The passing of the Summer Equinox means only one thing to us Chicagoans: get out and enjoy as much warm weather and as you can. With this in mind, we decided to celebrate with an al fresco happy hour in the hood. Mowalla was joined by our next door neighbors, Green Home Chicago Design Center. Together, we sampled some of the best craft brews and artisan cheese in the world at The Publican, a Fulton Market hotspot.

Belgian frites, curried corn, and savory meats were all present at our table, but one dish stuck out more than any other. The Publican had sourced some delicious produce from the inmate’s garden at the Cook County Sherriff’s Jail and was serving up beets caprese-style with Berratta cheese and micro greens. The dish was a far cry from any of the prison reports about Lindsay Lohan’s meals. Crassly thinking of all the jokes we could, we wondered aloud if the beets contained contraband or weaponry (shank you, very much). We also thought the beets might be tough (har har).

Nothing could be further from the sort, however, as the plate was delicious and the story behind the produce was even better.  Check the video below to learn how the Sherriff’s garden is rehabilitating and providing real world job training to non-violent inmates, and producing enough produce to pay for the program entirely in-house. That’s a marvelous recipe if you ask us. For more information on The Publican, go here.

We also enjoyed learning about all the great things going on at Green Home Chicago- including their upcoming debut on CNN (yes, CNN!). Watch GHC’s owner, Karen Kalmek, talk about sustainable design and show off her amazing space on August 11 at 9am. Check out more on Karen and Green Home Design Center here.

Happy Friday,

Mowalla, Chicago