Finally, a parody tumblr that reads as if the owner actually lives in Chicago. more ›

Paul Kahan played a trick on Chicago foodies last week with his announcement of this unique new product. more ›

The new butcher shop from Publican/Blackbird/Avec chef/owner Paul Kahan is definitely worth a visit. more ›

These are our favorite awards, even better than the restaurants that earn those coveted stars. Not only do they come with a super-cool logo, chalked in the night by Michelin's team of restaurant ninjas, they signify "affordable" restaurants. more ›

In case you missed it, the Garfield Park Conservatory was completely trashed by last month's hailstorm - most of the glass panels were broken, shards destroyed hundreds of plants and the conservatory, one of the nation's most glorious, is partially closed for renovation. Oh, and did we mention that there's no money? Well, Paul Kahan's restaurants are pitching in to help. This Sunday, from 12-4 at Big Star, all of the Blackbird group of restaurants will be hosting a sidewalk sale, selling all of their used (and undamaged) dishware, furniture and kitchen supplies. more ›

An off-the-cuff list of Chicago faves from White House Chef and foodie hero Sam Kass is heavy on eateries South of Madison. Who says the North Side has all the good restaurants? more ›

Over the past couple of years, the dinners Mindy Segal hosts to mark Hot Chocolate's anniversary have been circled in ink as must-attend events. Segal always corrals chefs and brewers who bring their "A" games to these dinners. And there's about eating fresh Lake Superior smelts from Paul Kahan while Black Sabbath blasts through the restaurant's sound system in the dead of winter that's just the kick in the ass we need for spring to get here already. more ›

Restaurant Intelligence Agency reports that Avec is definitely re-opening tomorrow, and the restaurant's website confirms it. Regular service will begin at 3:30. Most of your favorite menu items will be there (thank goodness, they saved the chorizo-stuffed dates) but they have taken the opportunity of the closure to change up some of the menu offerings. We're excited to taste the home-made blood sausage (we love blood sausage) and to check out their new pastry options. more ›

A piece of news we missed on Friday - Steve Dolinsky reported that Avec will re-open this Thursday or Friday, pending city permit approval. Back in August, the restaurant was closed by a fire connected with the ventilation system. We'll be back at Avec as soon as it re-opens, but with a little less glee than before. more ›

• Another report detailing how our state lags in education.
• Speaking of education, the Reader has a look at "honorably terminated" teachers.
• Authorities are investigating a series of child abduction attempts in the north suburbs over the past two weeks.

Tragic news to begin the morning: a CFD firefighter died overnight from injuries sustained while battling a fire at West Loop restaurant Avec. Christopher Wheatley, 31, sustained fatal injuries when he slipped and fell 35 feet off a ladder as he was heading to the roof, carrying 75 pounds of equipment, to help battle a grease chute fire. The incident occurred just after 12:30 a.m. last night; Wheatley was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition where he was pronounced dead a short while later. Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff said at a press conference, “He was very, very well liked. He was a very hard worker. He was a paramedic firefighter, who always had a smile on his face. And he was extremely well-liked by all the men that worked with him, and the women. He was a paramedic for a long time, then he crossed over to be a firefighter." Wheatley was a paramedic from 2000 until 2008 when he joined the CFD. There was no word on the extent of damage to the restaurant. more ›

Check out this year's Chicago Gourmet logo. There's a lot going on, what with the wine glass and fork illustration, the streamlined font for Chicago Gourmet. Oh, and the presence of a title sponsor. more ›

Chicago fared well in last night's chef and restaurant portion of the 2010 James Beard Awards. more ›

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 ›

We love avec so much that sometimes we dream about the food; our most recurring dream being the bacon-wrapped chorizo stuffed dates. So we immediately became intrigued with the class, "Favorite Restaurant Recipes Revealed" at The Chopping Block when we noticed the date recipe was included. The class is also a chance to learn how to make Asian squash dumplings from Urban Belly, fire-cracked mussels with harrisa butter from Tizi Melloul and vanilla cupcakes from Sweet Mandy B's. This is a demonstration class, so you won't actually be making them, but you will get to eat generous tastings of the food prepared. We're not sure how exact these recipes will be but if they get us a step closer to recreating those dream dates at home then we'll take it. more ›

Last night we attended the sold out mulefoot pig dinner at Blackbird sponsored by the Chicago Reader. Reader food critic Mike Sula has been chronicling the progress Dee Dee since he persuaded the paper to buy her last year, bringing attention to this rare endangered breed of swine in the process. more ›

Arguably the most anticipated restaurant of the year, The Publican finally opened its doors before they were torn down by the hungry, excited masses. We were initially surprised there wasn't a wait, being 8:00 on a Saturday, until we saw the space. Eyeballing it, The Publican is about the size of three avecs and although we were seated immediately, the German-style beer hall was full of people at long wooden communal tables, small groups at pig pen-esque private booths, and others just sitting at the bar for a drink. more ›

After nearly two years, the Reader is ready to serve up some of that mulefoot pig it adopted to some hungry folks. And they're doing it in style, with a six-course dinner starting 6 p.m. October 19 at Blackbird to benefit Slow Food Chicago. more ›

Just added to the list of participants for September's Chicago Gourmet event are Koren Grieveson of avec, Jose Garces of Mercat a la Planxa, the Hearty Boys duo of Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, Takashi's Takashi Yagihashi, Christophe David of NoMI and Terrance Brennan of the soon-to-open Chicago location of his Artisanal Bistro and Wine Bar. more ›

Well, summer is here, the livin’ is easy, people are showing skin and getting each other all revved up. We asked some of our fellow writers: if you could plan a date for this week (up through the weekend) what would you plan, and wherefore? more ›

• Starting off this week with a bit of a review. We slugged back our share of Original Schlitz Friday night at Green Mill. Guess what? It isn't that bad. Actually, as far as clean lagers go, we prefer it over Pabst Blue Ribbon (coincidentally, Pabst brews both). At $4 a bottle, it's also priced perfectly (PBR on draft at Green Mill runs $4.50).
• Louis Glunz Beer Company has formed the "Glunz Beer Culinary Council." This Justice League of culinary greatness includes Paul Kahan, Mindy Segal, Richard Camarota of Custom House, MIke Roper and Ben Sheagren of Hopleaf, Cooper's - A Neighborhood Eatery owner Craig Foss, Siebel Institute of technology faculty member Randy Mosher, author Lucy Saunders, and chariman Jim Javenkoski. Not coincidentally, the restaurants represented also carry Unibroue beers.
• Mike Nagrant waxes on about "green market dorks" in this week's New City