Tavernita has finally officially opened and the grand opening party was last night. more ›

Acadia, the new South Loop spot from Chef Ryan McCaskey, was an oasis in a sea of blizzard last Friday night when we stopped in for the first time. more ›

Tony Mantuano's new casual Italian restaurant opens today and is sure to be a hit. more ›

Walking around Brew & Grow's sparks ideas. You'll find yourself motivated to take on a roster of new homegrown projects, from growing your own greens hydroponically to brewing your own beer. more ›

Wow Bao's new truck launches tomorrow. more ›

The new bar will impress any cocktail connoisseur. more ›

It’s the type of people who have an answer ready for the question “What would you do for a Klondike bar?” that will understand why the question was posed to all Chicagoans: “What would you do for a free dinner?” more ›

Tribute, the long-awaited (and long-suffering) South Loop restaurant in the Essex Inn finally opens today for business. After chef drama, a delayed opening and some minor licensing drama, they started serving breakfast today at 6 A.M. We visited last night for a first look, and we're cautiously optimistic. more ›

Quad Cities-style pizza upped its presence in Chicago on Tuesday with the grand opening of Roots Handmade Pizza, the latest venture from Fifty/50 owners Greg Mohr and Scott Weiner. Always eager to expand our culinary horizons, we rushed over to get a look at the new digs and then get down to the business of disappearing some 'za. more ›

After extensive renovations to the basement level of the former MB Financial Bank building at Division and Ashland, the Bedford is set to open with dinner service this Friday at 5 p.m. The brand new restaurant and lounge will boast a kitchen steered by Chef Mark Steuer, who logged several years cooking at HotChocolate and, most recently, nine months in the kitchen at the Gage. And on Monday, we got a sneak peek of the revamped space. more ›

Yesterday, we got a chance to take a look at Sable, the restaurant and bar for the new Hotel Palomar helmed by former Atwood Café chef Heather Terhune. Sable is going to focus on "social dining," with a lot of small plates, shared appetizers and home-made snacks. Mike Ryan, formerly of Moto and the Violet Hour, is the head bartender, and he showed off some exciting new cocktails. more ›

Since 1991, the Oceanarium at the Shedd aquarium has been entertaining us with it's unique blend of an indoor-outdoor environment, cute sea mammals and a gorgeous view of the lake. Since September, visitors to the Shedd have found the Oceanarium closed and undergoing a massive renovation. The Oceanarium is schedule to re-open in May, and we got a sneak peak inside. Some of these photos are current construction photos, while others are renderings of what the interior will look like when work is finished. Some of new features will include: more ›

Labeling young, successful artists as The Next [insert name of popular artist] is as common a practice as it is unfair. Few up-and-coming writers, directors or actors mind the attention and praise, but many hope to succeed on their own terms. Theatre Seven of Chicago’s Is Chicago, which presents Marisa Wegrzyn’s latest play alongside one of David Mamet’s earliest and most talked about scripts, prompts two reactions. It takes some chutzpah to invite comparisons to... more ›

In Monday's "First Look" review at Hi Tea, the tea shop recently opened at 14 E. 11th St., Chicagoist mistakenly identified Heather Horner as a partner with John Daley and Dino and Tom Bezanes. Ms. Horner is a manager at Hi Tea. The fourth partner in Hi Tea is Andy Pappas. We apologize and regret the error; the original post will reflect these corrections, as well.... more ›

If variety is the spice of life, then fans of online food writing just entered their own little spice house. It may seem as though these new entries are playing catch-up with the well-established, familiar bastions of food porn, but they do have different things to offer and influence established food coverage in Chicago. Gapers Block just launched their food blog, Drive-Thru. If you're familiar with the GB style, you know what to expect. You... more ›

Lacrosse, often considered to be a sport played only on the East Coast of the United States, continues to grow in the Midwest and here in Chicago in particular. Obviously, the introduction of two Chicago-based professional lacrosse teams, the Chicago Shamrox of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and the Chicago Machine of Major Lacrosse League (MLL) proves there are investors who believe the sport can succeed in Chicago. This weekend, local lacrosse standouts will have... more ›

It must be something in the air. Look beyond the explosion of neighborhood Summer Fests, “Taste Ofs”, and nationally recognized rock smorgasbords, and you’ll find… still more festivals. Taking a cue from music promoters, local theaters know you’re excited to spend hours upon hours being entertained along some kind of theme. Festivals grab attention, and these festivals grabbed ours: Darknight Theatrical Productions pays tribute to Twilight Zone master Rod Serling, presenting three original one-acts inspired... more ›

August is Chicago theater’s pre-season, just a month away from a new round of mainstage magic and hype. This weekend three companies help prepare us, presenting 22 new shows on 3 stages. But unlike another pre-season, these performances may actually serve as a barometer for future success. Steppenwolf Theatre’s First Look Repertory of New Work is a showcase as antidote to endless workshopping, offering three shows in their developmental stages. These scripts represent the cream... more ›

Chicagoist can't wait to get down to the 2005 Chicago Auto Show, which opens this Friday and run through Feb. 20th. The 97th annual show--which already was the biggest auto show in the country--will increase its show space by a whopping 42% this year. The huge 1.2 million sq. foot floor will display over 1,000 cars including nearly every model currently sold in the U.S. as well as dozens of concept cars. Prior to the... more ›