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 ›

Donald Trump, as part of his strange and meandering plot to take over the world, bought a vineyard in April. Formerly known as Kluge vineyard, the property in Virginia was repossessed by Bank of America in February and bought by Trump in April. What form the vineyard will take under Trump's leadership is unclear - according to Eater, while "he will keep the vineyard's previous owner, Patricia Kluge, on board, Trump's going to change the name of the place. He said, 'It's only Trump. Everything is Trump.'" Restaurant Intelligence Agency asked some local chefs to weigh in with their feelings on Trump wine. The responses? Classic. Steve McDonagh, of Hearty Boys, asked "Is it really from Virginia? I don't believe it. I want to see original certification." more ›

If you are anything like us, you’ve been grilling, entertaining and joining friend’s food festivities all summer long. We presented a few of our staples and experimented with a few new recipes. To help plan our last hurrah of summer entertaining, we searched the Chicagoist archives for some of our greatest hits and tapped some of our favorite local chef’s websites. Gather a little culinary inspiration and enjoy our Labor Day party menu. We love that each one has a core element that can be made ahead - more mingling and less cooking when guests arrive. more ›

The annual Windy City Wine Festival, presented by Binny's Beverage Depot, takes place tonight and tomorrow at Daley Bicentennial Plaza downtown. We've never been overly impressed by the festival, but taking a look at the cooking and wine exhibitions scheduled we might be swayed to drop by. more ›

Just added to the list of participants for September's Chicago Gourmet event are Koren Grieveson of avec, Jose Garces of Mercat a la Planxa, the Hearty Boys duo of Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, Takashi's Takashi Yagihashi, Christophe David of NoMI and Terrance Brennan of the soon-to-open Chicago location of his Artisanal Bistro and Wine Bar. more ›

This week, we're doing this in "Extra Extra" format: more ›

Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, best known as local culinary mavens the Hearty Boys, have done it again. Not content with everything else they have going on (the catering and restaurant business and the burgeoning media career, for instance), McDonagh and Smith have created a fruitcake recipe that they say will change our perception on how we view this holiday monstrosity. Additionally, McDonagh reveals some of his family's fruitcake traditions in an accompanying article in... more ›

Add Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh to the top of the list of "People Chicagoist Would Hate If They Weren't So Nice." Not only have the Boystown caterers opened a successful new restaurant, HB: A Hearty Boys Spot, their new Food Network show, Party Line with Dan and Steve, premiered this week. And, the couple recently adopted a 2-month-old baby, Nate. All in unison now, "Awwwwwww." more ›

Two Chicago Boystown caterers, Hearty Boys' Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, won their own show on the Food Network. Dancing and merriment was seen on Halsted after the annoucement, although it's unclear as to whether celebrations were due to the response to the Food Network annoucement or spillover from the earlier Pride Parade. Dan and Steve beat out seven other contestants in a month-long competition. The couple's new show starts this fall.... more ›

Boystown restaurant moguls Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh -- aka the "Hearty Boys" -- have a full plate these days. Not only have they transformed their casual cafe into a full-service upscale restaurant, this Sunday they will compete to become "The Next Food Network Star." Their revamped restaurant, open for a week, has already won rave reviews. After having the "flamboyantly front and center" double-cut pork chop [only in Boystown can pork be flamboyant], Metromix... more ›