Next produced a new advertisement for their latest menu; you can be guaranteed to get a table if you have about $4000. more ›

Korean-influenced burgers dominate the menu at the new location of bopNgrill in Rogers Park. On a day like today, some kimchi fries sound awfully good. more ›

If you have the taste for one of these delectable treats, look no further than Rogers Park's Tamales Lo Mejor de Guerrero. more ›

The restaurant is throwing open its doors and offering a free Thanksgiving meal to those in need. more ›

Now that Next Restaurant is onto their Childhood menu, all the hype about their amazing take on turn-of-the-century French cuisine has faded. Now you can make all of the courses from that menu at home with the "Next: Paris 1906" cookbook for iPad. more ›

If you're tired of boring old pad thai, head up north to Sticky Rice for a taste of Northern Thai cuisine. more ›

Rittergut Wine Bar and Social Club may have a mouthful of a name, but it's a great place to stop in for a quiet lunch. more ›

Don't be fooled by the name - Toni Patisserie is a good source for all your favorite French cafe standards, sweet and savory. more ›

Custom House Tavern turns six with an open house Thursday. more ›

Take a "trip" with iNG and the miracle berry. more ›

A new pop-up coffeeshop, only around for six months. We love it, and you will too. more ›

In Midwestern Chicago, quality seafood places at relatively reasonable prices are hard to come by, but those willing to trek to the North Center neighborhood can find some seafood steals at Snappy’s Shrimp House. more ›

Agave rules the bar at Masa Azul, the newly opened Logan Square restaurant serving a mix of Mexican and Southwestern food. More than 70 varieties of tequila, 10 mezcals and (very soon) even a few bottles of rare-to-see sotol line the colorful tile-backed shelves of Masa Azul's bar. And there is scarcely a mass-market tequila brand among the collection - a testament to the efforts of owner Jason Lerner, a passionate and knowledgeable connoisseur of independent, small-batch agave-based spirits, who has taken pains to assemble a kind of personal all-star team of intriguing, high quality products, discovered over the years at seminars and tasting events and during his travels. more ›

Don’t be misled by the “pho” in the name--this quintessential hole-in-the-wall restaurant offers what might be the hottest, spiciest Thai in town. more ›

If the title has you a little confused, you can rest assured that this is indeed a restaurant review. A play on the name of the eatery, however, was too good to pass up. If you are going to name your restaurant after most folks' favorite season of the year, it better live up to the moniker. We have written before about the dangers of setting the bar high on your food and service by choosing a name with grand connotations. Thanks to the fun, fresh flavors we encountered at Edgewater's Summer Noodle & Rice, we can say that here the name is more than apropos. more ›

The Scout may be exactly what the South Loop needs - a comfortable, upscale bar. While we're not huge fans of the scads of big-screen TVs, sports watchers will love it. And we are definitely partial to the beautifully-renovated space, the reclaimed wood bars, the wonderful natural light and the huge beer list. The Scout took over the space that formerly housed Opera, the Jerry Kleiner-designed temple to over-the-top red velvet and mosaic tiles. The new owner, Chris Bravos, has done such extensive re-building that even Opera fans will hardly notice that it's the same space. more ›

When we first visited iNG, we were more impressed by the computer systems than the food. Well, the computer, which iNG servers refer to as "Skynet" (is that creepy or awesome? will it poison us?) has just gotten even better. Chef Cantu is just about to release a new system into the world, which he calls "The Matrix." He gave us a hint of this a few months ago, saying that he planned to distribute the amazing software that runs the complex menus at Moto, and now it's ready to go. The Feast got a full-scale run through of the software last week, and it's worth watching for any foodie, nerd, or foodie nerd. And yes, it can also play Pandora. more ›

There are many ways a watering hole can work its way into the hearts and psyches of a city and its denizens. Sometimes it is an atmosphere or a vibe that reflects the soul of its environs. Others, it is the characters in the crowd that call themselves regulars. Schubas may lack the quaint, hokeyness that was everyone's favorite sitcom bar, but it is every bit as representative of the Windy City as Cheers was of Boston. It's got our grittiness, our gregariousness, and our lust for life and good time. As this is a restaurant review, we are also happy to say that it offers some damned good food too. more ›

Hold the Beef is a monthly series exploring Chicago's vegetarian burger scene. If you know any veggie burger joints that we should check out, post them in the comments! more ›

Some things were simply meant to go together. Take for instance, peaches and cream, gin and tonic, or even Starsky and Hutch. To quote the old Reese's commercial, they are "two great tastes that taste great together". But what about curry and pizza? It may not sound like a match made in heaven, but then again we neither eat with our ears nor our eyes. If this combination strikes you as even the least bit intriguing, then head on down to Curried in the Loop and get a little taste of something divine. more ›

Don’t be fooled by their simple appearance. Crafting the perfect crepe is anything but an effortless endeavor. Thin and delicate, they take a skilled hand and plenty of precision. Most importantly, great crepes require creativity in both execution and presentation. They should be works of art - great tasting works of gastronomical art. Luckily, the folks at Icosium Kafe have some real artists in their kitchens. more ›

If you didn't happen to get one of the reservations (that sold out in 2 seconds) for Next's new Thai menu, we've got a Monday treat for you. A video, released by the restaurant on Friday, which goes behind the scenes and shows off many of the new dishes. Like everything released by the Next/Aviary team, it's absolutely gorgeous - and will make you want to stuff your face full of cilantro, if you're anything like us. more ›

Tribute, the long-awaited (and long-suffering) South Loop restaurant in the Essex Inn finally opens today for business. After chef drama, a delayed opening and some minor licensing drama, they started serving breakfast today at 6 A.M. We visited last night for a first look, and we're cautiously optimistic. more ›

Chef Scott Walton tends a serious rooftop garden that provides some great ingredients to the kitchen. more ›

Balsan, the restaurant in the Elysian hotel that Penny Pollack called "Shockingly creative and delicious" is giving away a Grand Seafood Tower to one of its Twitter fans. The tower, which normally costs $130 and is pictured over on the right, includes a whole lobster, king crab, prawns, clams, mussels and oysters. The thought of it makes us want to fall over in a happy coma. It can be yours, for the low low price of nothing. more ›

Under a decaying wooden sign, bright yellow letters on a window front call out to passing pedestrians proclaiming “homemade Polish food.” Andrzej Grill is a true hole-in-the-wall “find,”. This tiny space serves big bold dishes of popular Polish items alongside some lesser known homemade Polish favorites. more ›

Tough time getting a table at Girl & the Goat? Taste the creation of now famed chef Stephanie Izard, and Food + Wine Magazine’s Best New Chef, at seriously reduced prices, with a charitable cause in mind. Popular quick-and-easy Lakeview dining favorite Falafill is hosting a series of famous chef-made wraps with a portion of the proceeds going to the featured chef’s charity of choice. This month’s Izard wrap, with proceeds going to Share Our Strength, has us salivating for more. more ›

- Bridge House Tavern, the new bar/restaurant in the old Flatwater space, officially opened yesterday. The restaurant has been soft-open for a few weeks. We'll withhold a full review until they've had a few more weeks to ferment, but here's our capsule review from a visit a couple weeks back. Bacon milkshake? Thumbs up. Beautiful riverfront space? Thumbs up? Entire drink menu? Thumbs way down. more ›

We Chicagoist foodies are always ready to jump into new restaurants and new food trends. I started reporting on food truck rules and regs early in the game, and are always ready to review new types of ventures. Lately, pop-up dining has become the showstopper, with famous and up-and-coming chefs setting up temporary restaurants all over town. Pop-up dining can be an amazing opportunity for restauranteurs without restaurants to get in front of the public, or for authentic ethnic cuisine to find places to shine. Unfortunately, new and trendy doesn't always mean good - and pop up restaurants, without an established infrastructure behind them, can come with their own set of challenges. Recently, I visited The Rice Table, an Indonesian catering company that sets up a BYOB pop-up restaurant experience twice a month, and it wasn't a great experience - an important reminder that just because an event sounds great doesn't mean it will be great. more ›

We can't quite believe we're posting this, but based on the sheer volume of news coverage over the past few days, some people must care about this huge wedding that's happening on Friday across the pond. Frankly, we're almost tired of hearing about it - the number of press releases pushing special wedding cocktails that we've gotten have just about pushed us over the edge. On the other hand, we're as interested in pretty dresses and flower tossing as the next man, though, and if there are good drinks involved, you might be able to get us on board. Might. Anyway, a lot of decent bars and restaurants are offering neat events specials, if you want to watch the blessed event - they might even make it worth it. more ›