If you're a new parent, one of the most bewildering choices is what to feed your child. Should you buy packaged food? If so, what? Should you make your own? How?! Bump Club and Beyond, in partnership with Whole Foods and Baby Brezza, will help you answer these questions with a series of classes starting tomorrow night. The classes will teach you how to make fresh, healthy food for your child, with a minimum of fuss. The first class, about babies from 4-8 months old, is already sold out but Wednesday's class (on babies 8-12 months old) and Thursdays class (on babies 1 year +) still have openings. more ›

Yesterday, the Organic Consumer's Association picketed the Lincoln Park Whole Foods, alleging that Whole Foods isn't doing enough to fight the pervasiveness of genetically-modified foods. In the course of the protest, the political director of the OCA, Alexis Baden-Mayer, was arrested. We got in touch with Whole Foods to get their side of the story - what their policies on genetically modified organisms actually are, how they dealt with the protest and what they are doing to improve the products across their stores. more ›

If you're walking past the Lincoln Park Whole Foods this morning and see a huge heap of food sitting on the ground, it's not a sale. The Organic Consumers Association, as part of their "Millions Against Monsanto" campaign, is dumping genetically modified foods in front of Whole Foods at noon. They'll also be holding a press conference, in an attempt to convince more of the food-shopping public that GMO foods should be labeled. more ›

Sometimes, we love Whole Foods - if only because of the preponderance of cute, nerdy vegans who work there. We came across this yesterday at the South Loop Whole Foods, near the frozen section, and it made our day. If this was a corporate initiative, we don't want to know about it - we prefer to think of an art student sheepishly going to their manager and begging to make a crazy stack of cans. Especially since we're in the middle of a Mario needlepoint project(no, really), we're operating on the same wavelength. more ›

If you're a Top Chef fan (or, more specifically, a fan of Mike Isabella or Antonia Lofaso) hold onto your hats - Top Chef: The Tour is coming to Chicago next week. Two events next week will showcase competitions between two of our favorite all-stars. Isabella, from Season 6 and Lofaso, from Season 4, will face off on Tuesday and Wednesday - and it's free. more ›

Hey, Hyde Park! You're getting a Whole Foods. more ›

Last week, our own Betsy Mikel took a stab at living on food stamps - or, more accurately, living on the dollar equivalent of food stamps - as part of the SNAP Hunger Challenge. With that fresh in our minds, Noreen Malone's article on Slate practically jumped out of our computer screens and smacked us in the face. She attempted the exact opposite project; instead of trying to save money, she tried to figure out just how much dough could be sucked up by a dinner for two from Whole Foods. more ›

Whole Foods loves its customers. In fact, according to their mission, they believe that customers are “fellow human beings with feelings and emotions like our own” and are equals deserving to be treated with respect and courtesy. Lisa Portes however, may have a different opinion. Chicago Magazine reported on Lisa, head director at the DePaul University Theater School, mother and regular Whole Foods shopper who was accused and banned for shoplifting, a claim which she refutes. more ›

Times are tough, the economy is soft and even if we are thankful enough to be employed we consider several times a day, "Shouldn’t I be doing something else. Maybe I should be working for myself for a change? That’s it I’m going to start a cupcake business. Those are really trendy right now." more ›

More classes to sharpen your culinary chops... more ›

Calling all at-home cooks. Chicagoist has the scoop on cooking classes to help fine tune your culinary skills. Check out a couple coming up this month. more ›

Ezra Furman and the Harpoons are coming home for Thanksgiving week and giving Chicago two shows to be thankful for. They’re booked to play a solo show at the Lincoln Park Whole Foods November 25 and another with The Sleeptalkers at Double Door November 27. more ›

I’ve defended Whole Foods for years against cries of “Whole Paycheck” on the basis of quality, variety and their commitment to the environment. I still believe that they do good work, but the number of “buy local” banners popping up all over their stores led me to wonder: how much local produce does Whole Foods actually carry? Not enough, by our standards. more ›

The new Whole Foods in Lincoln Park opened yesterday and it's huge. Really huge. Third largest in the world, in fact, behind a London store and the flagship Austin, Texas branch. 75,000 square feet of organic goodness. Even Mayor Daley was on hand to check out the new store and, we assume, buy some granola bars. We didn't get a chance to swing by and check it out but rest assured, we will soon. Luckily, readers Steve Koo and JoeM500 stopped by and took some pics. more ›

• There are now nine suspected cases of Swine Flu in the Chicagoland area: 5 in Chicago, 2 in Kane County, and 1 in DuPage and Lake Counties.
• Former Alderman Tyrone Kenner, who was once found guilty of accepting bribes, passed away on Monday from complications due to diabetes; Kenner was 76.
• ComEd named Anne Pramaggiore its first ever female president and COO today.

Yesterday we told you about Earth Hour, the global initiative created by the World Wildlife Fund that encourages individuals and businesses to turn off their lights for one hour to make a statement about conservation and climate change. The event takes place this Saturday from 8:30 p.m. til 9:30 p.m. and the WWF hopes to reach 1 billion participants worldwide. Today we'd like to tell you about some places in Chicago that are holding events to mark the occasion. You can also look at an interactive map on the Earth Hour website to find the closest event to you. more ›

When we filed our report from the National Restaurant Association's annual trade show in May, we were very curious about Wine Cellar Sorbets. The New York-based company and "sorbet sommelier" Dave Zablocki do not skimp on the amount of wine (or sake) used in making their sorbets, which was one of the reasons we gravitated toward the booth. more ›

It would be so easy for us to poke fun at yesterday's Sun-Times article where web editor Kirsten Miller volunteered herself for a blind taste test between prepared meals from Whole Foods and selections from a gourmet dog food service in Lake County and preferred the dog food two out of three times. It's just enough to say that Miller took one for the team, although she did volunteer Neil Steinberg first. (What? Paige Wiser wasn't available?) more ›

The Whole Foods on North Ave passed its no-mouse inspection over the weekend and is officially back open. more ›

An e-mail from Tim Hadac at the City Department of Public Health announced that the North Avenue Whole Foods failed its reinspection. Now we can look forward to another inane Mary Schmich column on the closing. more ›

It's mid-July which means that many tastings and fixed price dinner events have a Bastille Day theme. Here are a few of note more ›

The City Health Department shut down the Whole Foods at 1000 W. North Ave. today after finding evidence of a rodent infestation throughout the store, including a glue trap and over 100 droppings in a walk-in cooler. The store will remain closed until it passes reinspection; make sure to shop at one of the 400 other Whole Foods in the city. more ›

Joe "M500" Marinaro just e-mailed us with an update on life without a car to get him around. He took a quick photo of his first trip to the grocery store (Whole Foods South Loop) on the bike he received when he traded in his Jeep. more ›

Kids are always stirring up trouble in the kitchen, but this weekend they can make a mess of the pots and pans at someone else’s place. Whole Foods, which will be hosting cooking classes for kids and adults all summer at the Farm House in Lincoln Park Zoo, is holding a special children’s program on Saturday that features berries as the main ingredient. The instructor is Chef Melissa Graham of Purple Asparagus, a local non-profit organization that aims to unite families through the joy that is good eating. more ›

Fresh Dill, for garnish (optional) more ›

"Whether or not this new kid will go on to become the prom king or get his head stuck in a toilet is unclear," we wrote when Sunflower market first opened, "but we certainly will come back for more." But we, and others, didn't come back for enough. Minneapolis-based Supervalu will close all five Sunflower locations (there are three in Ohio, one in Indianapolis and the Chicago location.) Supervalu had at one point hoped to open 50 Sunflower stores. The five current stores employed a total of 140 people. A company spokeswoman said only that the stores did not meet the company's goals. more ›

As every committed localvore knows, the best way to get fresh local produce (aside from a farmer’s market) is to join a CSA. A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a farm that has decided to sell directly to the public. By investing several hundred dollars in the spring, you can receive deliveries of fresh produce throughout the summer and fall. However, some of us aren’t ready to commit several hundred dollars up front to the cause of fresh produce, or we might not be around in the summers. But we still want to help out local farms, and we cringe a little every time we pick up shallots shipped all the way from Uruguay at Whole Foods. more ›

The jury in alleged mobster Anthony Calabrese's trial may hear an audio tape of him beating the living the shit out of someone, even though he's on trial for armed robbery. The Sun-Times got ahold of a transcript of the tape, and it really reads like a scene right out of The Sopranos. Except the curses are blacked out. [S-T] more ›

• Chez Pim's Menu For Hope fundraiser is still going strong (it lasts through Dec 21). So far, more than $50,000 has been raised to benefit the UN World Food Programme's school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa. Kalyn's Kitchen is the regional host for the Midwest, and there are lots of great regional prizes. Our friends over at Drive-Thru put together a yummy looking package, but what we'd really like is to win Movable Feast's offering of getting to hang out with Moto's Homaru Cantu and Ben Roche.
• We're sad to see Mas close it's doors. Chef/owner John Manion told Dish, “It’s a totally different neighborhood than what we opened to nine years ago. I’m ready to do something else. It’s my baby and I don’t have much of a security blanket but I’m looking forward to doing something new. I want to cook food again—not that I don’t at Mas—but I have different ideas [now].”
• Our love for TasteSpotting knows no bounds. A few days ago, we came across this photo, and our mouths started watering. What could be better on a cold winter night than homemade gnocchi with toasted hazelnut, brown butter and sage? Even better? Our Kitchen Sink is local. If you are reading, Chicagoist loves dinner invitations.