Eataly scopes out Chicago locations, Urban Union launches a new brunch menu, and other news. more ›

If Mario Batali can commit to Meatless Monday, it’s quite possible anyone can. Recently the meat-intensive celebrity chef announced that all 14 of his restaurants will offer Meatless Monday options. Way to go Mario! And why wouldn’t he go meat-free? Sure, a gooey salty pepperoni pizza will always hold a place in our hearts, but vegetarian food is diverse, healthier, and freakin’ delicious. more ›

What a difference a week makes. And a lot of salt, pepper, sugar and thyme. The pork jowl has been cured (compare the shot above to how it looked before curing last week) and looks like it's well on its way to becoming rich, savory bacon. more ›

Our love of bacon has come to its logical endgame: we're making our own. more ›

Last week we were pondering what we would be cooking up for our next post when we came across this article and figured if Mario Batali recommended it then we should give it a shot too. We were intrigued by the eight hour, mainly hands-off, roasting method and thought we could probably handle it. We did not, however, follow Batali's recipe. Instead we paged through our cookbooks and perused a number of online recipe sites before coming up with our own combination of ingredients for a flavorful and truly tender piece of pork butt. We think it turned out pretty well. Our guests, many of whom have been the guinea pigs for many other Chicagoist meals, said that this might have been our best offering so far. Of course, they could have been flattering us while demurely dropping the meat into a napkin on their laps ... but we don't think so. more ›

Quick, name the top five chefs in Chicago. Now name the five most famous chefs in the country. While the cuisines may vary from Grant Achatz's "molecular gastronomy" to Mario Batali's classic Italian, the one thing that most — or all — of these chefs have in common is the pale, pale, color of their skin. As Maureen Jenkins writes in today's Sun-Times, "the shortage of chefs of African descent is noteworthy if only by... more ›

There is no reason to beat around the bush: Ilan kicked the foie gras out of Marcel in last night's "Top Chef" finale. Ilan, who works in Mario Batali's Spanish outpost Casa Mono had help from former contenders Elia and Betty, while Marcel, who works with Joel Robuchon at the Mansion in Las Vegas, worked with Sam and Mikey (the "manimal"). more ›

As a general rule, we try not to eat out at Italian restaurants. It isn't that we don't like Italian food, because we do. The prohibition comes more from a belief that most Italian food served in restaurants can be easily created at home. And who wants to pay $12 for a bowl of pasta and sauce that we could make in our own kitchen? more ›

Fans of Food Network's "Iron Chef America" can expect to taste a decidedly Chicagoan flavor when the new season premieres next month. Two episodes to tivo or tape: Tru impressarios Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand (with executive sous chef Stuart Davis) against Mario Batali; and Homaru Cantu's "Team moto" faces of against Chef Morimoto. more ›