- Restaurants in Chicago neighborhoods with low COVID-19 vaccination rates are feeling the impact of a new vaccine mandate in its first week, some owners say.
- Crepe-like jianbing at Monkey King Jianbing in Chicago's Chinatown alternates deliciously between crunchy and soft, sweet and spicy, hot and cold.
- Paper Thin Pizza, based in the West Loop neighborhood, is staking its claim on being the thinnest-crusted pizza in deep dish-heavy Chicago.
- The iconic Jucy Lucy (or Juicy Lucy) cheeseburger hails from Minneapolis, but diners can also find it in the Chicago area.
- After Ballast Point acquisition, the Chicago-based Kings & Convicts has abandoned its plans in Wisconsin to move to San Diego, in the former Saint Archer Brewing space.
- Tribune food critics pen mini reviews of four Chicago restaurants that opened in 2021: Jaleo, Nobu, Kitchen & Kocktails and Provaré.
- Lost Lake, an acclaimed cocktail bar from co-owners Paul McGee and Shelby Allison, will close permanently in January due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In suburban Downers Grove, Eiffel Waffle has been delighting customers with its combination of bubble waffles and ice cream.
- Chicago-area restaurants and bars must require proof of vaccination with a mandate in effect Monday. Here's what that will look like for customers.
- From reviewing Chicago restaurants like Kasama to stories of the city's famous Home Depot dogs, here are our favorite food stories from 2021.
- Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger lays out his 12 best dishes of 2021, from deep-dish pizza at Uncle Jerry's to lobster pie from Claudia.
- Along with being a daytime cafe, Kasama's stunning dinner tasting menu makes it one of the best restaurants not just in Chicago, but the world.
- Robin McFolling is the sausage queen at the Chicago company that specializes in head cheese, souse and sausages with Southern flavor.
- Chicago bars and restaurants such as Baker Miller and Hopleaf applaud vaccination requirements for customers as the omicron variant of the coronavirus surges.
- Chicago-area restaurants are offering takeout for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — and there's still time to order.
- David and Leslie Tarman, are co-owner/operators of The Silo Restaurant in Lake Bluff, a pub-style pizza place in operation since 1968, are the prospective new owners of La Grange's Palmer Place restaurant.
- R&A Bread Bakers is making deep-dish pizza bagels, while other new Chicago restaurants include two José Andrés concepts and Moonflower Bar.
- A wave of Chicago restaurant and bar closures took place over the past week as owners grapple with a surge of COVID-19 cases and the omicron variant.
- Claudia’s permanent location in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood captures all of chef Trevor Teich’s passion, even if you have to go twice to experience it all.
- North Central College in Naperville is roasting whiskey-infused coffee this week that has been soaked in wooden whiskey barrels. It's the latest coffee experiment at the college's coffee lab.
- Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay of "Hell's Kitchen" opens his first Chicago restaurant, a burger spot, in the River North neighborhood.
Takeout 100
The ultimate searchable guide to ordering carryout from our favorite Chicago-area restaurants and bars.
- The state law on healthy kids' meal drinks takes effect Jan. 1 is nearly identical.
- Taco Sublime built its Pilsen-based food truck around the mission to help Chicago's homeless population, but the truck was destroyed in a fire last week.
- The Wieners Circle reopens in Chicago with a new bar and cocktails, plus an excellent char dog and the notorious side of verbal abuse.
- The Great Chicago Cookie Box, with cookies from nine neighborhood bakeries, features Lucila’s Alfajores, Lady Di's, and a tribute to Swedish Bakery.
- Hailstorm Brewing in Chicago suburb Tinley Park fired its head brewer and removed him from its ownership group after he said allegations of him groping a woman were "accurate."
- Brian Mita, executive chef and co-owner of Chicago restaurant Izakaya Mita died Saturday after fighting cancer for over two years. He was 43.
- Ed Debevic’s is a quintessential Chicago childhood memory for so many. After the original location closed six years ago, the retro diner is back.
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