For a simple brunch in Lincoln Square with both sweet and spicy dishes, Cinnamon Café on Lawrence is your best bet. more ›

Ah, the Academy Award "Shorts." Largely ignored in favor of the races focusing on acting accomplishments and what movie had the saddest/more politically controversial/historically momentous ending, the Short Subject categories often offer a hodgepodge of achievements actually more worthy of your time than most of the feature length tripe that hits theaters these days. They're also full of fun trivia: did you know Billy Zabka, a.k.a the fantastic villain Johnny Lawrence from one of our favorite films of all time, was actually nominated for an Academy Award in the Live Action Short category in 2004? And have you ever seen Don Hertzfeldt's excellent 2001 nominated animated short, "Rejected"? Wacky stuff. more ›

If you were wondering what happened to Oprama, you don't have to worry anymore: They're back. Even though Obama will be in St. Louis and Illinois, he's sending Oprah, Caroline Kennedy and his wife, Michelle, to California. That's quite a trifecta of women....watch out, Hillary. In more hilarious news, we learned from our friends at SFist that the sculptor, Daniel Edwards -- the artist best known for making the "Britney giving birth" sculpture -- has sculpted the Oprah Sarcophagus. Ebay, here we come. more ›

We're starting to turn into an obituary blog here, but wow, just wow. Chicago Tribune entertainment columnist Terry Armour died on Friday from an apparent heart attack. Armour, who was only 46 years old, collapsed at the Tribune offices on Friday and was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. more ›

Sad news today: Joseph Zeman, the "pigeon man of Lincoln Square," was killed yesterday when he was struck by a car on the Far North Side. The driver was a 68-year-old who didn't see Zeman as he made a right leaving a parking lot. more ›

Georgette Watson, the 46-year-old principal of Brentano Math and Science Academy in Logan Square, died yesterday while she was having a root canal. According to reports, she was anesthetized, but it's not clear yet if she was under general or local anesthesia. She stopped breathing 40 minutes into the procedure, and despite efforts to revive her, she died. Her autopsy is scheduled for today, but she appears to have had a heart attack. more ›

It wasn't your imagination. There really were extra problems on Lake Shore Drive this morning, with 20 vehicles damaged and 3 people injured. Stupid potholes. Now it's even more convenient for the City to take your money! New robot kiosks now accept payments for your parking tickets, water bills and red-light tickets. An update to this morning's story about the 4-year-old who was shot and killed: her brother has been charged, as a juvenile,... more ›

Out of all of our celebrity chef crushes, Gordan Ramsay doesn't really crack the top three five ten. He just doesn't do it for us. There's something about the incessant swearing and love of horse meat that isn't attractive to Chicagoist. But he does do it for FOX viewers and restaurants that need a makeover on his Kitchen Nightmares show. We learned via Schadenfreude (and apparently there was an ad in the Reader as well)... more ›

In the mood for a beer and debate about the war tonight? Considering some of our comment threads on politics, we thought so. more ›

Last year, perhaps a little earlier, we gave you a quick run-down of where you could buy yourself a turkey and at what cost. We felt that it would be nice of us to do that again for you ... not to mention the fact that we haven't had time to get a turkey for ourselves. So, without further ado, a decidedly skewed to the north side turkey roundup. Dominick's located at 6009 N Broadway... more ›

Chicagoist staffers might have thought was "Lake Hook" road for, oh, years, having only ever heard it and never seen it), the right lane and the shoulder will be closed, and there will be a 45 mph speed limit. Also, IDOT says: more ›

It never ceases to amaze Chicagoist how grown men can so quickly revert to childish behavior when Bears tickets are involved. A few months back, we wrote about the dispute between two DuPage County lawyers who were taking their disagreement over season ticket seat licenses to court as their longtime friendship disintegrated. Even family ties can't keep grown men from taking disputes over permanent seat licenses to court. Lawrence Cohen is suing his nephew Norman... more ›

When we went to school, we didn't have any fancy phones to text on all day, we couldn't have any unexcused absences without threat of Saturday school and our shorts and skirts had to come down to our knees. That's why we were absolutely shocked to read the results of a survey of Chicago Public Schools found that the average freshman missed 19 (!) days in an academic year and had 2.6 F's. F's! Is... more ›

Since our hipster cred went down the drain last night when we saw The Police at Wrigley, we decided to just join the ranks of our parents and give up. The on-sale listings from Ticketmaster confirmed this for us when all we found were shows at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora. Shows that would have excited us about forty years ago, but who's to say grandpa and grandma don't deserve a great night out. The... more ›

Is there enough going on this weekend? We’re here to add to the list of places to go. Sunday is “A Day in the Country” at the Hideout. Get some BBQ, hear some country music, drink some whiskey. Sounds perfect to us. The whole dang thing begins at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday with a couple acoustic sets out front by Tangleweed and The Golden Horse Ranch Band before moving the music inside for the remainder... more ›

With its brightly lit blue and orange round sign serving as a beacon on the congested strip of Lawrence just east of every high school boy’s favorite strip club, the Admiral, Chicago Kalbi is instantly noticeable. Chicagoist has walked past it several times and it’s almost always looked small and crowded, which is why we shied away from it at first. But after experiencing it, we’re sure to return again soon. more ›

We don't like being the bearer of bad news, but when bad news is essentially all you find, one doesn't have much of a choice. Thus, we were saddened and disgusted to read that a woman in Wilmington was found guilty of accepting $10,000 to look the other way as Lawrence Lee Southwood, a 69-year-old convicted sex offender, molested her disabled, wheelchair-bound 14-year-old daughter. She has been sentenced to 65 months in prison for obstruction of justice and concealing a fugitive. Southwood, who has a history of sexual and violent crimes, was sentenced to 104 years for this molestation case. more ›

There are so many cultural institutions in Chicago that it'd be easy to overlook the Alliance Française de Chicago. In addition to being located inside a really cool building, this non-profit cultural exchange organization sponsors everything from language classes to lectures and gourmet food tastings. And movie screenings too. Tomorrow as part of their Ciné-club they'll be showing Playtime, Jacques Tati's 1967 classic. more ›

It's the first Friday of the month which means The Dollar Store Show, a series of readings and performances based on purchases for a buck, returns to the Hideout. This month's readers include writers James Kennedy and Jonathan Messinger as well as theater performers Sarah Haskins and Diana Slickman. Hideout, Friday, 7 p.m. $1 We can't decide which under-appreciated literary group to support on Saturday so we'll list two and hopefully hop between them. First,... more ›

It’s not the happy hour at the Hideout this time for the Siderunners, it’s a video premiere. Myke Adams, a local artist originally from New Orleans, directed and edited the video for “Sabbath Country Sabbath” off the Siderunners’ stripped down, live, acoustic album of the same name and, also, is the man behind the album art at the right. Monica Kendrick of the Chicago Reader had this to say way back when the album was... more ›

This past weekend reinforced why we live in Chicago. Everything may still be brown and muddy, but the fact remains that the blue skies and warm sun reminded us why this city rules. Here are two more reasons why Chicago is awesome, just in case this weekend wasn’t enough for you. more ›

Chicagoist's experience mixing socially-defined inappropriateness and school was, like many people's, limited. About the only instance we can think of where sex, violence and/or swearing was sanctioned by authority figures was when we got to watch "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" in European History. The saying of "shit" in the classroom was met with many giggles. And there was much rejoicing. Some fourth- and fifth-graders out in Minooka, IL, have us beat by a... more ›

With a sense of what’s truly important, Kirk got Split Lip Rayfield back together for a last run of shows to take up what were to only be a few short more months of life. Kirk, the band, and fans all filled this final tour with the joyous abandon that music can all be about when it’s done right. more ›

If you're looking for a quick way to score an easy 20% on the AlderTrack Challenge, here's your crib sheet. Yesterday we told you about five of the ten aldermen who, through luck, the will of the community, or (more likely) legal wrangling, have the political good fortune of running unopposed. Today, let's take a look at the rest of the bunch. Much has been written about how Alderman Mary Ann Smith skillfully removed her... more ›

It's coming. A fish virus so deadly to our aquatic friends that it could have a serious impact on the $4.5 billion commercial and recreational industry in Lake Michigan. The disease is call Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) and luckily poses no risk to humans. The virus has seeped into northern Lake Huron, just 20 miles north of where it merges with Lake Michigan. Based on the articles we are reading, this could be seriously bad... more ›

Chicagoist knows good reality TV when we see it, and this past "Survivor" was the best season since Boston Rob and Ambah fell in love and won the All-Stars (they’ll be back for another go in the Amazing Race All-Stars in March). We do think Ozzy should have won the million, even if he did look a lot like Joey Lawrence on the reunion show. more ›

We were pleased to see that so many of you liked the piece we did last week on the “tree cozies” in Lakeview (and, as we later learned, Logan Square). Rather than just admire the fine works of seasoned knitters, why not get out there and learn how to do it yourself? As part of the city's Winter Delights programming, a Stitching Salon (held at 72 E. Randolph) will offer weekly knitting workshops on Wednesdays... more ›

Chicago has been recently been celebrated for its achievements in haute cuisine. And while we love discussing the merits of molecular gastronomy vs. locally and organically grown, we know that eating out night after night isn't realistic for most Chicagoans. It certainly isn't realistic for us. more ›

On Wednesday it was discovered that an Orland Park firefighter was arrested for felony theft for falsely claiming he was fighting for the military in Iraq. Lawrence Masa was actually working for a private security firm in Iraq and was being paid quite well. During this time Masa made approximately $190,000 as a firefighter and $200,000 as a private security worker. Yesterday, Steven Slawinski, a Lemont Firefighter, was accused of the same crime. Slawinski, a... more ›

Whew! We made it through all the familial obligations of the holiday season. It’s a dead week at work and that means we need some stuff to do at night. This week offers a lot of possibilities for getting together for a pint or two before we even hit New Year’s Eve. If the Christmas hangover is gone, head over to the Hideout tonight for a Boxing Day Show with Kelly Hogan and Scott Ligon.... more ›