We cursed when we realized that we'd hit Hot Doug's just one day after the infamous Anthony Bourdain made his own trip there (Ed.Note: We usually refer to him simply as "BOURDAIN" around here). Pictures of Tony in line (courtesy of Cinnamon Cooper, AKA "Cinnachick") as well as some wiener shots from our trip below.......

And LO, the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council said, "Let July be National Hot Dog Month and let Sunday, July 20, 2008 be National Hot Dog Day." And so it was. And it was good. We were a little surprised to note that most of these places didn't even know about National Hot Dog Day. In fact, one said, "It is? It's Chicahhhgo, Every day is hot dawg day!" You know, we can't really......

Leading off today is this hiring video put together for Lettuce Entertain You property Hub 51 Restaurant and Lounge, an exaggerated parody of Tom Vu infomercials. (via) Fresh off his appearance on last night's episode of Top Chef Chicago, Rick Tramonto has a blog over at Restaurant & Institutions magazine website. There are only two posts right now, but Tramonto's an in-demand chef and businessman, so only expect him to update when he has......

Jesus, have things been busy lately, highlighted by the re-opening of Schwa last night. The Tribune recapped everything we've already read about the events surrounding Michael Carlson and company in recent months, from the killer dinner he prepared for Trotter, Adria, Blumenthal, and a host of culinary Illuminati; to closing Schwa the next day, then going into deep hiding to recharge and re-energize, and coming back. Phil Vettel and Monica Eng try to dig deeper,......

We got an e-mail today from a national travel magazine fact-checker wondering about local lingo. Some of the terms are definitely things we're familiar with, but..."the prairie"? Huh. Let 'er rip, cats and kittens. Would you agree that while the term "Chi-Town" means "Chicago," it's rarely spoken by a resident? Does the term "dees and doze guy" refer to a working class local who speaks with a Chicago accent? Does the term "dragged through......

The Reader's Guide to Late Night Dining is now online, and there's the expected eclectic mix of diners, hot dog stands, taco joints, upscale pub grub, and places where only the fearless dare enter. Even better is that the range of offerings encompasses a wide stretch of the city and connecting suburbs (big love for Gene & Jude's Red Hots in River Grove!). If you're at the stage in life where "I'll sleep when......

If you are a big fan of Gigio's Pizza, then you are in luck. They're running a promotion right now where saving 20 menus will earn you $5 off an order. MenuPages attempted to look into the small print of the promotion, but was seemingly unable to get anyone from Gigio's to pick up the phone. If you want to spend $400+ dollars to save $5, now you know how. Alternatively, as suggested by Adam......

On the subject of hot dog stands, it's the little differences that separate the ones we like from the ones we don't. Growing up on the Northwest side we had the good fortune (although as teenagers we never realized it) of living near some of the best, like Bemo's on Fullerton; the recently closed Toots Drive Thru at Central and Montrose; Duke's, just up the street at Central and Bryn Mawr; and Jimmy's Red Hots......

In case some of you may have forgotten, that's Emmy in the picture. Depending on the time of day she's the smartest mammal in our household. She's unusually happy today, because yesterday the City Council inched closer to allowing her the right to join us for meals at outdoor cafés, a notion that flies in the face of common sense, sanitary concerns, arguments posited by a former alderman and the director of food protection for......

- "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......

Take a walk down 18th Street in Pilsen and you won’t go far without passing a carnitas shop, pizza joint, hot dog stand or Mexican grill. It’s a varied mix of cheap (read: affordable) and cheap (read: not very good). For tablecloth dining options in the neighborhood, diners are often limited to May Street Café or Picante Grill, two places both given the Chicagoist review treatment. The former closes down when convenient (e.g the previous......

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. When last we checked in on the best dogs, we found Poochies named as Chicagoland's finest. Just to show the true subjectivity of lists of these kind, Poochies is no where to be found on Travel......

As Chicagoist enjoyed a day off yesterday, we also found ourselves reflecting on some of the hallmarks of the holiday, namely fireworks. We spent our care free day away from work and the stresses that usually come with it, taking the opportunity to ride the Damen bus down to 18th Street, where we kept walking until we got to 23rd. After a cozy stroll through Heart of Chicago, we wound up in Little Village, where......

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......

It’s fast approaching Memorial Day weekend, the official start of grilling season. But if late nights up rocking (and rocking and rocking) your little one have made you too exhausted to head to Paulina and man the grill yourself, pack up the baby and head to Muskie’s instead. This particular Lincoln Avenue burger joint scores big points with parents. You won’t find bathrooms, changing tables or high chairs, but with its tasty food, warm-hearted staff,......

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us. Austinist has a chat with the ever-fashionable Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, and managed to catch some local fashionistas making......

Red Hen Bread lacks highchairs, changing tables, a kid menu and a door big enough to comfortably squeeze a stroller through. We wouldn’t recommend going there with a large group and eating in, but with a long list of appetizing baked goods, a menu of innovative sandwiches, a friendly staff and an actual stroll-though window, this bread cafe should not be overlooked as a place to grab a bite with your kid. We recently tried......

Let's say you're a business owner who was recently cited for holding a misdemeanor amount of contraband, after months of openly defying a city ordinance you thought was, for lack of a better term, idiotic. You were required to pay a small fee by the city and vowed to all media who called you that you would not serve the contraband until the law was repealed. But the contraband substance is still in your possession.......

Bridgeport, like many neighborhoods around the city, has a glut of Mexican restaurants with varying quality. So when we noticed on a cab ride home one night that Carbón (300 W. 26th St., 312-225-3200, open 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., 7 days a week), a “live fire” Mexican grill, had recently opened in a vacant-for-years storefront mere steps away from neighborhood mainstay Ricobene’s, we were skeptical. Carbón serves fire-grilled tacos and burritos, veering away......

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending......

As we at Chicagoist ponder whether or not to add "sketchy-ass hot dogs", foie gras, and the 46th Ward to "hating on the Amish" and Macy Fields as retired subject matter, we start off this week's edition of "Your Friday Food Buffet" with, well, foie gras hot dogs. We also have a photo that should even pass reader Marilyn's sensitive eyes. That is, unless she's in favor of Prohibition. We'd Rather Help Doug Sohn Break......

Hot Doug's is the proud recipient of the city's first Foie Gras ticket. Doug Sohn, who puts the Doug in Hot Doug's, has been taunting the hell out of city officials since the ban went into effect. Sohn framed the warning letter he received from the city and placed it on his counter. Coming half a year after the ordinance was passed, the Chicago Health Department inspector went to Hot Doug's on Friday morning, issued......

If we had to think of the top five hot dog spots in the city, we would need some time. There are some obvious choices — a dog in the Cell for one — and there are the famous spots, but choosing the five best would take more than a casual effort. Now imagine choosing the five best hot dogs in the nation. Just thinking about this monstrous task made our belly expand and our......

You have to love Ed Burke. Either he truly means well, suffers from the "Second City" inferiority complex, or he reads Chicagoist and can't help himself. Regarding our post last week about Culver's decision to ban trans fats, we wrote: "We guess that as soon as City Council hears about this, they'll get that Second City chip on their collective shoulder and pass the trans fat ban that Ed Burke's been slowly hydrogenating with......

Glenview hot dog stand fRedhots and Fries will begin serving reindeer hot dogs this Friday, continuing through the end of December. Owner Fred Markoff said he got the idea after tasting Rudolph-flavored dogs several years ago in Alaska. The dogs are a mixture of reindeer, beef and pork, and are served in the "traditional" style, with grilled onions and mustard. The wieners are imported from Alaskan meat producer, Indian Valley Meats. If you don't......

Chicagoist has never been shy about our love for the Mexican food in Chicago. From the cheapest tacos, to new takes on traditional dishes, to the city's upscale offerings, we've been all over the city tasting tacos, tamales, and tortas. Though we love our Mexican food in the Chicagoist office, we sometimes get the sense that the Mexican offerings in the city are overlooked by many in favor of some of the more "traditional" Chicago......

Some of the fondest memories of our youth involved Toots Drive Thru as the setting. As adults, whenever we found ourselves in Portage or Jefferson Park (back when the Silent Film Society of Chicago's summer festival was held at the Gateway Theater), we always made it a point to find our way to Toots for a hot dog, a malt, and maybe some mac-and-cheese bites. Yesterday was Toots' last day of business. The property......

Jimbo's Lounge, Bridgeport's little sports bar that could, is not taking the loss of their lease lying down. Since news reports surfaced last month detailing the story of Jimbo's not having their lease renewed, a petition drive to save Jimbo's has so far netted signatures from 165 neighbors who would rather see the corner go dry, than see an establishment not run by owners Jimbo and Joyce Levato. The Levatos, meanwhile, are trying to......

Torontoist immediately wins our heart by using the word "Jackass" in a headline. In fact, we love their use of it so much that we're going to use it as much as possible throughout this post. For example, it looks like there are Toronto-area jackasses besides those who misuse the sidewalk: look at the crap on sale on Toronto's craigslist. But it looks like Toronto doesn't contain the kind of jackasses who pee in public......

In a lot of ways, the Ballpark Formerly Known as Comiskey has it over Wrigley Field hands down. There are urinals, instead of troughs, in the men's rooms, so you can pee in relative privacy (not that Chicagoist has anything to be ashamed of); the sight lines are wonderful from the concourse; walkways and aisles are wide to facilitate easy entry to, and exit from, the ball park, and to your seat; and the ballpark......