Eataly scopes out Chicago locations, Urban Union launches a new brunch menu, and other news. more ›

Forbes estimates that His Airness brings in $60 million in endorsements annually, more than what he made when he was a player. more ›

7931 Lincoln Avenue, Skokie. more ›

Most people think Chicago's meat producing days are over - that is, if they think about that sort of thing at all. The stockyards, The Jungle; these things have passed into history and legend. We don't do that sort of stuff here anymore. Now we have lofts and boutiques! Wrong. Allen Brothers is still cutting, aging and packing premium meat on the South Side, just like they've been doing since 1893. I went behind the scenes at their Chicago facility to see how real steakhouse steaks were created. more ›

Kevin kindly pointed out today's Groupon deal of the day is for $25 worth of steak at Polo Café and Catering in the wunnerful Bridgeport area. more ›

We dined at a churrascaria recently and, while officially and famously known for slow roasted meats over an open flame, we were charmed by the caipirinhas we drank. The caipirinha is Brazil's national drink and is made with cachaça, lime and sugar. Cachaça is similar to rum but the distillation process varies by distillery, resulting in products of wildly varying quality. Texas de Brazil's was sunshine, summer and heat in an ice-filled glass. The sweetened citrus balances out the salted meats and refreshes the palate. more ›

Hearts all across Chicago were broken last January when Zephyr closed its doors. We walked past its former space a few days ago and wouldn't you know, construction workers were busy building what looked to be another restaurant. Alas, it won't be Zephyr 2.0 but rather an Irish-style bar and restaurant (pictured), opening in March 2008 (to their best estimate). The workers didn't know what it was going to be called. New York Times writer... more ›

It’s all fun and games until someone calls sell-out, but how is almost every artist not a sell-out when it comes to putting tunes behind a commercial these days? From the use of “Lust for Life” to get us aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise to Wilco shilling for Volkswagen, what are the best or worst songs used in commercials? Mark Caro wants your comments about that over at his blog, Pop Machine. Do we care... more ›

Two years ago, we had the pleasure of meeting Bob Lempinen, an executive Vice President at Distinguished Brands International. Distinguished Brands imports O'Hara's Irish Stout in the U.S. Lempinen insisted that O'Hara's was better than Guinness. We thought it was nothing more than him pushing his portfolio hard - he said that about all the beers he carried - and went along our way. Months passed, at a friend's birthday party we had the opportunity... more ›

As with the previous two playoff games, Mayor Daley will make a food-related wager with his counterpart in Indianapolis on the upcoming Super Bowl that'll see our Bears and their Colts face off in Miami. Chicago, with our great gastronomic traditions, always offers up a smorgasbord of culinary delights — deep dish pizza, Eli's cheesecake, Vienna hot dogs, Ann Sather cinnamon rolls, Italian beef, Mexican foods, etc. But typically Chicago gets the short end of... more ›

If one had to determine the dominant cuisine in Chicago's restaurant industry, one could probably toss a coin between Italian and Mexican, and still not have a definitive answer. Both styles are ubiquitous, vary from four-star fine dining to takeout, and are sources of heated debate among gourmands. more ›

In what's likely to become an annual rumor, the Trib hints that Michael Jordan is pondering yet another comeback. Jordan has been spotted at Hoops the Gym playing some b-ball with current NBA stars like Antoine Walker and Michael Finley. And supposedly he's still able to hold his own on the court still. Past appearances of this nature did preceed his other comebacks. more ›

Few things symbolize Chicago like Michael Jordan or a nice, big steak. So Chicagoist has no idea why it's taken so long for Michael Jordan�s Steak House to open a Chicago location. more ›