The single, unthinkable thing that could salve our wounds from McGee's departure from The Whistler has actually happened - a brand new tiki bar in Chicago. more ›

Chicagoist reached out to RJ Melman for comment. Melman would only say that he and his brother are excited to work with him. "He is super talented, and we think we have a very exciting concept that we are going to do together." The Whistler, likewise, was sad but excited to see McGee leave. more ›

The firing is a loss for Chicago bread lovers, and may signal a rocky future for the River North gourmet store. more ›

Chicago wine lovers shed a few tears this morning as Lettuce Entertain You Wine and Sprits Director Alpana Singh announced her departure from the company. more ›

Wow Bao's new truck launches tomorrow. more ›

Downtown worker bees and residents, rejoice! Your quick, inexpensive food options are about to multiply. We heard about Foodease (ok, the name isn't great) back in July, when the story broke that Lettuce Entertain You was planning a new retail/quickservice venture in Water Tower Place. Foodlife, their current upscale riff on the mall food court, is staying but the Foodlife Market, off to the side, will be closing to make way for the new 5000 square-foot Foodease. We got a pre-opening construction tour on Friday, and here are the highlights. more ›

First, Lettuce Entertain You scions RJ and Jerrod Melman open Hub51, an inoffensive-if-not-great River North bar/restaurant. Then, they gut Brasserie Jo to open Paris Club, another inoffensive-if-not-great River North restaurant. Will the third time be the charm? more ›

- Yet another long-time Lettuce Entertain You property is being shuttered, only to be taken over by the Melman sons. The Tribune reported yesterday that there are absolutely no details available about the new space, other than the ownership. If you love Ben Pao, go soon, as it closes September 10th. We'll bet that the new place will have something on tap that doesn't need to be on tap (wine? cocktails? who knows!) and probably an un-necessarily huge, eclectic menu - but nevertheless, will be a hit. more ›

It's time our Gluten-Free readers got some love from the world of fine dining! Mity Nice, which has undergone a fairly massive renovation and no longer feels like a food court dining room, is hosting a wine dinner curated by Alpana Singh, master sommelier and Director of beverages and spirits for Lettuce Entertain You. On April 12, Mity Nice will serve a four course meal, with wine pairings, all of which will be gluten free. The cost is $55, and the menu is below. more ›

M Burger, in the former chef's table seating area of Tru, has been doing good business in the near month its been open to the public. The combination of its catchy name, "secret" menu and location have drawn comparisons to that Holy Grail of burger chains, In 'N Out. More than one person has made that comparison to us when discussing burgers. No less an authority than Michael Nagrant declared in a recent NewCity column that M Burger served "probably the best fast food burger in the city." 'Course, that's like saying the Cubs are in contention on Opening Day. more ›

New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni reviews L2O in today's edition of the Paper of Record. The true meat of the review lies not in Bruni's take on the food — he says Laurent Gras has "deftly filtered many worthy influences" — but in forecasting its long-term health. L2O has not been packing them in of late, and Bruni notes that gras' partner Rich melman of Lettuce Entertain You holds "plenty of moderately priced, unglamorous restaurants to support such divas as Tru and Everest." And L2O. more ›

I'll be the first to admit that we give a lot of server space here to Laurent Gras and L2O. His Lincoln Park restaurant has — in less than a year — earned a reputation as one of the best in the city, become one of the crown jewels of the Lettuce Entertain You empire, and his blog detailing the creation process behind his menu items has long been one of the first we check on our RSS feeds If you haven't been L2O and have the means to eat there, it's worth the price. more ›

After a visit to Café Ba Ba Reeba and a taste of their excellent Gambas al Ajillo (spicy garlic shrimp), we decided we had to replicate it at home. After some experimentation and advice from friends, we came up with this adaptation. The recipe calls for a pound of shrimp, which will serve two as a main course or four as an appetizer. Be sure to have some bread on hand to sop up the garlic-flavored oil. Watch out – everyone will want to steal your recipe! more ›

During our visit to VTK we tried a few different cocktails, but the one that caught our eye (and our taste buds) was called the 10 Mangoes. It’s the most expensive cocktail on their list, at $9.50, but it was also the most distinctive. It’s made with mango puree and a homemade vanilla-lime syrup. It’s a little complicated to make at home, but worth the effort. Before you start thinking that it’s just a fruity drink, give it a try – it’s got a serious kick. One of the things we like best about the 10 Mangoes is that the mango and syrup don’t mask the taste of the rum. Below, find the official recipe, as well as some tips for making it at home! more ›

We first visited Vong’s Thai Kitchen almost four years ago, after seeing its dessert selection featured on an episode of "Top Five" on the Food Network. An oasis of good taste and value in a section of River North dominated by large chains like P.F. Chang’s, VTK was created by Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten in 2002. Vong’s Thai Kitchen is labeled as French/Thai fusion, but it leans heavily towards the Thai, offering faithful renditions of traditional specialties in a trendy downtown atmosphere. more ›

After catching a movie at River East, we stopped in at Hub 51, the newest member of the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant empire. Run by R.J. and Jerrod Melman, sons of LEYE kingpin Rich Melman, Hub 51 opened in July and was described by our server as dishing out “American fusion” fare. If you’re curious to know what that means, you’re in good company – we’re not sure the owners know, either. more ›

Just in case you ever wanted to sleep again, allow us to prevent that with this one phrase: "passed a 9-foot tapeworm." Ah! See you in my nightmares, tapeworm! more ›

• Leading off today is this hiring video put together for Lettuce Entertain You property Hub 51 Restaurant and Lounge, an exaggerated parody of Tom Vu infomercials. (via)
• Fresh off his appearance on last night's episode of Top Chef Chicago, Rick Tramonto has a blog over at Restaurant & Institutions magazine website. There are only two posts right now, but Tramonto's an in-demand chef and businessman, so only expect him to update when he has the time and/or something to write about. (Again, via).
• The Tribune ran a wonderful piece yesterday on how some of Our Town's best chefs would reinvent that all-American staple, the hot dog. Check out Shawn McClain's tofu version with kimchi and sport peppers, Rick Bayless' Chi-Mex hot dog, or Charlie Trotter's Asian tuna dog.

New York magazine got their hands on a copy of this year's James Beard award ballots (check it out for yourself here) and as usual, our city's restaurants are well-represented. more ›

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The Chicago City Council held off on voting on a controversial ban on urban chickens yesterday. Since urban chickens are all the rage, it seems like a perfect time to ban them, right? Southwest Side Alderman Lona Lane (18th), who proposed the ban, said she didn't know why the vote on the ban was held up. Maybe it is, as the Sun-TImes suggests, because Mayor Daley has a thing for urban poultry: "Let's be realistic,"... more ›

Parking rates at many downtown garages and lots have gone up in the last year, keeping pace with increasing demand for office space and nudged by residential development and price increases. We thought you could drop out after 16 if you wanted ... A state law that went into effect July 1 will revoke the licenses of students who have more than 18 unexcused absences from school, are expelled or drop out. It's part... more ›

If you're one of the lucky ones to secure reservations to Ambria this evening, congratulations. The legendary Lincoln Park restaurant closes this evening 27 years of operation. But you probably knew that. Diners lucky to score reservations this evening will be treated to a $150, eight-course dinner including duck pate. Duck pate, eh? Makes one wonder if the pate might be made of a certain delicacy banned in the city. Ambria founding chef Gabriel Sotelino... more ›

The James L. Beard Award nominees were announced yesterday and as in years past, Chicago represented. And the Chicago-based nominees are: Outstanding Restaurateur: Richard Melman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Outstanding Chef: Jean Joho, Everest and Paul Kahan, Blackbird Outstanding Restaurant: Frontera Grill and Spiaggia Rising Star Chef of the Year: Graham Elliot Bowles, Avenues Outstanding Pastry Chef: Mindy Segal, HotChocolate Outstanding Service: Tru Outstanding Wine Service: Bin 36, Wine Director Brian Duncan Best Chef, Great... more ›

Color us not too shocked. Monday night's James Beard Awards were handed out in New York City, and Chicago's Shawn McClain took home the Best Chef: Midwest prize, beating out Naha's Carrie Nahabedian for the coveted award. McClain won for his work at Spring. Other Chicagoans weren't so lucky. Poor Grant: Danny Meyer over at NYC's The Modern beat him out for Best New Restaurant and Thomas Keller's famed French Laundry whupped both Jean Joho's... 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 ›

It's that time of year again: the James Beard Foundation's nominees have been announced and, not surprisingly, Chicago represents. And it represents well. The James Beard is the most coveted prize for culinary professionals, and for those who are both nominated and those who eventually go home with the prize come May, this achievement will follow them for the rest of their dying days. For those not of All-Things-Food, being nominated for a James Beard... more ›

Even though Corner Bakery has 92 stores in 8 states, it still holds a special place in Chicagoist's heart..we think of it as "home town" bc it was founded in '91 by Lettuce Entertain You. But now our hometown chain bakery has been sold to Il Fornaio in New York and some other invester types. . . which, we guess we're ok with since in '95 it was taken out of Chicago when it was... more ›

If it seems that Chicagoist has been writing a lot lately about wine there's a reason besides we'e drinking a lot of it. Governor Blago has declared September as the first Illinois Wine Month. The number of wineries in the state has grown in the past eight years from twelve to sixty, producing an estimated 500,000 gallons a year. Grape acreage especially has expanded from 140 acres to over 1,000 acres in that same... more ›

Yesterday the nominees for the biggest prize awarded to select members of the culinary world were announced and, not surprisingly, Chicago is well represented. more ›