Don’t be misled by the “pho” in the name--this quintessential hole-in-the-wall restaurant offers what might be the hottest, spiciest Thai in town. more ›

After last week's kerfuffle over the McCain attack ad comparing Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton blew up teh internets, Paris Hilton (finally) is responding. more ›

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In just a few short weeks, will hit the airwaves and we're counting down the days to the March 12 season premiere. In addition to placing the city's restaurant scene at the forefront of the series and the backdrop for the competition, there are three chefs with local ties competing for the title of "Top Chef." more ›

New York magazine got their hands on a copy of this year's James Beard award ballots (check it out for yourself here) and as usual, our city's restaurants are well-represented. more ›

Looking for a mini-vacation from the Chicago winter? Head out to Allstate Arena on Friday night to take in some professional beach volleyball. The AVP Crocs Hot Winter Nights will be bringing some of their top-ranked professionals along with truckloads of sand for a night of volleyball action. more ›

We love buffalo wings. And with the recent 2nd place finish for wing-demolishing competetive eater Patrick Bertoletti at Wing Bowl, Chicago's upcoming Wingfest, a TOC article from Mike Nagrant (also featuring Bertoletti) about local wingeries, the press orgy about Melnick's uberhot wings and the general gluttony of chicken parts that will be kicking off in a few hours (there's a game on, too? who knew!), we thought it might be a good time to pay tribute to the under appreciated wing. more ›

In addition to an extensive (38) list of tea shops, Ms. Blumberg also includes 3 other sections. For tea tourists, or those who love the formality and dignity of an afternoon tea service, the guide lists everywhere in Chicago where you can find a formal Afternoon Tea, as well as how much they cost and what you can expect for your money. Ms. Blumberg includes a list of restaurants that serve "Bubble Tea" - that wonderful cold drink filled with tapioca balls that are sucked up with a giant straw. Links to popular tea websites are also provided. All the Tea in Chicago is attractive and pocket-sized, and it provides a needed look at an often-overlooked topic – go pick it up! more ›

Over the holidays we received some lavender tincture from John Kinder, the sick talented bartender/mixologist at mk (some readers might remember Kinder from his days at moxie). more ›

After months of spying and accounts of shooting around town, Bravo finally announced the contestants for the next season of "Top Chef" today (you can read the release here). While the lineup of chefs vying to impress Padma and company are largely from the coasts, three of the contestants have Chicago ties: more ›

• Londonist pondered who might be the next sponsors of the London Eye and whether or not readers would be willing to donate £1,000 each for a Londonist Eye.
• Shanghaiist was shocked to find a cameltoe in the city's only English-language paper.
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In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and... more ›

It's officially time to get in the holiday spirit, and there are (at least) two ways to do it tonight: At the Botanic Garden, we've got the return of the Wonderland Express, and at the Lincoln Park Zoo, we got Zoo Lights '07. Family friendly, very civic, etc. more ›

On a recent Monday night, Chicagoist stopped in to Piccolo, the new panini-bruschette-gelato restaurant on 859 N. Damen. The place was empty, save for the two people working behind the counter. And while we can't hold it against them — Mondays aren't known for being a big dining out night — it set the tone for a meal that was most frequently commented on with, "huh?" Which isn't to say that Piccolo is bad, because... more ›

Rocktober is truly upon us. Usually we would avoid such cutesy phrasing for fear of falling into obvious cliché, but this year truly holds some outstanding live music coming through Chicago in the month of October. Here's a sampling of what to expect this week. Honestly, we’re beginning that suspect that both Matt & Kim and Dan Deacon secretly have apartments in Chicago, because it feels like they’re playing here every other week. If that’s... more ›

Carly Simon once sang "anticipation ... is keeping me waiting." Keep those lyrics in line now that pre-orders are being taken for the long-awaited Alinea cookbook, due from Ten Speed Press in autumn 2008. Ordering the 100-recipe book, currently listed at a downright-cheap-for-Alinea fifty dollars, also affords buyers some added perks. Buyers will receive a limited-edition copy of the book signed by chef Grant Achatz and members of the Alinea creative team. All pre-sale... more ›

Grab your quirky t-shirts and head over to the Metro tonight to celebrate the grand opening of the first Threadless store at 3011 N. Broadway in Chicago. To really tee it up and kick it off right tonight, Threadless and Metro are bringing you two free shows. Tonight's lineup will feature Hey Mercedes, Anathallo, Freer and host Marcus Monroe. It starts at 6:00 p.m. and is open to all ages, but you will have... more ›

Poor Didier Durand. The chef/owner of Cyrano's Bistrot was visited by the Health Department Wednesday on suspicion of selling foie gras, only to be shut down with a cockroach infestation. A Health Department spokesperson told Crain's that the infestation was "pretty severe," encompassing both the kitchen and a basement food prep area. Durand said the pest control company he uses thinks the roaches were a result of ongoing condo renovations above the restaurant. Unless he... more ›

Is lead that inexpensive? Some toy stores are being hurt by Mattel's massive toy recall, and others are actually watching business boom. Mayor Daley introduced a proposed ordinance Wednesday calling for increased parking rates at O'Hare International and Midway Airports that would generate about $24 million in additional revenue a year. (They're really working on cranking out the ordinances, hey?) Sounds like the plot of a creepy movie ...a convicted murderer whose sister-in-law helped... more ›

Since Kanye West's hotly anticipated new disc, Graduation, has slipped its way onto the internets we figured it was time to break out our review copy and share a few of our thoughts earlier than we had planned. While we enjoyed his last two discs, we felt that, for the most part, the man could do with a bit of editing. The new one arrives leaner and more focused than previous efforts, and while West's... more ›

Ah, Cals … what can we say about this South Loop throwback to the days of ashtray floors, free-flowing swill beer and dirtbag rock 'n' roll? Many a wide-eyed, rag tag band has kicked out their first live jams at this grungy beer-and-shots room that caters to bike messengers, blue collar workers, and traders who lose their asses before lunch. more ›

- "Fast Eddie's Last Race:" Vrdolyak pleads not guilty to bribery charges. - More goodness from Tony Rezko. - Rudy Giuliani's teenage daughter is an Obama girl. - The art of the deal: Mayor Daley reaches labor peace, brokering a 10-year deal with city trade unions that may help attract the 2016 Summer Olympics. - Don't get used to it: Steve Stone fills in for Darrin Jackson (who's in Arizona waiting for his wife... more ›

If you’ve played along Chicago’s lakefront this summer, then you may have noticed the 124 sculpted, painted globes designed by artists with the intent to inspire and empower the public to take action against global warming. Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet dots the lakefront north of the Field Museum and at Navy Pier. “Cool Globes presents a vast array of solutions with a clear message: We can solve the problem,” the exhibit’s... more ›

Oh, how we love lists. Is there any other piece of journalism that has the ability to spur so much pointless and arbitrary discussion? Via the Drive-Thru, we found this list of Chicago's "hottest dogs" from Travel + Leisure. more ›

The Plain White T’s have quietly been playing around since 1997, but ten years in they are experiencing something called “success” with their first major label album, Every Second Counts. The band earned its first Billboard Hot 100 No.1 with their single “Hey There Delilah” unseating Rihanna’s “Umbrella” which spent seven weeks at the top. more ›

On a day when Americans came together to celebrate the gloriousness that is the USA, we found another reason to cheer; American Joey Chestnut won Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, unseating six-time defending champion (and Japanese native) Takeru Kobayashi. Though those two were the certainly the stories of the day, we can't help but proudly mention Chicago native Patrick Bertoletti (pictured) came in a respectable third place. Bertoletti already has the title for eating 19 slices of pizza in 10 minutes last year, and he owns the record for eating 5.75 pounds of corned beef and cabbage. more ›

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. Being the nation's capital, DCist felt especially proud to let freedom ring this week by exposing the really important issues, like how sad they... more ›

He had to promise them one of his lovely TIFs, but Daley did manage to convince mapmakers Navteq to stay in Chicago rather than relocating back to the Silicon Valley in California. It's the City of Chicago vs. Harry's Hot Dogs and the Showmen's League of America and a Giordano's restaurant. And throw in a travel agency too. City Hall wants the buildings at 300-308 W. Randolph torn down to make a small park... more ›

A federal judge yesterday upheld Chicago's ban on foie gras, disappointing chefs across the city, and of course, giving renewed energy to both sides to persevere. In dismissing the Illinois Restaurant Association's lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning ruled that the city does have a constitutional right to prohibit the sale of foie gras. On a related note, we were alerted yesterday to a tiny section (Section 123) of the pending USDA Farm Bill that... more ›

If you don't already feel like you have been violated by the wind today, just wait, there is more. This is a "winter-intensity, large-scale storm in a hot, humid, energy-rich summer environment" (Skilling's words not ours, and we found him to be pretty accurate). Overnight we could see winds in the area of 90 mph, which according to the Fujita scale that Bill Paxton taught us about, that is the same as an F1 tornado.... more ›