"Middle Illinois beef" had me making up Tolkien jokes, as though there's a rabbit hole to Middle Earth somewhere between Peoria and Springfield where hobbits live peacefully raising grass-fed cattle without having to travel to Mordor. more ›

An off-the-cuff list of Chicago faves from White House Chef and foodie hero Sam Kass is heavy on eateries South of Madison. Who says the North Side has all the good restaurants? more ›

If your liver could talk, what would it say? On the heels of recent, oh, let's call it cavalier disregard for the organ's well-being, more than a few of us would probably get a scolding. (Or would we not even be on speaking terms right now?) Whatever the state of the relationship, there's no doubt that a non-alcoholic cocktail on occasion can't hurt things. And as New Year's resolutions go, laying off the sauce is an easy one to uphold in Chicago thanks to the wealth of dining and drinking spots in the city that offer thoughtful, tasty n/a beverage options. Your social calendar will barely register the change. more ›

Saturday, August 14 more ›

Food trucks are not the only culinary trend making its push from New York and LA. This weekend only Bill Kim of Belly Shack and Urban Belly and Jason Hammel of Nightwood and Lula Café (in partnership with Intelligentsia) will be let loose in the Logan Square Kitchen space to create their version of a "pop-up" restaurant (a temporary eating place set up in the site of another business). more ›

With a name like "poutine" it's easy to assume that the diner staple of French fries, cheese curds and gravy is French in origin. You'd only be off by about 3,390 miles. The origins of poutine (pronounced "POO-teen") began, as most great creations, as a happy accident. The most often cited story: a Quebecois named Fernand LaChance was asked to pair the three ingredients together at the behest of a customer. LaChance replied, "ça va faire une maudite poutine" ("it will make a damn mess"). The fries tend to be medium cut so that they're soft inside while crisp outside. gravy is typically chicken, turkey or veal with a solid pepper note to it. We prefer our poutine with a sharp cheese curd, like cheddar. more ›

Who says tech in Chicago is in a rut? Quick on the heels of Groupon's cool $30 million in VC funding comes Foodie, the little iPhone app that opens the doors of the city's elite restaurants to anyone with an appetite for great dining experiences. And for once, yours truly was on the cutting edge of a new social trend. more ›

Try to resist a good dessert. You can't. Last weekend we had two very good ones at two separate locations a block apart. more ›

Thursday night some of Chicago's best chefs will be preparing dishes for Toque, an event to benefit Children's Oncology Services, Inc. The benefit takes place at Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State Street) and will includes cocktails and a degustation menu as well as both a silent and live auction. Tickets are $250 each. Bill Kurtis, founder of Tallgass Beef Company, will be the Master of Ceremonies and the Chef Coordinator for the event is Michael Kornick of MK, one of our favorites. Featured Chefs include: more ›

No sooner had the server placed the dish on our table yesterday than we were looking for said server to return the dish to the kitchen. By then he was "in the weeds." After a couple minutes we finally got the attention of one of the hostesses, who summoned a front-of-house manager to the table. "What's wrong with the dish?" she asked. Our friend simply pointed to the undercooked chicken on the plate. more ›

My dinner companions have been insistent: "It's not Lula, don't you agree?" more ›

News that Nightwood (2119 S. Halsted, 312-526-3385) opened last night spread like widlfire throughout twitter feeds and other blogs almost as soon as Jason Hammel announced it on his Facebook page. Since it's only a bridge over the south fork of the Chicago River away from home, we decided to check it out. more ›

Time Out Chicago is reporting that the soon-to-open-in-Pilsen sister restaurant to Lula Café will be called Nightwood, after the Djuna Barnes novel. Expect an open kitchen and a bar seating 10, allowing for a full view of chef de cuisine Jason Vincent in action. Nightwood will initially be open for diner Tuesday through Saturday and will have a late-night dinner menu from 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., which should be perfect to accommodate hipsters staggering out of Skylark at last call. [TOC] more ›