The new vegan cookbook from The Spork Sisters is filled with recipes that make meat-free dining easy and approachable. more ›

Jan. 16 - 20 is Veggie Week at Grubwithus. All you have to do to enjoy one of these delicious, family-style, sitdown dinners is sign up! more ›

The Lincoln Square restaurant is closing, but they are throwing one final party. Tomorrow, enjoy free food and drinks while bidding on the restaurant's furniture and fixtures. more ›

Seats are already going fast for the Goose Island Beer Pairing Dinner slated for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, December 16. more ›

In their grand tradition of quantifying everything around us, U.S. News and World Report ranks the efficiency of popular diets. more ›

The Counter's veggie burgers have gotten rave reviews, and now they are giving them away for free on World Vegetarian Day. more ›

Quinoa. You might not know how to pronounce it, but you have probably seen it on a menu or two or in the health food section of your local grocery store. To the untrained eye, it looks like a grain . . . almost like rice. But cooks and healthy eating aficionados know that it is something more. Quinoa is an ancient and nearly perfect food, as good for you as it is good tasting. As the fight against obesity and unhealthy diets ratchets up, we think you are going to be seeing and eating a lot more of it in the days ahead. more ›

Have you tried tofu noodles yet? Increasingly popular because they look like regular pasta and are almost as versatile, tofu noodles have far fewer carbohydrates than their flour-based cousins. They are made from soy and are usually ready to eat straight out of the package. To warm them up, up you can simply run them under a hot tap or give them a quick dip in a pot of boiling water. They hold sauces quite nicely and are fantastic in cold salads. Chicago’s own Phoenix Bean is one of the premier producers of tofu noodles. Owner Jenny Yang and her crew can be found at farmers’ markets all over the city selling their noodles and tofu and their products can be found in both local stores and restaurants. You can even visit their factory in Edgewater to buy fresh at great prices. more ›

Some things were simply meant to go together. Take for instance, peaches and cream, gin and tonic, or even Starsky and Hutch. To quote the old Reese's commercial, they are "two great tastes that taste great together". But what about curry and pizza? It may not sound like a match made in heaven, but then again we neither eat with our ears nor our eyes. If this combination strikes you as even the least bit intriguing, then head on down to Curried in the Loop and get a little taste of something divine. more ›

Wrigleyville's Pick Me Up Café is best known for three things. It has tons of vegetarian options, you can order breakfast any time the café is open, and it is open almost all the time. We stopped in on a Sunday afternoon to give it a try and find out if the Pick Me Up Café would live up to its name. more ›

With St. Patrick’s Day so close at hand, thoughts immediately turn to all things Irish. From potatoes to beer and, of course, that propensity to party into the wee hours o’ the morning, St. Patty’s is a day of overindulgence. If you are looking to avoid that green feeling of a morning-after hangover, your best bet is to steer clear of the beer and indulge in a little solid Irish fare. In fact, for those of the veggie persuasion, what better a holiday to enjoy than this - the greenest of days. more ›

Whether you like your dairy servings in a glass or on a plate, there are plenty of tasty possibilities that are free of lactose and animal proteins. In Part I, we covered legume or plant-based milks as well as an overview of the major types of milk alternatives. Now we conclude, with a look at nut and grain-based milk alternatives. more ›

Vegetarians cannot live by carrot sticks alone. There must be more to a diet than grazing on greens for it to be healthy and satisfying. We want foods that are good for us, full of flavor, and similar to what we see our friends eating. Vegetarians may be adventurous eaters some of the time. But other times we want things to have a taste and texture that is familiar. After all, we are not adverse to the flavors of meat. We just do not like from where it comes. Ironic, you say? Maybe. But it is amazing what one can do with a little time and some kitchen magic. When you need to satisfy that craving for something that looks and tastes like meat, but isn't, slice up a little seitan. more ›

Hummus, a staple of Middle Eastern cuisines, has not always been so wildly popular in America. It was not all that long ago when someone looking for a tasty blend of chickpeas and tahini could only turn to the city's ethnic delis and cafes. As eaters have become more health conscious and adventurous, hummus has become common in grocery stores everywhere. There are many different flavors, colors, and textures from which to choose. While many of the store-bought brands are good, the secret to getting really great hummus is simple - make it yourself. more ›

After some heavy-duty, overindulgent holiday meals, some of are worried about fitting into those flashy NYE threads. For the foodies in all of us, detox diets simply won’t do and compromising on bland tastes are out of the question. Find a better solution with delicious Loving Hut, which offers a wide variety of tasty Asian dishes that are both organic and vegan friendly. more ›

Ah Thanksgiving, that day of over-indulgent days - a holiday celebrated by the consumption of copious amounts of roasted, baked, fried, and boiled foods. For many, the centerpiece of this feast is the turkey. However, not everyone looks forward to celebrating with a drumstick. For vegetarians and vegans, Thanksgiving can be a difficult holiday to digest. If you are of the veggie variety, so-called "Turkey Day" does not have to be an occasion to dread. A little pre-holiday planning and prep is all it takes to make it through the day with a full tummy and a clear conscience. more ›

Today at noon, two activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will be handing out free Tofutti Cuties in front of Wrigley Field. Described as "delicious nondairy ice cream sandwiches," the free snacks will help Chicagoans cool off in the summer heat, even if the provocative, 1940's-inspired ice cream parlor outfits might heat a few spectators up. "We hope that these frozen treats will help folks who are feeling the heat in Chicago understand that it's never been easier to help prevent climate change and improve their health," PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a statement. "Choosing healthy and delicious vegan foods is good for the planet and your waistline and helps prevent the suffering of countless animals on factory farms." more ›

• Tonight: The Store (2002 N. Halsted) is hosting "Martini Madness," benefiting Cabrini Connections, an organization that provides mentoring and tutoring to children living in Cabrini Green. $40, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
• Saturday: VeganMania, a festival of all things vegan, takes place at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse (1419 W. Blackhawk) from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Best thing about this is it's free.
• Sunday: The Publican's monthly beer dinner will feature selections from St.Feuillien. Cost is $40 for the family-style dinner, $15-$20 extra for the beer. (837 W. Fulton Mkt., 5-10 p.m.)

For the past month, Chicagoist has been saluting National Vegan Month with restaurant visits, recipes and photo galleries. One thing we've noticed is the lack of strictly-vegan restaurants in our city. Amitabul, Karyn's Raw Cafe, and Chicago Diner are among the few and proud. But lucky for us, there is a strong showing of vegan-friendly restaurants which are, typically, vegetarian restaurants with vegan offerings. more ›

November is National Vegan Month and to celebrate we will be bringing you recipes, reviews and food pr0n of vegan dishes and restaurants. We found this animal product-free cookie recipe from an excellent source for vegan recipes and news- Chef Beverly Lynn Bennett's website, The Vegan Chef. We swapped a few ingredients for others and added a few of our own (because we lurve coconut) and made some pretty delicious cookies. Although, we must admit, the absence of butter, refined sugar and eggs were missed. Vegans: we'd love to hear your cookie-baking insights and secret ingredients below... more ›

When the temperature in Chicago is 80 degrees with 100 percent humidity, a giant sandwich of stacked meat and melted cheese is slightly less appealing to us that it was four months ago. In our quest to find a sandwich that won’t put us into a cured meat coma, we ventured to the mecca of Chicago’s health food extremists. We went raw. Specifically, Karyn’s Fresh Corner Café for the Square of Joy sandwich. more ›

Remember when Oprah swore off burgers and the beef industry went apeshit? Well now she's going whole-hog vegan for 21 days. more ›

Chicagoist's general rule toward our vegetarian tendencies is, if we wanted a dish-chock full of meat, we'd eat it. As such, plates full of fake meat masquerading as juicy animal parts (a vegan Reuben sandwich, for instance) generally hold little appeal, and we instead opt for dishes full of clearly identifiable veggies or simple marinated tofu. more ›