It's the little things that keep Cubs fans coming back to Wrigley Field, people. Little things like the announcement that Wrigley Field would be switching back to Vienna Beef franks as their official hot dog. more ›

Second base, center field and the hot corner aren't the only vacancies the White Sox are looking to fill. Sara Lee's announcement last year they were getting out of the kosher hot dog game by cutting its Best Kosher line left a void at hot dog stands inside a Sox Park. more ›

There are two big happenings tonight in Chicago. One involves Chicagoist's mild obsession, Top Chef, whose finale will be shot live tonight at an undisclosed location. (We'll be live-blogging it.) The other involves one of our esteemed city's baseball clubs ... you've heard of them, right? But since food and sports are both on the mind right now, we would be remiss in not mentioning the culinary wager made between Daley and Phoenix Mayor Phil... more ›

Oh, how we love lists. Is there any other piece of journalism that has the ability to spur so much pointless and arbitrary discussion? Via the Drive-Thru, we found this list of Chicago's "hottest dogs" from Travel + Leisure. more ›

Mmm ... hot dogs. We love 'em. Especially those delicious Vienna Beef all-beef hot dogs, which are chock full of beefy goodness. more ›

While Chicagoist awaits the imminent opening of Eleven City Diner and breaking in the on-duty soda jerk they're promising we decided to walk two blocks south to a place that's been serving up affordable food for over two years. Nestled in the middle of a packed block for dining that includes the trendy Opera, Gioco, and Zapatista, proprietor Howard "Howie" Stein advertises his eponymous restaurant as "the South Loop's neighborhood joint." While Howie's doesn't have the pretension level of its neighboring restaurants, the atmosphere is perfect for enjoying a quick nosh; the quality of the food is impeccable for a fast food joint; and, compared to its neighboring restaurants, the prices are affordable enough to fit any budget. more ›

The Chicago Humanities Festival will be steered from a distance this year, with New Yorker Lawrence "Ren" Weschler taking the position of artistic director while remaining a resident of New York. He’ll spend four to five days in Chicago at a time for the job, and all the while keep his position as director of the New York Institute for the Humanities. more ›

Chicagoist is just dying to know what the commercials for this one are going to look like. more ›

Chicagoist is excited. This weekend is going to be great. We’re looking forward to a Saturday afternoon with some friends over on the porch cooking up a big batch of Chicago Style Hot Dogs with all the fixin’s & drinking some frosty cold beers. It’s only proper, with the Cubs/Sox cross-town classic all weekend. more ›

to change the world. Chicago-based companies Alpha Baking Co., bun bakers, and Vienna Beef, wiener producers, will sign "The Great Piece Treaty" at 11:45 a.m. The treaty is a promise by both companies to produce their hotdog products in packages of eight until the end of time. more ›

This is for all of our readers who love Chicago but don't live here and are jonesing for an authentic Chicago hotdog. Wienerschnitzel, the nation's largest hotdog chain, just added the "Chicago Dog" to their menu. The dog has all the required fixin's - mustard, neon green relish, onion, tomato, a pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt - but one big mistake. Instead of using a Vienna Beef wiener, the restaurant chain is using it's own frank made from a proprietary recipe. Peter Sload, Vienna Beef's marketing director says, "If they're not offering it (like a Chicago original), it's not a true Chicago-style dog." But if you're real hard up, we're sure this will fix your crave. more ›

Kerry Wood's Fastball Franks hit the shelves today in grocery stores all across Chicagoland. Wood teamed up with Vienna Beef to endorse the athlete-friendly fare, and part of each purchase goes to Children's Memorial Hospital to help fight childhood cancer. According to the Vienna Beef "Editorial" section, "Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood takes three things seriously: pitching his smokin' fastball, working to raise funds and awareness that benefit childhood cancer treatment and research, and grilling... more ›