Until the sun is still out when we leave work and we see the color green again, we're not going to be tired of soup. Welcome back to Soup's On, our soup column designed to get you through the winter doldrums. more ›

Soup recipes are back - stay tuned for our favorite soups to keep you warm through the winter doldrums. more ›

There's an 11th commandment that only applies to people who live in places that experience freezing rain: Thou Shalt Own a Crockpot. Get your Fall on with our recipe for Homestyle Beef Stew. more ›

Hi-o, basil freaks. It's fresh basil season here in Chicago, and this is a great one. Basil plants love this humid, hot weather we've been having, so even if you aren't growing some at home, copious fresh basil is popping up at grocery stores and farmers' markets across the city. more ›

Falafill is getting good at making our snowy days a bit warmer. Just as they did during the Great Blizzard of 2011, Falafill will be offering free soup all day in honor of the weather. Just purchase any sandwich or salad bowl, and you can get a warm, steaming bowl of tasty lentil soup. The only thing better than hot soup during a snowstorm? Free hot soup during a snowstorm. more ›

It appears that Soupbox may have raised their prices since the last time we checked, but even still, you can do lunch for two for under $15 at this media darling of a soup joint. We visited the newest Soupbox spot, the Gold Coast location on Chicago Avenue. Unlike the Broadway Street location in Lakeview, the Gold Coast store does not deliver, so you're going to have to go pick it up yourself. We've got the goods and the bads on this hot spot. more ›

Welcome to the snowed-in edition of our What’s for Dinner series. Here’s a recipe for a hearty, filling soup that you can eat again and again. So quit googling “cat meat recipes” for fear of starvation - even if you can’t leave the house for a couple of days, you’ll have something to eat. more ›

Maybe that headline should be "pours out soups." Anyway, Chipotle launched it's new soup program on Monday, and Chicago is one of only two cities in the nation to get it. This is especially exciting for our vegetarian readers, as their signature soup is vegan. Pozole, a traditional Mexican stew, is being made by Chipotle with a tomato and hominy base, and will sell for $3.33 for an 8-ounce portion. If you're a dedicated carnivore, you can add meat for an additional $1.50. more ›

During this season, we obsess over farmers markets, fresh produce and light healthy meals, but even in the middle of high summer we need a little comfort food. This meal is a light version of Thanksgiving dinner with all the flavors from the stuffing wrapped up in the broth, but without the carbs and the long sleep afterward. Turkey, in our opinion, is an under-used meat, and turkey breast is one of the cheapest animal proteins around. We like it better than chicken - it has more flavor. more ›

Last week a couple of us Chicagoist staffers were on hand to represent at Hideout's Soup and Bread. It was a delight to participate and help raise a healthy chunk of change for the Lakeview Pantry. more ›

Miso is fermented paste typically made from soybeans, along with a grain (such as barley or rice), sea salt and bacteria called koji. Miso is outrageously good for us! It’s loaded with live enzymes that strengthen and protect the natural, healthy bacterial flora in our intestinal tract. Miso also contains a soy-based isoflavone known as genistein that is believed to have antioxidant effects and the potential to delay tumor growth. more ›

This week, as we've mentioned, is National Soup Week. Today's Soup and Bread event at Hideout will feature soups from Milk and Honey/Cippolina's Carol Watson and the fine folks at Lula Café. All proceeds raised this evening will be donated to the Irving Park Community Food Pantry. more ›

We may have made it into the thirties this week but its still pretty fricking cold. Good thing its National Soup week. Here are a few suggestions for keeping you doubly toasty: more ›

If you haven't noticed, Chicagoist likes soup. We don’t limit our soup to the winter months nor do we only eat gazpacho in the summer; sometimes we want a hot, comforting bowl of soup in June. That being said, really heavy and creamy soups don't sound great on the cusp of summer either. (We're complicated people.) So here is a spring version of Potato Leek Soup (adapted from this Epicurious recipe) that doesn't call for any cream, butter or milk, making it a little lighter on our palates. more ›

If you didn't attend any of Hideout's "Soup and Bread" events this winter, you're getting a mulligan today with an encore presentation featuring soups from Hideout bartender Anastasia Davies Hinschsliff Martha Bayne, Celestial Kitchens' Celeste Dolan, and Karen Gerod and the wonderful staff at Swim Caf&3233, which was a regular participant in the series. more ›

In today’s soup, we move onto an entirely different set of flavors. Rather than onions, celery, crushed red pepper or sausage, this soup has some new ingredients: curry paste, coriander seeds, coconut milk, ginger. The end result is a creamy broth that, depending on your taste, can be as spicy or as savory as you like. Play with the optional ingredients, try something new, or substitute something familiar - this is a very versatile soup and a good introduction to some basic Thai spices. We bought all of our ingredients at a normal grocery store - the “Thai Kitchen” brand is usually reliable. more ›

Hosting ad-hoc soup kitchens have been all the rage this winter. From 1-4 p.m. Sunday at Custom House (500 S. Dearborn, 312-523-0020) the big boys get in on the act. more ›

This winter, we’ve been on a real root vegetable kick. We’ve re-discovered beets, come to love turnips and remembered that we don’t really like parsnips as much as we think we should. In our kitchen, root veggies have been steamed, roasted, pickled and turned into pasta. But, aside from last week’s Onion Soup, they haven’t really been turned into soup. more ›

This spicy soup is perfect for those of you who prefer a lighter winter soup. No potatoes, no cream, nothing too rich - just good hearty sausages and tender red peppers. Oh, and enough garlic to wake the dead. more ›

Starting this Wednesday and running through April Fool's Day, Hideout will be transformed into a soup line with a weekly dinner featuring three soups fashioned by Hideout staff, regulars, local chefs and maybe even a food writer/blogger or three. more ›

While the weather when the puck drops Thursday at Wrigley field will be nowhere near the extremes of the Bears' last three home games, it'll still be cold. While we know some of you attending the game will be sneaking flasks, beer and soda will also be served in plastic bottles only. Hot chocolate will be served in a commemorative Winter Classic cup, as well. more ›

A pound and a half filet of cod in the freezer and all out of ideas for what to do with it. Sure, we could grill it or pan fry it, or even bake it, but we've done all those things before. They're all delicious, but not new or exciting. And then along to the rescue comes Elise Bauer at one of our favorite food blogs Simply Recipes. For Lent Elise reposted a recipe for her dad's fish stew. Intrigued? Yes, we were. more ›

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• Mattell will make a collectible Barbie based on locally-based sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha (Barbie Dream Gamekeepers not included).
• For the curious: the man whom the Bishop Ford Freeway is named after.
• Mayor Daley open to the idea of closing half-empty schools.

In what's become an annual feature here at Chicagoist and a personal favorite, we canvassed the staff for some of their best recipes and put together a potluck of amazing proportions to fascinate your taste buds, amaze your family (even the ones entranced by the football games), and bring about peace on earth - or at least in your family - for a few hours through the miracle of tryptophan, simple starches, and sugar... more ›

All Arthur Friedman wanted to do was liven things up in the bedroom. He and his wife, Natalie, had been married for ten years, and things were getting a bit, ahem, stale. Instead of the usual suspects — lingerie, porn, toys, weekend get-a-ways — Arthur had one tiny request: he wanted to watch his wife engaging in sexual acts with other men and women. (We imagine her response was something along the lines of, "oh honey, how romantic!") more ›

There are a lot of rules at Viet Hoa Plaza, which really isn’t a plaza but an Oriental market on Argyle. The signs posted throughout the store inform shoppers that since there are no refunds, returns or exchanges — exceptions are made for defective rice cookers, and thermo and hot pots — they should inspect all items before leaving. Just in case you didn’t get that, rule No. 4 states that “All sales final.” Are we clear on that? And don’t even think about writing a check — rule No. 5 — but these days we don’t know anyone who does. more ›

When you have a six-month-old, your restaurant expectations change dramatically. You’d give a place four stars if it has clean high chairs, a place to stow your car seat, attentive service, and food good enough to spend the 30 minutes it takes to get your kid ready and load him into the car. Mrs. Murphy and Son’s Irish Bistro on Lincoln just about fits the bill. The first thing we noticed as our eyes adjusted to the dim light was the sight of an actual, log-burning fireplace. As our eyes continued to focus, settling on the massive, beautiful teak bar, we revised that thought to include a nice stout. more ›

Chicagoist often thinks of restaurants like friends, and thus our experiences with restaurants are oftentimes described in terms of human relationships. For example, one restaurant we eat at is a go-to kind of friend; always open, never a hassle, no complications. Another restaurant we like to go to keeps letting us down because our expectations are too high ... and yet, we keep going back for more. more ›

How Do I Get Lucky in the New Year? more ›