Food

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Ever stumbled in to your neighborhood Walgreens to grab a six-pack before realizing, "Dammit, they don't sell booze at Walgreens!" Your troubles will soon be over, friends. The Deerfield-based company has announced that within the next 12-to-18 months, beer and wine will be available at its stores once it completes the complicated licensing process. [Fox 32] more ›

Before “Shaken not Stirred,” medium-dry vodka martinis and fresh bottles of Stoli, James Bond was a drinker of a different sort. In his initial outing as Britain’s favorite superhero spy, he instructed the bartender to make him a drink, which has become one of our favorites. Later, the drink was identified with the love interest of the story, Vesper Lynd. We love the Vesper for a lot of reasons - the association with the dapper gentleman of the 60s, the combination of Gin and Lillet Blanc - but it has faded from public view in favor of flashier, neon-colored successors. more ›

Today we're going to run some more photos of Chicago Gourmet that we didn't run in our recap of the festival yesterday. It's a combination of chef shots, action shots from demos and seminars, and good ol' food pr0n. Enjoy and, if you have photos of the event on flickr, be sure to tag them with "chicagoist" so that they show up on the "Chicagoist Photos" pool.. more ›

We were fortunate enough to score an advance copy of Get Cooking by Mollie Katzen, author of Moosewood Cookbook, a cookbook that we've had and used for years - along with the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites (the fragrant jasmine rice recipe is fantastic). Katzen's latest book is geared toward getting people who do not normally cook into the kitchen. Chapters include: Soups, Salads, Pastas, Vegetarian Entrees, Burgers, Chicken Fish & Meat, Sides, Party Snacks, and Desserts. more ›

Now this is how a food and wine festival should operate! more ›

A couple weeks back a friend purchased Chicago Gourmet tickets via the half-price special Groupon offered. She asked for advice to prepare for the festival. We told her to pack a lunch. more ›

Like most, our personal budgets have tightened significantly over the past year or so. Not that cash burned a hole in our pocket before. It's just that we're being even more cognizant of closeouts and deep discounts at the wine shop than ever before. Rare is the wine that we'll buy at retail. more ›

Celebrate the first weekend of autumn this Saturday at the second annual "Rib-A-Que" at Moonshine. The event is co-hosted by Socca and will feature 16 Chicago restaurants and as well as "award-winning amateurs." Who? Winners of the Memphis BBQ contest, for example. You will be the judging the competitors along with The Drunken Goat's Stephanie Izard and the Dean of Culinary Arts at Kendall College, Chris Koetke. And it wouldn't be a BBQ without drink deals on Jack Daniels. Well, er, Jack Daniel’s Lynchburg Lemonade and Downhome Punch to be exact. (What about just straight up JD?) At least there will be specials on beer as well. Tickets are $25 in advance (www.ticketweb.com or calling Moonshine at 773.862.8686) or $35 at the door. Moonshine is located at 1824 W. Division St. more ›

Have you fallen in love with elote yet? You will. It's a popular Mexican street food: grilled corn on the cob covered with a mixture of mayonnaise, cheese, spices/herbs (may include chili powder, cayenne, cilantro, etc.) and a healthy squeeze of lime. The result is a mouthful of awesome: sweetness from the corn, some tang from the lime, heat from the cayenne and all of it overlaid with a hint of smoke. more ›

• Protestors from the company who helped build out Rick Bayless's XOCO set up shop outside the white-hot torta shop yesterday. [Grub Street Chi]
• Monica Eng reports that Sprout at 1417 W, Fullerton, is set to open October 3 as an all-organic restaurant. Get this: entrees are topping out at $120. Maybe owner Satko Ibrahimovic should check out Crust to get an idea of fair pricing for organic food. [The Stew]
• More non-Yelp reviews of Nana are coming in. This one is a positive review from David Hammond. [Reader]

Ever noticed that fast food never looks quite as... appetizing as it does in advertisements? We've all heard food stylist horror stories about shaving cream, glycerin, paints, oils and all the other fake things used to make food look just so for photo shoots. But this piece from The Guardian's food blog puts it all in perspective: side-by-side pictures of fast food advertisements vs. reality. Yuck. We're especially disturbed by number 4, the canned whole chicken. Though, we suppose anyone buying a canned whole chicken is getting what they deserve. If you're on a diet, bookmark this page - anytime you're tempted by fast food, just take a peek.
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On Sunday, October 18, the chefs of Blackbird, avec and The Publican along with Pamela Fitzpatrick of Fox & Obel are hosting a five-course benefit dinner supporting James Beard Foundation. Chefs of the night will be Becky Broeske, Koren Grieveson, Brian Huston, Paul Kahan and Mike Sheerin. Pairings will feature Champagne Henriot, Napa Valley’s Blackbird Vineyards, Goose Island Beer Company and Three Floyds Brewing Co. If you must only choose one big dining event of the fall, this might be it. Hors d’oeuvres include: oysters, smoked black cod, and crispy pork rinds paired with champagne. The five course menu includes: more ›

It was Labor Day Weekend and we just finished watching "Inglourious Basterds" downtown. Nowhere to go and nothing to do we wandered around and found ourselves at Jake Melnick's (41 E. Superior, 312-266-0400, jakemelnicks.com). Within minutes we were wolfing down their burger of the month and begging not to be served the Budweiser they give away for free with the burger. The bartender went out of the way to comp us a Surly Bender. She poured us a Surly Furious, instead. more ›

To say that Bridgeport is lacking a sports bar is an understatement (Jimbo's does not qualify). There's a handful of criteria to build a successful sports bar: lots of dark wood, lots of widescreen tvs for watching the game, food that won't make you sick, a bar and waitstaff oozing The Hotness and a music playlist that would be at home on Eric and Kathy in the morning. Rocky's aims to change all that. This sports bar is located on the northwest corner of 31st and Wells and named after one of the owner's dogs — not Balboa, Marciano, Graziano or Wirtz — in a space that was long known to Bridgeport residents as Punchinello's. That bar had a clientele of spiked hair, club gear, chin halos and machismo so thick that it earned the derogatory nickname "Punch-a-d@g0'$." more ›

Faith and Whiskey invites you to stop in tonight from 7 - 9 for an informative, free discussion (read: SAMPLES!) of Knob Creek, Canadian Club, and Laphroaig to learn more about the differences between bourbon, whiskey, and scotch. Experts will be on hand to guide you through the tasting and provide some history and education on these spirits. RSVP: 773.248.9119 or greatwhiskeydebate@gmail.com. more ›

Brush up on your "elimination challenge" skills with a class in improvisational cooking at The Chopping Block's Merchandise Mart location this Friday. From 6-8:30pm. Chef Abraham Conlon will be bringing in a secret basket of goodies and will "walk you through the creative and technical process of cooking without recipes." How exciting is that? You never know when you'll need these skills to beat this guy. Call to reserve a spot. more ›

McDonald's will be giving away 5,000 free pre-paid transit cards and 5,000 coupons for a free Angus Third Pounder burger during morning rush tomorrow. The promotion is part of its “Try Free, Ride Free” campaign, mainly to promote the Angus Third Pounders — if you remove the "g" from "Angus" and the "h" from "Third" you'll have an idea of what we think of the burgers — but a free ride to work is alright, as well. 'Course, if you eat enough of these burgers, you won't be able to fit into your seat on the train and have shortness of breath running to catch your bus, but the latter is exercise. So that's good. more ›

For the last two weeks, we've been trying to get in as much grilling as possible before the weather turns into a frozen mess. Unfortunately, there's only so many hot dogs and steaks we can eat before we start longing for something more interesting. This recipe is a great use of the grill, and works as either an appetizer for 4 or a dinner for 2. If you want more, just increase the amount of steak - the amount of marinade/sauce can work for much more meat. more ›

One of the high points of last year's Chicago Gourmet festival was listening to Carrie Nahabedian and legendary chef Norman Van Aken discuss, among other things, their time at the former Sinclair's in Lake Forest. Van Aken was the Executive Chef and his kitchen staff included Suzy Crofton, Charlie Trotter and Nahabedian. All would go on to bigger and brighter heights. more ›

Chicagoist would like to add a few more food and drink writers to our staff to flesh out our coverage of the beat and make it, and the site, even better. If you meet the qualifications, can make the time commitment, and would like to join the Chicagoist team, here's what we're specifically looking for: more ›

Half Acre Beer Company's construction is nearing completion and with that comes some wonderful news for beer geeks everywhere. Gabriel Magliaro announced yesterday that Half Acre's long-planned retail store at their Lincoln Square brewery will open to the public October 5. In addition to whatever Magliaro and brewer Tommy Nicely are brewing at the moment, Half Acre will also have selections from other local breweries on hand, as well as spirits and liqueurs from Koval and North Shore distilleries. Magliaro even told us that Half Acre will be selling growlers. [Half Acre Twitter] more ›

Baconfest Chicago may have been postponed until April, but the VIP bacon cookoff at the Publican slated for October 24 is still a lock. In fact, tickets went on sale at noon. more ›

Yesterday Kevin and I went to St. Anne, IL in Kankakee County (where AT&T's 3G service fears to tread, apparently) to attend the Local Beet's inaugural farm dinner at Genesis Growers. It was my third official farm dinner of the year and it was interesting to look back at how the growing season has progressed since that first City Provisions farm dinner at River Valley and the Outstanding in the Field dinner at Kinnikinnick Farm. Back in August it looked like Kinnikinnick's tomatoes would never ripen. Now we're trying to can as many tomatoes as possible and get ready for peppers, gourds and fall root vegetables. more ›

Oysters and beer: a combination so simple but perfect. Jimmy Buffet wrote a song where he wished for oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year (only one? Color us shocked!), and as we reach autumn the oysters harvested probably taste better than they will at any other time of year. more ›

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced this year's recipients of the USDA Farmers Market Initiative Program. Green City Market was awarded a grant for $76,300. The grant money will help fund GCM's Farmer Scholarship Program, which helps facilitate participating farms in obtaining 3rd Party Organic and/or Sustainable Certification by 2012; staff salaries; the Edible Gardens program; and marketing materials for the market's electronic benefits transfer (EBT) program. [Inbox] more ›

All foods sustainable and local web hub the Local Beet is gearing up for its inaugural farm dinner at Genesis Growers in St. Anne, IL Sunday. The dinner's sold out; we warned you. more ›

• Today is the final day of the annual Berghoff Oktoberfest in Federal Plaza. You've been warned.
• Tomorrow: Drinks Over Dearborn is hosting a free bourbon tasting from noon-3 p.m. While you're there, buy some of what you've sampled ans SAVE D.O.D. Kyle McHugh stocks some amazing product. (650 N. Dearborn, 312-337-9463)
• Tomorrow: Wicker Park Lutheran Church is hosting its fifth annual "World's Largest Potluck" from 6:30-10:30 p.m. Proceeds from the event will go to help restore the 103-year-old landmark. (2112 W. LeMoyne)

A few months back, we reviewed More Cupcakes. Our conclusion was that, while their cupcakes were tasty and innovatively-flavored, they weren’t worth the price. Oh, and their service was terrible. Well, they’re getting even more innovative, but in a kind of insane direction. According to Helen Rosner at Grub Street Chicago (formerly Menupages), our old friend More is set to introduce a $75 cupcake. more ›

• Vocalo was at the Chef's Collaborative Summit this week and filed interviews with Judith Schad of Capriole Goat Cheese, the Signature Room's Patrick Sheerin and Cleetus Friedman of City Provisions. [Vocalo 1, 2, 3]
• Soup and Bread: The Cookbook is on its way in December. [Soup and Bread]
• Over at Drive-Thru, Whitney Merritt's ongoing interview series of food bloggers focuses on Marathon Val [Drive-Thru]

I’ve defended Whole Foods for years against cries of “Whole Paycheck” on the basis of quality, variety and their commitment to the environment. I still believe that they do good work, but the number of “buy local” banners popping up all over their stores led me to wonder: how much local produce does Whole Foods actually carry? Not enough, by our standards. more ›

It was around 8 p.m. Labor Day when we heard the familiar jingle ringing down the street. And if you grew up hearing the Mister Softee song, you know it's unmistakable. 'Course, being 40 we just couldn't run out of the house barefoot and shirtless trying to catch up to the truck with five dollars we took from Mom's purse before asking. We had to don shoes and leash the dog. Emmy's 10 and doesn't run anywhere anymore. We were thinking this was going to be a futile endeavor. more ›

Not all weizens are alike. A Berliner weisse is a sour take on the popular German style. The late Michael Jackson (beer historian, not the entertainer) traced the origins of the style back to the 16th century Hamburg. A brewer named Cord Broihan copied the style and brought it north. Berliner weisses are known for their extreme tartness and low alcohol content. The sourness is caused by bottle fermentation or by adding lactobacillus yeast bacteria. By the 19th century there were over 700 breweries in northern Germany specifically brewing Berliner weisse. Now, only a few breweries remain; 2 of those are in Berlin proper. The term "Berliner weisse" is protected in Germany. to combat the sourness, Berliner weisses are often served with raspberry syrup or woodruff. more ›

As we discussed in our review last week, the cocktails are the high point of dining at The Drawing Room. Watching an expert mix the cocktails that he designed is a joy, and Charles Joly is an affable and knowledgeable mixer. He was also kind enough to provide us with the recipe for our favorite drink of the evening, The Nooner. more ›

Folks interested in attending next week's Chicago Gourmet event but don't want to pay the $150 per day ticket price to gain entry should check out this almost criminal deal from Groupon right now. They've just put up Saturday tickets for $89. That means you can take the $61 you saved and buy passes to two seminar at the festival. more ›

I am a chef who likes to cook more than proliferate and manage restaurants. That’s why Frontera Grill, Topolobampo and, now, Xoco are all together. I can slide from one kitchen to another, tasting and training and coaching and cooking. Cooking is why I became a chef, and I never want to get too far from it. more ›

Wicker Park coffee shop mecca Filter is set to reopen next month at 1373-75 N. Milwaukee, according to Metromix. Bonus: they're gonna be roasting their own beans. Let's hope the new location doesn't become a Bank of America. [Metromix, via Gapers Block] more ›

Try to resist a good dessert. You can't. Last weekend we had two very good ones at two separate locations a block apart. more ›

Odds were solid that the bustle of a restaurant kitchen would be music to the ears of Christian and Omar. Their father Jose owns and operates Bridgeport mainstay Tacos Erendira and makes one of our favorite al pastor tacos in the city. Mother Maria is the sugar behind the spice of North Center's Café 28 as its longtime pastry chef. Now the sons enter the cutthroat world of restaurants with a concept that's downright bold in a neighborhood whose idea of brunch is eating a Polish sausage and fries from Maxwell Street Depot and drinking a Mickey's Big mouth on the hood of your car. more ›

At least among our limited circle of friends, the Drawing Room is a restaurant masked by confusion. Despite their intense PR efforts over the past couple of years, some seemed unsure about what, exactly, the Drawing Room is. “Isn’t that just a nightclub?” “I have no idea where that place is, and I’ve walked past it a thousand times!” “Isn’t that, like, a hidden strip club?” Admittedly, the last one was a bit of a stretch. We had visited Le Colonial, their upstairs neighbor, at least 10 times without noticing the entrance and staircase leading down to the basement restaurant. We’re very glad that streak has finally been broken. The Drawing Room is a gem of a place; small and cozy, beautifully designed, offering interesting, well-priced food and amazing cocktails. more ›

This weekend is jam-packed with events. Social butterflies plan accordingly. more ›

A deliveryman for Ann Sather, Daniel Sarifini, has been charged with using his delivery vehicle to deliver crystal meth. Several of us at Chicagoist are huge fans of the restaurant's famed cinnamon rolls and now we're beginning to wonder why we find them so addicting. [Tribune] more ›

The countdown to Homaro Cantu's big reveal of his "Disruptive Food" project currently stands at 62 days. Today, however, we're gonna give you another reason to follow Cantu on Twitter. More accurately, to sign up for the messaging service yourselves. more ›

Anyone who planned on heading to Soul Queen in honor of founder Helen Maybell Anglin needn't bother. The Chicago Defender reports that the venerable South Side institution closes with Ms. Anglin: the licenses she held for the restaurant were non-transferable. Daughter D-Ella Pyrzynski said, "Soul Queen was her legacy, and that is how she wants to be remembered. I guess you can say it will be buried with her." The family plans on selling the building where Soul Queen is housed. [Chicago Defender, via] more ›

South Loop Wine Cellar is one of our favorite wine stores and we attend their tastings often. They often host creative events, presenting wine in innovative combinations with other foods - cupcakes, chocolates - or with other small businesses in the area. However, when we got the September event email, we did a bit of a double take. Instead of a tasty pairing of a California cab and a nice bite of flank steak, customers at the September 17th tasting can sample… a flu shot. At the “Vaccine and Vino” event, a payment of $40 will include both the wine tasting and the vaccine. more ›

The moment we saw this article on Lifehacker which referenced this article on The Kitchn (both of which contain pictures worth seeing), we knew we'd be trying it. Now, we know what you're thinking...obviously it isn't ice cream in the literal sense of the term. But we found that it is surprisingly pretty darn good. more ›

Sad news for Soul Food fans this morning: Helen Maybell Anglin, who founded South Side staple Soul Queen, passed away yesterday at the age of 80. Take a pilgrimage to 90th and Stony Island this weekend in Ms. Anglin's honor. [Sun-Times] more ›

More people are moving south to Pilsen and Bridgeport in search of cheap housing and rents, and that's led to a slow but steady increase in dining options for our part of town; we'll have a review of Nana Friday. 18th Street in Pilsen has even seen some diversity with the recent openings of Ristorante al Teatro and Ciao Amore, and Honky Tonk BBQ before that. more ›

We admit that sometimes we tend to fall into ruts here with the "BotW" installments. We find ourselves visiting the same styles and same places. No excuses, really. Now that we upgraded our cell phone from the universal remote we used to carry to a smart phone, we can also take photos on the go again. more ›

The Carson Pirie Scott building downtown (AKA the Sullivan Center) gets its first tenant: Flat Top Grill. The venerable make-you-own-stir-fry chain is set to open to the public on September 21. more ›

People of Chicago, we all know how this works. It feels like autumn, it will soon be autumn. But there will be a weekend between now and snow time where it is 85 degrees. And we will all rejoice and smile at strangers on the street and feel weird that we even began to drink apple cider. We suggest you tuck this little recipe away until that day when you can savor the last bit of summer we have. more ›

Isn't that pretty? After two weeks of curing, dry aging, smoking and slicing we now have 8 pounds of pancetta and bacon. The pancetta (pictured above), was ready for slicing and cooking. Here's something we discovered: For the bacon we had considered doing an applewood smoking of the bacon. Instead we went with hickory. For that, we set up our bullet smoker (a Weber Smoky mountain is ideal, we have a Brinkman bullet smoker) to reach a temperature of 120 degrees and smoked the bacon for 2 hours. You don't want the bacon to cook during the process, so try to keep the temperature constant. more ›

Head to any Chicagoland Panera Bread location tomorrow (Thursday, September 10) anytime between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. for their "September Sampler Day" and try free samples of some of their menu items. They'll be serving samples of their Power Breakfast Sandwich, BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad, Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich, Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Macadamia Nut Blondies. more ›

Thursday night some of Chicago's best chefs will be preparing dishes for Toque, an event to benefit Children's Oncology Services, Inc. The benefit takes place at Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State Street) and will includes cocktails and a degustation menu as well as both a silent and live auction. Tickets are $250 each. Bill Kurtis, founder of Tallgass Beef Company, will be the Master of Ceremonies and the Chef Coordinator for the event is Michael Kornick of MK, one of our favorites. Featured Chefs include: more ›

You've just gotten over your fancy ice cream headache from last weekend's Chicago Luxury Ice Cream Festival. What's next? Make your own at Fox and Obel's ice cream making-class this Thursday. From 6-7:30pm and for $25, join Amy Donati (Fox & Obel Charcuterie and Kitchen Manager) in a hands-on class that will have you whipping up Honey Lavender, Red Currant, Kahlua & Espresso, Wine Sorbet and Creme de Menthe ice cream as well as ice cream sandwiches and pies. Leave your kids at home- this is adults only. As always, two hours of validated parking and 10% market purchases on the day of the class. more ›

It was sometime after 8 Friday night at the Chicago Luxury Ice Cream Festival when Benjy texted me from one of the many long lines formed inside the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. The text read, "This is like going to Great America, only you have a small bite of ice cream waiting for you at the end instead of getting on a roller coaster." more ›

As much as we love eating beets, apparently we love buying beets even more. There always seems to be some lying at the bottom of our refrigerator’s crisper drawer. Since we’re averse to wasting good produce, we had to come up with something new to do with them. more ›

Rick Bayless has consistently been in the news in recent weeks. First, there was his winning Top Chef Masters and earning a $100,000 check to his Frontera Farmer Foundation. After two years of planning, today Bayless opens XOCO (449 N. Clark St.). Inspired by the legendary Churreria El Moro in Mexico City, XOCO is Bayless's tribute to Mexican street food: tortas, hearty soups, churros and chocolate. Anticipation among food media and foodies, not to mention the pared down, simple menu, has primed XOCO to be the Publican of 2009. more ›

It's Labor Day weekend, but that doesn't mean all of us are grilling for possibly the final time this season. Here are some events, tastings, dinners and special offers to keep you busy this weekend and beyond: more ›

Although we have raised a significant amount of pledged monetary and in-kind sponsorship support, we have not been able to meet the financial goals that would make it possible to produce the event on the original time-line. more ›

We had a scheduled softball with WBEZ called because of rain on successive Fridays. A shame, really: we were looking forward to hearing Carl Kasel do the play-by-play while we made Justin Kaufmann cry and slid with high spikes into "Sound Opinions" producer Jason Saldhana. Digressing, with the first game called we retreated to some shelter underneath a bridge like the blogger trolls we are and commenced to drinking. Which would have been the end result of the game, win or win by slaughter rule. more ›

Make your reservations now for bluprint's Sunday Supper - Head to Tail - BYOB event on Sunday, September 13. After a beer reception, courtesy of Three Floyd's Brewing Co., sit down to a 4-course, family style dinner followed by dessert. The meal will be prepared by bluprint's Sam Burman, The Bristol's Chris Pandel, Old Town Social's Jared Van Camp and Goose The Market owner Christopher Eley. more ›

Here's what we've been wasting our time reading this week. You should, too: more ›

After over a year of planning the inaugural Chicago Luxury ice Cream Festival is set to open tomorrow. For festival founder Jeff Reid, just having the festival happen is a relief. more ›

Earlier this summer while on a trip to L.A. we made a pilgrimage to Tiki Ti. A tiny place perhaps (it seats fewer than thirty people) but its importance in the world of cocktails looms large. Opened in 1961 by Ray Buhen, a former bartender at the original Don the Beachcomber's as well as several lesser establishments, Tiki Ti has almost single-handedly kept many a vintage cocktail recipe from vanishing forever. Buhen passed away in 1999 but his son and grandsons proudly carry on the Tiki Ti tradition. more ›

This wonderful "San Francisco in June" we've been experiencing has its advantages. Among them is having the ability to fire up an oven and bake a pizza without turning the kitchen into a hot and unbearable pit of Hell. We also like making flatbreads on the grill and, rather than spend a small fortune on ready made pizza dough, we like to make our own and don't give a damn about having the dough formed in a perfect circle, so much as it's crispy when the baking's complete. more ›

Top Chef (and twitter) Master Rick Bayless has just released the menu for XOCO in advance of the new restaurant's Tuesday opening. The menu lists 11 tortas; 8 of them made in a woodburning oven. Christ on a stick! They sound amazing on paper. more ›

Mike Gebert's latest Sky Full of Bacon video podcast continues his look into fishing and sustainability by turning his camera to Great Lakes whitefish. With some assistance from Carl Galvan of Supreme Lobster, Gebert went on a fishing run with a Wisconsin family that has been trolling Lake Michigan for whitefish for 130 years. more ›

If you'll remember, we recently purchased 10 pound of pork belly. Eight pounds are currently suspended in our pantry being dry-aged into pancetta and bacon. more ›

After several scientific studies (or talking to our friends) we have discovered there exists a segment of the population that has never heard of the s’more. Take a moment to guffaw, laugh at their incomplete childhoods and feel a general sense of s’more remorse. In honor of those who have never snacked on the delicious mess, we decided it’d be best to have an open forum on the s’more. After all, this is Labor Day weekend, and many of you will be camping, grilling and partying which are all excellent conditions for The S'more. Feel free to chime in with your best techniques, ingredients, and memories. more ›

Kronos Gyros is giving away free gyros today with a coupon (which we mentioned in last week's "Quick Bites" installment). Must be a successful promotion: a reader just e-mailed us that Works North (201 N. Clark St.) ran out of spindle meat at noon. more ›