Billy Elliot fans who love food will be in heaven during the month of September. Two different events that combine up-close views of the cast of the hit musical and culinary exploits should get your collective boy-ballet loving mouths watering. more ›

Friday, July 30, Berlin, 954 W. Belmont, midnight, $5. more ›

Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Randolph, tonight, 6 p.m., Free. more ›

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Four years ago, Rich Seng was a former seminary student making low-budget TV ads for local businesses when a friend took him to a hip hop open mic at Subterranean. One thing led to another that night, and before anyone knew what hit ‘em two renowned local emcees were freestyle battling each other. An idea was born, and Seng started organizing the first Rhyme Spitters rap battle tournament. He relied on word of mouth and... more ›

On Jenny Owen Youngs' website she states that she wants to be our friend. We think she'd be awesome to have beers with — her quick, deadpan wit combined with pop culture references would make for hours of hysterical conversation at the corner pub. Who doesn't want to have a philosophical discussion about their love of Avril Lavigne's pop until she used the word prance in a rhyme scheme? more ›

As if the gorgeous weather wasn't enough reason to call out sick for the week, Columbia College give you another with its 11th annual Story Week: Cities of Words. Sunday kicked off the week of words with an alumni reading, and Monday's reading by Anchee Min about Maoist China was tender, raw and funny. With fifteen events over five days, you can't go to everything, but here's where Chicagoist will be: Tuesday: the Graduate Student... more ›

Today is the first day of October and that means it is the start of World Vegetarian Day. According to Wikipedia, the day was established in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society. We plan on taking the opportunity to try out one of the many vegetarian friendly restaurants we haven't been to today, and you should to. Today is the final day of The 36th Annual Pilsen East Artists' Open House . The open... more ›

The Bad At Sports Podcast, an informed and often irreverent take on the Chicago art scene, celebrates its birthday next week. Over the last 50 episodes, hosts Richard Holland and Duncan MacKenzie and frequent co-host Amanda Browder have discussed everything from the merits of outsider art to the merits of campy, low-budget viral videos, sliding effortlessly between serious debate and hilarious schoolyard asides. As the acclaim piled on, they amassed a stable of correspondents from across the country and overseas while making lots of friends in the arts biz. more ›

In the drunken wasteland that is North Clark, Raw Bar & Grill is an oasis. At 3720 N. Clark, Raw's unique approach provides relief from the oversaturated sushi market. The "eclectic seafood" menu (ranging from $20 to $30) includes exotic options such as blackened ostrich, alligator and grilled baby octopus, in addition to the standard crab, shrimp, lobster, salmon and calamari dishes. For those with an aversion to entrées from the sea, pizza, chicken, ribs, burgers and pasta dishes are all available. more ›

We haven’t been to the Green Mill in ages. Not because we don’t like the Green Mill, but because at this late stage in our life-game, we cannot bear to stand in line, to stand inside a club, full of people standing. Also, Sunday night is show tunes night at Sidetrack, and we can usually snag a seat when someone gets up to sing “I’m Still Here” The thing we miss most at the Green... more ›

Chicagoist doesn’t drive that much (even less since we lost our car keys) so we aren't hip to what’s going on in the world of radio and specifically on NPR. When we heard that Recent Photo had been chosen as a featured song on The All Songs Considered’s Open Mic, we decided to check out what it was. All Songs Considered began because people kept writing in to find out what music was being... more ›

As the kids start heading back to school, it’s time to close the books on the summer movie season. We’ll leave it to the New York Times to do the post-mortem on Hollywood. Apparently some movies are not very good, which may lead to decreased attendance and box office receipts. In other news, scientists have learned that water is wet and children like candy. With the days getting shorter, there are a few notable screenings... more ›

Hey, indie filmmakers! On your way to getting pickled at Rainbo or hitting open mic night at The Innertown, stop in at Atomix (1957 W. Chicago) and sign you and some of your film major friends up for the Fast Forward Film Festival #17 – The Stranger. Forget the rumors you've heard, the show's a go. It seems that on April 1st, the guys running the event sent out an e-mail to their mailing... more ›

Watching the Democratic Convention has made Chicagoist want to give a speech. Like, super-badly. And lucky for us, now's our chance. Tonight and tomorrow afternoon, the Bughouse Square Debates will give hippies, hecklers, historians and political types a chance to vent. more ›