• Drawing Room mixologists Charles Joly and Timothy Lacey will be setting up shop at Nacional 27 (325 W. Huron) for a "Latin Happy Hour" this evening from 6-9 p.m. Joly and Lacey will be serving up complimentary cocktails made from Cabana Cachaça and Adam Seger's Hum Spirit.
• Kendall College's Monday Night Dining Series this evening will focus on Midwestern cuisine: local artisan cheeses, fall fruit cobbler and roasted pork loin with apple and cornbread dressing are part of the menu. Goose Island will also be on hand to pour some of their brews for the dinner. Dress for the dinner is business casual, RSVP here or by calling 312-752-2328 (900 N. Branch St.)
• Quencher's 29th annual European Beer Tour is now underway, running through Friday. the tour allows participants to sample, at their own pace, 6-10 beers from 12 different countries. The short tour ($35) includes 6 beers and various parting gifts. The long tour ($60) includes 10 beers and more parting gifts. (2401 N. Western)

Here's something you can do without having to leave your desk. Kendall College Dean Chris Koetke will host a chat on artisan Cheese with John Brody of Sargento Foods and Chef Ulrich Koberstein, Executive Chef of the American Club in Koehler, WI and a chef ambassador of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. more ›

The Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance has put together an impressive program this weekend looking at the evolution of beef production in the Midwest over the years at Kendall College. "Beef: From Plains to Plate" includes a butchering demonstration; a visit to Naval Culinary "A" School at Great Lakes Naval Station, which is scheduled to close early next year; seminars on feedlots, animal husbandry, and the past, present and future of beef production; consumer confusion over certified Angus beef; the re-discovery of the benefits of grass-fed beef; an oral history on the Union Stockyards; an overview on the differences between kosher and halal-certified beef; and an overview of how ground beef became a household staple. more ›

• White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen will be at the Binny's South Loop superstore (1132 S. Jefferson) from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. today for a meet-and-greet. Cost is $10 per person and the proceeds from the event will go to support the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. We're pretty sure that Guillen will swear at you for free if you offer unsolicited advice on tweaking the White Sox lineup.
• Saturday morning at Kendall College (900 N. North Branch), LTHForum founding member Robert "VItal Information" Gardner will give a lecture on the localvore movement. "Be a Localvore, Put More Food On Your Table" will focus on what to look for at farmers markets and beyond into the dark days of winter. the 10 a.m. lecture costs $2.
• Father's Day at Café Matou (1846 N. Milwaukee) will feature a two-entrée grill menu for $24 from 5-9 p.m.

In just a few short weeks, will hit the airwaves and we're counting down the days to the March 12 season premiere. In addition to placing the city's restaurant scene at the forefront of the series and the backdrop for the competition, there are three chefs with local ties competing for the title of "Top Chef." more ›

After months of spying and accounts of shooting around town, Bravo finally announced the contestants for the next season of "Top Chef" today (you can read the release here). While the lineup of chefs vying to impress Padma and company are largely from the coasts, three of the contestants have Chicago ties: more ›

Every last Friday of the month, the bartenders and servers at Kuma's Corner donate their night's tips to a worthy cause. Tonight, it's all going to Windy City Roller Tahira "Tequila Mockingbird" Johnson, who's still recovering from her injury over the summer. If you find yourself gorging on the "Hatebeak" or "Goblin Cock" this evening, please tip better than you usually do. Just in time for Hanukkah, local food writer Leah Zeldes will give a... more ›

We know from experience that local foodies can be a vocal and opinionated lot. Two new groups are now looking at adding their input to the discourse. The Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance, according to their mission statement, is "dedicated to celebrating, exploring, and preserving unique food traditions and their cultural contexts in the American Midwest." They plan on supporting the mission with public events, developing archival resources, and creating print publications. Their inaugural event, focusing... 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 ›

Looking to be famous? Think you know how to cook? Have the thick skin needed to put up with constant verbal abuse from an asshole Scotsman? Then polish your resumes, sharpen your knives and head to the Illinois Institute of Art on Wabash Wednesday. From 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. Fox is hosting an open casting call for the next season of Hell's Kitchen (via), hosted by the mercurial Gordon Ramsay. Producers are looking for... more ›

Your theme this week, in honor of Earth Day/Week/Month: "Being Green." This is the song that Kermit the Frog made famous, but Ray Charles did a knockout version of it, and our favorite take on the song has to be Van Morrison's version from 1973's Hard Nose the Highway. It's so good, we insist on this song being played while our casket's being lowered to the ground. Let's dive in, shall we? Moo Moo, I... more ›

If you think you overate this Thanksgiving weekend, you might feel a bit better after learning how much Patrick Bertoletti threw down his gullet. The 21-year-old culinary arts student at Kendall College won the annual turkey-eating contest at Artie’s Deli in New York last Wednesday, the Sun-Times reported. Bertoletti took first place after eating 4.8 pounds of turkey – and beating the second-place contestant by a whole pound. more ›

Chicagoist picks up the Reader every week out of habit, more than anything. It's not that we don't have our gripes with the paper; we do. We also have more important things happening than to indulge in infrequent sophomoric commentary about Michael Miner, Liz Armstrong, and the music section - although Monica Kendrick always gets love from us for being a Motörhead fan. That said, if you consider yourself a gourmand, pick up this week's... more ›

After much speculation, former Chicago alderman Edwin Eisendrath has decided to challenge Governor Blagojevich in the Democratic primary this coming spring. Edwin currently serves as Vice President of Academic Affairs for Kendall College. Prior to that he served as alderman for the 43rd ward from 1987 to 1993 and headed the Chicago regional office for the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1995 to 1997 under President Clinton. Eisendrath lost a 1990 bid... more ›

We're going to level with you, and in the process potentially scandalize the part of the Chicagoist food team who knows so much about booze in any form that we feel as though we should first check with him before consuming anything of the alcoholic variety: more ›