Sure signs of summer: fluff pieces from newspapers analyzing the dietary habits of our Presidential candidates. This one in the Wall Street Journal (via the Bright One) takes a look at the restaurants both Senators Barack Obama and John McCain frequent and discover what those restaurants say about them and their families. The Cliff's Notes? Obama is a cosmopolitan husband and father living in a city known for its world-class dining; McCain is some doddering......

Pitchfork's organizers are pretty strict when it comes to what one can bring into the fest. Among the regulations are no outside food and a maximum of two sealed bottles of water. During our visits to the fest over the weekend we were searched thoroughly to ensure we were keeping in line with those rules. Walking from stage to stage in the humid weather smothering the area all weekend all but guaranteed that we were......

It would be so easy for us to poke fun at yesterday's Sun-Times article where web editor Kirsten Miller volunteered herself for a blind taste test between prepared meals from Whole Foods and selections from a gourmet dog food service in Lake County and preferred the dog food two out of three times. It's just enough to say that Miller took one for the team, although she did volunteer Neil Steinberg first. (What? Paige Wiser......

One thing we never thought we'd own is inedible food. But Go Buggy's Gyoza Dinner set (pictured) has changed our mind. The hand-sewn details and bright colors make us want to both squeeze those mushrooms and then promptly devour them. Go Buggy, a.k.a. Machiko Munakata, 33, is originally from Tokyo, Japan. She came to Illinois for graduate school and afterward she decided to move to Chicago to find a job. She has lived in Chicago......

It's mid-July which means that many tastings and fixed price dinner events have a Bastille Day theme. Here are a few of note Whole Foods Lakeview (3300 N. Ashland), one of the WFs not shut down with a rodent infestation, is hosting a tasting of seleced wines from local distributor Cream Wine Company from 4-7 p.m. this afternoon. Both Lush Wine and Spirits locations (1257 S. Halsted and 2232 W. Roscoe) are hopping on Bastille......

New plans were announced today for the "pedway" that will connect the Block 37 mall to the Red and Blue Line Washington stops: Block 37 will be home to the area's only Beard Papa's (video)! Best! Beard Papa's is a Japanese chain of cream puff bakeries that has outposts all over the world; if you like vanilla-y pastries, you are going to plotz. According to the site's developers, the walkway will also include an Au......

Columbus Drive is safe for cars once again. Taste of Chicago is done for another year and city officials are declaring it a rousing success. As though they would say anything different. The annual food fest drew an estimated 3.56 million people to the lakefront, quelling city fears that high gas prices, a sluggish economy and the intermittent outbreak of gunfire would keep people at home. That's a lot of staycationers, people. Photo by terminal......

Local catering company City Provisions is entering the already crowded "supper club" pool currently shared by Sunday Dinner Club, Bonsoiree, Efrain Cuevas' Clandestino, Bill "The Fish Guy" Dugan's Wellfleet and Jorgina Pereira's Sinhá. City Provisions is kicking their supper club series off in style July 26 with a bus trip to, tour of and dinner at Faith's Farm, a free-range livestock farm in Bonfield, Illinois. On the way, Jason Ebel of Two Brothers Brewing Company......

There have been a lot of things said on this site about Taste of Chicago over the years. There are over 750,000 people who head downtown every year to sun, frolic and get their fill of giant turkey legs and corn on sticks. 'Course, that isn't all Taste of Chicago has to offer; even with Chicago Gourmet set to launch in September, Taste is still the food event for the everyman. For those of you......

We've got a Taste of Chicago preview for you later. In the meantime, here are some things around town to check out in the coming days. The Red Witch Pirate will set sail this evening for a 2-hour cruise and dinner with food catered by Bonsoiree. Cost is $45 and interested parties may RSVP here. The churrasco-meets-slow-food restaurant ZED451 (739 N. Clark St.), which has become one of the hottest destination restaurants in town largely......

Discounted passes for September's Chicago Gourmet event at Millennium Park will end Monday. If you want to save $20 off the $150 ticket price, act fast.......

Andrew Huff at Gapers Block's Drive-Thru blog called Forbes Traveler's decision to include Margie's on its list of the best ice cream in America "lazy ice cream journalism," while Mike Nagrant lists his alternatives at Serious Eats. Far be it from us to pile on, but Margie's doesn't even rank in our favorite ice cream parlors. Sure, it's kitschy. But we don't care how many times Al Capone came back or if the Beatles......

The Chicago Department of Public Health announced today that nine salmonella cases around Chicago have been linked to tainted tomatoes served at Adobo Grill, both at its Wicker Park and Old Town venues. The FDA announced earlier this week that the agency was investigating a nine-case cluster, but wouldn't name where, but local officials say they assume the FDA means these Chicago cases. So far, 383 people in 30 states plus DC have been identified......

Mayor Daley and his Office of Special Events were very serious when they required each of the sixty-five vendors participating in this year's Taste of Chicago to offer one healthy item on their menus--to show that the Taste wasn't just some "disgusting food festival." And they are very serious allowing Billy Goat Tavern's qualifying healthy item to be...potato chips. "Some of the restaurants had a difficult time with this. But I say, if you......

In last month's edition of The New Republic an article by Steve Pinker quoted Leon Kass, chairman of the President's Council of Bioethics (which recently published a 555-page conservative tome called Human Dignity and Bioethics), as saying of street food: "Worst of all from this point of view are those more uncivilized forms of eating, like licking an ice cream cone--a catlike activity that has been made acceptable in informal America but that still offends......

If you haven't checked out the official blog of the Chicago Pizza Club, you're doing yourself a major disservice. Using the "where is the best pizza in Chicago" argument that has taken lives and broken families and marriages, the members of the club scour the city's far reaches with one simple goal in mind. Looking for some good pie. They've listed their favorites, not-so-favorites, ranked chain pizzerias and even have some out-of-town reviews, because the......

Police officers will be going undercover as pedestrians to bust drivers who don't yield in crosswalks. [Trib] Today's the fourth anniversary of Riley Fox's murder, and the case remains unsolved. [Southtown Star] More cops are riding bikes. [Trib] Eastern Michigan University has agreed to pay $350,000 in fines to the Department of Education after violating the Clery Act, which requires that schools accurately release campus crime information. School officials lied about how a student died,......

Photo by Brian Hagy A new study shows that proteins extracted from alligator blood fight all kinds of bacteria and viruses. "Before ordering up a quart of miracle healing elixir from the local gator farm, however, consider that raw animal blood, whether from gator or goat, can make humans sick — or worse." Thanks for the warning, Miami Herald! [MH] "About 11:45 p.m., a customer from the Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken and Biscuits in......

The Lincoln Park Zoo is already pretty green, but now it’s going organic. Photo by Whattheheckallthenamesaretaken. One could make the argument that a zoo, by nature, is already organic. But this weekend, the Lincoln Park Zoo is implementing one step in a five-year plan to reduce the attraction’s impact on the environment when they open the Cafe at Wild Things. The cafe will only feature organic, sustainable, locally produced snacks. Even the utensils will be......

Garrett Popcorn is closing its Michigan Ave store on May 31, making room for the Ritz Carlton and for people to actually walk on the sidewalk. Don't panic, you can still get your "Downtown Mix" at several other locations throughout the city, and plans to open another Garrett on Michigan are in the works. History snippet: Garrett Popcorn Shops has been a Chicago institution since 1949 and after Oprah listed it as one of......

Stolpman is in Europe for the next two weeks (lucky), so I'll be handling the recap duties until she gets back. Fear not, dear readers, for those of you who'll miss her as much as I do right now, I have two words for you. Balloon knot. That's out of the way. Let's get to recapping. For some, the thought of Tom Coliccho sneaking into your home and waking you up may be unnerving. For......

We have to admit we're a bit caught off-guard by an email we just got from the Empty Bottle: Empty Bottle Presents and the West Town Chamber of Commerce have just released a limited number of special VIP tickets for the forthcoming Do Division festival. Priced at one hundred dollars ($100.00), the two-day pass includes guaranteed entrance to both days of the festival as well as access to a special VIP area that has unobstructed......

The press conference yesterday announcing the September Chicago Gourmet festival at Millennium Park went off without a hitch. Mayor Daley brought to the conference the "Chi-CAW-go is a world class city" enthusiasm that earned us (read: him) the right to fight for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Reading the press release last night, however, caused us to break out in cold sweats. If you want to attend the festival, it'll cost you a cool $150......

Kids are always stirring up trouble in the kitchen, but this weekend they can make a mess of the pots and pans at someone else’s place. Whole Foods, which will be hosting cooking classes for kids and adults all summer at the Farm House in Lincoln Park Zoo, is holding a special children’s program on Saturday that features berries as the main ingredient. The instructor is Chef Melissa Graham of Purple Asparagus, a local non-profit......

New city Aviation Commissioner Richard Rodriguez said yesterday that some of his goals are to improve the food offerings at O'Hare's concession stands, as well as adding live music: [Rodriguez said,] “We’re known for great jazz and great blues. We’re known for sports and…great food. How do you make the Chicago airport system reflective of that? How often do entertainers have an opportunity to come and play given concerns with safety and security? It’s very......

Oh, Charlie Trotter’s. It is so choice. But recently, diners at Trotter’s were not only sophisticated foodies, but the kids from Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, who were enjoying a signature eight-course meal, compliments of the house. Meals like these are part of Trotter’s Excellence Program, in existence now for almost 10 years. On most weeknights, small groups from area high schools, or groups like those from Mercy Home, are ushered by special invitation......

Moonstruck Chocolate Company, a national purveyor of cute and tasty chocolate treats, is closing its Chicago location today. Crain's Chicago Business reports that the company simply couldn’t cope with competition from the variety of both coffee shops and chocolatiers in the neighborhood, most notably Vosges and Ethels. [Ed note: Recall Chicagoist's Chocolate Crawl of '05.] Their chocolates had received an incredible amount of press (including being picked by Oprah as one of her "favorite......

"Climb aboard Chicago's only restaurant in an airplane." Oh, that we still could.... Postcard uploaded by bayswater97 The Sky-Hi once soared at Cicero and Monroe, serving "complete dinners" and a variety of sandwiches all prepared by "flameless electric cooking equipment."......

We'll still have to wait awhile for Chicago's new Trader Vic's, but in the meanwhile Tiki Terrace has now reopened for business and is ready to hula. And we mean that literally: the Hanalei Revue, every Saturday night, and the Ports of Paradise review on Fridays both feature plenty of dancing and other island-style entertainment. The Zuziak Brothers opened the original Tiki Terrace in 2005, but its Prospect Heights location meant you were plum......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. World Music Allá takes on a bunch of different influences and whip it into an intriguing Latin rock blend heavily informed by '60 French pop. Their debut, Es Tiempo, swerves all over the musical map, sucking in influences and spitting them back out, reconfiguring the sounds to suit their own needs. In fact it's almost......