Julie & Julia opens in theaters today and restaurants throughout the city are offering specials in honor of the late Julia Child using recipes from her seminal cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Today, we're rounding up a few for the Buffet and we've added our favorite portrayal of the French Chef, Dan Aykroyd's performance from the early days of "Saturday Night Live." more ›

• Through Sunday: Pilsen's annual Fiesta Del Sol festival kicked off last night on Cermak from Morgan to Throop. Very good eats to be had at Fiesta del Sol.
• One of the highlights of this year's Retro on Roscoe Festival is the 15th Annual Windy City Chili Cook Off. The cookoff is open to anyone over 18. No beans allowed.
• Flemings Prime Steakhouse (25 E. Ohio, 312-329-9463) is offering that burger above as part of its "5 for $6 Until 7" menu. that's eight ounces of hand-shaped ground Prime beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-seared and finished in flemings' broiler.

• Tomorrow: The Alliance Francaise de Chicago's cooking class series focuses on chocolate tomorrow. This interactive class will prepare these easy desserts: Chocolate Sorbet, Frozen Chocolate Soufflé, Chocolate Fondant with Crème Anglaise and Chocolate Chestnut Terrine. $75 Members, $85 Non-Members, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (810 N. Dearborn)
• Tomorrow and Sunday: Gary Wiviott's Low & Slow BBQ: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons is in its second printing and the success couldn't happen to a nicer fellow. Wiviott and co-author Colleen rush will be signing copies of the book 11 a.m. tomorrow at The Book Stall at Chestnut Court (811 Elm St., Winnetka) and noon Sunday at Barnes and Noble Oakbrook (297 Oakbrook Center). This book will change the way you approach BBQ.
• Monday: Chalkboard (4343 N. Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL 60618 773-477-7144) will host Mac McDonald, son of a Texas moonshine maker, winemaker and Owner of Vision Wine Cellars on Monday, June 15 for a four-course wine dinner beginning with a reception at 7pm. The cost of the dinner is $100 per person all inclusive.

Now go get your free doughnuts at Dunkin' Donuts. It's National Doughnut Day. more ›

• Saturday: A final reminder about Alice Waters's Green City Market appearance tomorrow. She'll be there selling and signing copies of her book Edible Schoolyard.
• Tonight: Yoga and beer: two of our favorite things. Stellaria Natural Health (2519 N. California, 2nd floor) and Provenance Food & Wine are teaming up for an event combining a yoga lesson and a tasting of organic beers, from 7-9 p.m. $30 per person.
• Saturday: Sippin' Saturdays at Randolph Wine Cellars tasting room will focus on fortified European wines. This free event runs from 2-6 p.m.

Hello, cornholios. Where've you been all my life? Hmm...how many insults have food words incorporated into them? Perhaps that's another post for another day. This week: Free coffee, Mardi Gras fun, Academy Award parties...What could go wrong? more ›

Valentine's Day is coming up and reservations will go quickly. Here are some upcoming events, including some Valentine's Day specials. more ›

We're starting the Friday Buffet this week by giving a shout out to Green Zebra which is featured in Bon Appetit's February issue as one of the hottest vegetarian restaurants in the U.S. (Try the dish with the perfectly poached egg...it made us weep). Inaugural events will be covered by another entry today to keep your eyes peeled for some happenings. Let's get to the other events! more ›

Mmm, hot soup sounds good. Especially since we expected 18 inches of snow and ice this morning. Whatevs, weatherman! So, we're back to the Friday Buffet. This is because we kept thinkin' it was due up on Fridays and kept missing Thursday. D'oh! more ›

Welcome to the Friday Buffet. Let's see what interesting food events are coming up for your enjoyment! more ›

One of our favorite dinners last year was a fixed price dinner at Custom House featuring beer pairings from Unibroue. The dinner was so successful that they're teaming up again on January 20 for a beer and charcuterie seminar from 6-8 p.m. The six-course event will match select Unibroue brands with two different types of charcuterie selections each. The full menu can be read here. more ›

Or, in honor of the start of holiday shopping season, we should probably christen this week's installment the "Black Friday Buffet". Anyway, let's get to it. West Lakeview Liquors weekly tastings will focus on Christmas ales (tonight) and whiskies (tomorrow). The French Wine Society is sponsoring a wine and cheese tasting at Taste Food & Wine in Rogers Park from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Cost is $30 for Wine Society members; $35 all others ChicaGourmets and... more ›

File this under "things that make you go, 'Hmm'". In last week's "Friday Buffet" installment we told you of a fine wine auction held by the auction house Hart Davis Hart. The auction turned out to be pretty lucrative for both the sellers and Hart Davis Hart. The two-day auction sold all 1646 lots offered, for a total of $4.6 million in sales. Among the notable highlights of the auction (read the list here) was... more ›

A few weeks back in one of the "Friday Buffet" installments we wrote about Honky Tonk BBQ, a vendor that's been traveling around the street fair circuit all summer serving up some decent barbecue, but nothing that makes us start searching for superlatives to describe it. We've attributed that to them traveling around, spending full weekends with the same stuff to sell to passers-by who might be more interested in purely bacchanalian pursuits. Our suspicion is that, once they officially open to the public in September, Smoque might be in for some serious competition for the attentions of foodies and BBQ enthusiasts. more ›

Another week, another all-you-can-eat Friday Buffet. The photo alone is giving us cravings for some shark meat. - It's National Ice Cream Month. Feeling charitable this afternoon? In the mood for ice cream? Then head over to Atwood Café between 2-4 p.m. and take part in their annual ice cream social to benefit the Fairy Godmother Foundation. Atwood chef Heather Terhune will donate $1 from every ice cream sold (graciously donated by Ciao Bella gelato)... more ›