Summertime means grilling out and we at Chicagoist unwrapped our grills with loving care to begin enjoying everything charcoal, hickory chips and even propane have to offer. Summer's the time to lose that winter weight gain and look good on the beach so we tried a few healthier alternatives to the typical burger here. We used buffalo meat instead of hamburger. Buffalo meat has fewer calories, less cholesterol and less fat then hamburger, pork......

Chicago Mag food critic Jeff Ruby sent us an e-mail linking to a song and video he made summing up the life of a lonely food critic, with a scene-stealing role by his kid, rocking a Clash t-shirt.......

If you’re lucky, your toddler will be asleep, blissfully unaware when the last minutes of 2007 tick by. An earlier bed time doesn’t mean that he or she has to miss out on the festivities, though; a handful of places in and around Chicago are hosting New Year’s Eve parties for the little ones, with dancing, snacks and party favors at an earlier countdown. Rosedale Park on the northwest side is hosting their third annual......

Lance Briggs's baby mama Brittini Tribbett says he only provides $250 per week in child support. Former Sun-Times publisher David Radler was sentenced to 29 months in prison today after pleading guilty. The fire that killed a 17-year-old and her baby on the South Side this morning may have been arson. File Elk Grove under "One more town where you can't buy a hand job at a massage parlor." Snowy smile by Thelou137......

The former Highwater Books was one of the first publishing companies that made us pay attention to comics and graphic novels. After a financial failure, Randy Cheng, a former employee, started Bodega Distribution to continue Highwater's mission. Recently, Randy sent us a sampling of Bodega's wares, and we feel the torch is being carried well. Daybreak, by Brian Ralph, is a first-person narrative set in a zombie-run world. We read the second, and latest, in......

Many of the parents we’ve talked to told us that they will go “China-free” this Christmas, refusing to purchase toys constructed in China. This, in large part, is due to the massive number of Chinese-made recalled toys this year (like those beads that turn into GHB when ingested). Toxic toys and poor oversight is a company issue and not necessarily a country-specific one, but patronizing local small businesses, regardless of impetus, should be applauded. For......

Oh, sweet teensy tiny baby Jesus, words really don't do this justice. All we're gonna ask is: When exactly did Jake Busey dye his hair and start fronting Survivor? OK, OK, one more thing: Wouldn't it be awesome if, in fact, Survivor had a dude who did nothing but play tambourine? Ah, in a perfect world.... Thanks to Lauren for the tip-off on this one.......

Breaking news: An Amtrak train and a freight train collided at 48th and South Shields Ave about an hour ago, and passengers are being pulled out as we write this. Developing. UPDATE 12:27: Don Rashid from Stroger Hospital is on NBC5 saying that Stroger is in a "stage 3 disaster." The footage is showing color-coded triage areas, and so far the green zone is empty. 12:30 Witnesses are describing a sound "like an explosion" when......

But there are a bunch of cute links at the bottom as a brain cleanser. The body that washed up in Zion Wednesday has been IDed as missing kayaker Walter Doroba. The Gurnee man had been missing since October 28. A three-year-old in Kenosha shot and killed himself while apparently playing with his mother's pistol, which she kept in her nightstand. Sergio Chavez, 5, was killed when a television set fell on him in......

The Shedd needs your help for the whales. In particular, by naming their newest, a male baby Beluga whale. You can choose form a list of names already entered, or suggest your own. [Ed. note: It is going to be tough to top Mister Splashy Pants, but we can do it!] The little fella's name will be chosen on Dec. 21st from the top five suggestions. A winning voter gets a year membership to the......

Bridgeport's treated us well. As we've written numerous times both here and elsewhere, the neighborhood grew on us. When we first moved out south eight years ago we never would have thought that we'd have lived here as long as we have; we just thought of Bridgeport as a stop-gap to moving back to the north side. Now it seems like others are clued in to what we knew long ago: this neighborhood rocks.......

Chicagoist wasn't the only one reminiscing about Harold Washington this week. With the Cook County Commission deadlocked over the budget, County Commissioner Bill Beavers lashed out at the opposition in a press conference yesterday, saying that if Stroger were white, his budget proposal would pass. “This is a remake of the Harold Washington days with the 29, 21,” Beavers said, adding “it’s basically dealing with who’s going to control the county, white or black.... If......

There has been a (baby) rash of Nativity crime in Chicagoland over the past few years, and this year’s organizers of the Nativity scene (known as the “God Squad”) in Daley Plaza have taken steps to help curb the thefts--the baby Jesus is chained down like a toddler on a leash. The God Squad has faith he’s not going anywhere this year. A Tribune expose has revealed the Baby Jesus has been stolen numerous times......

We've been digging SceneUnseen's photos all week. Al fresco dining during a free Pritzker Pavilion show (a.k.a. stuffing your face while the Joffrey Ballet grooves) On any given weekend, there's always something new and worth seeing on a Chicago stage. Tried-and-true shows like Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind and Improvised Shakespeare, perfect for treating out of town guests to a laugh. Friendly, helpful people are running the tawniest art galleries. Free......

With the new damp chill in the air, we’ve found ourselves craving a cup of hot tea. With a baby on our hip, however, we’ve been less excited about something dressy at the Drake and more nostalgic for sweats in Grandma’s kitchen. Enter Suzi’s Tea and Cafe. This former Lakeview resident is back after a few years’ hiatus in Long Grove. Occupying the former location of Las Tablas on Lincoln, the owners have remade this......

pH Productions hit our radar when they started pHlooding the Hottix page with their uniquely titled late-night shows, like pHamily and pHrenzy pHucked. Then came their emails, replete with creative pHonetics: “Hi pHans… pHrenz-o-ween is coming!” The company was started by a handful of comedians who quickly established a niche for delivering slightly more affordable late night improv comedy at Lakeview’s Stage Left. Each audition attracted more aspiring comedians, and pH now has a 24-member......

Illinois-wide roundup. Holla! Steve Skoklo faces up to three years in prison if he's convicted on charges of animal cruelty. He allegedly killed a kitten by slamming it against a door frame and throwing it to the floor. At a bar. In front of a bunch of people who were petting the stray. A Harvey woman who tried to sever her Rottweiler's tail with a meat cleaver — in her driveway — was charged with......

Prior to having our child, we would have considered this concept hilarious. A DJ spinning disco classics for ... toddlers? We still chuckle, but since we’ve seen our own toddler shake it to a good bass beat, we might be convinced to see what all the fuss is about. Baby Loves Disco hosts monthly parties in 21 different cities, including one at our very own Metro this Sunday. In addition to the aforementioned DJ......

We know that we're unhealthy, and probably have all manner of toxic death chemicals kickin' it in our bodies. According to a recent study, though, everybody does, and that includes vegans and people who jog for fun. Environment Illinois and other groups released a report of a study that found at least three toxic chemicals used in everyday products were found in the bodies five Illinoisans and 30 other volunteers in a nationwide project. The......

In a move sure to send ripples throughout the video game community, Electronic Arts, aka EA, is shuttering its Chicago office effective immediately. In case that leaves you scratching your head, EA is responsible for such gaming franchises as Madden NFL, The Sims, The Orange Box, and the upcoming Rock Band. The now former studio was located at 215 W. Ohio. According to EA Games president Frank Gibeau, shutting down the Chicago branch was “the......

A freshman at Corliss High School on the South Side says his school's security guards assualted him--and a student has the incident on tape. According to the Sun-Times, the tape shows an officer wrapping his arm around the student's neck and pining him to the floor. RIP, Betsy the harbor seal. The 36-year-old resident of the Lincoln Park Zoo was quite old for a harbor seal. The City Council's finance committee approved the Mayor's......

Jean Sliwinski was convicted of reckless homicide today and was also deemed mentally ill. She'll be sentenced November 26. George Ryan is supposed to report to prison November 7...unless Judge Posner's emphatic dissent is enough to convince the 7th Circuit to extend Ryan's bail until his case can be appealed to the Supreme Court. There are people who enjoy Ricky Henderson jokes. There are people who enjoy Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me jokes. Then......

Scotland Yard Gospel Choir releases their self-titled sophomore full-length on Bloodshot Records today. It's always nice to see a local label with some real clout helping out a local band, and we're predicting that this is a team-up that will prove beneficial to both parties involved. Scotland Yard Gospel Choir's sound is more Belle And Sebastian, and less Old 97's, so it marks a sonic departure of sorts for the label. That isn't to......

It's hard to believe it's taken the universe this long to combine parades, insane traffic and the ability to punch the living shit out of stuff. But that combo has arrived. Downtown. Today. Yes, at 4pm this afternoon, around 700 boxers, here to punchasize your face for the the AIBA World Boxing Championship, will walk from the Palmer House Hilton to the Chicago Theater in a 4-block parade. State Street between Adams and Wacker will......

Mayor Daley unveiled his $5.4 billion budget today, and with it the expected $108 million increase in property taxes and the 10-cent charge on bottled water. City stickers for SUVs will be more expensive, parking fines will be higher, the tax on liquor will also increase, and the monthly phone surcharge that covers 911 costs will go from $1.25 to $2.50. Also, every time you hear a baby giggle, you have to give the City......

LAist began the month with a new food series exploring the popular and unknown late night eats around town. If a Top Chef winner opened up a late night spot in Los Angeles, denizens would flock it, yet the LA Times and other media might be wary. Turning to sports, the Dodger season was quite memorable in the way that it imploded and the LA County Sheriff's Department made some games of their own......

Hey, kids! Chicago Artists Month is upon us! Although it may feel like there's a different festival/fair/celebration each week in the city, this one isn't one to miss, with a full slate of cool events scheduled to help celebrate one of the city's most vibrant scenes. You can get your culture fix at a number of special gallery exhibits over the next few days, given the bitchin' balmy weather, we'd recommend breaking out your......

Aurora's Planned Parenthood can open immediately. How bad do things have to get before Daley will denounce what's going on with the Chicago Police Department's Special Operations Section? Even the Associated Press is saying, "Not since club-swinging cops in baby-blue helmets chased demonstrators through clouds of pepper gas at the 1968 Democratic National Convention have Chicago police been so awash in trouble." Dayum. And yet Da Mare has given no indication that he'll disband......

Rocktober is truly upon us. Usually we would avoid such cutesy phrasing for fear of falling into obvious cliché, but this year truly holds some outstanding live music coming through Chicago in the month of October. Here's a sampling of what to expect this week. Honestly, we’re beginning that suspect that both Matt & Kim and Dan Deacon secretly have apartments in Chicago, because it feels like they’re playing here every other week. If that’s......

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out......