Gaztro-wagon hits the Chicago streets

The Gaztro-wagon hits the Chicago streets tomorrow.

Upscale Chicago eateries serving prisoners’ produce

Upscale restaurants such as Charlie Trotter’s in Lincoln Park andThe Publican in the West Loop are quietly benefitting from the labor of Cook County Jail inmates.

Friday food porn: Boning up at The Bristol

Sensually unctuous roasted beef marrow bones, served with toast for smearing and a seasonal garnish at The Bristol in Bucktown, $12. Bone appetit!

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?

Night out: At the Psyche-Out Cafe

There’s no food at his cafe. Chicago mentalist Fred Zimmerman’s “Psyche-Out Cafe” is an evening of mind games, fascinating stories, experiments to test your psychic abilities and demonstrations of ESP that provide a glimpse into the secret world of “psychic” practitioners. The Wednesday, March 3, event is the first of two special March “Magic Chicago” shows hosted by Robert Charles and Benjamin Barnes, with Jeanette Andrews in Edgewater.

Size matters! Be the big man at the wienie roast with this Chicago hot dog

You no longer need to be embarrassed by your puny hot dog, you can have the biggest wiener at the cookout!
Gorilla Tango Novelty Meats, a strange new sideline for the folks behind Chicago’s Gorilla Tango Theatre, introduces the Big Hot Dog, a 16-inch-long, 4-inch-diameter, 7-pound wienie.
No ordinary Chicago-style dog, this frankenfurter is made of [...]

Night out: Against Chicago school violence

In the past year, violent incidents at Chicago schools have risen at an alarming rate. To take a stand against school violence, more than 20 students from Rogers Park’s Sullivan High School have worked with artists from Edgewater’s Raven Theatre to present a one-night show, “A Bird of Prey,” featuring scenes the teens [...]

Could you eat nothing but pizza for a month?

UPDATE: After all, Scharoff didn’t eat pizza the day after winning his bet — being too stuffed from tailgating at the Bears game, and he didn’t profit from his winnings: In an act of generosity, the two men decided to donate the $2,000 stakes to the Northern Illinois Food Bank.
Congratulations, Pizza Boy!
Could you eat nothing [...]

Hilarious ‘Yeast Nation’ ferments in North Center

 
 
UPDATE: Extended through Nov. 8.
“I had muck for dinner, muck for lunch….”
There have been times in my career as a restaurant critic when I wished I could write that line. This one comes from “Yeast Nation,” the offbeat, new, comic rock musical from former Chicagoans Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis, now in its Midwest premiere [...]