Seafood to die for: Fugu in Chicago

If you’ve been checking off the “100 Foods to Eat Before You Die,” here’s a chance to get one more … though you might want to save it for last.* Through the end of March, Ai Japanese Restaurant and Lounge in River North currently offers fugu, a potentially deadly Japanese delicacy. This mild-tasting blowfish carries [...]

Night out: Steampunk, vaudeville, Jews and freaks, oh my!

Klezmer meets steampunk in a most unusual evening Wednesday, June 22.

Foods to taste before you die: Turkey testicles

Gobble. If you’ve never tasted a turkey’s intimate parts, here’s your chance: Union Street Station in Byron hosts its 32rd annual Turkey Testicle Festival beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9. The event features live music from Stonefree and Ashplanet, $2.50 Bud and Bud Light drafts and, of course, turkey testicles — served breaded [...]

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 [...]