Add the Lavazza Espression Cafe in the Hancock Observatory to your must-visit list. Plus, Chicagoist readers get a discount! more ›

From its bold brews to its delicious baked goods and the definite "down-homeyness" of its proprietors and staff, there is nothing common about The Common Cup. more ›

Are you crazy about corned beef? Hankerin' for some challah? Why go all the way to New York for a bite of the Big Apple when Bergstein's NY Deli Truck can bring it to you? Sure, there are several excellent New York style delis here in the Windy City. This one, however, rolls on four wheels and makes its rounds of the downtown. With a traditional menu and taste to match, you'll feel like you are on the streets of old Manhattan in no time. more ›

When a Chicagoan appears on a reality TV show involving food, it tends to end well (see: Izard, Stephanie and Levitski, Dale). We hope the trend continues with Jeff Mauro, who won The Next Food Network Star on Sunday night. According to the Tribune, he focused his efforts on sandwich-making; his new show, "Sandwich King," starts this Sunday. more ›

Let's go inside the numbers of Fork's all-new bicycle-based sandwich tour of Chicago, winkingly named 'Wich Way. more ›

A new food truck, created by Chef/Owner Nina Rodriguez, will launch today at Food Truck Tuesdays. The truck, called "The Slide Ride" will serve a menu entirely made up of sliders, those miniature sandwiches made famous by White Castle and made fancy by a million gastropub menus. more ›

The 2011 season of food-focused bike tours curated and guided by Dimitra Tasiouras and Sharon Bautista of Fork and the Road is shaping up to be epic. Now in its fourth year, Fork and the Road connects the dots between some of Chicago's most exciting and delicious dishes by creating themed bike tours that touch far-flung neighborhoods and tap into rich culinary veins. more ›

Vegetarian fast food. It may not be an oxymoron, but it is also not a phrase that usually elicits excitement - especially among vegetarians. For us, "grab and go" usually means a handfull of celery or carrot sticks. For those with a little more time, you might be able to get a salad made to order. Then again, it is probably going to be the same salad you ordered last time. Truth be told, though, things are better than they have been in the past. Thanks to greater acceptance of the meat-free diet, most places now have some kind of vegetarian offering on the menu. Then there's Hannah's Bretzel. These little shops have eight! more ›

Grahamwich changed over to a new menu on April 1st, booting many of the sandwiches on the original menu and replacing them with the likes of Wagyu beef and a lamb gyro. Previously, all the prices on sandwiches were $10, but now they range between $7 and $10. We stopped in to check out the new eats and find out if Grahamwich worked out the limited kinks we identified at its opening. 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 ›

Though Chicagoans are a hearty bunch in the winter, it is odd to find them lined up outside on a snowy weekday waiting for lunch. Imagine our surprise to find just such a queue of hungry patrons on Wells Street in the Loop yesterday. It seems that two storms were unleashed on the downtown yesterday. One was a product of Father Winter and the other was caused by the grand opening of Jersey Mike's Subs. Judging by the throng of eager eaters, it was a grand opening indeed. more ›

After the epic Subway salmonella outbreak of Summer 2010, we were kind of wary about getting our hands on some delicious foot long sandwiches smothered in Chipotle Mayo sauce. Sorry to ruin your pre-lunch hour, but right now the food contamination problem isn't with sandwiches from Subway -- but sandwiches from Jimmy John's. more ›

We're not quite sure if it's hubris, business saavy or a healthy level of confidence in himself, but whatever you want to call it, Graham Elliot has it in spades. Before Grahamwich had even been open for a full day, and despite months (years!) of difficulties in finally getting the sandwich shop ready for the public, Elliot announced to Eater Chicago that he would be scouting locations for even more restaurants. more ›

It’s here! It’s finally here! The long-awaited Grahamwich opened yesterday, and foodies across the Chicago blogger universe are asking: Was it worth the wait? Before we begin, we must admit to being big Graham Elliot fans. We correctly predicted Graham Elliot’s Michelin star back in November, and we love the chef’s larger-than-life personality. That being said, we think that Grahamwich is worth the hype. It obviously has some growing pains ahead to wade through, but after experiencing all that is Grahamwich, we predict that it will become a destination hotspot for Chicagoans and visitors alike. more ›

Just in time for your morning rush and the final shopping days of the holiday season, grahamwich, the sandwich, soft serve and homemade soda shop from Graham Elliot Bowles, is open right now. more ›

WebMD, that haven for self-diagnosis, has created a great slideshow describing the nutritional information for some of the best and worst sandwiches in American fast food restaurants. This slideshow is particularly useful because instead of the standard preaching about avoiding all fast food, the authors have given us suggestions for eating relatively well at most of the major chains. It's also slightly shocking how many calories are packed into these sandwiches, especially at the "healthier" chains like Panera. more ›

Somehow, someone, somewhere has convinced you that Black Friday Shopping on Michigan Ave. is a good idea. Now it’s 7:30 a.m., you’ve been waiting for the stores to open and there’s no way you’re leaving the horrendous line you’re in to go wait in a worse one at Starbucks. Have no fear, L’Appetito is here! more ›

Next week, for a limited number of lunchtime customers, there is such a thing as a free lunch. To celebrate the opening of their new location on Dearborn, Hannah's Bretzel is giving away free food throughout the day on next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hannah's is tasty, and they are deeply committed to running a sustainable business, which is rare for a counter-service/fast food enterprise. They are the only fast casual establishment nominated for one of Mayor Daley's Greenworks awards, and have the highest Zagat rating of any sandwich shop in Chicago. more ›

In the predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood of Humboldt Park, you’ll find a neighborhood staple and a unique Mexican favorite at Cemitas Puebla. Well known but still unassuming, the humble storefront of Cemitas Puebla offers bold, flavorful and unique cemitas that keeps dedicated followers coming back for more. more ›

Variety may be the spice of life, but as any foodie will testify, spices bring true variety. At Cafecito, the spices are as bold as the concept behind the cafe. A Cuban-inspired cafe featuring coffee, salads, and signature pressed sandwiches, Cafecito delivers on taste, variety, and ambience. For non-meat eaters, it also delivers a wonderful selection of vegetarian dishes. more ›

Business has been booming at City Provisions' newly opened delicatessen. Cleetus Friedman and company have had a hard time keeping their house-made corned beef in stock. A Saturday visit to the deli also found they were out of a couple other lunch meats. more ›

Grahamwich is like a mirage, always just out of reach and never quite real. Yesterday, it got a little real-er, and we got even more desperate for a taste. If it gets taken away from us, we might just have to get violent. Eater Chicago got a look at the full menu for the upcoming sandwich joint, and it looks pretty amazing. Unfortunately, even their insider sources could only say that it "may or may not" open later this month. more ›

This positively depressing looking weather calls for one thing - a hearty sloppy joe. Longman & eagle go an extra step or two in preparing theirs. Wild boar is the meat used and it's given a nice spicy marinade, served on a homemade bun with crispy sage and onions, and your choice of home fries of mixed green salad. After reading Saturday's New York Times article on how more Americans are choosing fries over vegetables, we figured that change should begin at home. more ›

Urban Belly's Bill Kim announced Friday (via twitter, where else?) that Belly Shack, his sandwich shop in the old Vella Café space underneath the Western/Armitage Blue Line station, will open tomorrow at noon. You've been warned. 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 ›

Yesterday's episode of "The Cheeseburger Show" ended with Kevin Pang challenging Graham Elliot Bowles to place his indelible stamp on the cheeseburger. The result was something that could easily have been the product of a three-year-old's imagination, if that toddler had the kitchen skills of Bowles. more ›

Esquire Magazine's "Best Sandwiches in America" article is a must-read, if only for us because it gives us a checklist of places to hunt down the next time we're on vacation (btw, Katz's pastrami on rye is really all that). Although we have to question the inclusion of the McRib sandwich, we have no qualms with seeing Chick-Fil-A make an appearance on the list. more ›

Out of all of our celebrity chef crushes, Gordan Ramsay doesn't really crack the top three five ten. He just doesn't do it for us. There's something about the incessant swearing and love of horse meat that isn't attractive to Chicagoist. But he does do it for FOX viewers and restaurants that need a makeover on his Kitchen Nightmares show. We learned via Schadenfreude (and apparently there was an ad in the Reader as well)... more ›

With the new damp chill in the air, we’ve found ourselves craving a cup of hot tea. With a baby on our hip, however, we’ve been less excited about something dressy at the Drake and more nostalgic for sweats in Grandma’s kitchen. Enter Suzi’s Tea and Cafe. This former Lakeview resident is back after a few years’ hiatus in Long Grove. Occupying the former location of Las Tablas on Lincoln, the owners have remade this... more ›

In our experience, most people who eat at Costello's Sandwich and Sides get the same thing every time. It's their Costello's Match. Former Chicagoist editors Scott Smith and Erin Shea love the Heartland and Smokin' Turk, respectively. Our boyfriend's favorite is the Italian Grinder. For us, our Costello's Match is the Turkey Focaccia. Generally speaking, the Turkey Focaccia is a basic turkey sandwich — turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomato, vinaigrette. But what makes this sandwich... more ›