The classic Mexican sandwich can be found all over the city, not just at Xoco. Check out some other Torta options. more ›

Country singer Lyle Lovett said recently that Mexican food in Chicago couldn't be that good "if a guy named Bayless is cooking it." more ›

Today in restaurant news: Rick Bayless adds a new dining option to Terminal 3, Highball Lounge brings the 50s alive and Slurping Turtle is finally set to open in River North. more ›

The whole restaurant transformed into "Taco Hell" with special guest Rick Bayless. more ›

With Tony Hernandez, creator of Lookingglass' hit circus Hephaestus and a playbook by Heidi Stillman in tow, Rick Bayless could be redefining the phrase "dinner and a show." more ›

If you haven't bought a copy of the Chicago Homegrown Cookbook, head to Green City Market this Wednesday, where author Heather Lalley will be signing copies. If you have already bought one, go anyway and meet Heather and swap recipes. The book, which includes recipes from many of our favorite chefs including Rick Bayless, Paul Kahan, Mindy Segal and Rob Levitt, is a beautiful testament to our vibrant local food community. What better place to get a copy than at Green City Market? more ›

Yesterday, a strange, heart warming or terrifying (depending on how you look at it) story hit Gawker about the London riots. Rioters attempted to invade a Michelin 2-star restaurant, and the staff, normally concerned with crystal and linens, fought them off with rolling pins. Things are getting scary over there, folks, and we hope that it ends as soon as possible. Frankly, the restaurant angle seemed a bit too much like a bad movie - so of course that's exactly what it put us in mind of! It got us thinking: if we had to ride out something really bad, say a zombie invasion, which restaurant would we want to hide in? Which chefs would we count on to defend us? more ›

Last night, a few lucky members of the Patron Secret Dining Society gathered in an unmarked warehouse on the North Side for a pretty amazing event. The underground supper club took over the venue and filled it with lights, candles and food by Rick Bayless and some great cocktails created by mixologist Michael Simon. more ›

When I arrived at the Green City Market BBQ at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, the thermometer had already topped 100 degrees. My shirt soaked through in the first 10 minutes - and my plight was nothing compared to that of the chefs, standing over hot grills. But, that's not what guests to the BBQ will remember. They'll remember the entire Chicago food world, including every restaurant you've ever heard of, standing out there cooking and sweating together, to support an organization we all love. more ›

-Time Out announced yesterday that North Shore Distillery, a Chicagoist favorite, will be announcing a new addition to their line-up. Sol Chamomile Citrus Vodka will hit shelves on June 1. "We wanted it to be a fun, not so serious, really delicious spirit that is accessible to a broad range of people," says co-owner Sonja Kassebaum. This isn't one of their super-secret limited edition spirits, so it will be available permanently. more ›

In a nearly-unprecedented reversal of fortune last night, Chicago chefs and restaurants got slammed at the James Beard Awards dinner in New York. Unlike our usual banner showing, Chicago took home just one single award - an "Outstanding Restauranteur" award for Lettuce Entertain You owner Rich Melman. Best of all, he wasn't even there! According to the Trib, he didn't even know the Beard Awards were happening. Rick Bayless was not happy about it; on Twitter, he wrote "Total shut out for Chicago tonight at Beard Awards! Worse yet: 1 of top 3 awards goes to Melman--r only chance to shine.NO SHOW!AT BEARDS??" There's more carnage - keep reading. more ›

Restaurant week may be winding down, but it’s not over yet! Restaurant week runs until Sunday, Feb. 27, leaving you plenty of time to squeeze in a reservation or two. Still trying to decide which menu to take on? Read on for a review of one of Chicago’s best R-week deals: Topolobampo. more ›

' Andrew Zimmern must have run out of large bugs to munch on in Madagascar, so he came to Chicago in search of foodstuff oddities. So what did he find here? Maybe "sketchy ass" hot dogs? Outlandish deep dish pizza? And what is in that giardiniera on your Italian beef sandwich, anyway? In the clip below, Topolobampo/XOCO chef Rick Bayless takes Zimmern on a tour of the Maxwell Street Market for a taste of some "exotic" tacos al pastor -- noticeably without insects: more ›

Throughout the blizzaster, Rick Bayless was like a lighthouse in the storm. He kept his restaurants open, tweeting that anyone trapped downtown was welcome. In addition, he may be the only celebrity chef in history to brag about the accomplishments of his valet parking crew (Grover and Luis) - wonderful to give credit to everyone. And boy, do they deserve it! The valet parking crew created the official snowman, or "Blizzard 2011 mascot," for Frontera. Check after the jump for some great tweets. more ›

Luck and last-minute travel plans collaborated this week to land us at O'Hare airport's Terminal 1, mano-a-mano with Tortas Frontera, the brand new sandwich shop and bar by Chef Rick Bayless. Fresh off a meal-less flight and sporting a withering lunchtime hunger, we lined up to try one of the tempting tortas. more ›

Even when the election is getting rough, President Obama still cares about good food. On Saturday night, he stopped in to Topolobampo, where he feasted upon scallops and lobster with roasted tomatillos. Lucky lucky man. However, some diners believed that someone's table was stolen in favor of the presidential party, and complaints flew around the interwebs. The above is the response to the kerflufle from Rick Bayless. Frankly, we probably wouldn't mind having to wait a few minutes for our reservation if the president showed up, but we're happy to know that equality is alive and well in the Bayless empire. Plus, we like imagining Rick Bayless saying "Geez people." more ›

No one who watches television, reads blogs or goes out to dinner can possibly ignore the impact of celebrity chef culture. Chefs with their names stitched on their jackets, often with fancy logos, have become a constant presence in our lives, and some of them are as recognizable as rock stars, models or famous authors. But the question remains - is this good for those of us who eat out? more ›

World-renowned chef Rick Bayless is his expanding his restaurant empire and simultaneously taking aim at boring-as-hell airport fare like Cinnabon and Chilli's Too. The Top Chef Masters champ is opening two new locations at O'Hare Airport, it was announced today. The Chicago Department of Aviation said one location would be in Terminal 1 and the other in Terminal 3. Not a whole heck of a lot is known about the locations other than that they will open in "the fall" giving us more airport lines to wait in. But, hey, at least these will have good food at the end of them as opposed to, say, body scanners or McFlurries. Details about the specific menus are, we're sure, forthcoming. more ›

I helped brew the Beer of the Summer. If there were no Sai-Shan-Tea, this week's selection, a collaboration between Goose Island and Rick Bayless, would be a strong contender for the crown. more ›

It's been said that chefs are the new rock stars. The most media savvy chefs, from Food Network mainstays to the chefs who are only known by one name, are successful because they sell their fans on a lifestyle: if you cook and entertain according to their guidelines, your life will be enriched. When a chef reaches the level of celebrity of Rick Bayless, with the tv show and the accolades and the endorsements and the cookbooks and the pop culture afterglow of being the first "Top Chef Master," a fawning cult of personality is certain to follow. At that level, like in politics, control of the message and the brand is paramount. more ›

• As expected, the University of Illinois approved a 9.5 percent tuition increase for incoming freshmen.
• Erin Hughes, the New Trier teen charged in the recent hit-and-run accident, has been allowed off electronic monitoring.
• Ten people were hurt this afternoon, one in serious-to-critical condition, in a crash involving a CTA bus on the city's Northwest side.

We know that Rick Bayless is a Twitter master. But was he censored from tweeting from the White House? Did he tweet from the White House kitchen and get caught? Or was he putting some serious strain on his keypads with updates? more ›

If the kitchens of Frontera Grill, Topolobampo and Xoco seem strangely devoid of Rick Bayless in the coming weeks, you can blame President Obama. Bayless has been tapped by Obama to head the kitchen for the upcoming state dinner with El Presidente of Mexico, Felipe Calderón. The New York Times reports that the celebrity chef will be helming the kitchen on May 19th, the second celebrity chef to run a state dinner menu. Marcus Samuellson, currently receiving the arrogant-jerk-edit on this season's Top Chef Masters, cooked for the Indian Prime Minister back in November. more ›

When Rick Bayless tweets about a cocktail, you bet we're gonna pay attention. And that's just what he did a few days ago, sharing his recipe for a Spring Green Bloody Mary. more ›

Mindy Segal celebrated five years of Hot Chocolate last night with a $150 per person dinner to benefit Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation event this August. This year Segal wanted to feature the chefs who helped influence her on her way to becoming one of the best pastry chefs in the country. The lineup she put together resembled a chef's Dream Team. Rick Bayless and Brian Enyart, Paul Kahan, Michael Kornick and Erick Williams, Paul Virant, Bill Kim, Nick Lessins of Great Lake and Benjamin Caulfield of Three Floyds Brewpub joined Segal and her new executive chef Aric Miech in producing a tightly orchestrated seven-course meal paired with beers from some of Segal's favorite breweries. more ›

Our friends at LAist clued us in to a report from Eater L.A. confirming that Rick Bayless will be taking over two restaurants in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Speculation began in November when Bayless was spotted eating in a slew of upscale Mexican restaurants throughout the Los Angeles area, his first visit to the City of Lights in 15 years. more ›

Today through Wednesday, we're counting down the top 9 stories of 2009 according to the Chicagoist staff. more ›

• As proof that the pen is mightier than the sword, or at least strong enough to have the Illinois Department of Agriculture overreact to Mike Sula's article on underground meat purveyor E&P Meats, Frontera Grill had to throw away 80 pounds of bacon after an IDA inspection. E&P is also ceasing operations. [Food Chain]
• Alan Richman names his 10 best new restaurants in America. The Bristol makes the list. [GQ]
• To Kiss the Cook shares her recipe for Kitchen Sink Farafelle [To Kiss the Cook]

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 ›

Remember Molly Brennan? That girl who played Harpo Marx? Remember how we wrote about her not so long ago? Well, we’re not going to hide the fact that we’re fans, which is why we’re writing again to say you should really check out Madame Barker’s Holiday Variety Show at the Prop Theatre. more ›