Better Homes and Gardens and Weber Grills are throwing one heck of a party this weekend in Lincoln Park - a "Chill and Grill."This Saturday and Sunday, watch grilling demos, take classes on better outdoor fire-cooking and sample tastes from some of Chicago's best restaurants. Admission to the festival (and all the demos) is free, and you can see some of Chicago's best, including Stephanie Izard, the Hearty Boys, Gale Gand, Ina Pinkney, Steve Dolinsky and others, share their best grilling tips. More on the schedule after the jump. more ›

Are you procrastinating on your holiday shopping? Want some unique local gifts to give to friends and family this week? You're in luck. more ›

This past Sunday's perfect autumn afternoon in Holstein Park was a flurry of excited bakers, sporks, ice cream, silent auction item and of course, pie, for the 2010 Bucktown Apple Pie Contest. more ›

What would you do to have brunch with Gale Gand? Give up your firstborn? Eat balut? Bail a relative of Todd Stroger's out of jail? more ›

With the good weather starting to come in, there's no shortage of events going on to entice you to leave the indentation you've worked into the couch and do something. Case in Point: For those of you who give the proverbial rat's ass about DarkLord Day, Slow Food Godmother Alice Waters will visit Green City Market next Saturday to promote her new book, Edible Schoolyard. The crowds Waters draws at her appearances are about as opposite from the spectrum as the Heavy Metal Parking Lot that will descend on Three Floyds that same day. Water will sign copies of the book from 10-11:30 a.m., which will be available for purchase at the Market. more ›

We all know how nuts everyone is about grilling during the summertime. But for us the best part of season is consuming frosty beverages. What's more invigorating after a hard day's work than sitting down with an ice-cold bottle of something in your hand? Today's New York Times has a pair of articles on favorite summertime beverages, and wouldn't you know that Chicago-area people figure in both of 'em (because if there are two things we've mastered in this town, they're how to cope with frigid winters and wilting summers). more ›

Before we go to the listings, we want to bid farewell to the Tribune's Kevin Pang, who's heading over to the Tempo section. But he leaves the food beat with a profile of Peter Engler, the city's foremost expert on mother-in-law sandwiches, street food and other south side cheap eats. Shaw's Crab House concludes this year's edition of their "Royster with the Oyster" festival with their annual tent party at their Hubbard Street location tonight.... more ›

Parking rates at many downtown garages and lots have gone up in the last year, keeping pace with increasing demand for office space and nudged by residential development and price increases. We thought you could drop out after 16 if you wanted ... A state law that went into effect July 1 will revoke the licenses of students who have more than 18 unexcused absences from school, are expelled or drop out. It's part... more ›

Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand are on the move, again. The Tru masterminds, flush with the overwhelming success of their multiple restaurant concepts in the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel in Wheeling, now have plans for restaurants in an Intercontinental Hotel being built in Rosemont and a Hyatt in Schaumburg currently undergoing a makeover. more ›

A funny thing happened to Chicagoist during cooking classes at Macy’s Culinary Studio: We discovered we are sorely lacking in the patience department. Here we thought we were simply going to improve our culinary skills, and then we ended up with a little self-discovery lesson along the way. Blame it on the heat coming from the two stoves or the wine we sipped between chopping, either way, we learned fairly quickly that a watched pot... more ›

The James L. Beard Awards — the Oscars of the culinary world — were handed out last night. Though Chicago didn't win a large number of awards, we did win one of the most important ones, so we can take solace in that. more ›

Quick, name the top five chefs in Chicago. Now name the five most famous chefs in the country. While the cuisines may vary from Grant Achatz's "molecular gastronomy" to Mario Batali's classic Italian, the one thing that most — or all — of these chefs have in common is the pale, pale, color of their skin. As Maureen Jenkins writes in today's Sun-Times, "the shortage of chefs of African descent is noteworthy if only by... more ›

Famed Chicago chefs Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto and Rick Bayless are among those cooking sample dishes for the 13th annual Bag Hunger Auction. Held on Nov. 15 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, the silent auction benefits the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Gand and Tramonto co-chair the event, which features more than 25 chefs from notable Chicago restaurants including Tru, Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, West Town Tavern, TIMO, 160 Blue, Ina's and Heaven on Seven. Food and... more ›

If Chicago is a culinary mecca, why is the Taste of Chicago little more than a beer-and-brat fest? Some top Chicago chefs were asked just that. more ›

It seems Chicago is following in the footsteps of Las Vegas and New York when it comes to hotel dining. On Sunday, the Tribune reported Chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand of Tru have plans to bring four new restaurant concepts to the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, which will open in Wheeling this October. Dining options at the Westin will include Osteria Di Tramonto (serving breakfast lunch and dinner), Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood (a... more ›

If you’re like Chicagoist, summer is usually a time for a renewed effort to eat better and exercise more, mostly to offset our time spent at various drunkfests. We usually find inspiration for healthy, or at least more wholesome, eats at local farmers markets, which are now in full swing around the city. more ›

Fans of Food Network's "Iron Chef America" can expect to taste a decidedly Chicagoan flavor when the new season premieres next month. Two episodes to tivo or tape: Tru impressarios Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand (with executive sous chef Stuart Davis) against Mario Batali; and Homaru Cantu's "Team moto" faces of against Chef Morimoto. more ›

Ever since Trio became Trio Atelier, foodies in Chicago have wondered how the experiment would pan out in the long run. The quality of food remained - by far some of the best you'd find in the Chicagoland area - but, alas, it was never really the same. more ›

Because we're all not talking about Marshall Field's enough this week, Chicagoist would like to remind everyone that there is way more to the Chicago institution that just green shopping bags, holiday windows and memories of when Chicagoist's friend from high school totally got busted by a dressing room attendant at the Joliet location for stealing a belt off of a pair of Guess? Jeans. more ›