If you waited until the last minute to make your reservations, don't despair. We've got you covered. more ›

Learn about Virtue Cider while eating Nicole Pederson's awesome food. more ›

Farm Dinner season is coming to an end, and if you haven't had the chance to go to one yet, now is the time. Slagel Family Farm is hosting its last dinner of the season. We brought you a gallery of photos from Slagel a few weeks ago, and if those photos made you want to head back to the land, join Chef Nicole Pederson (of C-House) and chefs from One SixtyBlue this Saturday, October 8. more ›

Easter is fast approaching and you don't have reservations yet. Admit it, you forgot - its nothing to be ashamed of! Well, don't worry. Here's a round-up of some great Easter spots, all of which still have availability as of right now. As always, call to confirm. more ›

Restaurant week thinks it's so special, with its discounts and its 200 participants. In fact, it's so special, it's been extended. Whatever - you can do better than $22 for lunch. C-House has a lunch deal that beats R-week with one hand tied behind its back, and it happens every day. The 1,2,3 lunch includes 3 courses, chosen from the regular lunch menu, for only $15. We visited earlier this week, and have some suggestions for your order. more ›

Lovers of rooftop bars, take note. On February 18th, C-View, the bar at the top of the Affinia hotel, will be offering 25% off of all bottled wines. They will be celebrating "National Wine Day," but we'll just be celebrating a good deal. The bar has great views and is a great spot for a date. If you go early in the evening, you may have the bar mostly to yourself, which is perfect for a pre-dinner romantic hour or two. Or, make reservations at C-House for some of Nicole Pederson's fine food and just take the elevator downstairs. Friday the 18th is the first night of Restaurant Week, and C-House has a great looking menu. more ›

In the next installment of “women behind the stove,” we talk with Chef Nicole Pederson, Executive Chef of C-House. Nicole has been at the helm of the restaurant for a little over a year, and we talked to her about her background, the differences between men and women chefs, and why it’s a bad idea to screw around in her kitchen. more ›

We're fans of a good dinner paired with beer. Last year, we attended Carnivale's Slow Food and Goose Island Brewery Dinner. This year, we're nudging you to attend the C-House Saison Beer Dinner. The seasonal dinner will include a cocktail reception, three course meal, and variations on a limited-time Goose Island craft beer, C-House Saison, a collaboration between C-House's Nicole Pederson and Goose Island's Jared Rouben. more ›

Our trip behind the scenes at C-House with Pastry Chef Toni Roberts was just so much fun that we had to give you another look. We spent about an hour watching her work, and we took pictures of everything that looked interesting. Rather than the usual "food pron," most of these are more about the day-to-day work of a busy kitchen; breaking down ingredients, cleaning prep stations, visiting the walk-in coolers, filling out forms. The organization needed to keep a high-quality establishment going seems pretty daunting to an outsider. more ›

President Obama's first White House state dinner would have made headlines last week even before a couple of socialites deep in debt and desperate for the spotlight crashed it. The antics of Tareq and Michaele Salahi overshadowed the menu created by noted superchef Marcus Samuelsson (pictured above at Chicago Gourmet 2009), (the link will take you to the menu, in PDF format) in honor of Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. For the dinner Samuelsson incorporated fresh herbs and vegetables from First Lady Michelle Obama's White House garden. more ›

Whenever we order a dessert from a talented pastry chef, we marvel at the complexity and beauty of the final product. Ingredient after ingredient, brushed and balanced and sauced just exactly right, over and over again. How do they do it?? more ›

Lovers of Lula, rejoice! Yet another alum has taken her place among Chicago’s great executive chefs. Nicole Pederson, former sous chef at Lula (who has also cooked at Gramercy Tavern in New York) has taken over the helm at C-House. Owned by Marcus Sammuelson, the chef-owner of Aquavit, C-House primarily focuses on seafood, with a well-stocked raw bar and a selection of eight different oysters. more ›

Food & Wine magazine released its "Cocktails 2009" guide this week. Listed in the guide's contents are the top 100 bars in America. Chicago charted five bars on that list, which will only reinforce the belief of some that Our Town's moment in the culinary zeitgeist is over. more ›

Anthony laid out some of the great reasons to try a restaurant during Chicago Restaurant Week and I have to echo them here. It's a great opportunity to try some places on which you might not otherwise risk your hard earned cash (or credit). 3 course meals - $22 for lunch, $32 for dinner. Be sure to check out the actual menu items being offered. You can see the restaurant week menu by: 1) clicking here, then 2) choose the restaurant you're considering and 3) click on the Restaurant Week Menu button - You can also make your reservations on this page (after step 2). more ›

Hello, cornholios. Where've you been all my life? Hmm...how many insults have food words incorporated into them? Perhaps that's another post for another day. This week: Free coffee, Mardi Gras fun, Academy Award parties...What could go wrong? more ›

As Karl and I discussed in yesterday's podcast, if you're going out to dine at one of the participating Chicago Restaurant Week establishments and want a cocktail or two, expect your tab to increase really quick. more ›

With more out-of-town, internationally acclaimed chefs now able to find Chicago on a map, we could be reaching a point where "Rock Star Chef City" hits critical mass. And that's without Gordon Ramsay's recent threats to test the local waters. In short, when a chef earns the name recognition and acclaim affording him to branch out to different cities, he starts to balance that fine line between chef and restaurateur that draws the watchful eyes of the critics. more ›

If, as everyone keeps saying, celebrity chefs are the new rock stars, then food groupies should keep an eye out for Marcus Samuelsson in the upcoming days. Tipster "youattal" wrote that the Swedish superstar, Aquavit owner and Macy's (née Marshall Field's) Culinary Council member is in town today training staff for tomorrow's opening of Marc Burger. more ›