Dining

This is not your father's Spiaggia. It isn't even Obama's Spiaggia.

Phil Vettel recommends where to eat outdoors

The only ingredients a margarita technically requires are tequila, lime and triple sec. Orthodox margarita drinkers will tell you this simple concoction need not be tinkered with, except to upgrade tequila quality or the brand of orange liqueur. If it's not broke, don't fix it, right?

It was one of those days where you feel the Chicago summer heat rising off the pavement, and one of those days that begs for rich gelato. The timing could not have been better for a conversation with Jessica "Jessie" Oloroso, owner and founder of Ukrainian Village's Black Dog...

Food at BellyQ (1400 W. Randolph St. 312-563-1010) is half-price this month, provided you show up early enough.

Are you a professional chef with several years of experience in the restaurant industry? Then Fox’s “MasterChef” doesn’t want you. Sorry. The culinary competition hosted by Gordon Ramsay is looking for amateur and home cooks only.

As summer floats on, picnic season continues to flourish, whether it be in the form of picnic baskets in the park or boxed lunches and dinners enjoyed beach or poolside. But even better than the do-it-yourself mode of preparation is the takeout option: stopping by a restaurant and picking up...

Wicker Park diners will remember Yanitzin Sanchez from her work at Sabor Saveur, a tiny but impressive restaurant whose success was hampered by a lack of liquor service. Suburbanites may have tasted her food at CiNe in Hinsdale, where Sanchez was consultant and then executive chef for nearly...

It's day two of Chicago Tribune's Mexican Dining Week, in which we sample four off-the-beaten path restaurants cooking beyond traditional Mexican. Today, Phil Vettel visits Pilsen mainstay May St. Cafe:

Plan B cocktail: When Pl-zen is on the agenda for dining and imbibing, prepare for a wonderfully novel experience. Brunch comes with the option of duck bacon; small plates include bone marrow and baby octopus; "beeramisu" is on the menu for dessert; and the signature brioche burger...

NEW YORK — From the truffle-infused beef-cheek ravioli at Babbo restaurant in New York to the all-black-truffle menu at La Toque in Napa Valley, Calif.,, the pungent mushroom has conquered the summer menu and is no longer just a treasured winter treat.

Burger King has brought "chicken fries" back to its menu after a vociferous social media campaign by fans.

It’s going to be a good week in Chicago to taste Oregon pinot noir.

On the menu: Tex-Mex, hospitality, bacon and eggs

Do-Rite Donuts opens its second location, at 233 E. Erie St. in Streeterville, today.

The oh-so-exclusive, members-only Soho House (125 N. Green St.) will open Monday, but don't wait until then to check the place out.

It's not happening until mid-October, but tickets are on sale -- and going quickly -- for the three-day Food & Wine Festival Oct. 14-16 at Eataly (43 E. Ohio St.).

Tickets are still available for the 26th Taste of the Nation gala, Wednesday evening in Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom.

You've never heard of chef Christian Bau, but the German chef, who heads up intimate, 34-seat Restaurant Schloss Berg in Perl Nennig (close to the French border), has held the maximum three-star rating from the Michelin Guide since 2005.

Did you know that today, Wednesday, is National Filet Mignon Day?

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday for The Hamburger Hop, a friendly competition among chefs to see who can create the most elaborate, blinged-out burger.

Last year, Ina Pinkney closed her namesake restaurant, Ina's, in the West Loop after 33 years in business. She is now enjoying dining out for breakfast and highlighting places people might not know about in their neighborhoods, traveling around Chicago and the suburbs. The following...

Boutique confectionery Dylan’s Candy Bar plans to open its fifth free-standing store, and first in the Midwest, on the Magnificent Mile in spring 2015.

Peach Italian soda: Red June Cafe in Bucktown has all of the trappings of a trusty neighborhood spot: excellent coffee and egg sandwiches; friendly service; free Wi-Fi; a cozy, tucked-away location; and a shaded outdoor seating area for enjoying an iced tea, smoothie or lemonade. Another...

Hot dogs, tacos and more will send you back to the ATM

Goose Island has finalized its roster of 2014 releases in its vaunted Bourbon County Stout series, all of which will be released, as usual, on Black Friday. This year that lands on Nov. 28.

Chicago's Air & Water Show happens for the 56th year this weekend from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The best (and most crowded) viewing spots are on the sand at Oak Street Beach and North Avenue Beach, but there are plenty of other good places to view the planes that also serve...

Annual contest considered "World Cup" of bartending

Diners who want to sit down for a salad or flat bread at Hinsdale's downtown train station are out of luck for the time being.