We've been following the saga (disaster) of the local ice cream industry for the past several weeks. The state has imposed new regulations that make it nearly impossible for small companies to do business, and due to the new regulations, large stores like Whole Foods have stopped ordering. Enter social media: Nice Cream is taking to the ether to support themselves. Starting last week, a Twitter-driven kickstarter campaign has been moving forward to keep Nice Cream alive, and a fundraiser next week at Revolution Brewing will support the effort. more ›

Nice Cream owner Kris Swanberg said that she would fight the regulations, which essentially requires small-batch makers like Nice Cream to adopt preparation and production processes that "macro" ice cream producers use. more ›

As planned, we visited Logan Square's Provenance Food & Wine to do a little wine tasting and pick up a bottle or two. The Logan Square location has a free wine tasting every Saturday from 3-6, and the Lincoln Square location every Thursday from 6pm-8pm. Even better, the store brings in its vendors to have food tastings: during our visit, Brand BBQ passed out samples of its bourbon-smoked candied pecans, BBQ potato chips, bacon honey butter, and brown sugar bacon caramel ice cream, all of which are available for purchase at Provenance. Provenance has two shops: one in Lincoln Square and one in Logan Square. We visited the shop in Lincoln Square a few years ago, so for this wine tasting we had to go see what the Logan Square shop was all about. more ›

Lots of money was raised for Arts of Life and a great time was had by all last Saturday at Half Acre Brewery's Charitable Chili Cook-Off. Over 200 people attended, 20 chili entries were judged, and almost $2,500 was raised. And in the end, a winner was chosen by the members of the jury (which included yours truly): the Tomatillo Chili cooked up by the team of Erin and Elena from The Kids' Table. Possessing a healthy amount of heat and a glowing green color, it was definitely one of the most individualistic entries in the competition. They've graciously passed the recipe on to us (after the jump), so now you can make it yourself. Enjoy! more ›

We're getting closer to tomorrow's Half Acre Brewery's Charitable Chili Cook-Off this Saturday benefiting The Arts of Life and if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, get a move on! They're still only $5 through 5 p.m. today; you'll pay $10 at the door tomorrow. And if you think your chili has what it takes to win it all, $20 will get your entry in (besides other prizes, we'll also be featuring the winner right here). Last we heard, there are almost 20 different chili entries so you'll be able to stuff your face with some quality food. There will also be six different raffle prizes handed out, there'll be Half Acre beer, and the folks from Nice Cream will have samples at the ready. So what are you waiting for? Grab some tickets and swing by. I'll be there as will Rob, who gets to taste all of the entries as one of the cook-off's judges, so be sure to come say hi if you can make it. more ›

Just a little wink wink, nudge nudge to remind you about Half Acre Brewery's Charitable Chili Cook-Off this Saturday. It benefits The Arts of Life, a non-profit community that uses art to assist developmentally disabled adults discover personal growth, and is being co-presented by Nice Cream and Chicagoist. Yours truly (this is Rob typing) will be among the panel of judges selecting a winner, who will receive a trophy and a signed and framed drawing of the original picture that inspired the cook-off by Arts of Life artist Kris Shenkel. (Oh--and the winner also gets a coveted spot in one of our gallery posts.) more ›

The Arts of Life is a non-profit community that uses art to assist developmentally disabled adults discover personal growth. On November 7 at 5 p.m. Arts of Life, Half Acre Beer Company, Nice Cream and Chicagoist will host a chili cookoff to benefit Arts of Life's programming. more ›