

Even though the summer weather has managed to linger in CU, everything else is changing and fall menus are on the rise. So, how do we like dem’ apples? We love them.