10 places to get Rosh Hashana dinner in Chicago

Plenty of Chicagoland restaurants are happy to help you greet Rosh Hashana 5771 on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 8–9.

Chicago helps the Gulf

Help wildlife and families affected by the BP disaster and enjoy some of Chicago’s best eats. A $50 donation to Gulf Coast oil spill cleanup gets you into a benefit hosted by some of some of the city’s hottest eateries. The event takes place 5–7 p.m. Sunday, July 25, at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum [...]

Dog lovers, take your pet to Naperville

Now you can tuck into tapas right alongside your faithful companion.
The Spanish spot Meson Sabika in Naperville has opened a special al fresco dining area just for dogs and their owners. A specialty menu offers doggie dinners with a choice of raw or cooked salmon, grilled chicken, and raw or cooked beef tenderloin, served [...]

21 freebies for Mother’s Day in Chicago

You could take your mom out for the usual Mother’s Day brunch this Sunday, May 9, but why not go where she’ll get a little something extra?

Gung hay fat choy! Chicago Chinese New Year celebrations

With a clash of cymbals and the bang of drums and firecrackers, as well as traditional dragon parades and lion dances, the Asian New Year will explode into the Chicago area on Sunday, Feb. 14, with a variety of events at restaurants and around town.
Chinese legend says the noise and dancing animals chase away evil [...]

Chicago restaurants say, ‘Eat and drink for Haiti!’

 
Chicago restaurateurs have already thrown themselves into the efforts for Haitian earthquake relief.

Soul Vegetarian East in Greater Grand Crossing is collecting nonperishable vegan foods, clothing, bottled water, bedding, sleeping bags, tents, medical supplies and other items for Haitian relief efforts on an ongoing basis.

Le Passage on the Gold Coast will be collecting donations of [...]

50 Chicagoland restaurants and bars open on Christmas Day

You don’t have to eat Chinese food on Christmas.

Want to cook on TV for Gordon Ramsey? Chicagoland auditions set

Think you can cook as well as the top TV chefs? Here’s your chance to be one.
If you’re a skilled home cook with no formal training, a new culinary reality show, “MasterChef,” is looking for you. Based on a BBC series, the cooking contest show, hosted by British chef Gordon Ramsay, star of “Hell’s [...]

The 12 plays of Christmas

Our guide to Chicagoland holiday theater, cheery Christmas entertainment for children, families and adults, across the city and suburbs.

Madam Barker Holiday Variety Show, Prop Thtr, Avondale, 11 p.m. Fridays, December 4 and 11, $10. (tickets).
Madam Barker, John Fournier and a cast of Chicago magicians, musicians, comedians, dancers, the Barker Dames and 500 Clown for an [...]

Dining Chicago picks the best new restaurants of 2009

In the middle of a recession, Chicago restaurants experienced an astonishing upswing. The Trib called Chicago in 2008 a “chef magnet.” Travel + Leisure listed L2O, Perennial, The Publican and UrbanBelly in their “50 Best New American Restaurants.”
Does this make up for Blagojevich’s shamefaced media stint? All told, not a bad year. Here is [...]