We are deeply committed to historic preservation - but you know what's even better than touring beautiful old buildings? Touring beautiful old buildings and then drinking beer. The Chicago Architecture Foundation, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Landmarks Illinois, is pairing walking tours of the loop with stops at different downtown pubs. "Preservation and Pubs" will showcase the issues surrounding historic preservation, and will include buildings "both familiar and unnoticed." There are three different routes, and each tour lasts an hour. The "west route" ends at the Sky-Ride Lounge, the "south route" ends at Kasey's and the "north route" ends at Cardozo's Pub. After the tour, participants will have an opportunity to grab a few beers and talk about the tour, the particular pub and its history, and the work of Landmarks Illinois. more ›

Resurrection Mary is by far Chicago's best-known ghost story. We've traveled Archer Avenue around the Willowbrook Ballroom on Halloween, in the dead of winter, even riding a Schwinn, in the hopes that Mary wanted to mount the sissy bar for a lift. more ›

Local bicycle tour website Chicago Velo and real estate company Big Shoulders Realty have put together a series of guided bicycle tours through some of Chicago's classic neighborhoods. Their current season is winding down in a month, but you can still register for Saturday's tour of Bridgeport and Armour Square. more ›

Landmarks Illinois is hosting a historic pub crawl of Bridgeport taverns this evening. Walking tours are great ways to discover new neighborhoods and walking around Bridgeport did wonders for me when I first moved to the neighborhood eleven years ago. So did visiting some of the taverns like Shinnick's, Bernice's Tavern (pictured), Schaller's Pump, Catcher's, Maria's and Mitchell's Tap (the bar formerly known as Puffer's). If Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, then a pub crawl through one of the oldest is a fine way to spend a Friday evening. more ›

Pilsen's annual ¡Buen Provecho! restaurant tour is fast approaching. Slated for September 16, which also marks the Mexican Bicentennial, the $25 tour of 20 Pilsen restaurants, hosted by the Eighteenth Street Development Corporation, is one of the more thorough neighborhood food tours in the city, and one of the more popular. more ›

Goose Island throws an annual pig roast on the brewery's loading dock benefiting Slow Food Chicago, among the many other Dionysian extravaganzas they host on the dock. The lineup of chefs for this year's model, coming up next Sunday, August 22 from 2-5 p.m., has a list of chefs that eclipses last year's inaugural lineup. more ›

During WhiskyFest Chicago we wrote about the upcoming moves of Koval Distillery, including tours of their Andersonville facility. Those tours are now in full swing and, at $10 a head, are one of the best deals going. It's also a great way to learn about Koval's process of distilling, historical facts of making liquor and get to taste their spirits. more ›

Former Chicagoista and local comedienne Margaret Hicks is offering heated tours of the Chicago Pedway this winter. Says Hicks, "These aren't your grandmother's tours, it's more like the Fight Club of tours. We learn things but we laugh a lot too. I'm a performer at heart. Wait till you see my Burnham impression." Hicks says these are great tours for Chicagoans who want to learn more about the city. "You know, you come on your lunch hour, learn about the crazy Pedway system but also learn about cool buildings and Chicago history; all without ever going outside." more ›

• Tonight: Head out to D.O.C. Wine Bar (2602 N. Clark, 773-883-5101) for their $25 “Millionaire’s Flight” Fridays. Every friday through January Sommelier and Wine Director Greg Sorrell hand-selects special wines that are generally offered only by the bottle to showcase.
• Saturday: La Madia's cooking class series continues with tomorrow's lesson in how to make pizza. from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., learn how to make proper artisan pizza dough and proper “stretching” techniques. Recipes include a classic margherita pizza, which includes La Madia’s signature tomato sauce, as well as a seasonal winter pizza. Both wood-burning oven firing and home-oven baking techniques will be discussed while participants enjoy perfectly paired wine selections. Guests will also receive a take-home pizza making kit so they can try the recipes. (59 W Grand, 312-329-0400)
• Saturday: the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Wine and food has set up a tour of Intelligentsia Coffee's Fulton Street roasting works from 10 a.m. - noon. Cost is $30 ($20 for AIWF members). RSVP here.

The Andersonville Development Corporation is sponsoring its 4th annual dessert crawl Sunday from 2-5 p.m. A celebration of all things sugar, spice and everything nice, the crawl is divided into two routes. "Sugar" consists of participating businesses like Ann Sather's,George's Ice Cream and Sweets, Hamburger Mary's, In Fine Spirits, La Cocina de Frida. The "spice" route includes Andie's, Big Jones, Charlie's Ale House, Fireside, M. Henry and others. It's also a good walk along either route, so all those sweets don't go to your, um, wherever. more ›

So we didn't get the Olympics? Relax! People still gotta eat and, regardless of the outcome, supporters and opponents of the bid would have had a reason to drink tonight. Here are some events coming up in the next week of note. more ›

More people are moving south to Pilsen and Bridgeport in search of cheap housing and rents, and that's led to a slow but steady increase in dining options for our part of town; we'll have a review of Nana Friday. 18th Street in Pilsen has even seen some diversity with the recent openings of Ristorante al Teatro and Ciao Amore, and Honky Tonk BBQ before that. more ›

Hey, remember Margaret Hicks, our once intrepid literature writer and reality-TV lover? There's an article on her in today's Chicago Tribune! They feature the tour she gives through Old Town that centers on the history of Second City and the surrounding area. Chicagoist ... we discover tomorrow's superstars! more ›

Rogers Park is one of the city's most ethnically diverse neighborhoods; organizing an "Alphabet of Nations" tour of its restaurants seems eminently feasible. From 4-8 p.m. Sunday, that's exactly what's going to happen. more ›

It's simply a shame that New Glarus Brewing doesn't distribute their product to Illinois. The official line from New Glarus is that they had a hard enough time keeping up with demand in their home state of Wisconsin; the Carey's decision to leave Illinois was made easier when their former local distributor was merged into Southern Wine and Spirits seven years ago and SWS asked for $20,000 from the Careys to opt out of their distribution agreement (source). 'Course, that hasn't stopped some local establishments from bringing in New Glarus' offerings. We've had our share of Raspberry Tart at Delilah's, and one of the early selling points of the Burlington — besides Tankboy's incessant pimping of the place (kidding, Jim) was the poorly kept secret that their "house beer" was Spotted Cow on draft. more ›

When we covered the Wright Plus tour organized by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust last spring, a number of readers commented that they'd wished we'd mentioned the event before it took place and before tickets sold out. So consider yourself put on notice. more ›