Yes, that's a CPD horse in a Santa hat. If Chicagoist staffers put together a list of the Sexiest Men Alive, Anthony Bourdain would be waaaaay high on the list. Like, Ron Huberman high. Bourdain is reading at the Borders at 830 N. Michigan tonight at 7 p.m. Is it gross if we say "delicious"? Maybe? OK. Everybody's got a hobby ... but whittling instruments out of vegetables and playing them in an orchestra?... more ›

Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village have no shortage of places where Chicagoist can satisfy its sweet tooth. We love Alliance, Milk and Honey, Letizia's and Bleeding Heart Bakery, to name a few of our favorites. But one thing we've learned is that there is never too much of a good thing, especially when it comes to desserts. When we heard Sweet Cakes, a new bakery on Damen and Augusta was open we went over... more ›

IBM is officially in charge of setting up wireless cameras on busses and train platforms in a CTA pilot program to improve the CTA’s response to terrorist attacks. more ›

Two weeks ago we found out the Finkl steel plant is moving out of its Lincoln Park home. This week the debate over what to do with the 200,000 square feet of real estate is heating up. The site sits in what was the first planned manufacturing district (PMD) in Chicago, an area where residential construction is prohibited and retail activity limited. Considering recent trends in housing and transportation, PMDs make lots of sense. The City That Works would be in bad shape if all the manufacturing jobs moved out to the suburbs; diversity of businesses is a good thing — longer commutes, not so good. more ›

Police in the suburbs are being called to stop the most ruthless of criminals: teenagers who steal beer. The Tribune reported homeowners from Vernon Hills to Mokena have been victimized by “garage hopping” teenagers. “We call them the beer bandits,” Crystal Lake resident Tanya Benham told the paper. Teenagers have been breaking into garages to raid the fridge of its beer. Apparently in Vernon Hills, there’s been a spike in the complaints, and police have... more ›

Look, Barack Obama knows that people are clamoring for him to run for president in 2008. We're sure that was evident the second he stepped off the podium after his goosebump-inducing 2004 Democratic Convention speech. But just in case the Big O (is it too early to make a nickname for him?) doesn't get it, one of his former Illinois senatorial opponents, Dan Hynes, held a press conference yesterday to beat the drum again. "We are a nation divided like at almost no other time in our history," Hynes said. "I believe Barack Obama can change this, that he, and he alone can restore the hope and optimism that has made this country great." more ›

At the beginning of May the Chicago Rush looked as though they might miss the playoffs with a 5-9 record. Since then, the Rush have posted five straight victories, including three playoff wins, propelling them into the 20th Arena Bowl Championship match. more ›

Oh how our babies grow up so fast! Why, it seems like only yesterday that we were all waiting with heaving bosoms and baited breath for Grant Achatz to open the doors of his long-awaited restaurant and now? Awwww. Alinea turns a year old next month. more ›

If Chicagoist were going to rob a bank we'd probably just throw on a ski mask to disguise our identity. Or maybe a knee-high pantyhose sock, if we could find one around the house without too many runs. That's why we have never won the Creative Bank Robber of the Year award. Here's someone who may be in the running: The Harry Caray Bandit. more ›

The CTA has been pretty busy lately expanding the Brown Line and running out of money. So, they’re looking for a little help on their latest project – renaming the Cermak branch of the Blue Line. more ›

Chicagoist has been spending way too many nights at home this winter because who in their right mind would want to travel to this freezing tundra to entertain us anyway? We've been enjoying the great local bands, but national acts are starting to come back with more frequency and, boy, are we are happy. more ›

It’s a triple threat at the Metro Saturday evening with Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers, and Split Lip Rayfield. If Chicagoist hadn’t maxed out their credit cards before doing any holiday shopping, we’d pick this lineup for our Saturday live show pleasure, but alas… more ›

Last month, Eric Zorn debuted a new Month in Review feature on his blog. He invited local bloggers and journalists to join him in discussing the month's hottest state and local news stories. This month Monsieur Zorn asked Chicagoist to participate. Below are our picks for July. Check Zorn's site tomorrow for his Monthly round up. Biggest Loser: Mayor Daley With the Feds coming in and busting up Chicago's political "boys club," Mayor Daley's approval... more ›

"Tony the Ant," "Joey the Clown," "Joe Batters": You've heard these nicknames of Chicago mobsters in the news a lot lately because of the recent FBI smackdown. Today Slate gave us some insight into how the mobsters got their nicknames. more ›

Chicagoist's foodies are rarely surprised when they hear about restaurant expansion, especially when that restaurant is a popular brand with proven success. more ›

Chicago-based Tootsie Roll is buying Concord Confections (of Canada) for just under $200 million cash. Concord is best known for making Dubble Bubble. Maybe it's just us, but Dubble Bubble was always THE LAST thing that we ate out of our Halloween loot. It's always like a hard stone in your mouth and then when you finally get it softened down enough to chew, the flavor lasts for a thrilling 2 seconds. Whee! So what's... more ›

Ok. That was too easy/hokey/local-newslike of a headline. Of course we're not talking about controversial filmmaker Michael Moore who's films include Bowling for Columbine and, more recently, Fahrenheit 9/11. We're talking about Michael Moore of the 2000 block of South 16th Avenue in Broadview, who on Saturday robbed three people at gunpoint in less than 20 minutes. From the first man Moore got a ten spot, 11 minutes later from a stolen wallet of the second guy he got $30, and 3 minutes after that he took $20 from a guy. If Chicagoist does our 3rd grade math correctly, we can see that if Moore could have maintained this pace, he could have been raking in $180/hour. Not bad.. not bad at all! Unfortunately for Moore, the first man he robbed flagged down police and he was caught and charged with 3 counts of armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a weapon. more ›