We love to read and write, and not just our own posts here on the World Wide Webs. We’ve been working on our first novel for years. It’s a love story involving time-traveling unicorns and so far we have about 850 pages of it written, but we don’t know when we’ll get it published (fingers crossed!). As such, we have a soft spot in our heart for local writers who have been a tad more successful. Luckily we live in a city that gives us a chance to here these talented scribes read! more ›

The corner of Dempster and Chicago in Evanston still retains some vestiges of its hippie past, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It actually reminds us of the less annoying parts of Lincoln and Wicker Parks. We've been fans of Bagel Art in Evanston for as long as we can remember; we usually have a sesame seed bagel with plain cream cheese every morning on the way to work. They also make a few good sandwiches for a quick bite during the work day, fuel for grinding out miles on the old Green Bay Road bike trail during summer, or just futzing around Evanston. more ›

We're going to be doing a special Valentine's Day version of the Buffet next week. Until then, here are some events to tie you over. more ›

An Austin man was killed in a car crash Wednesday, just hours before his home and business went up in flames. James Phillips called 911 yesterday morning from behind the wheel, saying he was having an asthma attack. Around 10:30, he lost control of his Escalade, crashed into a pole and died. Then nine hours later, his barbecue restaurant and catering business Phillips Ribs and his home above the restaurant on 5048 W Chicago Ave on caught fire. more ›

The clock is ticking, lovelies--get those presents purchased and fast. If you still need some last-minute help, though, take the Chicago bus to these three stores where we can practically guarantee you'll find something. We'll be running posts like this all week, so if you know the perfect store, drop us a line: tips@chicagoist.com more ›

If you were looking for some new books to cuddle up with for the oncoming winter, the Chicago Book Festival is here to help. There's an events booklet available at libraries and bookstores and a PDF online. Much of the information is on readings in the city that happen anyway, but we are excited about the extra discussions for this fall's One Book, One Chicago, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, which we haven't read since high... more ›

To celebrate the new TV season, TV Guide is sponsoring free coffee at a bevy of area independent coffee shops. We aren't quite sure what connection TV Guide is trying to make here (You need caffeine to stay awake while reading this magazine? If you watched all of last night's shows you might need a little extra boost this morning?), but free coffee is free coffee, so we aren't going to think too hard about... more ›

Where Can I Get a Tattoo? more ›

Your theme this week, in honor of Earth Day/Week/Month: "Being Green." This is the song that Kermit the Frog made famous, but Ray Charles did a knockout version of it, and our favorite take on the song has to be Van Morrison's version from 1973's Hard Nose the Highway. It's so good, we insist on this song being played while our casket's being lowered to the ground. Let's dive in, shall we? Moo Moo, I... more ›

"This place feels like Northside," we remarked to our dining companion as we sat down at the Five Star Bar & Grill on 1424 W. Chicago Ave. Despite the rock-and-roll-inspired decor (which was strangely matched with the weapons-inspired overhead lamps), we felt like we could have been dining on N. Damen — same frat-boy atmosphere, same mediocre selection of standard bar fare, and same feeling as we left of "did we really just spend... more ›

The You Tell Me Cookie of the Week goes to “some guy,” who suggested that we check out new Chicago transplants The Whole Fantastic World last night at the Darkroom. This dedicated reader’s description (“Spoon playing the Police as prog rockers”) combined with our love of the Darkroom’s comfy booths on our weekend-weary bums proved to be an irresistible Sunday night, so we took a deep breath, ordered a cocktail, and settled in for... more ›

We walked outside yesterday and smelled the slightest hint of charcoal. The smell immediately sparked a memory of, in August, when we would spend many a lazy Saturday walking around, perhaps stop at Pontiac, see Gene Lee ride by on a skateboard in some leopard-print hot pants. Don’t get us wrong — we love the Holiday season and all its snowy white beauty — we just miss days lasting past 4:30 p.m. and vodka lemonades.... more ›

You know how sometimes you’re just walking down the street, and you absolutely need to purchase high-tech skiwear immediately? No? Yeah, us neither. But from now until Feb. 19, should you have the overwhelming urge to buy some Ralph Lauren RLX high-performance gear, you can – from the privacy and comfort of Michigan Ave. more ›

Thanks to everyone for all the great recommendations for Convince Us this month. We’re going to go with Mister C’s suggestion of “Lords of the Levee” by Lloyd Wendt, Herman Kogan and Rick Kogan. We like that you all offered up some Chicago books, and since we already read “American Pharoah”, we’ll see whatup with the Hinky Dinks. more ›

We have recently been obsessed with El Taco Veloz (1745 W. Chicago Ave) and have proudly proclaimed to all that we have found our new favorite taqueria in the city. Each person we told challenged us with the same response: "yeah, that place is good, but the place across the street is even better." Here at Chicagoist, we aren't in the business of backing down from challenges, so we decided to try out Tecalitlan Restaurant... more ›

Chicagoist loves itself some comics, whether they feature the heroics of the Big Blue Boy Scout or the tales of a little girl growing up in Iran. We’re still kicking ourselves over how long it’s taking us to get through the stack of goodies that Short Pants Press sent us a while back. * So it follows that we also love comic creators and by the transitive property would also love The Hero Initiative (formerly... more ›

We like highlights, we like getting them, doing them and giving them. There’s a ton of cool stuff going on this week, check out the quick highlights, and let us know which author is going to get your attention. First off, it’s the closing night party for the Literary Gangs. They’ll finish up with a finale including Andy Ross and Jonathan Messinger. You can see the Literary Gangs on Tues., May 16th, 6:30PM, at the... more ›

We’re looking forward to checking out Bookslut’s reading at The MCA Literary Gangs of Chicago tomorrow night. We love Bookslut, we love the MCA, and literary gangs are the only ones that let us wear our colors (pink and blue! Pretty.) without beating us up. But alright, okay, we’ll admit it, we’re going so we can see Hottie McHotsalot, Marisha Pessl. more ›

Few artists inspire as much delight and wrath from even the most casual art observer as Andy Warhol. You love/hate how he made accessible/denigrated his work by putting it on soup cans, how his 8-hour shot of the Empire State Building blew your mind/messed with your mind, how he took silver balloons and made them art, how he captured Marilyn Monroe’s essence over and over again. Starting this weekend, the MCA exhibits many shades... more ›

Can you sing and dance? Do you enjoy Broadway spectacle? Do you have a “pretty face, infectious grin, and indomitable spirit?” Then perhaps you can be in the feature film Hairspray, which is based on the Broadway play, which was based on the movie that didn't have as much singing and dancing the first time. more ›

Your big Valentine’s Evening need not be threatened by a lack of ideas or lack of cash. You can impress that special someone tonight for absolutely free! Yes, that sounds like bad email spam but it’s true. Many of our favorite museums are free on Tuesdays. more ›

The Ukrainian Museum of Modern Art is displaying a small but important collection of work capturing a sea change of Eastern European democracy. Artists Respond: Ukrainian Art and The Orange Revolution receives its U.S. premiere at this unassuming building in the heart of the Ukrainian Village via The Center for Contemporary Art, Kyiv, Ukraine. As reports of fraud surfaced during the 2004 Ukrainian election, supporters of opposition candidate Victor Yushenko took to the streets to... more ›

Tomorrow night District 13 Gallery (1706 W. Chicago Ave.) is having a free opening reception for a new exhibit of grafitti-inspired art. The show is called Big Brother, Little Brother and displays the work of A. Lewellen and W. Kim. If they're names aren't familiar, then how about their street names: Antck and Revise. Ringing a bell? These are two of Chicago's most innovative and influential graffiti and street artists of the past 2 decades. more ›

Chicagoist first heard about Fan Si Pan when paging through an issue of Time Out Chicago a month or so ago and wanted to try it out but forgot about it and got busy and you know the drill. This weekend we didn't have much going on so we decided to walk over and give it a try. Fan Si Pan is a really cute little Vietnamese restaurant that opened 3 months ago right near... more ›

The Chicago Tribune’s readers nominated “Chicago blues” as their fourteenth and final nominee for the 7 Wonders of Chicago. But Chicagoist is wondering if we’ll soon speak of the blues as an ancient wonder of the city instead of a living one. more ›

Okay – brace yourself. Chicago is about to descend into St. Patrick’s Day madness and it won’t quit until the last bit of green beer vomit has been scrubbed off bar room floors everywhere. more ›

Our friends at Chicago Magazine brought us news this morning of two restaurant closings when its Dish column revealed that Eli's The Place For Steak is closing in July. A Chicago institution -- if not for their steaks, then most certainly for their cheesecakes -- the Streeterville spot at 215 E. Chicago Ave. where it has called home for the past 39 years is being torn down by Northwestern Memorial Hospital. According to Chicago Mag,... more ›

In a cut scene from Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace tells Vincent Vega that there are “Beatles people and Elvis people.” And while some people can like both artists “nobody likes them equally.” Chicagoist isn’t sure if the same holds true for Nirvana people and U2 people but a pair of release parties for Nirvana’s With The Lights Out boxed set and U2’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb are making it seem like it’s 1991 all over again. Can a boxed set by C + C Music Factory be far behind? Lord, we hope so! more ›