Tickets for the Chicago matches of the Barclays Churchill Cup are on sale now. The tournament is North America's biggest international rugby tournament, and if you recall, the tournament will culminate in Chicago with the final day of competition being played at Toyota Park. Tickets start at $20 and include all three final matches between USA, Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A and Argentina. If you buy your tickets early, you can be entered......

Last week the English Premier League announced its intention to play some regular season matches abroad. In previous years, international club teams have found financial success by coming to the United States to play some pre- and post-season friendlies with other international powerhouse clubs or local Major League Soccer clubs. The EPL has obviously realized the potential of taking the league to a new level by playing a select few league games in North America......

Someone apparently reads the site: former Chicagoist staffer Lisa Shames attended Sunday's beer and charcuterie seminar at Custom House and e-mailed us to say that there were at least four people in attendance beside her who found out about the seminar via Chicagoist. We ran into at least that many people last night who said the same. But this isn't about us. It's about the beer and the cured meats. And we can say with......

Common sense dictated that we should have stayed in Saturday night in the slightly drafty but hospitable environs of our apartment. However, when the fine folks at Unibroue plan a beer dinner, it's usually a great event. What made Saturday night's event stand out was the location of the dinner. Sheffield's in Lakeview would not normally be on our list of places to grab a bite to eat. But owner Rick Hess (who also owns......

Every morning on our way to work, the Brown Line takes us past a building declaring itself as Noble Horse Theater. We always peered down from our perch up on the L and wondered what this place is all about, and could sometimes even see horses hanging out in a paddock the size of three Old Town brownstones. As we suspected it turns out that the Noble Horse Theater does specialize in horse-centric shows. They......

Chicago has been selected as the host city for the 2008 Barclays Churchill Cup finals, the biggest international rugby tournament in North America. The Tournament will kick off in Ottawa, Canada on June 7th with several dates across Canada before converging on Chicago for the final day of matches. Teams from the United States, Canada, England, Scotland and Ireland will compete in the event on June 21 at Toyota Park. Last year, Toyota Park played......

One never needs an excuse to drink a selection from Unibroue. We're on record with our claim that the Quebec brewery is the best in North America, and it's because the quality of their brews is unsurpassed and of the highest standard of all we've sampled. Even their entry brews, like La Fin du Monde, would be considered a reserve line for another brewery. Maudite is one of our favorites. We're sticklers for balance: we......

While the fish-taco revolution is swimming across the area, there are plenty of other events happening this week. Before we list them, however, we should let you know that the cockroaches are taking over our downtown restaurants. This week's victim of the ultimate survivor, Bice. Cockroaches were the least of their problems, however. A Health Department inspection also found no hot running water in a kitchen sink and fruit flies in the bar. If you......

Recently we’ve told you a little bit about the Chicago Cinema Forum, a new group that’s trying to bring rare and underseen movies to Chicago. To honor Ingmar Bergman after his passing, they quickly put together a mini-retrospective that touched all the bases; and last weekend they presented Roberto Rossellini’s all-but-unseen masterpiece India, Motherland. What was to have been the final screening of the latter, in fact, was sold out (!) so a third show......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

Had a good chuckle this morning reading the Sun-Times. Smack dab in the middle of page 3 was this AP article detailing PepsiCo's announcement that their popular Aquafina bottled water - the most popular bottled water brand in the nation - will literally spell out on the label that the water contained within is filtered from a public source, rather than the somewhat cryptic "p.w.s." that's currently on the label. Show of hands if you......

Like someone who's ready to quit smoking but still can't clean up their own mess, Chicago will go smoke-free on January 1 but ... we'll still have a little problem. A garbage problem. Daley's trying like gangbusters to make the city go green. And we're behind green roofs, eco-friendly sidewalks and solar-powered bus shelters 100%. But. (Non)news flash: the recycling program is a joke. The Blue Bag recycling program doesn't address the fact that......

A good drink can improve the quality level of a meal. It can make a mediocre dinner tolerable, or raise the bar on a perfectly cooked entree. The best chefs, along with their sommeliers, wine stewards, and spirits experts, plan a meal and its pairings with meticulous detail. Although beer and food have complemented each other for centuries, restaurants in the States are placing an increased emphasis on offering beer pairings for those who don't......

Here's a trivia question for you: what is North America's oldest competitive international film festival? Answer: the Chicago International Film Festival, which has been going strong for 43 years. A lot has changed since 1964 (well OK, there's still a Daley in the mayor's office). For a great peek at the past there's nothing better than the photographs of Gary Stochl. But, we digress. Much of the credit for CIFF's longevity must go to Michael......

One time, a class full of UIC students were on a field trip when they wandered into a cave. Four years later, those students can say, without a doubt, that they really got their money's worth on that science credit — they are all being credited with finding a ridiculous amount of fossils. The earth and sciences teacher, Roy Plotnick, presented findings at a meeting of the Geological Society of America that included a 310......

Just days before he faces Naisy Dolar at the ballot box in Chicago's 50th Ward, Bernie Stone is facing a different kind of challenge in his ward: public art, and the tension it can create in the community. Muhammed Ali, a British Muslim artist who is touring the US in conjunction with the Arts Council England for his “Arts and Islam” tour, came to Chicago this past weekend. For the Chicago portion of the tour,......

Well, whether you love the idea of the possibility of the games being in Chicago or hate it, we are the United States candidate to hold the 2016 games. Although the International Olympic Committee has no requirements to switch up continents for the games, the 2008 games are in Beijing, and the 2012 games are in London, so it seems likely North America will host the 2016 Summer Games.......

A 59-year-old woman was found strangled to death inside a car on the Eisenhower. A person is being held in connection. A man was driving a minivan down Ashland in Pilsen when the brakes gave out and he crashed into a police squadrol (squad car/patrol wagon). The driver and two officers were taken to the hospital. Some guy went on a stabbing spree last night in the western suburbs. Luckily, no one was killed.......

In January, General Motors Vice Chairman of Product Development and Chairman of GM North America, Bob Lutz, spoke with a group of bloggers about the Chevy Volt Concept car shortly after it was revealed at the Detroit Auto Show. The Volt, if developed, with its E-Flex power system, could nearly eliminate trips to the gas station. During the interview Lutz spoke about how likely it is the Volt could go from concept to reality "Are......

The Chicago Auto Show is the largest auto show in North America and it is ready to kick off for the 99th time. The show, located at McCormick Place, is open to the public starting Friday, February 9 through Sunday, February 18. The hours are 10am-10pm each day except on the final day when the show ends at 8pm. The event boasts nearly 1,000 domestic and imported vehicles. Chicagoist accepted General Motors’ invite to catch......

In the US, February marks Black History Month, and while there are no shortage of opportunities to learn about important and significant people of African descent this month, the purpose and history behind the event is sometimes lost. While Africans have been present in North America at least since colonial times, black history had barely begun to be studied — or even documented — when the tradition formally began in 1926. It wasn't until later......

Frequent viewers of "Check Please" will know what we're about to describe. One of the guests will describe the wine he may have paired with his meal, and the camera will do a quick cut to Alpana Singh, who has her head turned to the guest, listening intently. That look turns to an enthusiastic, knowing gleam if the guest chose an Alsatian riesling. It's one of those rare occasions where Singh lets her guard......

The Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced this afternoon that the 2007 Gold Cup Semi-Finals and Finals will be played at Soldier Field here in Chicago. The Gold Cup is a tournament of national soccer teams within the North American, Central American, and Caribbean regions. There will be twelve teams competing in the tournament. Three are automatic bids that go to former winners: Canada (2000), Mexico (1993, 1996, 1998 &......

Whether it be for work, pleasure, or out of sheer ennui, we sometimes find ourselves sitting in front of our computers for hours at a crack. Eyes strained, our carpals tunneled, our back giving us a beatdown; we feel like we are years above our chronological age. When did we get so creaky? How could we be falling apart like this? We've tried to do the right thing — sit up straight, hold ourselves in......

Chicagoist has been watching Geoffrey Baer’s tours on Channel 11 for a while now, but when we sat down to preview his latest tour of the Fox River Valley and Chain O’ Lakes, we weren’t sure what to expect. We haven’t spent much time in this area, and we weren’t sure we cared much about it. But, true to form, Baer kept us interested all the way from the rowdy Blarney Island bar to Mies......

Last night was a completely different experience than the last time Chicagoist headed over to the Aragon for a Morrissey concert. The last time, the balcony wasn’t even open and only about one-fourth of the ballroom was full, but those of us there were singing, dancing and reveling in our love of songs about sad times, played expertly by a backing band of tightly clothed men. Fast forward to last night and a sold out......

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of......

With its brand new capitalist outlook — don't tell them that's what it is — China is gobbling up shares of American investments at a "torrid pace" (the Trib's $5 word for the day). Where in the past businesses would have run at a steady pace away from the behemoth country, most are now scrambling to make sure Chinese investors are watching them, and Chicago's are no exception. World Business Chicago and the Chicago Council......

Several months ago, you surely heard the story of Elvira Arellano, the illegal Mexican immigrant hunkered down in a West Side church in an attempt to avoid deportation. As hers is no longer a top story on the major news networks, maybe you thought this problem had been resolved. Perhaps Arellano had unexpectedly decided to comply, or maybe the feds had decided this was one battle not worth fighting. In fact, Arellano is still holed......

After a week jam-packed with shows, we're not surprised that this weekend finds us wishing that payday hadn't been so long ago. Did you know Morrissey is making his only 2006 appearance in North America here in Chicago? We feel like it’s all we’ve heard about all week. But it’s true. Except for when he played SXSW back in March. So, not as special now. But still: Morrissey! Still spelling cranky as s-u-a-v-e after all......