Get ready for crazy holiday parties (and the ensuing bad behavior) with this app, designed to measure your sobriety and warn you not to drunk-text your boss. more ›

We'll slip on our "54" jerseys. We'll cheer on his interceptions and tackles, especially when he pounds Michael Vick into the ground. But do we also want him in your pocket at all times, on our iPhones? more ›

We have been inundated with deal-a-day apps lately, to the point where we're pretty much impossible to impress. The field is getting so crowded that the deals are often laughably bad, featuring bars and restaurants we wouldn't wander into if we were already in the neighborhood, let alone go out of our way for. DrinkOwl is a refreshing change - it promises no discounts on its own, but allows users to see all the different drink specials going on, all over the city. Using your GPS location, it will find you beer, wine and cocktail specials close to you - and best of all, you don't have to bring a coupon. more ›

On Monday night, we were fortunate to attend the Great Neighborhood Restaurant awards, hosted by LTH Forum at Sun Wah BBQ. We love the GNR awards, because they are an expression of a genuine love for food and drink - mostly divorced from celebrity, media and hype. It's a chance for unsung independent spots to get their due, and the event was a great chance for nominators and forum members to meet some of the restaurant owners who serve them so much tasty food. Even better, this year there is no need to carry around a pocket guide - there's an app for that. more ›

Last month we reported on the debut of a cocktail app optimized to run on Mac computers. As far as we can tell, the "Cocktails for Mac" program ($4.99) remains the first and only one of its kind. At the time, it was still too new to review; we've been messing around with CfM long enough now to rate it a resounding "meh." more ›

Tracking down food trucks can be cumbersome; you have to know what trucks are out there and follow all of their twitter accounts. If you miss the truck you want, you have to start the whole search process over again. Well guess what, Chicago, you no longer need to do the Twitter/Facebook hunt—there’s an app for that. TruxMap, founded in L.A., offers a free, centralized way to “track all food trucks in the city in real-time, using our Web interface, Twitter feeds and iPhone GPS coordinates,” says co-creator and lead developer Ivan Pardo. Still in its initial phases, the app is in the process of collecting data to provide accurate updates on location stops and times. more ›

Pocket Cocktails launched a new app for Mac computers this week that aims to school the home bartender. It's not just a bunch of recipes, but also a primer on how to mix drinks with skill, illustrating techniques like layering and garnishing. The Toronto-based company has developed cocktail-centric apps for the iPhone before, most notably its eponymous "Pocket Cocktails" app; now that Apple has launched its Mac App Store, which sells programs for use on Mac computers like the iMac and Macbook, app developers like Pocket Cocktails are refitting and expanding on their iPhone apps for Macs. more ›

Who doesn't love free drinks? If you're a bar-goer and you don't have Drink Deck Chicago, you are spending too much money. We've written before about discount "decks" - 52 playing card-sized coupons that give you discounts at 52 different restaurants. This one is a little different. Instead of restaurants, this deck gets you discounts at bars. If you look now, you can get a free trial of the iphone app that gets you a $10 discount for nothing but a click. more ›

If you are among the legions of Chicagoans toting an iPhone, there is no excuse for being out of touch with the news these days. Until recently, Chicago was not well represented in the iTunes store. In fact, what should have been the flagship of the Second City’s local news offerings was an embarrassment with a woeful and limited app from the Chicago Tribune. But this week’s rollout of a reconceptualized app from the folks in Michigan Avenue’s gothic tower is just the latest in a groundswell of Chicago media offerings for Apple devices. Here’s a quick rundown: more ›

We're resting up after the crazy but fun Pitchfork Music Fest weekend but Lollapallooza is no slouch, reminding us it looms just a few weeks away. With the custom schedule option already up on the site, the fest has released the map of the grounds so you can really start making your plan of attack for the three-day megafest marathon. A few things we noted: more ›

There are plenty of places and ways to get your Chicagoist fix. And with everyone getting new iPhones and Evo's and what nots, it's a good time for a reminder of the list of places you can follow us. more ›

When we think Chicago-centric iPhone apps, we usually think of the not-so-reliable CTA bus tracker. Yet there are lots of clever smartphone applications for Chicagoans on the market, and now there's one more to add to the list. Chicago Gangland Tour is a database of Chicago-area locations tied to Al Capone and his mob cronies. It includes photos and short essays for each place, unique ways to filter entries (such as "bodies found in car"), and Google map functionality. What results is a pretty comprehensive app as jam-packed with as much information as a thick history book, but is much easier to carry and is more dynamic. more ›

We've profiled need-to-have food and drink-related smartphone applications in recent months, from Stolpman's review of the Poynt app, to Lizz's recount of beta-testing the Foodie app. Now they're starting to come fast and furious, with MenuPages' application only one of many to be released. Of course, we should also take the time to pimp the Ist-a-verse app. more ›

We've told you in the past about the multiple ways you can keep track of us at your computer and on-the-go. Now, for you iPhone and iPod touch users, there's a new way to follow us - and other sites in the 'ist-a-verse - while you're away from the computer. Today, thanks to some hard work from the Gothamist Tech Team, we've launched the first version of the istaverse iPhone app. You can select any of the Gothamist network's 13 sites to keep track of while you're out and about and, best of all, it's FREE. more ›

Admit it, it can be pretty hard to wrap your head around all the bands playing Lollapalooza, and the daily schedule can be labyrinthine to navigate. Lollapalooza rolled out a free iPhone app that makes mapping out your three days at the festival easier than ever. more ›

Because the CTA Bus Tracker website is not the easiest to use on a mobile device, such as an iPhone, when you're on the go, the folks over at Ars Technica have compiled a good breakdown of the two iPhone apps that use data from the CTA's website to help you find that bus stop or track a bus' arrival time. The apps, Buster and CTA Tracker, are both priced at 99 cents at the iTunes App Store. Neither was developed by the CTA. more ›