Leading off today is this hiring video put together for Lettuce Entertain You property Hub 51 Restaurant and Lounge, an exaggerated parody of Tom Vu infomercials. (via) Fresh off his appearance on last night's episode of Top Chef Chicago, Rick Tramonto has a blog over at Restaurant & Institutions magazine website. There are only two posts right now, but Tramonto's an in-demand chef and businessman, so only expect him to update when he has......

Parking rates at many downtown garages and lots have gone up in the last year, keeping pace with increasing demand for office space and nudged by residential development and price increases. We thought you could drop out after 16 if you wanted ... A state law that went into effect July 1 will revoke the licenses of students who have more than 18 unexcused absences from school, are expelled or drop out. It's part......

Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand are on the move, again. The Tru masterminds, flush with the overwhelming success of their multiple restaurant concepts in the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel in Wheeling, now have plans for restaurants in an Intercontinental Hotel being built in Rosemont and a Hyatt in Schaumburg currently undergoing a makeover. The pair's company, Cenitare Restaurants Ltd., and their hotel development partner, Oakbrook Terrace-based the Harp Group Inc., are also looking long-term......

The National Restaurant Association trade show (we'll just call them the "good NRA") is still in full swing through tomorrow at McCormick Place. We went this weekend, took in some of the exhibits, marveled still at the sheer enormity of McCormick Place, and got enough Cholula samples to last us through the summer, or at least the next bloody mary, and our clothes reek of fried food. The topic of sustainability was a recurring theme......

The James L. Beard Awards — the Oscars of the culinary world — were handed out last night. Though Chicago didn't win a large number of awards, we did win one of the most important ones, so we can take solace in that. -->The biggest Chicago winner was Frontera Grill which beat out hometown favorite Spiaggia to be named Restaurant of the Year. Frontera winning made us wonder what goes into the nominations for......

Famed Chicago chefs Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto and Rick Bayless are among those cooking sample dishes for the 13th annual Bag Hunger Auction. Held on Nov. 15 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, the silent auction benefits the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Gand and Tramonto co-chair the event, which features more than 25 chefs from notable Chicago restaurants including Tru, Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, West Town Tavern, TIMO, 160 Blue, Ina's and Heaven on Seven. Food and......

It seems Chicago is following in the footsteps of Las Vegas and New York when it comes to hotel dining. On Sunday, the Tribune reported Chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand of Tru have plans to bring four new restaurant concepts to the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, which will open in Wheeling this October. Dining options at the Westin will include Osteria Di Tramonto (serving breakfast lunch and dinner), Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood (a......

Fans of Food Network's "Iron Chef America" can expect to taste a decidedly Chicagoan flavor when the new season premieres next month. Two episodes to tivo or tape: Tru impressarios Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand (with executive sous chef Stuart Davis) against Mario Batali; and Homaru Cantu's "Team moto" faces of against Chef Morimoto. It's unknown what the secret ingredient was for each team or when the episodes will air. For those of you who......

Really, for a dish most of us rarely eat, not to mention rarely can afford, Chicagoist cannot believe all of the recent quacking about foie gras. While the Trib today reports that Charlie Trotter, the famous Lincoln Park-based chef whose feathers last week were slightly ruffled after being tabbed a hypocrite by Tru Executive Chef Rick Tramonto, admits that his choice of descriptions for Tramonto as "idiot" and "not the smartest guy on the block"......