The end of April mean’s Chicago’s traditionally festive Cinco de Mayo celebration is just around the corner. What better way to start feeling festive than with easily accessible Mexican street fare garnished with fresh fruit and chili salsas. more ›

The Shedd Aquarium is also jumping on the free admission train in January. They'll be offering free general admission from Jan. 16 - 21. For that, you can thank Ford Motor Company, as they're sponsoring the free week. more ›

Perfect for Lakeview/Boystown residents needing a pick-me-up for their morning commutes, Kickstand Espresso Bar (824 W. Belmont, 773-248-6300) will be giving away free 12-ounce coffees tomorrow morning from 7:30-9 a.m. more ›

The terrorists don't "hate our freedoms." They hate what we do with our freedoms. Case in point: Kentucky Fried Chicken's Double Down sandwich. In a time when the debate rages about how fast food chains are contributing to America's obesity epidemic, launching a sandwich featuring bacon, cheese and Thousand Island-style secret sauce fit between two pieces of fried chicken breast — or grilled, if you're "health conscious" — is a brazen display of chutzpah, if not an outright "fuck you" to those same critics. more ›

Another month, another fixed price restaurant promotion. this time it's Chicago Chef Week. Not as broad in scope as last month's Restaurant Week Chicago, Chicago Chef Week focuses on chef-driven restaurants. By extension, the quality of the restaurants listed is much better, ranging from old standbys like Spring, Blackbird and Le Colonial to newer faves such as the Bristol, Kith & Kin and Nightwood Province. more ›

Interesting little story in today's Sun-Times about how Jewel boasting they were slashing prices on thousands of items last spring. Prompted by announced higher-than-expected quarterly profits by Jewel's parent company Supervalu, New York-based market analysts Jeffries & co. conducted a market-basket survey and found that Jewel's prices actually increased 6 percent. the survey measured fast-selling items like milk, bread and eggs, as well as perishables, and found the average basket value of groceries at Jewel-Osco stores in January was $163. Jeffries & Co. also found Jewel to have fewer promotions. more ›

If you are out any night this weekend in the Gold Coast be on the lookout for the Ketel One Canteen for some free late night vittles and a ride home. The vodka brand food mobile is serving complimentary gourmet food from Top Chef Master Rick Bayless including pork tinga tacos, roast poblano and potato tacos, and black bean/chorizo tortas. It sounds like music to our bellies especially after a night of holiday drinking. To sweeten the deal even more, Ketel One will offer complimentary rides home on a first-come-first-served basis in high-end vehicles. more ›

We're fast approaching Christmas ale season and Goose Island is giving back in a way that will make any Grinch's heart grow three sizes. more ›

If there was a world without beer (perish the thought) and we had to drink wine all the time, we'd go with a good rioja all the time. Well, most of the time. more ›

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, The average commute in Chicago lasts 31.6 minutes. That's among the nation's longest and, if we're "average" in any way, usually means that coffee is necessary whether you park, lock your bike, or leave the train or bus. more ›

McDonald's will be giving away 5,000 free pre-paid transit cards and 5,000 coupons for a free Angus Third Pounder burger during morning rush tomorrow. The promotion is part of its “Try Free, Ride Free” campaign, mainly to promote the Angus Third Pounders — if you remove the "g" from "Angus" and the "h" from "Third" you'll have an idea of what we think of the burgers — but a free ride to work is alright, as well. 'Course, if you eat enough of these burgers, you won't be able to fit into your seat on the train and have shortness of breath running to catch your bus, but the latter is exercise. So that's good. more ›

Oysters and beer: a combination so simple but perfect. Jimmy Buffet wrote a song where he wished for oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year (only one? Color us shocked!), and as we reach autumn the oysters harvested probably taste better than they will at any other time of year. more ›

It's Labor Day weekend, but that doesn't mean all of us are grilling for possibly the final time this season. Here are some events, tastings, dinners and special offers to keep you busy this weekend and beyond: more ›

Kronos Gyros is giving away free gyros today with a coupon (which we mentioned in last week's "Quick Bites" installment). Must be a successful promotion: a reader just e-mailed us that Works North (201 N. Clark St.) ran out of spindle meat at noon. more ›

From Homaro Cantu's twitter feed this morning: the moto chef/owner is giving away a free electric car to the first person who can answer this question on his Disruptive Food website. more ›

In another year of quality restaurant openings, Birchwood Kitchen (2211 W. North Ave., 773-276-2100) has become another favorite for their gourmet sandwiches made from locally sourced ingredients. more ›

Garlic can work as either an aphrodisiac or a major turn-off and is on the short list of foods one should eat to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Not to mention its ability to ward off vampires. more ›

As promotions go, "National 40 Oz. Week" at Fifty/50 (2047 W. Division, 773-489-5050) walks the fine line between inspiration and cliched crassness. Thursday's "Old School Hip Hop Night" is right up our alley, with $5 St. Ides forties for sale and the DJs spinning NWA, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and (hopefully) Eric B. & Rakim, The D.O.C., Ice T and Arabian Prince on the clickwheels of steel. more ›

California's Murphy-Goode Winery has been making headlines in recent months with its "A Really Goode Job" contest. The winery is offering a six-month contracted job to one lucky social media expert; the official title is "Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent." The winner gets a salary of $10,000 a month and room and board at Murphy-Goode's compound in Healdsburg, CA. All he or she has to do is report/blog/tweet on Sonoma County wine country, the process of winemaking and promote Murphy-Goode's selections even further than the contest is already generating. more ›

The online wine community and retailer Bottlenotes is holding its first wine and food tasting at the Museum of Contemporary Art Friday from 7-10 p.m. The event, called "Around the World in 80 Sips," will feature wines from, well, all over: Old World, New World, North and South America, Israel and Lebanon. Those wines will be paired with cheeses provided from Artisanal Premium Cheese. more ›

It’s 80 degrees outside and we’re in the midst of Reisling Week 2009- a week-long celebration of America’s favorite white wine (but only if it’s sweet) which extends through this Sunday. We kid. We know some of you prefer the drier and flintier French varietals and now here’s your opportunity to sip and compare the styles of different German, Austrian, and Alsatian rieslings. more ›

In the interest of responsible journalism (and getting our readers as much cheap/free ice cream as possible) it is our responsibility to inform you that Ben and Jerry’s free cone day was not the only discount ice cream opportunity available. Baskin Robbins is having its third annual 31 cent scoop night on Wednesday, April 29th. From 5-10 PM, stop in at any store for 31 cent scoops. There is a 3-scoop limit. Be sure to check your local shop in advance - all of their advertising has the dreaded *, indicating “participating stores only,” but unlike Ben and Jerry’s, their website doesn’t make it easy to tell which outlets are participating. more ›

Today's free giveaway involves the Emerald Behemoth of the West. To promote the launch of their new Full Leaf Tazo® Tea Lattes and Tea Infusions, all area Starbucks will be hosting a tea time at 2 p.m., where they'll be offering free samples of their new tea offerings. more ›

Mmm, hot soup sounds good. Especially since we expected 18 inches of snow and ice this morning. Whatevs, weatherman! So, we're back to the Friday Buffet. This is because we kept thinkin' it was due up on Fridays and kept missing Thursday. D'oh! more ›

Jamba Juice adds oatmeal to its breakfast menu today with slow cooked organic steel cut oats, real fruit and brown sugar crumble. They're promoting the launch with a "Spreading the Warmth" campaign today, making special deliveries to Chicago's non-profit workers and hosting a "knitfitti" art installation at Jamba Juice's 20 N. Michigan location. Additionally, downloading this coupon will get you the oatmeal for $1. more ›

Ahhh, remember the day of speakeasy passwords? If you do, well, we're glad our readers span the decades. Lots of alcohol to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition. WOOT! Check out some upcoming events below: more ›

As we have previous mentioned, Opentable.com has teamed up with a ton of great Chicago restaurants for its “Appetite Stimulus Package” – a fixed, three-course meal for $35 per person, excluding tax, tip and beverages. Depending on the restaurant, this can be quite a deal! Since we’re always interested in a bargain, we had to check it out. We made reservations online for dinner last night at the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant. more ›

It goes beyond saying that folks here at Chicagoist love Threadless. We also love Jones soda, their cane sugary goodness and the ability to have custom-made labels (a great gift, btw). more ›

Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza is opening at the United Center tomorrow night, and if you happen to be downtown tomorrow you may glimpse the groups of street dancers, musicians, and performing artists – dressed in white – that will be moving throughout the Loop to promote the show. more ›

Today is National Hamburger Day and Patty Burger in the Loop is offering customers the opportunity to exchange a burger from another store for a free single cheeseburger, regular fries and drink. The promotion runs from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. more ›