The Boka restaurant group has been hosting "Quickfire" cooking competitions for a couple of month, pitting different executive chefs from their all-star lineup against each other in Iron Chef/Reality Television type contests. It's great PR, but here's the important part for you - tickets are free. Really. Free. Considering how hard it is to get into Girl & the Goat, it's probably worth reading on. more ›

At the Daley Plaza Farmer's market, an event is taking place today that will make any Iron Chef fan happy. Three great Chicago chefs, Chris Pandel (The Bristol), Luca Corazzina (312 Chicago) and Iliana Regan (One Sister) will be competing to become the "Master of the Market." Starting at 11:30, they will have one hour to shop and prepare a dish, made entirely out of ingredients from the market. The event is sponsored by Country Financial and the City of Chicago. more ›

Chef, writer and recent memoirist Gabrielle Hamilton visited Chicago this past weekend to support her memoir, Blood, Bones and Butter with a celebration at The Publican. Before Paul Kahan cooked up Sunday's feast (a recreation of a meal in the first chapter of Hamilton's book), we caught up with Hamilton, chef and owner of Prune in New York, to discuss how she strikes the chef-writer balance, her least favorite food trends and why she said "No thanks" to being the next Iron Chef. more ›

Iron Chef America is generally a silly show, but it still has its drool-worthy moments. For us, the best moment is when the food is presented to the judges, and we get to see the finished products that the celebrity chefs have come up with. But food porn has its limits; mostly, we want to be there and taste that food! Then, after the show is over, we go into the kitchen and eat an entire block of cheese to soothe our pain. But, enough about us - you can eat exactly like the judges on Iron Chef America. Starting in early April, Mercat a la Planxa will be replicating one of Iron Chef Jose Garces winning Iron Chef America menus. Special ingredient? Mexican Chocolate. more ›

Say what you will about the Food Network’s culinary programming, we are still suckers for Iron Chef. We always welcome new, quality chefs who join the cast. Some of us have a mini-crush on last year’s new cast member, Chef Michael Symon - swoon. more ›

No one who watches television, reads blogs or goes out to dinner can possibly ignore the impact of celebrity chef culture. Chefs with their names stitched on their jackets, often with fancy logos, have become a constant presence in our lives, and some of them are as recognizable as rock stars, models or famous authors. But the question remains - is this good for those of us who eat out? more ›

If you're like us, that headline alone will make you excited. We don't often shill for the Disney Studios, but anything Muppet-related makes us giddy with glee. Muppets and food together? Our happiness cannot be contained. The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora will make for a very amusing couple of hours at your computer. more ›

Last Sunday, we were bowled over by the best brunch deal we've encountered in ages. Mercat a la Planxa is running a promotion called "Sunday Funday" (we know, it's a horrible name) which accomplishes all of the goals of a great brunch: amazing food, social dining, lots of booze and a low low price. We've mentioned our love of Mercat in the past, but the restaurant's relatively high prices and recent popularity (thanks in part to Chef Jose Garces appearance on Iron Chef) may have deterred some visitors. If so, this is your chance. more ›

Congrats to Chicago native Jose Garces who has been crowned the Food Network's latest "Iron Chef." Garces is more associated with his current city, Philadelphia, but is the executive chef at Mercat a la Planxa, which is located in Chicago's Blackstone Hotel. Check out Anthony's review of Mercat a la Planxa from earlier this year. more ›

It's been said numerous times that chefs are the new rock stars. Chicago, then, could be considered one of the epicenters for the rock star chef. And they come in all forms: the arena gods (Bayless, Trotter, Achatz, McClain, Kahan); adult contemporary and classical (Smith, Gand, Arun, Tramonto, Nahabedian, Christophe David at NoMI); indie and experimental darlings (Segal, Carlson, Cantu, Bowles, Tschilds and Hammel of Lula) and world beat (Bahena, Nieto, Takashi, Gras, Garces, Shen). Using the rock star parallel, one can assume that the winners of cheffing competitions such as "Top Chef" and "Hell's Kitchen" fall into the "American Idol" realm of pop confection. more ›

We'd like to take a brief moment to thank this week's advertisers on Chicagoist. AMEX Urban Adventures, because there's shopping, dining, and entertainment destinations to be discovered. OFFICE, with their new album and playing at Schubas next week. The Darjeeling Limited, in theaters now. Look Me in the Eye, by Augusten Burroughs' older brother. The Next Iron Chef, starting Sunday in its quest to find ... the next Iron Chef. Busted Tees, where they 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 ›

Author Michael Ruhlman more ›

Surfing between the Police reunion on the Grammys last night and an all-new evening of animation on Fox (and if Family Guy's "My Drunken Irish Dad" song isn't being sung en masse this St. Patrick's Day, we'll be sorely disappointed), Avenues' chef Graham Elliot Bowles took on Bobby Flay on "Iron Chef America." Knowing that the Tribune had Bowles' appearance featured in yesterday's Sunday magazine, we didn't buy the Sunday paper yesterday and stayed away... more ›

We don't know anyone who watches "Today" at 9:45 a.m., so we missed Graham Elliot Bowles' Valentine's Floral Menu segment. However, the robust chef de cuisine of Avenues will be a very visible man this week. First, there's his showdown on "Iron Chef America" with Bobby Flay this Sunday; in a perfect world the secret ingredient would be Flay, served with some fava beans and a nice chianti. Foodie groupies will can watch the episode... more ›

If watching Homaro Cantu make maki made you want to eat a Big Mac on Sunday night, you aren't alone. The Food Network's "Iron Chef America" and Oakbrook-based McDonald's are catching some heat after a McDonald's logo and the phrase "I'm Lovin' It" appeared for a split second during the show. more ›

We're a little behind on this because we missed the Sunday show and just watched a recorded showing last night, but did anyone see Chef Homaro Cantu on Iron Chef America on Sunday night? Kitchen Stadium had never experienced anything like it. Cantu was up against Chef Masaharu Morimoto, and he sure gave him a run. We thought it would be a pure-traditional vs. way-modern matchup, but Morimoto did end up pulling out some liquid nitrogen himself. more ›

Almost a year ago, we wrote about what we imagined would be one of the most interesting battles of the year in kitchen stadium — an epic battle between Homaro Cantu of Moto and Iron Chef Moriomoto. We were excited about the battle, wondered when it would be on, and then promptly forgot about it. We were reminded about the battle via Hungry Magazine, who announced that the long awaited battle will be broadcast in January. The first airing is January 21, 2007, at 8 p.m. more ›

We discovered from last week's Iron Chef post that some of you are very opinionated about the series and the chefs mentioned; to the extent that you might be considered- gasp- foodies!!! We'll let that sink in a moment for you. Breathe. It's alright. It's not a bad word. Ostentatious as all get-out, yes. But not bad. Take a sip from your smoothie. There you go. Feel better? For those of you who don't know... more ›

Maybe the constant weather changes were getting to people, but it was pretty cranky on Chicagoist last week. As opposed to crunky, which would have been pretty cool. more ›

Fans of Food Network's "Iron Chef America" can expect to taste a decidedly Chicagoan flavor when the new season premieres next month. Two episodes to tivo or tape: Tru impressarios Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand (with executive sous chef Stuart Davis) against Mario Batali; and Homaru Cantu's "Team moto" faces of against Chef Morimoto. more ›

Maybe you've maxed out your credit cards donating to hurricane victims. Maybe you've been concerned about all those other charities being ignored in the deluge of relief. Or maybe you just haven't gotten off your ass and need to alleviate all that guilt. Whatever your motivations, we've found plenty of ways for you to do good while being entertained, cultured, or even freaked out. more ›

Charlie Trotter might be an anti-foie gras name caller, but he's still doing it right at his restaurant. Charlie Trotter's was named the 14th best place to eat in the world by a panel of more than 600 chefs, food critics and restaurateurs. The restaurants were judged by culinary excellence, service and overall dining experience. Trotter's was the only restaurant in Chicago to make the top 50 and one of only about 10 US restarants... more ›

» Rick Bayless v. Bobby Flay Iron Chef America more ›

Chicagoist totally &hearts's Iron Chef - we swear we've seen like every episode and we still watch it over and over. So it's only natural that we've been eagerly awaiting the debut of Iron Chef America. Gone will be the voice dubbing, exotic theme ingredients (shark fin, anyone?), and little asian actresses giggling (unless you count Julie Chen), but still.. we watched all of the American specials they broadcasted and we're sure we'll be watching all of this new series too. Any way you serve Iron Chef, we just can't get enough! more ›