$25,000 in new equipment and $75,000 in remodeling is all it will take for McDonald's across the country to begin serving specialty coffees. The Oak Brook-based company announced that it plans to roll out specialty coffees, smoothies and frappes at the company's annual analysts meeting yesterday. McDonald's President Don Thompson announced, "We want to move from beverages as an accompaniment to beverages as a destination," which is funny only to the extent that one can imagine hopping on a plane that's heading to "beverage" as a final destination (we bet there are delicious alcoholic drinks served for free on that flight). more ›

No, it isn't us; we'll get there soon enough, thank you. The Big Mac, one of Oak Brook-based McDonald's signature hamburgers, debuted forty years ago this week. The sandwich was created by Jim Delligatti in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Even though the Big Mac today is a part of American food and popular culture, Delligatti had to convince executives at Hamburger U that the concept of "two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on... more ›

The Agudas Achim North Shore Congregation in Uptown was robbed late Friday of computers, audio-visual equipment and donated food on Friday. This is just one of several crimes committed at the synagogue in the last year. We're not sure how we feel about this ... Wendy's International will begin selling breakfast in Chicago, part of a national expansion into the breakfast market, the Dublin, Ohio-based hamburger chain said last week. Steve Irwin is helping... more ›

With all the commentary from Elizabeth's Uncle Julio's post still fresh in mind, we gleaned this little tidbit from today's Sun-Times. Zagat released the results of its first-ever fast food survey. Using the same three criteria that they use for every other restaurant they rate (food, service, and atmosphere) Panera Bread came out on top as the best overall fast food chain. Raters praised the quality of Panera's "fresh-baked breads" and "top-notch sandwiches." Wendy's was... more ›

This week's theme: Cinco de Mayo. More specifically, the Anglicized version of Cinco de Mayo. Let's get on with it. Everyone Has An Opinion: In conjunction with National Hamburger Month, the folks at Yelp! have released a thoroughly underwhelming list of their top five places to get a burger in town. The site that brings together user reviews of all the "hidden gems, hot spots, and amazing small businesses you've never heard of or fanatically... more ›

"Your Friday Food Buffet" is a new feature where we combine business-related news concerning food and drink with tastings and fixed-price dinners happening around town this weekend. Pretty cut-and-dried, don'cha think? Anyway, we hope you like it. Starbucks finally drops act, admits inspiration for business model: After test-marketing in Chicago and other markets throughout the country, Starbucks rolled out their breakfast sandwiches and drive-thru service in Boston and select Los Angeles locations. No information... more ›

As with the previous two playoff games, Mayor Daley will make a food-related wager with his counterpart in Indianapolis on the upcoming Super Bowl that'll see our Bears and their Colts face off in Miami. Chicago, with our great gastronomic traditions, always offers up a smorgasbord of culinary delights — deep dish pizza, Eli's cheesecake, Vienna hot dogs, Ann Sather cinnamon rolls, Italian beef, Mexican foods, etc. But typically Chicago gets the short end of... more ›

It's often said that the best ideas are the ones that are stolen. With that in mind, leave it to McDonald's to test market chicken biscuit sandwiches in 800 stores, including a handful in Ohio and Michigan. Can Chicago, the Promised Land of the Great Migration, be far behind? The sandwich is a response to the successes of the popular Chick-fil-A chain and Wendy's, whose premium chicken sandwich menu consistently outsells Hamburger U's. It could... more ›

Scott's Hamburger Heaven is located on the western end of an unforgiving, sun-baked stretch of 35th Street, where only industrial plants and panhandlers thrive. Scott's is a textbook greasy spoon, just the way Chicagoist likes them. They serve breakfast 24/7; the jukebox comes to life, plays that Melissa Etheridge song that sounds like that other Melissa Etheridge song, and you wonder how you got it wrong on the whole "she's a lesbian" thing; the condiment... more ›

There’s been some debate lately over the “Sesame Street Thug,” or “Mess-Wit-Me Street” T-shirt lines. The shirts have been causing controversy, primarily in the south suburbs. T-shirts sold at an Evergreen Park mall feature “Sesame Street” characters in less-than-wholesome depictions. Bert is nursing a 40-ounce beer in a paper bag, Ernie’s packing a semi-automatic, Big Bird is smoking joint and Oscar the Grouch, true to form, is flipping the bird. There are also shirts featuring... more ›

The business sections of today's dog trainers have some short but sweet tidbits related to Hamburger U: - A large order of McDonald's french fries contain one-third more trans fat (that's the tasty goodness that clogs your arteries) than what is actually listed on McDonald's brochures and website. How did the folks at the Golden Arches find out? By testing their own fries. - Spurred by sales of premium chicken sandwiches and gift cards redemptions,... more ›

Chicagoist loves a good McDonald's story. Hell, we should probably set up a McDonald's Archive Section for all the stories we've published about them. Much like their fries, if we see a news morsel about Mickey D's, we must consume it. Then we lick our fingers, wipe them on our shirt, and feel guilty for indulging the rest of the day. Fine, we overdo it it because we're lucky enough to be the only -ist... more ›

In case some readers think that we fine folks at Chicagoist have been going overboard with the Macy Field's coverage the past two days, for your perusal today here is a gaggle of news from Hamburger U that has nothing to do with the nutritional quality of its food or its CEO suddenly dropping dead: - Helping those affected by Hurricane Katrina will take years. The possibility of Rita hitting the Gulf Coast would... more ›

There's nothing more fitting than grilling in the backyard with dad on Father's Day. Unfortunately for many gays and lesbians disowned by their dads, Father's Day is painfully spent alone. Interviewed by TimeOut Chicago [subscription required], father-of-a-gay-son John Cepek says it's sometimes harder to come out to dad than mom: "Men in our society have a harder time asking about our children's feelings. I would imagine it would be harder for a son or daughter... more ›

The problem with "Best Of" lists, especially when it comes to food, is that trying to convince people of why is like teaching a pig to dance: it only annoys you and pisses off the pig. So Chicagoist imagines that such is the case for this latest list, the Chicago Tribune's "Chicago's Best Burgers" list. Already we're set to go to the mat to defend our favorite burgers from the ones the Trib selected as... more ›

Warning: Not all of these links are safe for work more ›

Say what you like about them, yesterday Citysearch announced the winners of their 5th annual "Best of Citysearch" restaurant winners in more than 55 categories. Either Portillo's employees were skewing the votes or else Portillo's has good everything.. this year's winners include: more ›

Chicago expatriate, TJ Lang points out an LA Times article in which they look at the history of the hamburger and proclaim LA to be Burgertown, USA. It doesn't seem right. In-n-Out rules, but California is so health-concious for the most part, we can't imagine them proclaiming themselves to be the king of a grease-dripping burger. What really pissed us off is when they take a swipe at Chicago's hamburgers: more ›