Do you love local food? Do you care about where your food comes from? Buy tickets for Ingredients: The Local Food Movement Takes Root, a new documentary by Brian Kimmel. Ingredients focuses on the small ways that consumers can change the food world, presenting an encouraging message of possibility and change. Huffington Post called it an "eloquent, edible argument for sustainability and seasonality," and you can see it right here in Chicago. Plus, get some great food from Gaztro-wagon at the same time. more ›

Jim Javenkoski, the founder of Local Food Wisdom, will be hosting the latest in his series of locavore dinners at In Fine Spirits on January 24. The goal of Local Food Wisdom is to bring people together to eat, learn and discuss local food issues, with "casual yet informative conversations." Sounds much more fun, and much tastier, than listening to a lecture! 5 courses, all-inclusive with beer pairings, will cost you $75. The video after the jump is a look at the first Local Food Wisdom dinner, hosted by StarGrazer Cafe - it will make you want to quit your job and go work on a farm, especially on a grey day like today. more ›

Jim Javenkoski has graced this corner of the internet before in his former roles as "Culinary Attaché" for Unibroue and "Ale-vangelist" for Arcadia ales. The holder of a PhD. in food science, Javenkoski has since turned his attention to the localvore and sustainability movements, producing dinners that showcase the bounty and environmental benefits of local farms. more ›

Former Unibroue "Culinary Attache" Jim Javenkoski has taken his knowledge of great beer and his PhD. in food science to Arcadia Brewing Company, where he now holds the title of "Ale-vangelist℠". more ›

As Karl and I discussed in yesterday's podcast, if you're going out to dine at one of the participating Chicago Restaurant Week establishments and want a cocktail or two, expect your tab to increase really quick. more ›

Some events in the next seven days to consider saving your freshly shoveled parking space with a few chairs. more ›

when we made it a Unibroue weekend a couple weekends ago, we were floored by the quality of their 2002 Quelque Chose ale. Prior to either of the dinners we attended we thought we had tasted practically everything Unibroue had to offer. more ›

Someone apparently reads the site: former Chicagoist staffer Lisa Shames attended Sunday's beer and charcuterie seminar at Custom House and e-mailed us to say that there were at least four people in attendance beside her who found out about the seminar via Chicagoist. We ran into at least that many people last night who said the same. more ›

Common sense dictated that we should have stayed in Saturday night in the slightly drafty but hospitable environs of our apartment. However, when the fine folks at Unibroue plan a beer dinner, it's usually a great event. What made Saturday night's event stand out was the location of the dinner. more ›

While the fish-taco revolution is swimming across the area, there are plenty of other events happening this week. Before we list them, however, we should let you know that the cockroaches are taking over our downtown restaurants. This week's victim of the ultimate survivor, Bice. Cockroaches were the least of their problems, however. A Health Department inspection also found no hot running water in a kitchen sink and fruit flies in the bar. If you... more ›

A good drink can improve the quality level of a meal. It can make a mediocre dinner tolerable, or raise the bar on a perfectly cooked entree. The best chefs, along with their sommeliers, wine stewards, and spirits experts, plan a meal and its pairings with meticulous detail. Although beer and food have complemented each other for centuries, restaurants in the States are placing an increased emphasis on offering beer pairings for those who don't... more ›

No witty introduction this week. Our fault for trying to impress the new staffers with barleywine ale and Dalmore. Thank God for French-pressed coffee. The buffet is now open. A Good German to the End: The closing of Delicatessen Meyer should have been a story we weighed in on earlier in the week and not relegated to the Buffet. To that end, Chicagoist extends a sincere mea culpa. Anyhoo, for those who haven't heard, the... more ›