Chicago Restaurants

Mercadito Brings A Little Heat To Chicago

Claire Bidwell Smith | Posted 12.01.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Restaurants, Sandoval Brothers, Tippling Brothers, Erni Vales, Mercadito, Restaurant Reviews, Chicago News
Claire Bidwell Smith

Shouldering in a restaurant in the City of Big Shoulders is never easy, but the Sandoval brothers have not only found some space on Kinzie Street for Mercadito -- they're widening their stance.

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Culture and Commerce: Zappos, Francesca's Sow Spirit

Patricia Martin | Posted 09.12.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Amazon.com, Chicago Restaurants, Scott Harris, Mia Francesca, Francesca's, Francesca Pignataro, Zappos, Culture, Amazon Zappos, Chicago News
Patricia Martin

Jobs and opportunity are shifting away from giant corporations to small and mid-sized companies, where there is a growing commitment to "culture" -- the spirit of the place.

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Terzo Piano, A Great New Chicago Restaurant

Brian Dickie | Posted 07.13.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Art Institute of Chicago, Modern Wing Art Institute of Chicago, Modern Wing, Terzo Piano, Chicago Restaurants, Chicago News
Brian Dickie

I had the opportunity to try out the new restaurant in the Modern Wing of the Art Institute, Terzo Piano. And, for what it's worth, I pronounce it an...

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Bonsoiree Chef Shin Thompson on Chicago's Underground Dining Scene, Cooking for the James Beard Foundation and What's Next on Chicago's Plate

Claire Bidwell Smith | Posted 06.01.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Restaurants, Chicago Dining, Food, Shin Thompson, James Beard Foundation, Molecular Gastronomy, Bonsoiree, Bonsoiree Chicago, Chicago News
Claire Bidwell Smith

"I attribute our success here by doing things with food that are unusual and unexpected, while keeping in mind the most important thing we all love about food: taste."

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"Check, Please!" Creator David Manilow on "The Interview Show"

Mark Bazer | Posted 04.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Restaurants, David Manilow, Check Please, Video, Obama Check Please Episode, The Interview Show, Obama Check Please, Chicago News
Mark Bazer

The creator and executive producer of "Check, Please!" discusses the show, Barack Obama's appearance, his favorite Chicago restaurants and more.

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Who Wants Wine?

Ari Bendersky | Posted 04.06.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Restaurants, Laurent Perrier, Nacional 27, Mission Haut Brion, Red Wine, Chicago Wine, Wine, Sparkling Wine, Chardonnay, Adam Seger, Sauvignon Blanc, Shawn McClain, Custom House, Walter Hansel, Chciago Wine Deals, Food, Vivo, Chicago News
Ari Bendersky

How many times have you gone out to dinner, looked at the wine list and scoffed at the price of some of the bottles?

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10 Over 10: The Best Chicago Restaurants Over A Decade Old

Ina Pinkney | Posted 02.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Restaurants, INA's, Wing Hoe, Kamahachi Chicago, Yoshi's Chicago, Trattoria No. 10, Erwin Cafe, Cafe 28 Chicago, Edna's Chicago, Cafe Selmarie Chicago, Crofton on Wells, Manny's Coffee Shop and Deli, Food, Chicago News
Ina Pinkney

The life of a restaurant is not unlike a shooting star, burning brightly and then disappearing. Rare is the restaurant that is like a comet, finding its orbit with a steady glow of periodic attention.

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Obama, "Check, Please!" and the South Side

Josh Brusin | Posted 02.14.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Food, South Side Development, Chicago Restaurants, Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop, Barack Obama, South Side Restaurants, Check Please, Check Please Obama Episode, Chicago Food Scene, Obama Check Please, Obama Restaurants, Chicago News
Josh Brusin

While the discussion of Obama's restaurant was interesting, his quote about retail and restaurant interest in the South Side was more telling.

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Smoque: How A Skinny Jewish Kid From Evanston Mastered BBQ

New City Chicago | Michael Nagrant | Posted 02.12.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago BBQ, Barry Sorkin, Chicago Restaurants, Smoque BBQ, Smoque, Chicago News

Despite the apparent liability of being a skinny Jewish kid from Evanston, Barry Sorkin is one of the smoked-pork (and beef) kings of Chicago. In just...

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Best Places To Have Thanksgiving In Chicago (SLIDESHOW)

The Huffington Post | Seth Maxon | Posted 12.28.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Food, Chicago Thanksgiving Restaurants, Chicago Restaurants, Slideshow, Chicago Thanksgiving, Where to Eat Thanksgiving in Chicago, Thanksgiving, Chicago News

...

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Obama-Approved Soul Food: MacArthur's In Austin

Yelp | Posted 12.13.2008 | Chicago

Read More: MacArthur's, Obama MacArthur's, Chicago Restaurants, Obama Soul Food, MacArthur's Chicago, Chicago Soul Food, Chicago News

When you're craving soul food, many would tell you that you have to head down to the South Side to find the best of the best. But for many folks, "th...

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Chicago's Great Neighborhood Restaurant Awards Announced

LTHForum.com | Posted 12.06.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Food, Chicago Great Neighborhood Restaurant Awards, Chicago Restaurants, LTHForum.Com, Chicago News

What is a restaurant and what makes it great? Easy to know when you experience it, but a little harder to define in the abstract. However you do it, t...

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More Of A Good Thing: Mantou Noodle Bar In Wicker Park

Urban Daddy | Posted 12.05.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Mantou Noodles Bar, Chicago Restaurants, Mantou Chicago, Mantou Noodle Bar, Chicago News

Like Luther Vandross' voice or a woman's touch, comfort food has a way of soothing one's soul. We're just glad your particular soul is still comforted...

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Restaurants Form Compost Cooperative

Chicago Tribune | Monica Eng | Posted 11.27.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Restaurants, Chicago Restaurants Compost Cooperative, Green Chicago Restaurant Cooperative, Chicago News

Chicago's restaurants produce hundreds of pounds of organic slop a day that could be used to make rich compost. But most ends up with other garbage i...

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Economy Hits Restaurants

Chicago Tribune | Monica Eng | Posted 11.17.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Brasserie Ruhlmann, Original Sandwich Factory, Chicago Restaurants, Technomic, Charlie's Ale House, Shikago, Avenue M, Economy, Ina Pinkney, Chicago News

Ina Pinkney winces when a customer walks into her restaurant and orders nothing but a plate of eggs and potatoes. It's not that she doesn't want the ...

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Detroit-Style Deli Comes To Chicago

Hungry | Dave Lewis | Posted 11.16.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Steve's Deli Chicago, Chicago Deli, Steve's Deli, Chicago Restaurants, Chicago Food, Chicago News

It is with the giddy smile of a little school girl that I happily report to you that a "Detroit Style" deli has finally made it's way west of Orchard ...

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Best Roast Chicken in Chicago: Confessions of a Cholesterol Counter

Flora Lazar | Posted 11.03.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Food, Food, Chicago Restaurants, Italian Restaurants, Trattoria Riccardo, Chicago Roast Chicken, Coco Pazzo Cafe, Chicgo Italian Restaurants, Bistro Campagne, Galletto Alla Diavola, Tufano's, Chicago News
Flora Lazar

There's only one place I have found where the chicken is so perfectly seasoned and so reliably moist that I simply cannot get myself to move beyond it to try other things on the menu.

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Boulud and Keller: What it Takes for American Chefs to Compete in France

Flora Lazar | Posted 10.31.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Daniel Boulud, Chicago Restaurants, Restaurant Charlie, French Laundry, Bocuse D' Or, Charlie Trotter, Charlie Trotter's, Paul Bocuse, Food, Thomas Keller, Top Chef, Hung Huynh, James Beard Foundation, James Beard, Gavin Kaysen, Food Competitions, Top Chef Hung, Chicago News
Flora Lazar

Americans have never even cracked the top ten in the Bocuse d'Or despite the increased quality of high-end American gastronomy and the numerous accolades received by the country's leading chefs. It's an anomaly Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller have been working furiously to eliminate.

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Corn Porn: Learning to Love Smut

Flora Lazar | Posted 10.18.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Mexican Food, Chicago Restaurants, Le Lan Restaurant, Michael Pollan, Huitlacoche, Corn, Green City Market, Tracey Vowell, Chicago Food, Food, Rick Bayless Frontera, Blackbird Restaurant, Huitlacoche Chicago, Farming Huitlacoche, Growing Huitlacoche, Rick Bayless, Chicago News
Flora Lazar

If corn is king, then chef-turned-farmer Tracey Vowell is engaged in regicide. Ever since she left Rick Bayless' Chicago restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolabompo, where she was managing chef, Vowell has been "hijacking corn, a singular act of subversion" as she puts it.

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The Queen of Confitures

Flora Lazar | Posted 10.12.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Chefs, Pastry, Food, French Lifestyles, Culinary Schools, Preserves, Jam, Chicago Restaurants, French Pastry School, Chicago Food, Alsace, Christine Ferber, Christine Ferber Preserves, Maison Ferber, Christine Ferber Jams, Christine Ferber Confitures, Ferber Confitures, Chicago News
Flora Lazar

Christine Ferber's widely-used moniker, the queen of jams, hardly describes her influence on contemporary gastronomy, especially on the Chicago culinary scene.

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What Does it Take to Make a (Great) Chicago Restaurant?

Claire Bidwell Smith | Posted 10.11.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Restaurants, Boka, Food & Wine, Waiting Tables, Food, Avec, Powerhouse Chicago, Failed Chicago Restaurants, Chicago News
Claire Bidwell Smith

As we sat there, in the nearly empty dining room, housed in the stately and fabulously interesting old North Western Railway power plant, I couldn't help but wonder, what is it that makes one restaurant succeed and another fail?

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See What All The Fuss Is About: The Counter Burger In Lincoln Park

Gapers Block | Lori Barrett | Posted 10.10.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Food, Chicago Burgers, Chicago Restaurants, Lincoln Park, Counter Burger Chicago, The Counter Burger, Chicago News

Today is the grand opening of Counter Burger, a create-your-own burger joint (part of a California-based chain) on Diversey Parkway in Lincoln Park. D...

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Tamalli Refines Mexican Street Food

Ben Goldberger | Posted 09.23.2009 | Home

Read More: Chicago Restaurants, Chicago Mexican Food, Tamales, Chicago Food, Chicago Mexican Restaurants, Chicago Tamales, Tamalli Chicago, Tamalli, Home News
Ben Goldberger

There's a worthy Mexican restaurant every other block in Chicago it seems, but Tamalli strives to bring more than the standard burrito and quesadilla ...

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Spring, Green Zebra Chef Shawn McClain Opening In Vegas

Dish | Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby | Posted 10.04.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Chefs Vegas, Spring Restaurant, Spring Chicago, Green Zebra Chicago, Chicago Restaurants, Chicago Chefs, Shawn Mcclain Vegas, Custom House Chicago, Food, Shawn McClain, CityCenter Las Vegas, Chicago News

Shawn McClain, the forward-thinking chef/partner behind Spring, Green Zebra and Custom House, is hopping on the Las Vegas gravy train, Dish reports. ...

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Top Chef Chicago Love Fest

Flora Lazar | Posted 10.04.2008 | Chicago

Read More: Chicago Restaurants, Local Food, Stephanie Izard, Green Market, Green City Market, Bravo, Top Chef Live in Chicago, Chicago Food, Food, Top Chef, Dale Levitski, Stephanie Top Chef, Top Chef Chicago, Stephanie Izard Rachael Ray, Rachael Ray Top Chef, Chicago News
Flora Lazar

Just when it began to look as if cable television's top rated food show had vanished from the streets of Chicago, Top Chef is wheeling a 48-foot semi-trailer with a full kitchen to the city that hosted its fourth and most recent season.

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