One of Chicagoist's first summer jobs, between summer breaks in high school, was working on a catfish farm in Southwest Tennessee. We'd catch, clean, and dress the fish for smoking. We were paid by the dressed pound, and the owners knew whenever we sneaked a perch or a chub in the mix in order to get more pay. So we were intrigued when we picked up yesterday's Sun-Times (GB's Drive-Thru linked to it yesterday, as well) and saw on the front page an investigatve report that found fourteen restaurants in the greater Chicago area claiming to sell red snapper on their menu were actually serving either tilapia or sea bream. Using a control red snapper they picked up from the Fish Guy on Elston, they took samples from each of the fourteen to compare. more ›

As if fighting terrorism wasn’t tough enough, it looks like America’s war on trans fat has reached its breaking point. But not to worry, Chicago aldermen have devised some strategies for success that will enable us to win this war — and they don’t even involve talks with Iran. In the wake of New York City’s blanket ban on the use of cooking oils with trans fats in all restaurants, Chicago may very well be heading in the same direction. Ald. Ed Burke posed a watered-down ban on trans fats earlier this year that would apply only to restaurant chains with $20 million in annual gross sales. NYC’s comprehensive ban has brought the issue back to the forefront as the Chicago City Council’s licensing committee is currently reviewing Burke’s ban. more ›

If you're having trouble fitting into those hip-huggers, ladies, you might want to lay off the Jaeger bombs and vodka/Red Bulls for a while (one of many reasons you should). This Gannett News Service story - which also ran in yesterday's Sun-Times - states that the Food and Drug Administration has no guidelines to define an energy drink. Nutritionists interviewed for the article state that the energy these drinks give consumers comes mainly from carbohydrates... more ›

The American Medical Association, holding its annual House of Delegates meeting in Chicago this week, is reviewing a proposal asking that they persuade the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to delay "direct-to-consumer" drug advertising for a period of time after a drug is initially approved. The delay would allow doctors to discuss a drug's safety and efficacy with their patients before ads hit the market. more ›