Former 312 Chicago chef Dean Zanella returns to action Thursday with the opening of his Aldino's, in the former Caffe La Scala space in the UIC Hospital District/Little Italy. Zanella has partnered on Aldino's with Scott Harris, who is seemingly opening restaurants everywhere these days. With a big assist from Chef de Cuisine Ray Stanis (Blackbird, Avec, Osteria di Tramonto), Zanella will be serving a menu of local and seasonally-driven Italian fare. Not content to open just a restaurant, Zanella will also be opening a companion market to Aldino's in a couple weeks. more ›

Luca Corazzina, former Executive Chef at VIVO, Prosecco and Figo in suburban Glen Ellyn, is the new executive Chef at 312 Chicago. The native of Padova landed in Chicago with his family in 1986, where they opened their own restaurant in Little Italy (Corazzina's mother is also a professional chef). more ›

Hosting ad-hoc soup kitchens have been all the rage this winter. From 1-4 p.m. Sunday at Custom House (500 S. Dearborn, 312-523-0020) the big boys get in on the act. 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 ›