Results tagged “fastfood”

Love it or leave it, it seems a Chick-Fil-A is moving closer to Chicago with a new restaurant in Orland Park. Great, but call us when one opens that's accessible by CTA. [via Gapers Block]

Ever noticed that fast food never looks quite as... appetizing as it does in advertisements? We've all heard food stylist horror stories about shaving cream, glycerin, paints, oils and all the other fake things used to make food look just so for photo shoots. But this piece from The Guardian's food blog puts it all in perspective: side-by-side pictures of fast food advertisements vs. reality. Yuck. We're especially disturbed by number 4, the canned whole chicken. Though, we suppose anyone buying a canned whole chicken is getting what they deserve. If you're on a diet, bookmark this page - anytime you're tempted by fast food, just take a peek.

There's the kind of food pr0n that Stolpman and others embrace, with beautiful shots of carefully crafted dishes. I like to call that "culinary erotica." Then there's the food photography equivalent of Hustler's "Beaver Hunt," with a little bit of snuff film added, for good measure.

• From the "DUH!" Files: Apparently fast food meals aren't good for kids. The Center for Science in the Public Interest released a report this week that concluded that kids meals at fast food chains exceed the 430 calories-per-meal limit. Among the worst offenders, Chili's makes the list twice with kids meals at or over 1000 calories each. [via MenuPages Chicago]
• "Rock Star Chef City" alert: BOURDAIN is in town through next week finally filming for the No Reservations Chicago episode. He's got the venerable Louisa Chu in tow, who'll be escorting him to Calumet Fisheries, Burt's Place in Morton Grove and L2O, among other places. We're so stalking this weekend. [Food Chain]
• Lori Barrett writes about cold soups. [Drive Thru]
• An argument for frozen fish [Washington Post, via]

Dor the Downtown workforce, uFood Grill opens today at 200 W. Jackson. Founded by George Naddaf of Boston Chicken/Market fame, uFood follows that franchise's emphasis on healthy dining options, with menu items made from lean meats, natural and organic ingredients, fresh produce, whole grains, and lower-fat cheeses and dressings. Nothing is fried.

To paraphrase Merle Haggard, "It's not close, but it's not bad." A Sonic Drive-In franchisee has chosen to set up the first greater Chicago area franchise of the venerable fast food chain in Aurora, in a retail development at Kirk and Butterfield Roads anchored by a Wal-Mart. You know, so the NASCAR set doesn't feel homesick.

14th Ward Alderman Edward Burke is at it again, with his radical attempts to give you nutritional information and clean up your water! His proposal that restaurants should provide calorie counts on their menus, originally proposed 15 months ago, is back on the table. It’s been revised to only include chain restaurants (defined as having more than 15 locations nationwide), but really. How silly of him! No city would ever do anything like that! Oh, wait. New York’s version of the same ordinance takes effect on March 31st. And the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been trying to pass state laws along the same lines for 2 years now.

We reported in yesterday’s Extra, Extra, that top cop Jody Weis -- a buff body builder married to a personal trainer -- wants to modify the current incentive for officers to stay healthy and fit. Instead of the $250 bonus payment for officers to run a timed 1.5 miles and meeting sit-up and bench-press requirements, Weis wants a program that offers a more holistic approach with good health being the ultimate incentive.

In November we took a look at La-Van Hawkins, a Chicago-born restaurateur who made a fortune in fast food franchises. Hawkins was planning on opening a slew of Nancy's Pizza and Al's Italian Beef franchises on the South Side even as he was waiting to be sentenced to 33 months in prison on corruption charges.

Bridgeport's treated us well. As we've written numerous times both here and elsewhere, the neighborhood grew on us. When we first moved out south eight years ago we never would have thought that we'd have lived here as long as we have; we just thought of Bridgeport as a stop-gap to moving back to the north side. Now it seems like others are clued in to what we knew long ago: this neighborhood rocks....

We were visiting our mechanic at Gateway Auto this morning -- dropping off our own slightly ill vehicle -- and noticed a bright yellow 1967 Ford pickup truck in their lot. We commented upon how cool it looked, and the owner told us it was in to be converted to run on vegetable oil. Yup, vegetable oil. Basically, once they are done adding a new fuel tank and filter system, the owner of the truck...

Just in time for the playoffs, no less. Using actual lettuce to spell out the words "fresh salads," a billboard near Clark and Addison has been transformed into an ad for McDonald's premium salads. The ad was created by Leo Burnett and follows their successful "sundial" ad campaign, which used the Golden Arches logo to cast a shadow over various breakfast items. The ad company worked with a horticulturalist on this billboard, which is capable of allowing the lettuce to grow from small sprouts to verdant foliage, and presumably to be safe from pecking by birds, squirrels, and Cubs fans who might mistake the ad for another patch of green on which to micturate.

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked...

Pop quiz! Which is better: a Chicken McNugget or a small morsel of chicken meat that has been battered and fried to look like, smell like and taste like a Chicken McNugget, a piece of chicken lacking only the telltale McDonalds' wrapping? If you answered the McNugget, you aren't alone; A recent study of preschoolers in which the children sampled identical McDonald's foods in name-brand and unmarked wrappers found that the unmarked food always lost. Even when it was apples, carrots or milk they still picked the McDonald's wrapped snack.

Parents, we know it’s happened to you: you’re in the middle of running errands when your kid begins screaming, and you realize you’re starving, too. Where do you and your little one go for cheap, fast food at lunchtime that actually tastes good? Head out to Art of Pizza on Ashland Avenue!

If we are weighing "want to know" vs. "don't want to know" when it comes to where and how McDonald's food is prepared, Chicagoist definitely falls on the "don't want to know" side. Ignorance is bliss, people, ignorance is bliss.

One of the things we like the most about Chicago is that when the weather agrees, this city behaves much like a resort town. You can walk, jog, ride a bike, rollerblade, or skateboard along a massive lakefront to any number of beaches. And when you arrive at the beach of your choice, you can hang out for the afternoon, drinking, eating, and more drinking like there isn’t a care in the world. We stopped...

Vegetarian Hot Dogs?

With all the commentary from Elizabeth's Uncle Julio's post still fresh in mind, we gleaned this little tidbit from today's Sun-Times. Zagat released the results of its first-ever fast food survey. Using the same three criteria that they use for every other restaurant they rate (food, service, and atmosphere) Panera Bread came out on top as the best overall fast food chain. Raters praised the quality of Panera's "fresh-baked breads" and "top-notch sandwiches." Wendy's was...

We are in the midst of Lent right now. Though Chicagoist isn't entirely Catholic, we do know that part of Lent involves not eating meat. Which means, if you believe a part of your meal should be accessible via the drive-thru window, you may be feeling a little bit peckish these days. Chicagoist decided to take the proverbial bull by its horns and determine once and for all, which fast food fish sandwich is the...

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's? Bostonist dug deep to uncover Barack Obama's unpaid parking tickets, their Governor's latest ethical lapse, and a plagarizing sports writer. Chicagoist had everything in twos: two views on having the Olympics, losing two members of their Super Bowl team, and two music festivals. DCist put their noses in legal books as...

It's impostor week here at Chicagoist, with fake websites, fake money, fake cab drivers, and fake Johnny Knoxvilles. All that's missing are the cheesy disguises. Kids, don't try any of this at home.

It looks like the Tribune has more than just money and stockholder problems these days. Glommed from the Reader's Food Chain blog yesterday is this article about the politics of modern eating. In her attempt at writing a humorous piece (vegetarians are acid casualties with their own bad eating habits, haven't heard that before), Emily Nunn comes across instead as obstinate toward and proudly ignorant of what we would know about where our food comes...

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending...

"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a pilot," started Abeng Stuart (at right in the picture, with partner Dre Palmer), owner of the Bronzeville eatery Wings Around the World. "With these wings, it's the next best thing." Stuart isn't just spouting mere hyperbole. Since opening last September, Wings Around the World has steadily been bringing in customers from all over the city.

Winter heralds a kind of hibernation in Chicago. Present balmy weather excepted, the colder temps discourage the usual plans that would be a great idea in spring or summer. Citizens hunker down in their radiator-kissed apartments, ignoring the world at large outside. That's why now is the perfect time to shut down the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier for maintenance and repairs.

In order to allow for better preparation for your weekend jaunts, we are, from now on, going to combine our "what to do" posts into one article on Saturday mornings. We figured, no better weekend to start than when 90% of the city will be watching the Bears kick ass on Sunday anyway. Be sure to send us any information on events, we can search for things all we want, but you are the ones...

Two fast food restaurants have opened halal outposts on Devon St, creating competition over whose chicken is the best and whose chicken is more halal. Kentucky Fried Chicken and Brown's Chicken and Pasta are battling it out for the hearts, minds and stomachs of observant Muslim fried chicken eaters. But not everyone is a fan.

You have to love Ed Burke. Either he truly means well, suffers from the "Second City" inferiority complex, or he reads Chicagoist and can't help himself. Regarding our post last week about Culver's decision to ban trans fats, we wrote:

In an effort to be your one-stop McDonald's shop, Chicagoist has the following sad news to report: A unique, historic Crystal Lake branch of the mighty empire is shutting down. Granted, that's not as tragic as the overall fast food gentrification trend, but there's something special about this particular Mickey D's: it's housed in a piece of Chicago. Four years after the very first McDonald's opened in Des Plaines, Crystal Lake became home to the...