If you want your salty snacks to come from your kitchen, rather than a cardboard box, follow this recipe. more ›

Tony Mantuano's new casual Italian restaurant opens today and is sure to be a hit. more ›

Our first reaction? Juicy and delicious. more ›

With a little bit of flourish and a throng of eager shoppers, the Glenwood Sunday Market made a triumphant return on Sunday. The winner of last year’s America's Farmland Trust farmers’ market contest, the Glenwood group is hoping to not only repeat last year’s victory but also build upon its overall success. Mother nature must have been in their corner as the day was warm and sunny - perfect farmers’ market weather. more ›

Another recall - not a great week for Illinois food producers. The Tribune reports that Walnut Cheese Company, based in Bureau County, IL, is recalling some batches of its mozzarella products because they may be contaminated with antibiotic residues. Yummy. According the the Illinois Department of Public Health, eating the contaminated cheese may cause "anaphylaxis, cardiac arrhythmia, endocrine abnormalities, and cutaneous eruptions," but no illnesses have been reported. more ›

Green City Market quietly opened this morning at 7 AM. The market wasn't crazy busy, and the offerings were a tiny bit slim, since most veggies haven't started to come up. But getting back into the market, seeing friends and farmers and coming home with a bag of food were wonderful reminders of why we love eating locally. The big stars of the market today were starter plants - herbs, flowers and vegetables. Most of the vendors who will be selling piles of heirloom tomatoes in about 3 months were pushing plants instead, and we got a few seedlings for the Chicagoist garden plot. more ›

694 Wine and Spirits impressed us. It's a simple statement, but as cocktail nerds, any bar that has this much of a commitment to serving craft spirits gets high marks in our book. They also serve exclusive Salumi Cured Meats from Seattle and Benton's Country Bacon bacon, both available in Chicago only at 694. Of course they have a good wine list, but we prefer whiskey with our pork. Plus, any menu that quotes Steve Martin from the Muppet Movie ("Sparkling Muscatel: One of the finest wines of Idaho") has got to be good. Formerly Juice Wine Co., 694 Wine and Spirits has rebranded, redecorated and revamped their food and drink selection. more ›

Gapers Block broke the news yesterday that the U.S. National Air Guitar Finals will be held at Metro July 23. We're already in intensive training for this with a guitarist more noted for being a Home Shopping Network pitchman, but he's delivered the goods so far (in five easy payments of $39.99). And he has us starting with the basics - knowing our chords and having a distinctive look. Can we pull off the Bandero hat in this day and age? more ›

When we were kids, few meals evoked such excitement and anticipation as macaroni and cheese. Whether it was mom’s homemade, hot from the oven, or the strangely orange stove-stop version that came from a box, mac and cheese was one of those rare meals of choice for even the most finicky kids among us. Truth be told, not much has changed now that we are adults. Our tastes may have matured, but they have not really refined. We still love the dish. Luckily for us, adult restaurants have caught on and steaming spoonfuls of soft macaroni dripping with melted cheese are no longer the stuff of childhood dreams. Then again, the decadent creations being served up today are not your mama’s mac and cheese! more ›

Bin 36, one of our favorite spots, is hosting a particularly comprehensive New Year’s Eve party, and spots are still available. If you already have evening plans, Bin 36 is offering a 4-course early meal, seating from 5:30-7:00, so you can grub up before you head out to your drinking and carousing. The early dinner is $55 per person, a good deal for a meal on New Year’s Eve. more ›

Fellow at-home cooks, we heard your call and we want to answer it - more recipes, more ways to help you in the kitchen. Chicagoist is taking submissions to build a monthly cooking, wine, beer and spirits class calendar. Please e-mail me to submit your class to our monthly calendar. more ›

Last week, Chuck posted the news of Bin 36's renovation and all-new menu. After a year of specials to celebrate their 10th anniversary, Bin 36 is trying to freshen things up, which is understandable for a restaurant that has flourished for so long in our competitive restaurant market. more ›

BIN 36 just followed up a year-long 10-year celebration by unveiling a $100,000 renovation of their interior, a new American bistro menu and an expanded cheese menu, including "a fresh array of eight composed flights to encourage exploration." The revamped menu by chef John Caputo incorporates artisan cheeses throughout, including Gougeres with Truffle Honey and a Grilled Cheese Trio and Brown Sugar-Cured, Slow-Roasted Pork Loin Chop with gorgonzola polenta. All menu items may be paired with wine recommendations from BIN 36's Brian Duncan. more ›

I'm a big proponent of the social aspects of dining in groups: talking, breaking bread together, sharing plates and laughs with both friends and strangers. It's no coincidence that some of my favorite restaurants encourage communal or family-style dining — the Publican, mado, the Bristol and Urban Belly, to name a few. All these restaurants tap into an emotional well that make me feel better about myself and the world around me, if just for an evening. It's probably naive to feel that way, but it is sincere. more ›

Here's something you can do without having to leave your desk. Kendall College Dean Chris Koetke will host a chat on artisan Cheese with John Brody of Sargento Foods and Chef Ulrich Koberstein, Executive Chef of the American Club in Koehler, WI and a chef ambassador of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. more ›

Continuing its year-long celebration of ten years in business, BIN 36 is serving $3 cheese flights throughout the month of October. The promotion also coincides with the rollout of BIN 36's new cheese menu. more ›

Craigslist is good for a lot of things. We all know that finding hookers is just the tip of the iceberg of what Craig and his list has to offer. For example, our unfertilized eggs could be worth thousands of dollars, numerous gentlemens' establishments would love for us to come dance for them, and we had no idea where we could get a free pile of dirt and some coat hangers, but CL comes through time and time again. Despite the recession easing a bit, times are still tough. But there are still places and people in Chicago that are more than willing to give you money! All you have to do is...well, there's some pretty bizarre stuff out there. An example: more ›

The online wine community and retailer Bottlenotes is holding its first wine and food tasting at the Museum of Contemporary Art Friday from 7-10 p.m. The event, called "Around the World in 80 Sips," will feature wines from, well, all over: Old World, New World, North and South America, Israel and Lebanon. Those wines will be paired with cheeses provided from Artisanal Premium Cheese. more ›

Tomorrow night from 6:30-8:30pm enjoy a free wine tasting at one of our favorite wine and cheese shops, Pastoral. The theme will be "Wines From Emerging Regions" and we're told the wines will be from "traditional wine countries (France, Spain, etc.) but will be from lesser known and upcoming regions." Pastoral also has a lot of upcoming events with a nominal fee for the month of April including an introductory "Cheese 101" class, an exploration of Italian cheeses and wines, and a course dedicated to pairing cheese with champagne and sparkling wines.. more ›

Next Thursday, everyone's beloved River East grocer, Fox and Obel, will be hosting a class celebrating Irish cheese and beer just in time for your St. Patrick's Day celebration. Fox and Obel's cheese guy, Aaron Stek, will lead attendees through a sampling and education of several cheeses including Cashel Blue, Ardrahan, Coolea and Vintage Irish Cheddar. Wash it down with a selection of Irish beers, compliments of a Guinness beer ambassador. more ›

Lincoln Square is one of our favorite shopping neighborhoods in the city. It’s filled with independent businesses of all shapes and sizes and has two coffee shops that we love. Last Saturday, we realized that we’d never really ventured beyond the “main drag” of Lincoln Square – the area between the big gates – and decided to walk around a bit. It’s a good thing too, or we’d never have discovered Provenance Food and Wine’s Lincoln Square location (2312 W. Leland, 773-784-2314). The sister store to Provenance's Logan Square location has been open for a year. more ›

Expecting more of the same of what we saw Saturday, it was decided that any coverage of Chicago Gourmet for Sunday would be optional. With an overcast sky and the first tinges of autumn finally in the air, it turned out to be a prudent decision. more ›

"She was standing at a bus stop. A very cute young woman obviously dressed to for some sort of “important” job. She reached into her large, but not obnoxiously so, bag and pulled out a can of Easy Cheese. She gave it a shake, and proceeded to place the nozzle in her mouth and enjoyed a mouthful of processed cheese. If I still had the ability to cry, I would out of sheer joy....this took place at 7:30am this morning. I'm still dreaming of her."—David Kendall more ›

[A bar] patron realized Plante didn't have a gun and used a bar stool to push him out of the bar, court records state. Plante fled, dropping a cheese grater on the ground, court records allege.

Drinking wine can be an experience to savor and that experience is heightened when paired with some great cheeses. BIN 36 offers a nice atmosphere to do both these things. Chicagoist dined at the downtown location and not only enjoyed wine and cheese, but indulged in some of Executive Chef John Caputo’s cooking. more ›

When this Chicagoist writer left a job in Ravenswood late last year, we knew we'd miss our officemates dearly. We also lamented the fact we'd no longer be within walking distance to First Slice Cafe for lunch. The cafe, located on the first floor of the Lillstreet Art Center, is home to a small menu of fine creations, one of our favorites being the Chicago-Style vegetarian sandwich. more ›