Are you crazy about corned beef? Hankerin' for some challah? Why go all the way to New York for a bite of the Big Apple when Bergstein's NY Deli Truck can bring it to you? Sure, there are several excellent New York style delis here in the Windy City. This one, however, rolls on four wheels and makes its rounds of the downtown. With a traditional menu and taste to match, you'll feel like you are on the streets of old Manhattan in no time. more ›

Diner En Blanc, the Parisian pop-up dinner event, is coming to Chicago. Diner En Blanc, which is French for "dinner in white," started in 1988 in Paris, when founder François Pasquier wanted to meet his friends for a party in a public space. He asked them to dress all in white, so they would be able to recognize each other. The party, which in Paris has grown to include over 10,000 participants who bring tables, full sets of china and other accoutrements, is now coming to Chicago for the first time on August 27th - and you can be a part of it. more ›

The Scott Lee Cohen for Governor rumors just won't go away. This week we learned that Cohen has informed House Speaker and Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan that that he will indeed run as an independent. Could this happen in any other state? Cohen’s self-financed $2 million Lt. Governor campaign revolved around commercials highlighting job fairs that the candidate had run. It will be interesting to see if his gubernatorial candidacy can keep the focus on similarly positive issues. more ›

The fight to close the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal has added Indiana and New York to its numbers. Last week, Indiana attorney general Greg Zoeller announced plans to file a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court to hitch onto Michigan's request to re-open a 1966 case in an effort to close the canal and prevent the spread of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes. Indiana was not part of that original case. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced his state will also join the cause. more ›

Stoop Stories is a nice play. There’s nothing wrong with the Goodman's new show but at the same time, we didn’t find anything that wowed us. Writer and performer Dael Orlandersmith takes the audience on a trip around New York City through they eyes of everyone from a teen heroin addict to a Polish immigrant, all characterized by her. At one moment, our narrator walks from Spanish Harlem to the East Village. In New York lingo, that’s over 100 blocks and for us Chicagoans, really really far. However, it seems a bit odd that a play so dependent on the sites and sounds of the Big Apple would come to Chicago. Orlandersmith is a talented performer and weaves in and out of each character with ease, and while she’s a well-known artist, we’re not sure if her celebrity can drive this show. We enjoyed watching her tell us the stories of Harlem, and we especially liked the poems that punctuated the narrative. However, we just weren’t blown away. more ›

This is part of Chicagoist's coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival. more ›

As Duke Ellington might have said, Arthur Russell was a musician and composer "beyond category." In his short life (he died of complications from AIDS at the age of 40) he composed and recorded music that could be classified as folk, disco, ambient, classical, pop and even country. He was born in Iowa and followed in his mother's footsteps by taking up the cello as a child. Later he moved to San Francisco (befriending Allan Ginsberg) and then eventually New York City, where he became a catalyst in the art scene of the 70's as musical director of The Kitchen. Ginsberg, who lived in the same apartment building as Arthur for many years, described his music as "Buddhist bubblegum," and it's that sly tension between childlike joy and a more cerebral experimentation that has posthumously made him a favorite of David Byrne, Jens Lekman and Pitchfork. more ›

Single tickets for the 44th Chicago International Film Festival, which runs October 16-29, are now on sale. You can buy them online, by phone (312-332-FILM), or in person at several venues around town. And of course the entire festival schedule is online. Your best value is still one of the festival passes; and there are so many great movies to see this year it'd be shame to limit yourself to only one or two. We plan on gorging ourselves. Check back next week when we'll start posting reviews, including our take on Charlie Kaufman's long-awaited Synedoche, New York (we saw it last night and we're still haunted by it). more ›

The Life of Reilly, an adaptation of the late Charles Nelson Reilly’s one-man stage show, is finally screening in Chicago. After making the rounds on the film festival circuit, a limited theatrical release run began last November, hitting Austin, New York City and Washington D.C., and eliciting very positive reviews along the way. Directors Barry Poltermann and Frank Anderson championed the idea for the movie, convinced Reilly to perform his retired stage act a final time, and edited their footage of the three-hour show down to an 87 minute film. more ›

, Chicago has long been home to one of Steve Earle's strongest fan bases. He's such a gifted songwriter that fans often overlook the fact that he's essentially made the same record since 1996, right down to the obligatory duet with a female singer, "state of my life" liner notes and beautiful artwork by his good friend, the local artist and noted unemployed film-goer Tony Fitzpatrick. more ›

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The Arthur Heurtley house -- just down the street from Wright's own home and studio in suburban Oak Park -- certainly fit the bill when it on the market last year, but the $2.5 million sale price was a slightly out of our budget, even if it was a relative bargain compared to the initial $5.75 million listing price. more ›

We’ve read (and cried through) her diary and now we get a glimpse into her family photo album. “Anne Frank: A Photo Album” is on display at Ela Area Public Library in Lake Zurich. Funded from a state grant and brought in from the Anne Frank Center in New York, the exhibit features over 70 black and white photos taken by Anne’s father, Otto Frank, who was a talented amateur photographer. The exhibit chronicles Frank family life from when Anne was a baby all the way up until the family's last summer together at home. more ›

The Sun-Times takes a look at "elimination communication," a technique some parents are using to toilet train their very young children. Perhaps you read about it. In the New York Times. In 2005. [S-T, NYT.] more ›

Cubs third baseman Aramis Remirez finally arrived at Spring Training on Tuesday, but when asked by reporters what he did on his winter vacation, he refused to answer. In fact, he wouldn't even allow for the reporter to finish asking the question. more ›

This city is at no loss for South American steakhouses. From smaller, long-running establishments like Tango Sur to newer downtown concepts like Brazzaz, there's a choice for any taste. One of our favorites for ordering a sizzling plate of churrasco or some steaming and fluffy empanadas is the Six Corners location of Las Tablas. In fifteen years Jorge and Soraya Suarez have managed to take Las Tablas from a small storefront in North Center to two large dining rooms in the city. more ›

In just a few short weeks, will hit the airwaves and we're counting down the days to the March 12 season premiere. In addition to placing the city's restaurant scene at the forefront of the series and the backdrop for the competition, there are three chefs with local ties competing for the title of "Top Chef." more ›

The New York Times Magazine ran an interesting interview yesterday with Frontera Grill's Rick Bayless, with accompanying photos taken at his Bucktown home. Bayless cops to not cooking Mexican at home, which makes sense since he's around it five days a week at Frontera and Topobolampo. Bayless also grows a substantial amount of the produce for Frontera - about $25,000 worth - in his backyard, which is in line with his localvore sensibilities. more ›

The Spice Girls are in town tonight at the United Center for the Chicago stop of their reunion tour. Originally Chicago tour dates were scheduled for both the February 15 and the 16, but management moved Saturday’s show over to Detroit. Tickets are still available for tonight’s show. more ›

Had he moved to New York to seek his fame and fortune, Oscar Brown, Jr. would have been a superstar. Instead, the wildly talented singer, songwriter, poet, playwright, and activist stayed in Bronzeville, married, raised a family, and charted his own course. Anyone who had the honor of speaking with the man, however brief, left with a renewed sense of hope. more ›

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 ›

Screw Valentine's Day...let's think of tomorrow as Palentine's Day instead. High fives and paper airplanes for everyone! more ›

Happy Valentine's Day, Barack! more ›

We're celebrating by making you a list of things that are awesome. more ›

Love him or hate him, you can't deny Kanye West has a certain flare. Proving himself to a more prolific blogger than Steve Johnson (and more entertaining, too), Kanye has dropped a few details about an upcoming tour. He'll be touring with fellow Chicago MC Lupe Fiasco, supporting his recently released (and excellent record The Cool), along with Rihanna, and Neptunes side project N.E.R.D. Whatever you think of Mr. West, that lineup is nothing to sneeze at. We also dig that Star Wars/Max Headroom promo poster you can see over to the right. more ›

An unrelated mystery has been solved as police investigate the Tinley Park murders. A con woman, evading police for years, was apprehended this weekend because police tracked down the owners of the cars parked near the Lane Bryant, where the fugitive Esther Reed had left her car, which was registered under an assumed identity. more ›

Surprise, surprise: Chicago will not be banning retail stores from distributing plastic bags anytime soon, but steps are being taken to institute a plastic bag recycling program. According to the Sun-Times, Alderman Ed Burke from the 14th Ward proposed a "San Francisco-style ban on non-compostable plastic bags" last May, but he was ultimately forced to compromise. Now, Burke is joining Economic Development Committee Chairman Marge Laurino from the 39th Ward in proposing a much softer ordinance that instead of banning bags creates bag recycling options. more ›

Today's the big day. Along with 24 other states, we're voting in Super Duper Tuesday. Up for grabs are 1688 pledged Democratic delegates, and 900 Republican delegates. Delegate-heavy states such as California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois and Georgia could play a deciding role in the outcome of both races. But with polling showing a tight Democratic race, and Obama working overtime to split votes in odd-numbered districts, tonight's results won't produce a nominee for the Democrats. more ›

With the race for the Democratic nomination showdown just days away, and polls showing Obama closing in on Clinton in key Super Duper Tuesday states, the Obama campaign made a huge ad buy during the Super Bowl in the Super Tuesday states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Washington, (but, alas, not Illinois) more ›