Good luck getting a doughnut there after this. more ›

We only got four out of fifteen correct. Take a look at the whole list, which includes some notable surprises. more ›

Chicago got left out of most of the categories, and we're losing in all of the categories we made it into. Vote your Chicago food pride! more ›

Chicago restaurants received seven of the 10 nominations and some of our best chefs are among the nominees. more ›

Without a cash-laden bully, the more arty and prestige titles will be left to bloody one another up this awards season. more ›

Food Republic names Intelligentsia's Doug Zell #1 in Coffee Power Rankings. more ›

It's the middle of August and we all know what that means in Illinois: Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez Day approaches. If you didn't realize it was coming up on Friday, don't feel too bad. Governor Quinn only announced the designation last week to coincide with the Chicago International Film Festival's Summer Gala, where the two will be guests of honor. The question naturally arises, how does one properly observe Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez Day? We have a few suggestions. more ›

Cannes loves Apichatpong Weerasethakul. His first feature, 2002's Blissfully Yours, snagged the Un Certain Regard trophy, which recognizes young talent and innovation. Two years later his second film, Tropical Malady, became the first Thai film in competition at the festival and emerged with a special Jury Prize. Finally, his mesmerizing Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives won last year's Palme d'Or. All he needs is the Grand Prix to hit for the cycle at the world's most prestigious film festival and put the cherry on top of a mountain of critical accolades, but the Eurpoean cognoscenti aren't the only ones who love Weerasethakul. There's more than enough for him here in Chicago, where he is known simply as "Joe." more ›

In a nearly-unprecedented reversal of fortune last night, Chicago chefs and restaurants got slammed at the James Beard Awards dinner in New York. Unlike our usual banner showing, Chicago took home just one single award - an "Outstanding Restauranteur" award for Lettuce Entertain You owner Rich Melman. Best of all, he wasn't even there! According to the Trib, he didn't even know the Beard Awards were happening. Rick Bayless was not happy about it; on Twitter, he wrote "Total shut out for Chicago tonight at Beard Awards! Worse yet: 1 of top 3 awards goes to Melman--r only chance to shine.NO SHOW!AT BEARDS??" There's more carnage - keep reading. more ›

Back in late September, during the Bulls' media day, Derrick Rose asked, "Why can't I be the MVP of the league? Why can't I be the best player in the league?" At the time, many passed it off as the overconfidence of a budding, young star even if out of character for one typically so humble. Few took the questions too seriously. more ›

LTHForum announced their 2011 Great Neighborhood Restaurant and Resource winners and the list is chock full of some Chicagoist favorites. Making the cut are the Bristol, Edzo's Burger Shop in Evanston, the Purple Pig, Three Floyds, XOCO, the Whistler, Big & Little's and Anteprima. more ›

This has been a good week for Stephanie Izard, and it's only Wednesday! We fully expect President Obama to appoint her Supreme Food Leader by Friday afternoon. In all seriousness, Izard has gotten two major accolades in the last couple of days, and you can participate in one of them! Saveur Magazine, which avoided restaurant reviews in the past, inaugurated a new review program with Girl and the Goat. Review might not be the right word; frantic worship at Izard's feet might be a better description. The reviewer, Dana Bowen, also enjoyed The Publican, but Girl and the Goat was "something else entirely." Izard was also nominated for Food and Wine's "The People's Best New Chef" award, and you can vote right now. more ›

The indiscriminate omnivores at LTHForum have opened up nominations for their 2011 "Great Neighborhood Restaurant" Awards. Nominations are open until Feb. 20 and is fully democratic, so long as you register at LTH. more ›

Holiday gifts are still coming the Bears way, courtesy of their division rivals in Minnesota. The Vikings upset Philadelphia 24-14 last night, guaranteeing the Bears the second seed in the NFC and a first-round playoff bye. The Bears still have a chance at the top seed in the conference, but they're going to have to rely on losses Sunday to Atlanta and New Orleans. The defensing champion Saints face a tough challenge against Tampa Bay, but the Falcons match up against doormat Carolina. more ›

Back in July, we got the exciting news that the Guide Michelin, the most prestigious guidebook in the food world, was coming to Chicago. Chicago was going to be their third city in the United States, after New York and San Francisco, and every high-end restaurant owner in Chicago started scrambling to make sure that they made the list. Michelin reviewers had been eating all over Chicago for two years, taking their anonymous notes, and while some restaurant owners told us, off the record, that they spotted the Michelin reviewers, most of the restaurant world held its breath. more ›

If you're determined to win your Oscars pool this year, now is when you start doing a tiny bit of homework. Today's announcement of the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards nominations caps off the busiest week of movie awards news until the Golden Globes ceremony a month from now, and provides a decent crib sheet for the Academy Awards nominations. more ›

He locked up this award on Opening Day with his amazing between-the-legs defensive play, but today Mark Buehrle officially won his second consecutive Gold Glove award as the top defensive pitcher in the American League. The Sox southpaw led the majors by picking off 11 runners in 2010 and didn't commit a single error on the mound. In 33 starts, Buehrle also accumulated a 13-13 record and a 4.28 record. more ›

Kevin Pang can now take "award-eligible writer for the Tribune" off his title. The newly minted "Cheap Eater" columnist for the World's Smallest Broadsheet won a James Beard Award last night for his work on "The Cheeseburger Show." more ›

The 2010 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced a short time ago and Chicago came home empty-handed in awards. However, congrats to the Tribune's John McCormick and Marie Dillon who were selected as finalists for the Editorial Writing award. Update: The Reader informs us of one U of C grad who did bring home a Pulitzer today. more ›

Here are your local nominees for the 2010 James Bears Awards. Winners will be announced May 2-3 in New York City. more ›

• James Beard Award semifinalists were announced this morning. [James Beard Foundation (PDF)]
• World famous cheese sculptor Sarah Kaufman will be making a scale model of the Niles skyline from two 150-pound cheddar wheels this weekend at Meijer, 9000 Golf Rd. [Drive-Thru]
• Words of wisdom from Art Smith, In Re: Scraps - "Ain't nothing wrong with a casserole, honey!" [Chicago Brunch Blog]

Time Out Chicago announced the finalists for its annual "Eat Out" Awards last week and (if you're a casual gourmand or non-foodie) you might find the ballot as "WTF?" confusing as the list of judicial retentions on your primary ballot. Assuming, that is, you were part of the 27.2 percent who actually voted in the recent primary. more ›

Monday night we attended LTHForum's fifth annual Great Neighborhood Restaurants Awards dinner at Marie's Pizza and Liquors in the wunnerful Mayfair neighborhood, itself a previous winner of a GNR. 13 restaurants, 1 bar and 4 bakeries were added to LTH's already expansive list of GNR recipients; you can download their pocket guide here. more ›

President Obama held a news conference this morning to address his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Perhaps sensing the criticisms of the far right and skepticism of some of his supporters to being awarded the honor, Obama said he was "surprised and deeply humbled" at winning the Nobel, questioned whether he even deserved the honor and said that he doesn't view the Nobel as 'recognition of (his) own accomplishments." more ›

The Society of Midland Authors is kind of like the literary Mensa of the Midwest. Since its founding in 1915, members have included Poetry magazine founder Harriet Monroe, founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement Jane Addams, social theorist Daniel J. Boorstin, and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sandburg. more ›

The James Beard Foundation announced their 2009 award nominees today. Among the local chefs, restaurants and restaurateurs that made the final cut: more ›

The James Beard foundation announced their annual awards semifinalists this morning. Jean Joho and Paul Kahan are nominated for Outstanding Chef, with Joho's Everest getting a nod for Outstanding Restaurant. L2O is up for Best New Restaurant, while a staggering 11 area chefs are bidding for the title of Best Chef: Great Lakes. Included on that list are avec's Koren Grieveson, Avenue's Curtis Duffy, Suzy Crofton, and Paul Virant of Vie. Full list (in PDF format) is available here. more ›

The Writer's Guild of America has announced their nominations for "outstanding achievement in TV, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation," and guess which movie got a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay? Why, it would be the same one which received an ASC nomination earlier today and a Producer's Guild of America nomination a few days ago. Depending on how you look at it, these noms could be a harbinger of things to come when the Oscars roll around. Or they could just be acknowledgments that The Dark Knight made boatloads of money (in fact it was last year's highest-grossing film). more ›

The results from the biennial World Beer Cup (held this year in classy San Diego) are up. Goose Island represented yet again, earning silver medals for "#12" (English-style summer ale) and Matilda (Belgian- and French-style ale). more ›

For all you whiskey buffs out there, now you can vote on your favorite brands of the past year, as well as your favorite and most hated marketing campaigns, at the 2007 Drammies. more ›