It looks like cupcakes might be taking over the Loop: Crumbs Bake Shop, a famous bakery based in New York City (of course), opened yesterday and gave away 1,000 muffin-sized cupcakes. Normally, the muffin-sized signature cupcakes at Crumbs costs $3.75 each, but less monstrous cupcakes go for $2.99 each. more ›

Many of our readers probably caught Time Out Chicago's famous"100 Best Things We Ate This Year" list earlier this week - one of our favorite pieces of food coverage every year. December is the season for lists of one sort or another, and they will start coming fast and furious over the next few weeks. The Stew just released its list of dining trends for 2011 - in the model of Project Runway, they have announced what will be "in" and what will be "out." The list, whatever it's other qualities, is a hilarious read, though we are hoping that not all of it comes true. more ›

Cupcakes have been a hot food item for several years now, and it looks like this gustatory trend has no intention of slowing down. Rumor has it that famous New York bakery, Magnolia Bakery, has been shopping around for a space on State Street to bring the famous cupcake store to the Loop. If everything goes smoothly, Magnolia Bakery hopes to open during spring of 2011. more ›

• Haven't checked in on Grub Street Chicago since Nick Kindelsperger took over as editor. Looks like the site has finally lost that new guy smell. [GS Chi]
• Chicago Magazine lists their best new restaurants of last year. [Chicago Mag]
• Sun-Times food editor Janet Rausa Fuller followed food truck advocate Matt Maroni around the National Restaurant Association trade show. Must-read. [Sun-Times]

Every year, the National Restaurant Association releases its top 20 trends in the restaurant industry on the eve of its annual trade show (closing its run today at McCormick Place). And yet we've stopped being surprised at the disconnect between the report — with its focus on local, sustainable and nutritious foodstuffs — and the realities on the show floor with its emphasis on pre-packaged, processed food, factory farms and heavy duty refrigeration. more ›

Occasionally, we come across a new boozy ingredient that catches our eye. There are always new brands of vodka or new vintages of wine, but once in a while something really different calls out to us in the liquor store. Sometimes, this is a good thing. And sometimes... well, let's just say tasting booze isn't always fun and games. more ›

The ever intrepid Helen Rosner at Grub Street Chicago went through the Grub Street/MenuPages Chicago database and found that restaurant openings in Chicago were very strong in 2009. For the calendar year, 243 restaurants opened, with big-name openings like XOCO, Cibo Matto and Terzo Piano in the mix. 153 restaurants closed in that same time span, but the bottom line was that there always seemed to be some new place opening that drew crowds. more ›

The Magalitsa pig, also known as the "curly haired hog," is a breed of pig that originated from Hungary and the Balkans known for its thick wooly coat. The meat from a Mangalitsa pig is also rich in fat and is reputed to have a flavor and texture similar to Wagyu beef. In gourmet circles Mangalitsas have eclipsed mulefoots as the new trendy pork. more ›

Time Out Chicago's David Tamarkin tries to write a humorous piece about our obsession with bacon — he thinks it's much ado about nothing — but comes across sounding like Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino." Thanks, David. You just gave us an excuse to run another shot of our recent pantry meat experiment. [TOC] more ›

We’ve seen a new type of product showing up in liquor stores over the last few months: purified, spring-water ice. The ice is sold in large, zip-top bags or in individually wrapped trays that are ready-to-freeze. The claim is that “ordinary” ice, either bought at a grocery store or made in your freezer, is not made with pure water and will change the flavor of drinks. To be frank, this sounded like the height of pointless snobbery – and it also struck us as somewhat twisted to be selling luxury ice during a recession. We were sent a bag of one of these products, called “On The Rocks,” and we decided to conduct a little taste test! more ›

You know that thing you never do? Now it will cost another 25 cents if you start to do it. Yes, the Tribune is increasing its newsstand price to 75 cents for Monday-Saturday editions, but the Sunday edition remains $1.79. The memo sent out from Tony Hunter, the Trib's senior vice president of circulation and operations, said: more ›

When you think of stylish, modern fashion, don't the terms "neon," "flares," "fringe" and "overalls" pop into your mind? Oh, wait, they don't? Well, on Wednesday's fashion designer throw down, the challengers were faced with modernizing such dreaded fashion trends that we all hoped were relegated to the design graveyard in the sky. As if designing a chic outfit with shoulder pads wasn't hard enough, Nina Garcia also bore the bad news that they would... more ›

Now that we’ve recovered from the sugar crash, we can tell you about some of the things we found during our visit yesterday to the National Confectioners Association’s All Candy Expo at McCormick Place, which ends tomorrow. The industry-only event draws 20,000 visitors to town to sample over 2,000 gums, candies, and snack foods. New products and trends within the industry are also unveiled with all the accompanying sizzle to prospective retailers and wholesalers. The... more ›

The new beige will be on display when the Chicago Luxury Home Tour opens its doors for a three-week run this weekend. The tour highlights twenty-nine $1 million-plus homes in the Chicagoland area, and features the latest in home construction to home design trends. A wide variety of architectural styles are featured in homes built by multiple builders. With houses located from Lake Bluff to Yorkville, from Barrington Hills to Hinsdale, the homes, all outside... more ›

Common has long been one of Chicago's most valuable artistic resources. As trends swept through the hip-hop world, carrying every johnny-come-lately in their wake, Common remained true to his muse. While his early work was solid, containing such standouts as "Used To Love H.E.R.," we feel he really hit his stride during the sweet lilt of breakthrough album Like Water For Chocolate, and we became true fans in the face of the sonic experiments that... more ›

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities. Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the... more ›

Where Chicagoist used to live, we were within walking distance to three (or more, depending on boundary definitions) cemeteries. Not one to be easily creeped out by the prospect, their proximity actually sweetened the pot for us. We’re no Fox Mulder, but we are of the ilk that likes the occasional cemetery walk: peace and quiet, nice funerary art, and a different angle on local history. Some of the places we know are full up and not accepting any new arrivals. However, others have plenty of exploitable space … perhaps too much. more ›

The big event happening this weekend is the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show at McCormick Place. The event features over 2,000 exhibitors in nearly 900 product categories showcasing the latest kitchen innovations and technology, sustainability concepts, and fine cuisine. Highlights of the show this year include a celebrity bookstore (a new feature where celebrity chefs and restaurateurs will be in attendance signing books) a food fair featuring regional specialty foods from across the country,... more ›

Were you aware that our state is the 2nd largest corn producer in the United States? According to Chicago Public Radio, the price of corn has doubled since this time last year and Illinois farmers are taking full advantage of it. Chris Gould, an Illinois farmer profiled in the story, said that normally during harvest season the price starts to drop and farmers are paid to hang on to the corn until the buyers need... more ›

It’s not often that the American public surprises Chicagoist. We’re usually pretty good at guessing the trends of middle minds across the country, but last night we were surprised … twice. more ›

We've heard a bunch about pop-up stores; shops that open up for a week or month, create a lot of buzz and then fade off, but haven't been particularly interested in any of them until we heard about Altoids' new store, set to open tomorrow and close on Valentine's Day.
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In the spirit of year-end lists, here are Chicagoist's top food events and trends (both good and bad) of 2006. more ›

Two weeks ago we found out the Finkl steel plant is moving out of its Lincoln Park home. This week the debate over what to do with the 200,000 square feet of real estate is heating up. The site sits in what was the first planned manufacturing district (PMD) in Chicago, an area where residential construction is prohibited and retail activity limited. Considering recent trends in housing and transportation, PMDs make lots of sense. The City That Works would be in bad shape if all the manufacturing jobs moved out to the suburbs; diversity of businesses is a good thing — longer commutes, not so good. more ›

More than 1000 chefs were surveyed about industry trends for the coming years by the National Restaurant Association, and the results announced yesterday provide a glimpse of what diners in both Chicago and nationwide can expect to see on their plates. more ›

A study recently released by the Center for Housing Policy identifies the current trends in housing and transportation costs around the nation. MSN has a short summary of it. On average, Chicagoans spend 33 percent of their incomes on housing and transportation combined. Chicagoist has noticed in the past few years that more and more young people with professional jobs are moving into the city after growing up in the suburbs. Apparently this trend hasn’t picked up enough steam to change the well known wealthy suburbs/working class city situation yet though. City residents actually spend a bit more than that average on transportation and housing costs than suburbanites. This is attributed to the commute more and more people are doing from Chicago to sub-urban job centers combined with a transportation system designed for the opposite direction of commuting. Chicagoist has several friends who are stuck driving out to jobs in the burbs everyday so we know how much of a pain it can be. more ›

Somewhere along the line, sheets with two holes and haunted hayrides lost their fright value. In order to keep up with the changing times, Halloween trends began leading more toward psychiatric ward-themed haunted houses and costumes of straitjacketed serial killers. Sure that kind of stuff can be scary, but this year the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is asking people to tone down the “mentally insane” themes from their Halloween festivities. more ›

Chicagoist likes to think we’re still young and a little hip, but news about young adult shopping trends and department stores has left us scratching our head. Sure, we lamented the loss of Marshall Fields, but, truth be told, we never shopped there. Same goes for most other department stores. So it doesn't surprise us when they close. more ›

We have no beef with The Chicago Tribune’s primary rock critic, Greg Kot. We’ve never accused him of exactly being cutting edge, but we do believe he writes insightful and honest critiques for the most part. Unfortunately, since Matt Lurie left the paper, the Trib had been pretty devoid of anything approaching decent music coverage. They’re consistently behind the trends and most of their freelancers would be better used to compose press releases instead of... more ›

Southgate Market, the ginormous shopping mall being built in the South Loop, will have a few stores open for shoppers in a few short weeks, just in time for the holidays. However, the mall's centerpiece retailer -- you know which one -- won't be one of them. In today's Bright One, a Whole Foods spokesperson said that the 55,000-square-foot store won't be open until May, as they work out the kinks and figure out... more ›

While the first day of September marked the first day of meteorological fall, today is the autumnal equinox, which kicks off autumn for real. If the chilly weather hasn't brought them out already, it's official. The sweaters and boots can come out of the closet. Perhaps even a light, jaunty scarf. more ›