Ready for more fusion foods? The latest entry into the Lakeview neighborhood is La Taccorea, offering another variation on the popular Korean taco. more ›

What started as a small neighborhood breakfast nook (hence the name) is now opening its fourth large location in Edgewater. more ›

Discover your pizza persona! Or just grab some tasty pies. more ›

Do burrito lovers camp out when a new Chipotle opens? more ›

Teppanyaki, the Japanese art of cooking on an iron griddle, is as much about the show as it is the food. If you are going to pay a premium to watch your food cooked in front of you, then it had better be a decent spectacle. More importantly, if you are going to pay a little more for the meal, that little culinary display needs to result in a dish that is nothing short of delicious. Teppanyaki, done right, is both entertaining and tasty. If you are looking for a great dinner and a great show in one, pull up a chair at Sakura Teppanyaki and Sushi in Lakeview. more ›

A neighborhood group is trying to block a hookah lounge from setting up shop under the assumption that it would attract Middle Easterners -- and therefore crime -- to the area. more ›

A man was stabbed in the back in a fight by the Belmont station. more ›

- We reported last week that award-winning pastry chef Patrick Fahy had left Blackbird to find a job that would, according to Paul Kahan, "allow him to start a family." The Stew now tells us that Fahy has found a new home at the Sofitel, the job recently vacated by Nomi Kitchen pastry chef Meg Galus. Apparently, after fielding several job offers outside of the city, Fahy decided to stay. One more reason to check out the Sofitel. more ›

Hold the Beef is a monthly series exploring Chicago’s vegetarian burger scene. If you know any veggie burger joints that we should check out, post them in the comments! more ›

So how did Wal-Mart's meeting with concerned Lakeview residents Monday night go? About as well as can be expected. more ›

Falafill is getting good at making our snowy days a bit warmer. Just as they did during the Great Blizzard of 2011, Falafill will be offering free soup all day in honor of the weather. Just purchase any sandwich or salad bowl, and you can get a warm, steaming bowl of tasty lentil soup. The only thing better than hot soup during a snowstorm? Free hot soup during a snowstorm. more ›

Looks like Borders closing most of their stores in Chicago is fueling speculation that Walmart may be eyeing those spaces in their plan to open 24 stores in the city. Bruce Beal, who organized one of many opposition groups the last time WalMart was looking at a Lakeview location, says he has a "reliable source" that the retail giant is now targeting the soon-to-shutter Borders in Lakeview, just steps down from the proposed store that was supposed to go into the old Petsmart. We contacted Beal via Facebook to see if he would divulge any more information regarding the source. Beal replied that he needed to do more footwork to conifrm his source's claim that WalMart has renewed its interest in opening a Lakeview store. more ›

If you are a coffee aficionado, then you have probably noticed that the bean scene here in Chicago seems to getting better and better. The city is becoming a hotbed for hot drinks of the caffeinated kind and virtually no neighborhood has gone untouched by the coffee craze. Local roasting companies up the ante by making bold flavors available to anyone with a good grinder and a decent coffee maker. One of Lakeview's latest coffee stops is Kickstand Espresso Bar, where the brew is about as smooth as the vibe. more ›

Wal-Mart executives reached out to 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney to ensure him that they have not signed a intent to lease space in the Broadway on Surf building for a smaller neighborhood box-store concept. more ›

Wow, Lakeview, a lot of you really don't want a Wal-Mart, do ya? more ›

Wal-Mart: it isn't just for Austin and Chatham anymore. Chicago Real Estate Daily reports that the retail superpower has signed a letter of intent to lease space for a planned small-box store at 2840 N. Broadway. That's the Broadway on Surf retail space that currently lists as tenants mom and pop stores Cost Plus World Market, TJ Maxx and Bed, Bath & Beyond. The space used to house a Petsmart and has advertised 30,000 square-feet in retail space available for rent. more ›

In a time of year known for multiple layers to protect your flesh from the harsh elements (this Chicagoista maintains a four-layer policy) to the point that one can barely even see a person's ocular cavities when venturing outdoors, the popularity of the nearly naked ladies of burlesque seems to have truly peaked. This is probably in part due to the over-the-top, recently release sequined-spectacle, Burlesque, starring Christina Aguilera and Cher poised more as drag queen wannabees than the actual bawdy, humorous vaudeville experience that burlesque was intended to be. more ›

A major fire broke out near Lincoln and Wellington about an hour ago. The fire started at the Peerless Imported Carpet building at 3033 N. Lincoln and that the fire had spread. There are reports (unsubstantiated) that the second building that caught fire houses Lincoln Tap Room. more ›

Creating sushi is an art. Each piece should be as pleasing to the palate as it is to the eye. Traditional sushi can rely on the vibrant colors and textures of fish to achieve this. Vegetarian sushi, on the other hand, often falls flat and seems like an afterthought in many restaurants. Lakeview’s Rollapalooza breaks with the usual, providing a menu of vegetarian sushi that provides a feast to the eyes and the tummy. more ›

Today, the new Jewel store on Southport (3630 N. Southport Ave.) opens for business after a long period of construction. The former store on the same site, demolished in 2009, had been in business for more then 30 years. The new store is twice as big and brimming with claims of greenness. We got a chance to tour the new facility yesterday before it was open to the public, and to talk with a number of representatives from Jewel. While there are some genuinely awesome things about the new store, which we applaud, there are also some unanswered questions about its environmental credentials. more ›

It would be safe to say that national interest in the Islamic faith and culture has been at a steady high over the past decade, and Muslim leaders all around the country are attempting to take progressive steps in challenging the negative attitudes toward Islam. One of those steps will take place right here in Chicago: the American Islamic College is set to be open for classes this upcoming week, with Muslim leaders hoping that classes about Islamic history, arts, and theology will instill a whole new understanding of Islam to those who may not know so much about its tradition and roots:

"The whole of America needs an Islamic institution of Islamic thought," said Ali Yurtsever, a former research scholar at Georgetown University, who is overseeing the effort. "If you don't have Islamic colleges, then people are misled, they'll easily be deceived and the clash will continue to grow."

On Saturday afternoon, a man was critically injured when he fell onto the Red Line tracks near the Sheridan station, at 3900 N. Sheridan Rd., in the Lakeview neighborhood. The man fell around 4:55 p.m., and was not hit by the train, police News Affairs Officer Anne Dwyer said to the Chicago Sun-Times. Officials shut down power to southbound trains for 15 minutes while crews responded, CTA spokeswoman Sheila Gregory said to the Sun-Times. The man was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition. more ›

It’s no secret that black gay youth from the South and West sides orbit around Boystown, particularly around the Center on Halsted, but some Lakeview residents say they feel threatened or intimated by these teens who they often describe as unruly and rowdy. more ›

Yesterday we mentioned the rash of attacks by a group of men in the Lincoln Park over the weekend and now two more attacks have happened, one in Lincoln Park and one in Lakeview. The Lincoln Park attack happened late last night at Fullerton and Cannon and the victim was able to fight the group off with a bicycle chain, though he did give up $137 in cash. Another attack occurred near Halsted and Buckingham in Lakeview where a man was beaten and robbed of his wallet and cell phone. Thus far, despite the similarity to last week's muggings, police have yet to connect either attack to those earlier ones. So far, authorities have only issued vague descriptions of the attackers. more ›

We love Reckless; and frankly, we've always preferred the Lakeview store to the one in Wicker Park. When we heard they'd be moving, we initially feared that it'd be to a smaller space. Luckily, that's not the case. The new digs at 3126 N. Broadway, about a block south of the old location, are fairly spacious. In fact, there's even more browsing room thanks to wider aisles. Unlike the old store, you won't have to elbow your way past people staring at the box sets and New Arrivals. Another bonus: the new store is right across the street from Intelligentsia. more ›

A Chicagoist reader sent us a tip that Diner Grill (1635 W. Irving Park Rd., 773-248-2030) appeared closed for business. We've placed at least three phone calls to the venerable matchbox-shaped diner and was welcomed with a constantly ring tone. more ›

Fried chicken is one of those dishes that we eat about twice a year; usually one of those times is disappointing. It’s a dish that’s very easy to get wrong and even the best examples of the frying art sometimes weigh you down like a lead overcoat. Happily, there is fresh hope for the fried chicken lovers of Chicago who are willing to try something a little different. more ›

The early 90's Riot Grrrl movement in Los Angeles and Minneapolis proved concretely that even though we like to paint our nails and smell nice, sometimes a girl just needs to rock. Girls Rock! Chicago camps are a non-profit organization offering area young ladies the opportunity explore self-expression through traditionally rock-oriented instruments and arrangements. It's a killer concept and one we wish had existed in suburban Wisconsin when we were slogging through our formative years. more ›

The intersection of Belmont and Sheridan is one we've hated and feared ever since moving into the neighborhood. It's a toxic stew: you've got cars anxious to get on LSD, cars anxiously getting off LSD, commuters anxious to catch buses going downtown or anxious to get home after getting off buses coming from downtown, and a traffic light with timings that almost seem capricious. Yikes! more ›