Is Chicago’s newest food juggernaut massing quietly on the South Side? Since opening in the fall of 2008, the Zaleski & Horvath MarketCafe has gathered a growing army of devotees in Bronzeville and Kenwood. After all, the deli/grocery’s quirky mix of premium foods, outstanding sandwiches, Metropolis coffee and attentive staff are pretty much absent from the area, particularly the barren 47th Street commercial corridor. Hyde Parkers nearby noticed. It is rare for denizens of that leafy hood to look with envy at the nearby neighborhoods, but Z&H fills a niche missing throughout the South Side. Well, folks on 57th Street needn’t fantasize about the “pig on a pretzel” or Clover-brewed coffee drinks any longer---Z&H quietly opened a new outpost right next door to Hyde Park stalwart Medici this week. more ›

Last night, over a hundred people filled the Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea roasting facilities on West Fulton for a tasting of La Esmeralda Especial, the Panamanian Geisha coffee that made headlines in May when Intelligentsia paid $130 a pound for the beans at the "Best of Panama" auction. For the event, both Intelligentsia coffee buyer Geoff Watts and La Esmeralda estate owner Daniel Peterson were on hand to discuss the coffee and why it's become,... more ›

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,... more ›

Just to show you that we do read the "tips" section of the Labs, then do some research into the subject, Roast Magazine, a bi-monthly trade magazine "dedicated to the success and growth of the specialty coffee roaster", recently awarded their 2007 "Roaster of the Year" Awards to two local institutions. more ›

It seems this is the season for awards, rankings and competitions, at least when it comes to food and drinks, the people who make them and the places they are consumed. And don’t tell Chicagoans they’re not leading the pack in any arena. No, seriously, don’t. more ›