Better Homes and Gardens and Weber Grills are throwing one heck of a party this weekend in Lincoln Park - a "Chill and Grill."This Saturday and Sunday, watch grilling demos, take classes on better outdoor fire-cooking and sample tastes from some of Chicago's best restaurants. Admission to the festival (and all the demos) is free, and you can see some of Chicago's best, including Stephanie Izard, the Hearty Boys, Gale Gand, Ina Pinkney, Steve Dolinsky and others, share their best grilling tips. More on the schedule after the jump. more ›

The Greater Chicago Food Depository does some of the most important work there is - making sure our fellow Chicagoans are well fed. Since this mission lines up with our own (though on a somewhat different level), we whole-heartedly support their efforts. They also happen to throw some of the best benefit dinners in the business. On May 15, the Food Depository will be hosting its 15th Annual Girl Food Dinner at West Town Tavern. The 5-course meal, cooked entirely by female chefs, will blow your socks off, and the $150 ticket price goes right to the food depository. more ›

We aren't big New Year's Eve partiers. For us, New Year's Eve is a time for friends, family and reflection about what has happened over the last 365 days, not a crazy drunken party. Don't worry, we will have plenty of the best crazy drunken parties in town featured in these pages, but for today, let's stick to a quieter option. Intimate, low-key events are hard to find at this time of year, but West Town Tavern, our perennial favorite, comes through as usual. more ›

Christmas came early this year for some Chicago restaurants. The lucky owners and employees arrived at work this morning to find chalk outlines of the Michelin man on their sidewalks, the symbol that they had won the prestigious Bib Gourmand award. This award focuses on quality and value, and rewards only restaurants that offer an appetizer, an entree and a glass of wine for under $40. Phil Vettel reports that Frontera, Girl and the Goat and Green Zebra, among many other Chicago favorites, got the honor. more ›

The Greater Chicago Food Depository has teamed up with some great Chicago restaurants for a second year of "86 Hunger" - a combination of tasty food and charity that always makes us happy. Starting on October 24 and ending in February, dinners will be held at West Town Tavern, Spiaggia, Naha, Custom House, Boka and Heaven on Seven. At each dinner, a special meal will be prepared by the chef, and all proceeds will go the Greater Chicago Food Depository. more ›

Rijoa Restaurant Week more ›

We're telling you about this fun event early because we don't want you to miss it. On May 16, West Town Tavern will hold its 14th Annual Girl Food Dinner. This is no typical dinner for a few reasons: 1) ALL of the $150 you will spend on your ticket will go to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and 2) ALL of the courses you'll enjoy will be prepared by a different, fantastic female chef - Karen Armijo, Nadia Tilkjan, Jackie Shen, Stephanie Izard, Susan Goss and Jess Oloroso. Speaking of Chef Susan Goss, she and her husband, Drew, have hosted and donated more than $150,000 to groups fighting hunger. Sound like a fantastic reason to donate some money? Yeah, we think so, too. Get your tickets here. more ›

In case anyone hasn’t gotten the memo, the economy sucks. In our beat, that usually means more coverage of expensive restaurants closing their doors, but there is a larger world beyond the reach of truffles and foie gras. Visits to the Greater Chicago Food Depository are up 35% this year, as more and more people need help to feed their families. Some of Chicago’s best chefs have decided to do something about it - and you can help them out. Plus, you can get some pretty amazing food. What could be better? more ›

Within the last year or so, Brussels sprouts seem to be popping up as a side dish on every restaurant menu we lay eyes on. As we happen to love this oft-reviled vegetable, we consider this true progress, but we know a lot of people are skeptical. If mistreated, the Brussels sprout is a uniquely disgusting vegetable, but in the right hands, it can be so scrumptious that you forget you’re eating something healthy. Below are a few good spots to order them, and a fool-proof recipe to convert even the staunchest hater. more ›

Chicago has more cozy neighborhood joints than any other city we’ve ever lived in. Even better, some of those places have absolutely amazing food. Every hardcore foodie we know has been raving to us for months and months about Drew and Susan Goss' West Town Tavern, but we only got around to going last week. And then we liked it so much, we went again just six days later. more ›

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Ah, the smoking ban. Home to lots of hearty discussions. Since January, proprietors and patrons have been either meekly complying with or blatantly ignoring the ban, while some just snicker at the smokers miserably standing outside in the cold.
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Before we go to the listings, we want to bid farewell to the Tribune's Kevin Pang, who's heading over to the Tempo section. But he leaves the food beat with a profile of Peter Engler, the city's foremost expert on mother-in-law sandwiches, street food and other south side cheap eats. Shaw's Crab House concludes this year's edition of their "Royster with the Oyster" festival with their annual tent party at their Hubbard Street location tonight.... more ›

In case you hadn’t noticed, Chicagoist was a little cranky yesterday morning. After our second full day of the Green City Market Localvore Challenge, with our ‘allowed’ food pretty much gone, we were feeling a bit deprived. Once again, the feeling of only wanting what we can’t have was rearing its ugly head. Plus, we couldn’t shake the fact that if we knew how to really cook (sorry mom!) our localvore lives would be a... more ›

This week, just for "guest", Chicagoist decided to tie this installment of the "Buffet" into Lollapalooza. We also have an update on Bell's, some other newsworthy items, and the usual complement of events. - A forum thread started at Beer Advocate earlier this week asked the million-dollar question: When is Bell's coming back to Illinois? Standing out among the speculation was a reply from Larry Bell himself. Bell told the forum that he's been talking... more ›

Your theme this week, in honor of Earth Day/Week/Month: "Being Green." This is the song that Kermit the Frog made famous, but Ray Charles did a knockout version of it, and our favorite take on the song has to be Van Morrison's version from 1973's Hard Nose the Highway. It's so good, we insist on this song being played while our casket's being lowered to the ground. Let's dive in, shall we? Moo Moo, I... more ›

Famed Chicago chefs Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto and Rick Bayless are among those cooking sample dishes for the 13th annual Bag Hunger Auction. Held on Nov. 15 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, the silent auction benefits the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Gand and Tramonto co-chair the event, which features more than 25 chefs from notable Chicago restaurants including Tru, Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, West Town Tavern, TIMO, 160 Blue, Ina's and Heaven on Seven. Food and... more ›

If there’s anything Chicagoist loves, it’s giving the nod to girls with talent. And, we also love good causes. So imagine our delight with an event that does both. Enter: the 10th Annual Girl Food Dinner. Held last Sunday at West Town Tavern (1329 W. Chicago), the Girl Food Dinner raised funds for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The full price of the $125 ticket went to the cause, and we’re happy to report, the... more ›

Months back a frequent commenter to the site made the claim that “eighty percent of the wine drinkers in America would be fine with a good box wine” in response to an article about a recommended pinot gris. While that number may be dubious and ignoring the possible oxymoronic phrase “good box wine”, the reader sowed a seed that’s now being reaped as this article. We’ve all been somewhere like a party, gallery reception,... more ›