Hmmm...how to make an already not-so-healthy product even worse for you? Add a shit-ton of caffeine, of course! The creators of Engobi (short for Energy Go Bites) have done just that with their new line of caffeine-infused snack chips. Each 1.5 ounce single serving bag has 140 mg of caffeine, making it stronger than a serving of brewed coffee, Redbull, espresso, regular Jessie Spano–strength caffeine pills, etc. Flavors come in Lemon Lift and Cinnamon Surge,......

McDonald's is going to start selling Red Bull and a variety of other beverages in 150 test markets, and might revise its "beverage plans" in the next year or two. They could start selling boiled kitten juice and we wouldn't care, as long as they don't change their magical Diet Coke recipe—DCs from McD's just taste better than all other Diet Cokes for some reason. Along with Red Bull, other new drink choices include Vitaminwater,......

Red Bull has won a $680,000 lawsuit against Wet, a Loop bar that served its clubby patrons a different energy sauce when they ordered Red Bull. A manager at the company was at Wet and asked for a vodka Red Bull. She was served a vodka...Other Thing. From the Trib: [Red Bull employee Angela] Latino asked the bartender if it was made with Red Bull from a can. The bartender replied that it was made......

Since Gabriel Magliaro launched Half Acre Beer last fall he's been working around the city tirelessly promoting it. The Heartland Café is the newest and northern-most account for Half Acre. In honor of the achievement, on April 26th Magliaro will walk a case of Half Acre from Montrose Monroe Harbor to the Heartland at 7000 N. Glenwood, a distance of nearly nine miles. The "Half Acre Hike" is a sponsored event benefiting First Slice Chicago,......

Red Bull. Love it or hate it, the energy drink knows how to make its mark. In fact, Red Bull just announced this year's flugtag (flying day) events and they're coming back to Chicago! This time at the North Avenue Beach. While we're not personally a big fan of the drink, we were delighted to attend the flugtag in Nashville last year (where the Kentucky's Rocky Top Rocket broke the USA record by flying 155......

The Chicago Fire have confirmed that Head Coach Juan Carlos Osorio has resigned and is headed to the New York Red Bulls for the 2008 season. Osorio, who joined the Fire mid-season last year, was just the third head coach in the franchise history. Osorio cited "personal, family reasons" that led to his decision to depart the Fire before his contract ended. It had been rumored that his wife was unhappy in Chicago and prefers......

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

The Chicago Fire continued on a downward spiral last night losing to the New York Red Bulls, their fourth straight loss. Seventeen-year-old Red Bull, Jose Altidore, took a break from his busy high school life, he had prom last Saturday and graduates high school this Saturday, to score the eventual game winner against the Fire. His goal came just over one minute into the game. Juan Pablo Angel did not want to be outdone so......

If you've been reading Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week" series from its inception, you'll remember that one of our primary rules of alcohol consumption is if you're old enough to legally order something like Sparks, Long Island iced teas, vodka and Red Bull, frozen cocktails, any drink that ends with the word "bomb," or any cocktail containing Southern Comfort, you're old enough to know better. So where does that leave all you folks who......

Let's take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for? Austinist was in an entertainment state of mind as they covered the dickens out of the Austin Film Festival, depicted all the Big 12 football coaches as South Park characters, and interviewed Jose Gonzalez. Chicagoist talked about the passion as they bid adieu to Bell's......

Chicagoist has a dark sense of humor. And, we’ve got a hardcore caffeine habit. Lucky for us, the two now come in a controversial 8.4-ounce can. Las Vegas-based Redux Beverages recently rolled out their marketing campaign for the new energy drink Cocaine. It compares in calories to Red Bull (only 70 vs. Red Bull’s 80) but weighs in with 350 percent more caffeine (280 mg, about the same as four espresso shots). The drink also......

If you're having trouble fitting into those hip-huggers, ladies, you might want to lay off the Jaeger bombs and vodka/Red Bulls for a while (one of many reasons you should). This Gannett News Service story - which also ran in yesterday's Sun-Times - states that the Food and Drug Administration has no guidelines to define an energy drink. Nutritionists interviewed for the article state that the energy these drinks give consumers comes mainly from carbohydrates......

Marshall Field coined the phrase "Give the lady what she wants", which later morphed into the more inclusive "the customer is always right", under protege H. Gordon Selfridge. However, if you are, or have ever been, a bartender, you know that's bullshit. You've had those moments where you just wanted to smack the taste out of someone's mouth, because they're giving you grief for not carrying Red Bull. But, because it's your job, you suck......

There's a longstanding quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin that states, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Although Chicagoist's belief in a higher power is suspect, we agree with the rest of Big Ben's wisdom. Beer - and other malt beverages - is also a much discussed subject among the Chicagoist staff. One staffer is obsessed with the alcoholic energy drink known as "Sparks"; just can't get enough of......

What with our parties and on-the-go lifestyle, Chicagoist is looking for extra energy in any way we can get it. And, we're not opposed to getting our fix in bar and/or carbonated form. The rest of the country it seems is on the same page. At the All Candy Expo last week at McCormick Place, food and candy manufacturers introduced a bevy of energy-infused products. Caffeine-filled gum, gaurana-enhanced breath strips and electrolyte-laced jelly beans were......

The Chicago Fire are less than three weeks away from their 2006 season opener at FC Dallas. The Fire have had a productive pre-season thus far winning five games, losing only two and earning four draws. In those eleven games they have outscored their opponents 16 to 11. The Fire will start the season with a grueling nine game road trip before they can christen their new soccer-specific stadium. If the Fire can win a......

Chicagoist can't help but chuckle when big companies try to get down with the young folks, and the Tribune reports today on the latest in what's surely going to be the new cool thing that all the cool companies are doing to be so cool with the coolness. Chilly chilly. Phat. Pimpin. Ahem. Anheuser-Busch announced yesterday that it will be releasing B-to-the-E, a beer infused with caffeine, guarana and ginseng, and will have an aroma......

Last night's Emmys were kind of a snoozefest, but in case you're headed to an awards show in the near future, here are a few tips we gleaned: 1.Write a speech. That's just a nice gesture, a way to show everyone that you're a professional; even if you forget it part way through, at least you will have thought about it before hand. On the same note, do not bring an index card—v.v. tacky. You're......