Wrigleyville's Pick Me Up Café is best known for three things. It has tons of vegetarian options, you can order breakfast any time the café is open, and it is open almost all the time. We stopped in on a Sunday afternoon to give it a try and find out if the Pick Me Up Café would live up to its name. more ›

We may support Coco but we also may soon be saddled with Blago in late-night form, albeit on the internet. The Sun-Times' resident gossip monger, Michael Sneed, who perfected use of the third person in Chicago media way before Chicagoist ever did, reports that Blago will be coming to the web as (temporary) host of a late-night talk show. Web site artoftalk.tv is gearing up for a show called The Late Net Show that will feature a different "celebrity" host each week and it looks like the show's producers have eyes on Blago. The website's founder, Charlie Oliver, said, "We look forward to seeing him step out of his comfort zone as the first host of the 'Late Net Show.'" We'd prefer to see him step out of his comfort zone into somewhere else. Like prison. Anyway. Sneed continues: more ›

Last week’s free McSkillet burritos spoiled us. All we had to do was purchase one little drink and we got a free breakfast? Suddenly paying for meals seemed like a sham. It got us thinking - where else can we score some free grub in this town? Well, seek and ye shall find: more ›

Now here's a blast from the past. It's Linn Burton of Burt Weinman Ford showing off the best used car deals that 1982 had to offer. How our family were able to resist buying the deathtrap that was the Ford Pinto, we have no idea. more ›

Friday’s late night crowd at Gorilla Tango Theater is raucous and loud, with some patrons sloshed to the point of major distraction. But complaining about a drunken scene at sketch comedy revue Boozelegger’s Ball is like complaining about excessive violence in There Will Be Blood. The title alone should clue you in. more ›

After seeing their viewer numbers plummet over the last few weeks, the major networks forced their late night talent back on the air last night. David Letterman took the high road, working out a deal with his writers so they could return with him, but keep in mind that he owns the production company that puts out his program. We suspect neither Conan O'Brien or Jay Leno are too jazzed to return without their writers, but since their shows are owned by the networks, they don't have the same kind of leverage. more ›

The Reader's Guide to Late Night Dining is now online, and there's the expected eclectic mix of diners, hot dog stands, taco joints, upscale pub grub, and places where only the fearless dare enter. Even better is that the range of offerings encompasses a wide stretch of the city and connecting suburbs (big love for Gene & Jude's Red Hots in River Grove!). If you're at the stage in life where "I'll sleep when... more ›

pH Productions hit our radar when they started pHlooding the Hottix page with their uniquely titled late-night shows, like pHamily and pHrenzy pHucked. Then came their emails, replete with creative pHonetics: “Hi pHans… pHrenz-o-ween is coming!” more ›

LAist began the month with a new food series exploring the popular and unknown late night eats around town. If a Top Chef winner opened up a late night spot in Los Angeles, denizens would flock it, yet the LA Times and other media might be wary. Turning to sports, the Dodger season was quite memorable in the way that it imploded and the LA County Sheriff's Department made some games of their own... more ›

A few days ago we unwittingly created a monster when we expressed our frustration about having to wait to see the schedule for this year's Chicago International Film Festival, which runs October 4-17. Well, we finally have a copy of said schedule in our hot little hands. What follows is a very brief, cursory summary of what you can expect this year (the full schedule will be online within the next few days). Regardless of... more ›

The “Chicago theater season” is as anachronistic as our Columbia House Record Club membership. August was simply a lull before the crush of Fall openings coming to major institutions and their well-funded houses, who'll receive sufficient ink and column inches in the daily and weekly papers. We’re turning an eye to those less heralded venues doubling as rental space, educational resource, and meeting locale. None of these theaters are named after deep-pocketed donors, but that... more ›

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,... more ›

Tom Tunney’s cracking down. The 44th Ward alderman has had it with Wrigleyville’s booze-soaked reputation. He’s sick of bar after bar after bar littering his neighborhood, sick of drunken young urban professionals that don’t act quite so professional after a long night out. He’s finally listening to constituents that are less than thrilled to wake up to a crusty puddle of vomit on their front steps. And he’s enlisting others to help with improvement of Chicago’s partyingest enclaves. more ›

Chicagoist checked out the National Museum of Mexican Art a few months ago, and if you haven't been, go. Located in Pilsen, the museum offers a fascinating look at art from a country that often gets looked over in the arts world. Fortunately for those of us who enjoy the act of eating, no such slight exists with Mexican food, especially in Chicago. We know you love eating Mexican food, as judged by the number... more ›

Chicagoist usually feels pretty safe on the CTA, and while we usually prefer riding the 'L' (everyone happy now?) to the bus, when it comes to late night riding, we kind of dig the bus because we have this idea that we are safer because there's a real life human being right there in our midst, which would obviously deter someone from doing something crazy or violent directly to our person. It's also why we ride in the very first car on the el (we couldn't do it forever!), because we are right next to the motorperson's car if something should go awry. more ›

Well, we've been hearing about Looptopia for awhile. A big overnight festival held in the Loop, blah blah. We didn't think too much about it. We pretty much dismiss the Loop after 5 p.m. and give it up for lost on the weekends. Looptopia is obviously working hard to change all that. It's going on this Friday through early Saturday morning and since we're going to be down there, we decided to check out the... more ›

"Welcome to our store!" by kookybites. more ›

Richard Buckner ain’t your porch-sitting, whiskey-sipping, long-lost-love-ruing folk singer - he’s the sound of an adulthood spent clawing through the shadowy underside of America in search of the indefinable sense of self and place. Buckner’s eighth studio effort, Meadow, was recently released on indie hipmonster Merge Records, and is the latest chapter the ever-evolving tale of disappearing comfort and aggravated desire that makes Buckner a favorite soundtrack to coffee Sunday mornings and late night therapy sessions. This complexity is brought to life by a band that's a veritable who’s-who of fundamental players in independent music: Doug Gillard (Guided By Voices, Cobra Verde); Kevin March (GBV, Those Bastard Souls, Dambuilders); JD Foster, and Steven Goulding (Mekons, Gram Parker, Waco Brothers). more ›

30 Rock's Jack McBrayer more ›

Chicagoist got a late night phone call from one of our anonymous sources. They tell us that Jesse Jackson Jr. will announce later today that he is not, in fact, running for mayor of Chicago. more ›

Man, it's a good thing the Bears head off to training camp later this week. Maybe the team can keep better tabs on their players when they're confined to Bourbonnais and curfews are enforced. Perhaps sensing an end to his summer freedom, Bears tight end John Gilmore squeezed in one final arrest-inducing incident this weekend. Gilmore was arrested outside the Leg Room early Saturday, after he and a friend refused to leave the club when... more ›

..big news flash, the CTA is so gritty." more ›

When Chicagoist sees the ever-expanding restaurant options in the South Loop these days, we cannot help but be awestruck. Fans of haute cuisine or Zagat ratings can head to Custom House or Opera; budget-minded diners looking for something above average have Gioco and the Chicago Firehouse; habitues of cheap eats can head to Grace O'Malley's, Taste of Siam, Eleven City Diner, and Hackney's Printer's Row; the truly suicidal can grab a late night bite at the South Loop Club. more ›

Small and smallish theaters routinely provide some of the best entertainment value in the city. Seems like no one understands that better than the side project, who has turned one of Chicago’s most intimate performance spaces, the side studio, into a Rogers Park destination. Opening in 2000 as a 20-seat venue that would expand to 32 seats a year later, the studio has hosted a steady stream of imaginative productions for a mix of friends, friends of friends, and theater nuts who read deep into the performing arts listings. The side project helps perpetuate this city’s reputation for immediate, in-your-face theater. Late night and off-hours, the space hosts spirited, cash-strapped groups, often on the experimental side: this was where the world (and Chicagoist) first saw Sock Puppet Showgirls. more ›

We have a strange relationship with our garden and its little green inhabitants. We love and care for them, nurture them like children. From the first time we look into that seedling tray and see that first hint of life, as the soil is ever so gently displaced as they stretch upward reaching for light, we are mezmerized. Every stage of seedling growth is a small miracle to watch; the first shock of green that breaks through the darkened soil,handle. These events are often displaced as part of the charm of gardening, stories you share with neighbors over the fence as you talk about fertilizer. You forget the bad times once the first tomato is plucked and on its way to the table. The first one to ripen and get picked never actually makes it to the table, it never makes it out of the garden. more ›

Still waiting to hear back about those Conan tickets? Yeah, you and 70,999 other people. But NBC has announced guests for some of the four “Late Night” shows to be taped at the Chicago Theatre May 9-12. On Monday, May 9, Sean Hayes, Glen Ellyn native and Illinois State University alum, will be a guest. “Will and Grace” will air its series finale the next week. Dave Chappelle and Common are scheduled to appear on... more ›

Lately, it has seemed like the Bears players just cannot stay out of trouble with the law. There were so many inciidents that we even suggested a Clue-like game to predict who, where and why a Bears player would next be arrested. Following two incidents by Tank Johnson, Daven Holly was nabbed after shots were fired from his SUV. Now, even guys who haven't officially joined the team are going that extra step to prove... more ›

The Chicago Improv Festival kicks off tonight at the Gallery Cabaret in Bucktown with Schadenfreude’s first Chicago stage performance since…probably last year’s fest. The “Schadenfreude Rent Party” is an evening of all new material from a group that routinely packed the house at past CIFs, their late night revues, and the national college circuit until Chicago Public Radio got a hold of them. Then they were too busy hobnobbing with, and making fun of,... more ›

Good news for Late Night fans: Conan O’Brien will be string dancing his way into town to broadcast his show for the week of May 9-12. The show has visited locations such as Toronto, Los Angeles and, most recently, Finland, but this will be the first Chicago broadcast. And it’s about friggin’ time. more ›

The outdoor music space formerly known as the Tweeter Center (giggle) has changed its name to something even more ridiculous. The Tinley Park “shed” is now known as the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre. You might also think the space has changed ownership, too. What was once clearly marketed as a Clear Channel property is now billed as a Live Nation venue. But a few clickthroughs at the Live Nation website will soon lead you to... more ›