Sometimes bitter, sometimes hilarious; read the play-by-play from Chicago's food experts. more ›

Chicago magazine listed its top 10 hot local restaurants list today and, if anything was gleaned from the list. it's that Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby eat out waaayyyy too much. [Chicago] more ›

Looks like Chicago magazine's Jeff Ruby is reaping the whirlwind after publishing his top 25 pizzas in the area. Since then, Ruby's faced it from all comers, with comments ranging from "Where is Giordano's (on the list)" to "Jeff Ruby isn't from Chicago," a charge that we thought was only levied at specific writers right here. (For the record, Ruby's own wife has even accused him of "not being Chicagoan enough.") But he's taking the shots like a good food writer, with the requisite combination of humor, combativeness and fact. If you want a primer in how to respond to someone who goes by the name "Scoods," these are must reads and views. more ›

In what's shaping up to be a year of lists at Chicago magazine, restaurant critic Jeff Ruby has listed the magazine's 25 favorite pizzas and Great Lake's cremini mushroom and Dante cheese pizza takes top honors and further cementing Great Lake owner Nick Lessins as one of the true culinary visionaries in Chicago. more ›

From the "calm the fuck down" department: Jeff Ruby's list of his 30 favorite burgers turned the echo chamber at LTHForum up to 11, much of it centered on why Patty's Diner (3538 Main St., Skokie, 847-675-4274) didn't make Ruby's cut. Some samples (emphasis ours): more ›

Who would've thunk that burgers would be one of the year's big food fads, although we should have seen it coming with "the Cheeseburger Show?" (No offense, Pang). more ›

Ah, to have the budget of a magazine to play with. Scott Smith at Time Out Chicago gets to play with dolls action figures. Now Chicago Magazine's Jeff Ruby and John Kenzie have created "The Adventures of Steak Man," the "corn-fed crusader" who bears a striking resemblance to a middle-aged Burt Ward. more ›

What have the intrepid local food writers and bloggers of Our Town and elsewhere been up to this week? more ›

Chicago Mag food critic Jeff Ruby sent us an e-mail linking to a song and video he made summing up the life of a lonely food critic, with a scene-stealing role by his kid, rocking a Clash t-shirt. more ›