Perennial Virant

The 2013 Michelin Guide, published last week, awarded stars to 19 Chicago restaurants, and bestowed Bib Gourmands (signifying good restaurants that offer good value) to 19 more. And congratulations to each and every one. But recognizing 38 restaurants...

Here's something you may not know about Open Table, the predominant online restaurant reservations system: When you book a table through the Open Table website, the restaurant is charged $1 per seated guest — so if you show up as a foursome, that'...

Summer's here, and the time is right for eating in the street. Or near the street. Or in a bottle-service cabana high above the street. Chicagoans love outdoor-dining season, all the more so because of its short duration. There are precious few days in...

As I exited Balena a week or so ago, a passing stranger stopped me. "Good restaurant?" he asked, jerking his head toward the door. I nodded enthusiastically. "Great pizzas," I said. And in that split-second, I fear I gave Balena, which opened two...

Time once again for my annual exercise in humiliation, as I try to predict the star recipients in the 2013 Michelin Chicago Guide, which hits bookstores Wednesday. This is the third year that Michelin has published a Chicago guide, and if there's one...

Alinea, Chicago's most acclaimed restaurant, has used Open Table in the past to manage — though not take — reservations, but co-owner Nick Kokonas isn't shy about anticipating and working toward the service's demise. Kokonas, partners with...

Halloween doesn't get here until Wednesday, but don't tell that to Chicago's restaurant community, which has events planned Friday through the 31st. Here are a few of the most intriguing options. Bar Umbriago. Halloween party with a DJ will take place...

CHICAGO - I grew up in Chicago and still go there often. But since I'm visiting my family, I rarely stay in hotels. Friends post on Facebook about their weekends at the historic Burnham or the boutique James, the bargain Days Inn or the glitzy Wit; it...

April Bloomfield looks like a cop. Her chin juts. Her eyes assess. She's quiet, short, compact, her manner direct and unfussy. Though there is a compelling argument that Bloomfield has done more in the past decade to change the way we eat than any other...

Farmer's market season is upon us, and nothing says summer like tables full of fresh fruits and vegetables, artisan cheeses, local meat and just-picked flowers. But very few of us think about the work that went into the product when we're picking up...

Eventually, the restaurant team of Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz will open a restaurant that fails to live up to expectations. Mostly because expectations for this everything-touched-turns-golden duo keep rising. How can they not? From Boka to Girl & the Goat...

The fact that chef Paul Virant and I share the same monogram shouldn't confuse anybody, although years back the chef sent me a letter he received from some luckless job applicant who, instead of writing "Paul Virant" in the salutation, used my name...