M Burger opened its fourth location this weekend, Table Fifty-Two dishes out a southern summer and former Top Chef Dale Levitski opens a new Lakeview restaurant. more ›

A fabulous launch party, benefiting Share our Strength, starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night. more ›

Perhaps no one is more hungry for redemption than Levitski, whose rise, fall, and second rise were famously chronicled in articles by the Trib and Time Out Chicago around this time last year. The Cliff Notes version: after the show, Levitski returned to Chicago, fell into a depression, suffered financial hardship, became addicted to daytime television, and started drinking. His mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away, and his dream of opening his own restaurant, Town & Country, fell victim to the economic downturn. Eventually things turned around when Levitski took over Sprout restaurant, a French-American Bistro in Lincoln Park, with his friend (and fellow Top Chef contestant) Sara Nguyen. more ›

Following up on yesterday's profiles in Time Out Chicago and the Tribune on the return of Dale Levitski to the kitchen at Sprout comes this little bit of information. In an effort to give diners a feel for the dishes on Sprout's $60 prix fixe menu, Levitski has launched a project called SproutCrowd, a multisource platform for Sporut's customers to offer Levitski feedback on menu items, quality of their dining experience and whether a $60 prix fixe menu is too pricey, too cheap or just right. more ›

Time Out Chicago's Julia Kramer has an illuminating profile on Dale Levitski and the road he's traveled, from being a Top Chef runner-up to landing at Sprout in Lincoln Park. When an article begins with a chef being served for non-payment of rent, you know it hasn't been all bread and circuses. A sample quote: more ›

While it's now wise to take a wait-and-see approach to the opening of Dale Levitski's long-planned West Loop outpost Town and Country, the "Top Chef 3" runner-up is also jumped on the supper club bandwagon. Levitski is cooking a weekly dinner at Relax Lounge (1450 W. Chicago Ave.) from 7-9 p.m. Thursdays. For $25, it's worth a shot. [UrbanDaddy] more ›

Chicagoist Re-Grills: Dale Levitski more ›

It's been said numerous times that chefs are the new rock stars. Chicago, then, could be considered one of the epicenters for the rock star chef. And they come in all forms: the arena gods (Bayless, Trotter, Achatz, McClain, Kahan); adult contemporary and classical (Smith, Gand, Arun, Tramonto, Nahabedian, Christophe David at NoMI); indie and experimental darlings (Segal, Carlson, Cantu, Bowles, Tschilds and Hammel of Lula) and world beat (Bahena, Nieto, Takashi, Gras, Garces, Shen). Using the rock star parallel, one can assume that the winners of cheffing competitions such as "Top Chef" and "Hell's Kitchen" fall into the "American Idol" realm of pop confection. 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 ›

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 ›

Some events in the next seven days to consider saving your freshly shoveled parking space with a few chairs. more ›

This post contains spoilers about last night's Top Chef. We were initially excited when we heard Dale Levitski was going to be a contestant, but once we started watching this season, we became kind of blah on the guy. Despite his numerous — and infuriating — blunders, he soldiered on, inexplicably making it to the final five. In last night's challenge, he again pulled an amateur move, forgetting to put the honey sauce on his... more ›

Monday morning can usually suck it, but this morning we woke up to discover something that made it all seem OK; the next season of "Top Chef" will be filmed in Chicago! more ›

Chicago "chef/consultant" Dale Levitski (formerly of Trio Atelier, La Tache and Orange — Levitski has also spent some time at Stone Lotus) will be Chicago's only representative on season three of Bravo's "Top Chef," a vast improvement from season two, which didn't feature anyone from the Windy City. The self-taught chef uses something called "'flavor math,' where the right number of spices can bring the perfect flavor and taste." He calls it flavor math, we... more ›