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 ›

Some of the Chicagoist food staff aren't so fond of restaurant week. Amy Cavanaugh and John DiGilio explain why. 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 ›

- Jessica Volpe, owner of Chicagoist fav Pasta Puttana, has opened a retail shop in Noble Square. The spot opened last Friday, and we haven't had a chance to visit yet - but you'd better believe we'll be stopping in soon for some pasta-making lessons! The shop will carry filled and sheet pastas (filled pastas can't be found at her farmer's market stand) and according to Eater, on opening day she was carrying roasted beet pasta and ramp pasta. Yum. 1407 W. Grand Avenue. more ›

312 Dining Diva tipped us off to this one. Paul Kahan, of Blackbird, managed to get through airport security with a LOT of knives. He tweeted: "Flew outa ohare today. Forgot I had four huge chefs knives in carry on bag. Got patted down for wallet. Knives went through." Thank goodness for the TSA keeping our skies so safe. Maybe if he'd been carrying a 4-ounce bottle of olive oil, they would've gotten him. more ›

- Bridge House Tavern, the new bar/restaurant in the old Flatwater space, officially opened yesterday. The restaurant has been soft-open for a few weeks. We'll withhold a full review until they've had a few more weeks to ferment, but here's our capsule review from a visit a couple weeks back. Bacon milkshake? Thumbs up. Beautiful riverfront space? Thumbs up? Entire drink menu? Thumbs way down. more ›

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The official Chicago Restaurant Week starts February 18th, and with over 200 restaurants participating, it might help to have a few suggestions before you starting making reservations. Restaurants will be offering prix fie menus, costing $22 for lunch and either $33 or $44 for dinner. At those prices, it makes sense to make reservations now. Below, the Chicagoist food staff gives you our recommendations for some great meals and great deals. more ›

At the other end of the spectrum from yesterday's low key New Year's Eve dinner, today we cater to the high rollers. Want to really impress your foodie friends? Rent out the party room at Blackbird. Sure, it's pricy, but it's a party you will remember for the rest of your life. more ›

Last night, the Girl and the Goat's Stephanie Izard joined an all-star team of Chicago chefs to host a "Friends of the James Beard Foundation" dinner. The Beard Foundation, American's foremost nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting fine American food, holds dinners around the country to support its operations, and the proceeds of last night's dinner will be used for culinary school scholarships. more ›

Lynn House, the former actress and jam enthusiast whose cocktails at graham elliot were highlights of our visits there, has moved over to Blackbird. Our mind boggles at the cocktails House could possibly come up with to pair with the food from Mike Sheerin, particularly since her cocktail style is seasonally focused and House often incorporates ingredients from her home garden into her cocktails. more ›

As of this morning there are still a pair of tickets available for next Thursday's Sound Opinions "Eat to the Beat" dinner at Blackbird. Blackbird's Paul Kahan and Mindy Segal of Hot Chocolate will prepare a multi-course dinner from music selected by Sound Opinions hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot. more ›

If beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy, as Benjamin Franklin once surmised, then the Norwegians behind Nøgne Ø are the equivalent of missionaries luring bloodthirsty Vikings away from the halls of Asgard with the allure of satiny ales. Brewmaster Kjetil Jikiun came to craft brewing like nearly every other successful brewer we've met: he started out as a homebrewer. Jikiun is also a commercial airline pilot, was able to expand his knowledge of beer while flying around the globe and became a fan of the quality of beers being produced by American craft and microbreweries. more ›

For four days the Sheraton Hotel and Towers downtown was overrun by a burly, bearded, tattooed mass of humanity. They had one other thing in common: they all had a deep love of beer. The annual Craft Brewers Conference and biennial World Beer Cup shone a spotlight on Chicago just as the local craft beer scene is growing by leaps and bounds. Breweries from 90 countries entered a record 3,330 beers in the World Beer Cup, in 90 style categories. Many of those beers, as well as rare vintages, were available for sampling at the conference and throughout the city. more ›

With all the tastings, tappings and events happening around town related to Craft Brewers Conference, it's wise to formulate a plan of attack. The first step to putting together a successful plan is to recognize you aren't going to hit every event. Your wallet and liver will thank you later. Blackbird put together two sold out special beer dinners this week. Last night's beer dinner featuring the beers of Stone Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin and Norwegian brewery Nøgne-Ø (pronounced "Noon-yeh") made the list for three reasons - 1) It's Blackbird. that's always money well spent. 2) Chef de Cuisine and Food & Wine 2010 Best Chef winner Mike Sheerin's revamping of the Blackbird menu has been nothing short of astonishing. 3) The most intriguing brewery of the three was Nøgne-Ø. Brewmaster Kjetil Jikiun intimated last night that they're pretty much the vanguard for Norway's craft beer movement. That these three disparate breweries became comrades speaks volumes about the way good beer — like music, art and food — can bridge seemingly unbridgeable gaps. more ›

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Although it happened in February, Hot Chocolate's fourth anniversary dinner still stood as my favorite overall dining experience last year. It was a seven-course marathon that increased in intensity and flavor with every dish, paired with some heavy duty beers and a music soundtrack that ranged from early Black Sabbath to pre-"Black Album" Metallica to the Twilight Singers. The proceeds from the dinner went to Share Our Strength, the DC-based non-profit dedicated to eliminating hunger in America by 2015. Quite simply, I was exhausted at the end of the meal. more ›

What would you do if you reached the end of your life and you’d done nothing special? Or do you walk around now, wondering who the hell you’re supposed to be? We can’t decide which one scares us more, but David Harrower’s Kill the Old Torture Their Young at Steep Theatre definitely put life in perspective. 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 ›

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 ›

It is almost impossible to describe the production of David Harrower’s Blackbird at Victory Gardens Theater, except to say it will haunt your dreams and you have to see it. more ›

Have an aspiring kid chef (ages 9 - 13) at home? Get him or her to Kendall College this Sunday for the ConAgra Foods and Share Our Strength Healthy Kids Cook-Off. In this Iron-Chef style cooking competition, kids will compete to create both a healthy and tasty meal or snack with a limited list of ingredients. The event is aimed at education children about nutritional information as well as to raise awareness of childhood hunger in America. 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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

There are a couple of really interesting beer dinners of note in the coming weeks that could wind up being hard reservations, if you're the type to wait until the last minute to get reservations. more ›

There are a thousand reasons why summer dining in Chicago is so fantastic. One of the best being fresh, locally grown ingredients and it doesn't get any fresher than when chefs grow their own ingredients in restaurant or home gardens. An increasing number of chefs are doing so including some of our faves: Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill, Paul Kahan of Blackbird, George Djurovic of August Grocery, (just to name a few.) 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