Photo: Jeremy Bolen

Ingredient I consider preserved lemon a precious commodity. The flavor is the perfect seasoning agent. I start the preserving process by blanching a lemon in hot water with salt, spices and sake. It takes about a month to cure, but the result is so worth it.

Kitchen gadget It’s about as low- tech as you can get, but I love my heavy-duty metal meat pounder. I use it on bacon and on fish—I just set it on top of a piece of fish that’s cooking in a pan to help deliver crispiness. Of course, it’s multipurpose: It’s my go-to gadget if I need to hammer anything into the wall.

Restaurant I really dig brunch at Feed (2803 W Chicago Ave, 773-489-4600). The fried green tomato Benedict is my favorite dish, and you can’t beat the atmosphere—it looks like a thrift store threw up in there. They’ve taken kitsch to a whole new level.

Inspiration While I was traveling in Nicaragua, there was a market in this little shanty town. Tons of local produce, disturbing room-temperature meats—the kind of place I love exploring. A vivid memory of the market is this little baby, whose family had a stand at the market, asleep on this pile of potatoes.

Music to cook to Right now we most often listen to NOFX. But then there’s Boo, our sous chef, who loves his smooth jams, à la R. Kelly, so he’s not always happy about the hardcore music selection.

937 N Rush St between Walton Pl and Oak St (312-255-0022)