As we noted earlier in the year Shawn McClain’s Spring will be closing at the end of 2010. If you are a fan of Spring, this is your last chance to get a taste. Spring has created a menu featuring the most popular dishes from over the last decade, and it looks to be a doozy. They are offering two seatings on New Year’s Eve, an early seating with four courses for $145 and a later Gala seating with 5 courses for $195. The Gala seating also includes champagne and party favors, and both dinners include all wine pairings. more ›

Hot off the wire - Spring, Shawn McClain's pioneering Bucktown restaurant, will be closing after New Year's Eve. "The close of the year seemed like the right time to let Spring go," McClain said. He plans to focus more on his other restaurants, Green Zebra and Sage (in Las Vegas). He will split his time between the two. If you're desperate for a fix at Spring, they will be offering special meals in November and December made of their most popular dishes over the years. Four-course menus will be $59. more ›

The business partnership between Shawn McClain, Peter Drohomyrecky and Sue Kim-Drohomyrecky has been slowly dissolving over the past year. McClain decided to retain the vegetarian-focused Green Zebra while also focusing on Sage, his restaurant in Las Vegas' Aria hotel; while the Drohomyreckys now own Custom House Tavern outright. more ›

At least among our limited circle of friends, the Drawing Room is a restaurant masked by confusion. Despite their intense PR efforts over the past couple of years, some seemed unsure about what, exactly, the Drawing Room is. “Isn’t that just a nightclub?” “I have no idea where that place is, and I’ve walked past it a thousand times!” “Isn’t that, like, a hidden strip club?” Admittedly, the last one was a bit of a stretch. We had visited Le Colonial, their upstairs neighbor, at least 10 times without noticing the entrance and staircase leading down to the basement restaurant. We’re very glad that streak has finally been broken. The Drawing Room is a gem of a place; small and cozy, beautifully designed, offering interesting, well-priced food and amazing cocktails. more ›

Thursday night some of Chicago's best chefs will be preparing dishes for Toque, an event to benefit Children's Oncology Services, Inc. The benefit takes place at Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State Street) and will includes cocktails and a degustation menu as well as both a silent and live auction. Tickets are $250 each. Bill Kurtis, founder of Tallgass Beef Company, will be the Master of Ceremonies and the Chef Coordinator for the event is Michael Kornick of MK, one of our favorites. Featured Chefs include: more ›

• 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 the time and/or something to write about. (Again, via).
• The Tribune ran a wonderful piece yesterday on how some of Our Town's best chefs would reinvent that all-American staple, the hot dog. Check out Shawn McClain's tofu version with kimchi and sport peppers, Rick Bayless' Chi-Mex hot dog, or Charlie Trotter's Asian tuna dog.

In just a few short weeks, will hit the airwaves and we're counting down the days to the March 12 season premiere. In addition to placing the city's restaurant scene at the forefront of the series and the backdrop for the competition, there are three chefs with local ties competing for the title of "Top Chef." more ›

A gift from Cupid's Treasures may be nice once in a while, but food is a time-tested aphrodisiac. Restaurants throughout the city are gearing up for one of their busiest days Thursday. Here is a list of price fixe dinners guaranteed to mae a romantic out of even the most callous individuals. more ›

After months of spying and accounts of shooting around town, Bravo finally announced the contestants for the next season of "Top Chef" today (you can read the release here). While the lineup of chefs vying to impress Padma and company are largely from the coasts, three of the contestants have Chicago ties: more ›

Angels will get their wings this Saturday night at Custom House. From 6-9 p.m. Shawn McClain's South Loop steakhouse is hosting a fundraiser to benefit Blue Sky Inn. Frequent shoppers at area farmers markets might be familiar with Blue Sky Inn for the work they do with their transitional work program, "A Taste of Success." The program hires and trains homeless youth in baking pastries, which are then sold at farmers markets and through catering... more ›

A good drink can improve the quality level of a meal. It can make a mediocre dinner tolerable, or raise the bar on a perfectly cooked entree. The best chefs, along with their sommeliers, wine stewards, and spirits experts, plan a meal and its pairings with meticulous detail. Although beer and food have complemented each other for centuries, restaurants in the States are placing an increased emphasis on offering beer pairings for those who don't... more ›

Let's start the buffet off with this video this video singing the praises of the Harold's 6-piece wing dinner. The language is NSFW, but if you're watching this in the office, you're probably the only one left, so crank it. Memorial Day is the (un)official start of grilling season. We've had the grill on an eternal flame for two months now, but loaded up on fresh vegetables from the farmer's market, tri-tip steaks from... more ›

Twenty of the top chefs in Chicago are joining forces with Food & Wine Magazine for the 2006 Entertaining Showcase at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Wednesday, November 15. The list of participating chefs reads like a who's who of Chicago fine dining: Food & Wine Best New Chefs Michael Carlson of Schwa and Graham Elliot Bowles of Avenues, Grant Achatz from Alinea, Shawn McClain from Spring, Green Zebra and Custom House, and Andrew Zimmerman... more ›

Color us not too shocked. Monday night's James Beard Awards were handed out in New York City, and Chicago's Shawn McClain took home the Best Chef: Midwest prize, beating out Naha's Carrie Nahabedian for the coveted award. McClain won for his work at Spring. Other Chicagoans weren't so lucky. Poor Grant: Danny Meyer over at NYC's The Modern beat him out for Best New Restaurant and Thomas Keller's famed French Laundry whupped both Jean Joho's... more ›

With such a proliferation of food- and cooking-focused blogs and web sites out there, some days it's all Chicagoist can do to get to a handful of them to keep up. However, as is the case with the industry itself, the more the merrier. So in the same way we're always stoked to find a new approach to duck breast, we're equally as happy to find a blog with a different twist. more ›

Ever since Trio became Trio Atelier, foodies in Chicago have wondered how the experiment would pan out in the long run. The quality of food remained - by far some of the best you'd find in the Chicagoland area - but, alas, it was never really the same. more ›

Woe is the vegetarian in a city known for its meat. more ›

Tickets are now available for Recipe For Relief, the Jimmy Banos-led culinary benefit for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. On Oct. 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at The Grand Ballroom at McCormick Place South, 2301 S. Martin Luther King Dr., the event includes music, a silent auction and cookbook signing with Rick Bayless. To be clear, Chicagoist is heartbroken than such an event is necessary but we have to tell you that as... more ›

Not long ago Chicagoist was taken to Green Zebra, the second Chicago restaurant from chef/owner Shawn McClain (Trio alum & executive chef/owner of Wicker Park’s Spring). Green Zebra – named after Chicagoist’s favorite heirloom tomato variety (oh, yes…we’ll be seeing the tomatoes soon, oh so very soon… giggle…titter…drool) Sorry. We get excited. Known predominately for its veggicentric menu (but have no fear they also included a few carniverous offerings when we were there), the restaurant has become a destination for vegetarians looking for haute cuisine. We had a dish that was just a fantastic combination of flavors and textures, so we made it at home, with some variations. more ›

Yesterday the nominees for the biggest prize awarded to select members of the culinary world were announced and, not surprisingly, Chicago is well represented. more ›

In its December issue, Travel + Leisure Magazine chose the best new American restaurant in 10 cities.. and guess what? They've profiled 7 Chicago restaurants. Yay us! On the list are: more ›

Whoa, crazy brainphone between Chicagoist and the New York Times—both of us are all about Green Zebra today. Chicagoist was there last night, and lookie lookie who's got a review of it today. Crazygonuts. more ›