Earlier in the week, we brought you our favorite signs of the National Restaurant Association show. Taken out of context, they provide endless comedy gold, but they don't represent the true artistic potential of the NRA. That honor falls to the fake food. Now, we should be clear: we're not talking about "fake food" in the enviro-local-nutritional sense. While there was plenty of fried/preserved/artificial junk food being hocked at NRA, when we say "fake," we mean plastic. It makes sense that a restaurant show would need to display food, and most of it was real and ready to be sampled. But a fair amount of food at the NRA was sculpted, and some was better than others. In fact, we almost broke our teeth on a couple pieces that weren't glued down. Would you have known better? Check out the gallery. more ›

Trade shows always seem strange to an outsider - and the National Restaurant Association show, held in Chicago over the past weekend, was no exception. Most of these signs made some sense in context (though, the "vibrate your fat away" signs might not have) but for a member of the public, it looked like someone had gone mildly crazy. Our full impressions of the NRA show, including dining trends for the next year and a discussion of the new field of electronic menus and ordering systems, will be coming soon. But for now, enjoy the silly signs. more ›

We've always been amazed at the number of chefs with food-themed tattoos, and the sheer amount of awesomeness contained in those tattoos. Apparently, others have noticed too. The National Restaurant Association, as part of the run-up to its upcoming show at McCormick Place in May, is collecting "Kitchen Ink" - the best chef's tattoos. We present a selection of them for your viewing pleasure. Many of these are from Chicago chefs. NRA is still looking for contributions, so if any chefs are reading this, send in your tats now! Or, if you have an interesting food tattoo, send a picture to us and we might feature it in an upcoming gallery! more ›

McCormick Place will remain home to the National Restaurant Association's annual trade show, under a new agreement signed between the Association and the McPier Authority today. Changes made by Governor Quinn to reduce expenses to convention holders were sufficient enough for the NRA to keep its convention in Chicago through 2016. more ›

• Haven't checked in on Grub Street Chicago since Nick Kindelsperger took over as editor. Looks like the site has finally lost that new guy smell. [GS Chi]
• Chicago Magazine lists their best new restaurants of last year. [Chicago Mag]
• Sun-Times food editor Janet Rausa Fuller followed food truck advocate Matt Maroni around the National Restaurant Association trade show. Must-read. [Sun-Times]

Every year, the National Restaurant Association releases its top 20 trends in the restaurant industry on the eve of its annual trade show (closing its run today at McCormick Place). And yet we've stopped being surprised at the disconnect between the report — with its focus on local, sustainable and nutritious foodstuffs — and the realities on the show floor with its emphasis on pre-packaged, processed food, factory farms and heavy duty refrigeration. more ›

Bad news often begets more bad news and the last thing we need to hear is the possibility of another convention contemplating pulling up stakes to move to another city. Hot on the heels of the plastics convention moving to Orlando comes word that the National Restaurant Association may be looking at hosting its 2012 convention in another city. The NRA is already committed to having its spring show at McCormick Place in 2010 and 2011, but the old refrain that cost is an issue may force the NRA to look elsewhere. more ›

This past weekend, Chicagoist visited the trade show of the National Restaurant Association and its sister convention, the International Wine, Beer and Spirits Event. Despite the downturn in the economy, the convention was still hopping, filled with new products, new packaging, extravagant pavilions and thousands of companies hoping to sell the “next big thing” in food service. You’ll be seeing products and companies that we met up with at NRA featured over the next several months but for now, here are a few notes from a first-time attendee. more ›

The annual National Restaurant Association trade show, beginning tomorrow at McCormick Place, serves two primary purposes. It's a showcase for new products tailored for the restaurant and food service industries. From point-of-sale systems and cookware to beverage dispensers and entertainment systems, NRA Show 2009 is one of the best places to find customers for the latest hot thing. more ›

After a full day in trade show hell, we needed a beer to the point that we might have accepted a Budweiser if it was presented to us. Lucky for us we moseyed past the Food and Wine of Australia booth before it came to that. more ›

Mayor Daley, along with the mayors of Honolulu and Miami and travel and hospitality industry leaders, met with Republican presidential hopeful John McCain yesterday to discuss expanding the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which lets nationals of participating countries enter the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa. "As the travel process becomes more difficult, America's economy and image suffers," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association, who joined the mayors in a roundtable discussion with McCain. "We have lost 250,000 jobs. A lot of that is due to we are now regarded as an unfriendly place to visit," Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said. more ›

Even with less people dining out these days, the National Restaurant Association is projecting a 4.4 percent increase in sales for the restaurant industry this year, to an estimated $558 billion. more ›

Another innovation previewed at the National Restaurant Association's trade show this past weekend was Sara Lee's new coffee and dessert pairing tool. The pairing tool, which Sara Lee unveiled two weeks ago, is a response to the increasing diversity of coffee options in restaurants these days. It also takes the guesswork out of finding the right dessert to go with your decaf. more ›

The National Restaurant Association trade show (we'll just call them the "good NRA") is still in full swing through tomorrow at McCormick Place. We went this weekend, took in some of the exhibits, marveled still at the sheer enormity of McCormick Place, and got enough Cholula samples to last us through the summer, or at least the next bloody mary, and our clothes reek of fried food. more ›

The big event happening this weekend is the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show at McCormick Place. The event features over 2,000 exhibitors in nearly 900 product categories showcasing the latest kitchen innovations and technology, sustainability concepts, and fine cuisine. Highlights of the show this year include a celebrity bookstore (a new feature where celebrity chefs and restaurateurs will be in attendance signing books) a food fair featuring regional specialty foods from across the country,... more ›

More than 1000 chefs were surveyed about industry trends for the coming years by the National Restaurant Association, and the results announced yesterday provide a glimpse of what diners in both Chicago and nationwide can expect to see on their plates. more ›

As if fighting terrorism wasn’t tough enough, it looks like America’s war on trans fat has reached its breaking point. But not to worry, Chicago aldermen have devised some strategies for success that will enable us to win this war — and they don’t even involve talks with Iran. In the wake of New York City’s blanket ban on the use of cooking oils with trans fats in all restaurants, Chicago may very well be heading in the same direction. Ald. Ed Burke posed a watered-down ban on trans fats earlier this year that would apply only to restaurant chains with $20 million in annual gross sales. NYC’s comprehensive ban has brought the issue back to the forefront as the Chicago City Council’s licensing committee is currently reviewing Burke’s ban. more ›

Our friends at Crain's are reporting that tomorrow the National Restaurant Association will announce its intent to keep its ginormous show right here in Chicago, the city the show has called home for more than 50 years. more ›

Although President Bush has only a 35 percent approval rating in the U.S., the restaurant industry seems to have a much higher opinion. In the course of his one-hour speech at the National Restaurant Association Show at McCormick Place, Bush received several enthusiastic cheers and standing ovations. Chicagoist has attended the Restaurant Show for several years. The event draws some big-name speakers (Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell, Ted Koppel), but no speaker has been as high-profile... more ›

So Chicagoist was enjoying this peaceful Saturday afternoon reading the paper and eating Chinese food when this absolute scrub of a kid struts into the restaurant like he owns the joint yapping into his cell phone with a total disregard for the people around him. After a few too many "damn, bro's" we walked to him and politely mentioned that we weren't really interested in the killer game of pickup ball he played, the wack-ass dj at the club the night before, the dvd player he installed in his Honda Civic, or his baby mama drama. We got the stink-eye, sure, but he did take the conversation outside where he added "kicking (our) ass" to his list of talking points. more ›