Here are some suggestions for a non-carnivorous Fat Tuesday, plus a recipe for Bourbon Street Red Beans and Rice from the Vegan 101 cookbook. more ›

25 years ago today the second-greatest football game ever associated with the city of New Orleans took place. We're describing, of course, Super Bowl XX. In a way, Green Bay and the New York Jets may have done Chicago a favor. If you thought the hype machine was in overdrive for Bears-Packers III, imagine what could have been in store if the Bears and New England Patriots faced off in Dallas last week on the silver anniversary of the '85 Bears' coronation. We may have witnessed the discovery of new superlatives. more ›

Former President George W. Bush has a book coming out! Yippee! Now we get to find out what he was really thinking during the years he drove the U.S. into the ground headed our nation. Awesome. While we expect there's going to be plenty of nuggets for us to pick through once the book actually comes out and the interview cycle is in full swing, a tasty morsel has already fallen due to an upcoming interview between the ex-president and the Today Show's Matt Lauer around Kanye West's famous accusation that ”George Bush doesn't care about black people." more ›

This Wednesday night Symphony Center will host the world premiere of the silent film Louis, a collaboration by Chicago native David Pritzker and Academy Award-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), with music performed live by Wynton Marsalis and his band. more ›

We talk with famed writer Barry Gifford about the "Sailor & Lula" novels, David Lynch, and much more. more ›

Despite having one of the world’s most unique local cultures, New Orleans has always been plagued by a simplified cartoon image. Bourbon Street is no more indicative to the broader city than Rush Street is to Chicago. Hopefully, HBO is getting ready to give the world a good look at a more realistic post-Katrina New Orleans with the debut of the new show Treme next Sunday. The new series from the creators of “The Wire” follows a cast of characters trying to rebuild one of the city’s oldest black neighborhoods and promises a heavy dose of Crescent City culture---especially the lives of musicians playing traditional second line New Orleans brass. more ›

Now this is a Running of the Bulls we can get behind. Or in front. Whatever. more ›

A mayor that takes vacations funded by private companies that do business with his city; that feuds with a city council over budget issues; that butts heads with local media over transparency issues. Sounds familiar, right? While many cities experience the same plight we do in Chicago, perhaps none is as unique as New Orleans. And never has there been a better opportunity for a change in regime as there is right now in the Big Easy as controversial and embattled mayor Ray Nagin is on his way out thanks to the city's term limits. If the race for mayor of New Orleans in 2010 is anything like 2006, it's going to be a crowded field; 2006 saw a primary with over 20 candidates listed on the ballot. Now, one outsider candidate, James Perry, is taking his campaign on the road to seek nation-wide support in his bid to help bring New Orleans back and it's brought him to Chicago. more ›

OK Go is hitting the road to preview songs from their new album, due this summer. Sadly they are only visiting the coasts and have obviously forgotten the city that gave them their start, allowed them to plaster their posters on ever available surface in Wicker Park, and attended their sweatbox Empty Bottle shows during the band's (relative) adolescence. Hmpf! more ›

While it might not be Chicago-related, Hurricane Gustav is the national story on this Labor Day, so we're following it. We also have a Friend of Chicagoist stationed in the heart of Uptown New Orleans (near the intersection of Carandolet & Constantinople) who's been keeping me up-to-date on conditions in the city, much like he did for me during Katrina. As of 8:30 a.m., he still had power and no damage and saw no water in the streets, but there's still a long way to go, even as the storm was downgraded to a Category 2. One more favorable aspect of the storm: he's still moving quickly. more ›

Amanda Boyden knows a thing or two about gritty. Her first novel, the excellent Pretty Little Dirty, explores two midwestern girls' delving into the punk scene of the early 1980's. After a childhood that saw her raised in Minnesota, and the Chicago and St. Louis areas, Amanda settled in the swampy revelry of New Orleans where she attended the Creative Writing program at the University of New Orleans and has been there ever since. [Full disclosure: Amanda and her husband, Torontoist-approved writer Joseph Boyden, were colleagues of mine at the University of New Orleans.] more ›

Earlier today (er, tonight?), Barack Obama spoke before a cheering crowd at the Victory Column in Berlin. It was the latest stop for the Democratic Presidential candidate on his O-Force One Tour of Europe. During the speech, he stressed the importance of strengthening withering ties between Europe and the United States:

Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more - not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity. more ›

Here are some things to do this evening to consider bringing your voter receipt. more ›

The NBA finalized the All-Star game rosters, announcing the reserves on Thursday. It should come as no surprise that the Bulls will not represented. Again. more ›

Freakonomics author and University of Chicago Economics Professor Steven Levitt and sociology professor Sudhir Venkatesh presented a draft of their paper, “An Empirical Analysis of Street-Level Prostitution” last week at an economics conference in New Orleans. The paper examines the business of sex work on the streets of Chicago, a draft of which is available on the Web with the disclaimer “extremely preliminary and incomplete.” more ›

There are precious few days left for your last-minute holiday shopping. If you're out to get a jump on the crowds, consider catching an early breakfast and shopping through the lunch rush by hitting one of these Near West Side joints. more ›

Lonely phone calls, dying and dead relatives, a literary classic, and a reexamination of the Middle Eastern conflict took the prizes at the 2007 Third Coast International Audio Festival competition. The jury turned much of their lives over to their headphones, listening to 225 entries in search of the best English-language radio docs. Winners received a trophy/sonic instrument, a national platform for their work, and some cash to help support their future work. more ›

The Rev. Jeffrey Lee, a moderate in the eyes of religious leaders, was elected as the 12th Bishop of Chicago at the diocese convention in Wheeling on Saturday. Lee was selected over seven other candidates, one of whom is an openly lesbian priest, the Very Rev. Tracey Lind. Theological conservatives are condemning the vote and Lee, saying it doesn’t demonstrate enough restraint in maintaining the traditional view that the scripture condemns homosexuality. And some are... more ›

First person to name the song those lyrics in the headline came from gets a no-prize. Own some of Billy Corgan. Really. It's not a good idea to e-mail a Playboy playmate via Myspace, especially when said playmate is dating the Bears' Adam Archuleta, you're from Aurora, and type in bold threatening capital letters. Some Wisconsinites have a unique take on the designated driver. What did you do on your summer vacation? (via) Give... more ›

"'Cause it's Friday, you ain't got no job ... and you ain't got shit to do." Well, you can go check out the New Orleans Social Club at Millennium Park. If you aren't, here's some stuff in the news. Buckingham Fountain is slated to undergo a complete overhaul in autumn 2008. Near West Side businesses get $1.5 million in TIF money intended for keeping manufacturing jobs in the area. Does Manny Flores have the... more ›

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness - we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts... more ›

As music writers, we get the opportunity to hear a lot of stuff that flies under the radar for the average fan. There’s a little sense of pride in having a friend stop cold in the middle of a sentence, point to our car stereo, and ask “Who is this? This is really cool!” Never have we had that happen more often than when playing Jim Bianco’s 2004 release, Handsome Devil. Recorded with a 19-piece big band, including members of the LA Philharmonic Orchestra, it’s a brainy, wildly creepy concept album about the disturbing power of the male libido. Weird, right? But it works, and if Elvis Costello and Serge Gainsbourg had a “what-happens-in-Vegas-stays-in-Vegas” kind of weekend with Tom Waits, Handsome Devil would undoubtedly be the soundtrack. It’s full of boozy, New Orleans-jazz tinged ballads and rollicking ragtime pop numbers, each one dripping with a come-hither sarcasm that makes you feel like Bianco’s got a few riverboat gambler’s tricks up his sleeve. more ›

When you think of cities you might like to get out of, which ones come to mind? New Orleans, still suffering from hurricane damage? Sure. Detroit, where the floundering auto industry is creating unrest? Of course. But Chicago? We know the CTA has some huge issues, that the job market isn’t the greatest, and that our sweltering summers and frigid winters can create feelings of ill will, but surely it’s a worthwhile place to reside,... 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 ›

As with the previous two playoff games, Mayor Daley will make a food-related wager with his counterpart in Indianapolis on the upcoming Super Bowl that'll see our Bears and their Colts face off in Miami. Chicago, with our great gastronomic traditions, always offers up a smorgasbord of culinary delights — deep dish pizza, Eli's cheesecake, Vienna hot dogs, Ann Sather cinnamon rolls, Italian beef, Mexican foods, etc. But typically Chicago gets the short end of... more ›

The news was light on Stupid this week, at least the kind we usually write about, but Bears news provided enough silliness to fill three newspapers so we decided to make this a special Super Bowl XLI edition of TWIS. After Sunday's win over the Saints, three men jumped into Lake Michigan near Soldier Field on purpose and had to be rescued. One of the men was described as "combative," which as we learned from... more ›

Da Bears are going to Miami! Da Bears are in the Super Bowl! While nearly all the football experts -- yours truly included -- thought the Saints would outlast the Bears in Sunday's NFC title game, they proved to be better than most imagined. Not only did the Bears win the game, but they made a damn convincing statement with their 39-14 victory. The Bears jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the 2nd quarter,... more ›

We wonder whether Bill Swerski's head exploded trying to ponder the winner of this Sunday's NFC title game, pitting the Chicago Bears against the New Orleans Saints — both teams formerly coached by Da Coach Known as Ditka. Would the final be 642-637? Would it be 1-0? Or did Ditka bestow some special greatness on Da Bears, that will allow them to pound the Saints 710-3? In reality, most of the media seems to be... more ›

Chicagoist didn't expect the spanking the Bears administered to to the Seahawks the last time they met. In fact, the game wasn't decided until overtime, where the Bears won 27-24 on a Robbie Gould 49-yard field goal. The game was pretty much the nail biter we expected. Our 24-21 prediction was pretty damn close, and we were correct that Grossman's play (76.9 QB rating ) wouldn't neatly fall into either the good or bad category... more ›

We’re sick of hearing about good people getting killed by hit and run drivers. Dan Parry was familiar to many as a cracking mod and soul DJ who tried to get everyone into the party. We didn’t realize that behind the scenes he was also traveling down to New Orleans post-Katrina to help people out, or that he had been an EMT, or that he was hoping to become a firefighter. Learning all those things,... more ›