In what's shaping up to be a year of lists at Chicago magazine, restaurant critic Jeff Ruby has listed the magazine's 25 favorite pizzas and Great Lake's cremini mushroom and Dante cheese pizza takes top honors and further cementing Great Lake owner Nick Lessins as one of the true culinary visionaries in Chicago. more ›

In the fight to control the invasive Asian carp population, some wonder if there will be another casualty apart from the meddlesome fish: jobs. more ›

Although it happened in February, Hot Chocolate's fourth anniversary dinner still stood as my favorite overall dining experience last year. It was a seven-course marathon that increased in intensity and flavor with every dish, paired with some heavy duty beers and a music soundtrack that ranged from early Black Sabbath to pre-"Black Album" Metallica to the Twilight Singers. The proceeds from the dinner went to Share Our Strength, the DC-based non-profit dedicated to eliminating hunger in America by 2015. Quite simply, I was exhausted at the end of the meal. more ›