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  • Danny Macaroons Named “Best Store Bought Cookie” By Food & Wine Magazine. MEET DANNY TOMORROW AT FOODEASE MARKET IN CHICAGO 12-2PM, GET YOUR BOOK SIGNED AND PIG OUT ON MACAROONS!
  • This week: 5 Events, 30 Films, 100 Foods. All the Delicious DIRT on 2013 Chicago Food Film Fest; Ramen Burger, Momofuku, Shaw’s, David Burke, Chicago Q, and mas.
  • Danny Macaroons Infiltrates Chicago
  • Macaroon Master, Danny Macaroons, Debuts Inaugural Cookbook, The Macaroon Bible. Brings Gluten-Free Macaroons to the Masses
  • Bacon Love at Baconfest, Untitled’s Whiskey Fest, Brunch at Acadia, Tesori, El’s Kitchen
  • Cookie Heaven AKA Danny Macaroons Launches In Chicago At Belly Shack, La Colombe, The Haute The Dog, Little Beans & More.
  • BellyQ & Haberdash Host Fashion Rocks For Common Threads, Chicago Chef Week, & Google Maps Update We Dig

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  #DeliciousDIRT Ari Bendersky Big Star Bistronomic Blackbird Blogging Boka Boka Group Brandon Baltzley Brendan Sodikoff CC SKYE Chicago q D.C. Crenshaw Danny Macaroons Duchamp Elevate Your Presence Fish Bar Food Food Film Fest Food Mafia Food Porn Gaztro- Wagon George Motz Gilt Bar Giordanos Girl & The Goat Giuseppe Tentori Goose Island Grant Achatz Green City Market GT Fish & Oyster Hideout Invest For Kids Jason Freiman Longman & Eagle Luxbar Mercadito Michael Kornick Mindy Segal North Pond Paul Kahan Paul Virant Public House Rahm Emanuel Stephanie Izard

Delicious DIRT. Celebrating Chef Week; Can’t Miss Charity Event: Fashion Rocks

DIRT Inside: Chicago Chef Week, Mindy Segal, Martial Noguier, Boka, Rustic House, Mercadito, Publican, bellyQ, haberdash, GT Fish&Oyster, Danny Macaroons, Belly Shack, Carriage House, Common Threads, West Loop Community Organization 

Fashion Rocks: Sweet Styles And Tasty Bites For A Cause

We know you love fun fashion, good food, and enjoying it while giving back. So, you are in for a real treat on April 7^th from 6:30pm-9pm as bellyQ teams up with men’s fashion experts over at haberdash to bring you, “Fashion Rocks”. With cooking stations and delicious eats sponsored by some of our favorites (GT Fish&Oyster, Danny Macaroons, Belly Shack, Carriage House etc.), as well as a showcasing of the haberdash Spring 2013 line, this is sure to be a wonderful evening. The best part is that all proceeds go to the awesome charities Common Threads and West Loop Community Organization. For tickets ($150 each) email, fashionrocks@brownpapertickets.com.

Nifty New Feature for Google Maps On iPhone. Below

Chicago Chef Week Begins 3/17. Below

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Delicious DIRT. Bleeding Heart Bakery: One Door Closes, Another Opens; Poutine: Be Bad, Get Happy, Mindy Segal’s Hot Chocolate Closing for AC Renovations

DIRT Inside: Bleeding Heart Bakery, Oak Park, BadHappy, Mindy Segal, Hot Chocolate, Tom Kern

Mindy Segal’s Hot Chocolate Closing – Temporarily

Rumors were a-buzzin’ of a closing when Mindy Segal posted a pic of her Bucktown resto/bakery Hot Chocolate under construction. No reason to worry. Mindy’s Hot Chocolate will be closing only from April 24 until May 8 -ish for renovations (hint: air conditioning). This long-standing hotspot has been around for more than 10 years. Enjoy the decade-long goodness in May guys. 1747 N. Damen. [312 Dining Diva]

Bleeding Heart Update: Closing Burbs Shop. Below.

Love Poutine? Get It Right Here in the CHI. Below

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Delicious DIRT. Chi’s Own Final Beard Noms; Perennial Virant Mixologist Leaves; Mini Monday Round Up

DIRT Inside: James Beard Foundation, Next, The Aviary, The Violet Hour, Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Mindy Segal, Mindy’s Hot Chocolate, Spiaggia, Topolobampo, Dave Beran, Michael Carlson, Schwa, Stephanie Izard, Girl and the Goat, Bruce Sherman, North Pond, Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia Perennial Virant, Matty Eggleston, Tenzing Wine & Spirits, Jessica Oroloso, Black Dog Gelato, Ukranian Village, Bleeding Heart Bakery, Intelligentsia, Merchandise Mart, Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center

Mini Monday Moves: What’s Going On In the CHI

Jessica Oloroso’s Black Dog Gelato will be getting a second spot this spring, and it looks like it will be MUCH needed with all this beautiful spring and summer weather we are having here in the Chi. DIRT: BDG’s original location is in Ukranian Village, but the second gelato shop will be opening in Bleeding Heart Bakery’s old location @ 1955 W. Belmont. (BONUS DIRT: flavors like goat cheese cashew caramel and malted vanilla = TO DIE FOR.)

Intelligentsia will be opening it’s fourth cafe, and this time in the Merchandise Mart. 1871, a tech-friendly center by Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, will house Intelligentsia in the Merch Mart. 22-seater, 12th floor, Wi-Fi included, all your coffee/tea/goodie cravings. Watch for it May 2.

Perennial Virant Saying Goodbye to Matty Eggleston. Below

Beard Noms Update: CONGRATS Chicago Noms. Below.

Straight off the James Beard Foundation’s Twitter feed, we followed the live announcement of the final list of noms, and it’s as fresh as you can get: we’re delivering the Chicago noms to you. We’d like to congratulate all of the noms and send out a special congrats to everyone nominated in Chicago. Winners will be announced May 4 and May 7, so we’ll keep you posted! Full List below.

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Delicious DIRT. Estate on the Riverfront, Chicago Brings Home the Nods, & Never Too Many Donuts

DIRT Inside: Estate Ultra Bar, Chris Turano, Dan De Los Monteros, 2012 JBF Restaurant and Chef Awards, Bistronomic, Next, The Aviary, The Violet Hour, Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Tony Mantuano, Spiaggia, Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Patrick Fahy, Café des Architectes, Mindy Segal, Mindy’s Hot Chocolate, Tru, Donnie Madia, One Off Hospitality, Topolobampo, Sepia, Dave Beran, Matthew Kirkley, L2O, David Posey, Matthew Carlson, Schwa, Stephanie Izard, Girl and the Goat, Martial Noguier, Chris Nugent, Goosefoot, Bruce Sherman, North Pond, Giuseppe Tentori, GT Fish & Oyster, Andrew Zimmerman, Do-Rite Donuts, Petterino’s.

Never Too Much of a GOOD THING: Do-Rite Donuts Opens in Loop

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again! DONUTS ARE THE NEW CUPCAKES. We learned via Grub Street Chicago, that THIS morning @ 6:30 AM, Do-Rite Donuts opened in the Loop, attached to Petterino’s on Randolph. Francis Brennan and Jeff Mahin are the masterminds behind the latest addition to the doughnut line-up, bringing Lettuce Entertain You into the mix. And they’ve got some SERIOUS goodies in store: ranging from “gourmet” doughnuts (peanut butter + jelly + peanut better mousse topping) and “old-fashioned” cake doughnuts (topped with Tahitian vanilla or Valhrona chocolate) –> SO MUCH YUM. Definitely the next stop on our doughnut train. 50 W. Randolph.

NOW OPEN: Estate Ultra Bar is Rollin’ on the River

Moving into some prime real-estate on the riverfront, Estate Ultra Bar is now open in River West.

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Our food nerd wet dream has officially begun. This fall, the city’s annual event line up might actually blow your mind. Well, maybe not your mind, but certainly your waistline is a GONER. Prepare to eat, drink and eat more…food porn galore. We’ll love every minute of it and thinking you will too.

Since there’s oh so many edible extravaganzas this fall, we did the dirty for you. Inside this post, the DIRT Team rounds up 7 of Chicago’s not to miss annual food festivals, events, + fiestas.

Inside: Chris Pandel, Stephanie Izard, Mindy Segal, Graham Elliot, Chicago Gourmet, Hamburger Hop, Harris Theater Rooftop, Cultivate Chicago, Chipotle, Family Farmed, Paul Kahan, Tony Mantuano, Bruce Sherman, Paul Virant, Richard Blais, Michael Chiarello, Jonathan Waxman, Chicago magazine, Chicago’s Table, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Big Star, Davanti Enoteca, The Florentine, Longman & Eagle, Sable Kitchen & Bar, Second Annual Food Film Festival, New York Food Festival, Chicago’s Gateway Green, Green Tie Ball, A. Finkl & Sons, Return to Emerald City, Supreme Lobster Chef Challenge, Royster with Oyster, Shaw’s Crab House, Adam Richman, Man V Food
CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Delicious DIRT’s Fall Food Event Extravaganza Roundup

9/17  Did you go green? This year’s Green Tie Ball boasted 65 Restaurants, 4 food trucks, and a partridge and a pear tree. Chicago’s Gateway Green hosted the 20th annual Green Tie Ball. This event truly helps keep Chicago green + serene. This year’s theme = The Return to Emerald City. We filled our pumpkin chariot with food, drinks + a huge party. Stay tuned for a full report on Delicious DIRT. Hint: our fave was the Bull + Bear BURGER. Heavenly. WE ate 6 of them! Hey, they were mini’s… For now, we hope you raised your glasses, loosened your belts, and helped keep Chicago sustainable.

9/21- 9/23 Get Everyone to the Greek! Join intellectuals, socialites, philanthropists and straight up food nerds at National Hellenic Museum’s Kouzina dedicated to showcasing culinary + cultural awesomeness of The Mediterranean culture. 9/21 entails sampling + tasting from Chicago’s trendiest most progressive varieties in Greek & Mediterranean foods + wines. On 9/22 Food Network star David Schneider, mastermind behind Taxim, serves a 4 course, 5 star meal paired with grandiose Greek wines as Culinary Institute of America Chairman Bill Anton wins his inaugural Cultural Icon Award. Food, wine, book signings, cooking demos, & many Greek market place delicacies are sure to leave you satiated. $200 for all 3 days, 1 day pass is $100. Nature Hellenic Museum 333 S Halsted

9/23 – 9/25 One of Chicago’s biggest and most anticipated culinary events, Chicago Gourmet, returns with weekend filled with chefs + fabulous food!
Hamburger Hop kick starts the weekend event from 6 – 9 pm as many of our friends & favorite chefs battle it out for best burger. Take those burgers down in true Chicago fashion at the Harris Theater Rooftop.  Saturday & Sunday are filled with an insane line up of live cooking demonstrations, seminars, tastings, speakers, classes + more.  Hundreds of our favorite chefs participate in Chicago Gourmet and then some (hottie Bannos JR, Izard (girl crush), Bayless, Priolo, Hogan, Poli, and oh so many more). You’ll get your gourmet on hardcore with the multitude of food, demos, exhibitions and classes. Ticket prices vary depending on the events.  201 E. Randolph St.

10/1 Cultivate Chicago = a FREE food filled festival that brings together eats, farmers, chefs, thought leaders (interesante), and musicians in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park. Chipotle sponsors this free event + sells crafted dishes specifically for the day –> proceeds going to an org we LOVE = familyfarmed.org. Chicago chefs Paul Kahan, Tony Mantuano, Bruce Sherman, and Paul Virant will be there in addition to Richard Blais, Michael Chiarello, and Jonathan Waxman. Perfect fall Saturday in the LP.

Delicious DIRT. Events Week of Labor Day 2011

Inside: Colin Quinn: Long Story Short, Colin Quinn, Foodlife, Lettuce Entertain You, Book Club, The Whistler, Paul McGee, Toque: An Evening with Chicago’s Culinary Masters, Children’s Oncology Services (COSI), Dr. Sandy Goldberg, Michael Kornick, Chris Pandel, Stephanize Izard, Mindy Segal, Graham Elliot, 900 N Michigan Fashion’s Night Out, Mario Tricoci, Bloomingdales, David Burke’s Primehouse, Sixteen at Trump, prasion, Brad Goreski, Windy City Wine Festival, Slow Food Chicago, 3rd Annual Pig Roast, Goose Island, Slagel Farms, Rick Gresh, Rob Levitt, Intelligentsia, Chris Spear, Uncommon Ground, Shedd Aquarium, Community Discount Days, Eleven City Diner

9/6  WE LOVE LAUGHING. Who doesn’t? Chuckle it up as you check out  Colin Quinn: Long Story Short. The former SNL member rounds up of the history of the world in 75 minutes. The show runs through September 10th so get it while you can. Chow down at one of our faves Foodlife  before the show if you’re open to pig out. You know this Delicious DIRT go to =  Lettuce Entertain You’s upscale food court… Stay tuned as Foodease (their expansion) opens soon. Showtime is 730pm through 9/10 @ Broadway Playhouse. 175 E. Chestnut St.

9/7 Attend the alternative Book Club at The Whistler at 6:00 pm where bartender, Paul McGee, picks a book from his personal library and creates a monthly cocktail party based on the chosen book. Past events featured tropical tiki drinks based off the book Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide by Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron. We dig. 2421 N. Milwaukee Ave.

9/8 Give back + eat eat eat at one of our favorite events of the year. Toque: An Evening with Chicago’s Culinary Masters at The Renaissance Hotel supports a truly important charity, Children’s Oncology Services (life changing important organization + past Invest For Kids recipient). Host Dr. Sandy Goldberg has the pleasure of welcoming popular Chicago chefs like Michael Kornick, who happens to be the chef coordinator, Chris Pandel, Stephanie Izard, Mindy Segal, and Graham Elliot.  This annual event is on our #MUST list. 630pm, $250 @ One W. Wacker Drive.

9/8 Fame, Fashion & Flavor @ 900 North Michigan Shops. Hit up Bravo TV’s fashion guru Brad Goreski and CS Magazine on Fashion’s Night Out for the ultimate party in Chicago. Head to 900 N Michigan for Fashion’s Night Out and shop ‘til you drop from 6 – 9 pm. Head to Mario Tricoci and Bloomingdales for complimentary lash extensions, hair flair, and mini manicures. If shopping makes you hungry, nibble on bites from David Burke’s Primehouse, Sixteen at Trump and #FaveWeCrave -> Prasino. Big spenders -> $1,000 gets you access to TZAR’s VIP Lounge to hang out with Bravo TV’s Brad Goreski. 900 North Michigan Avenue.

9/9 – 9/10 Buckingham Fountain is the jam for 2011′s Windy City Wine Festival. Sample more than 270 wines, participate in wine seminars + cooking demonstrations and get down to live music. You’ll be drunk enough to dance like no one’s watching you (if you’re lucky). Listen up all you designated drivers, $10 allows you to play too… with two non-alcoholic drinks and all the same entertainment the winos drunkenly swallow.  Regular tickets are $27 advance, $35 at door. 500 S. Columbus Drive.

9/11  Slow Food Chicago presents their 3rd Annual Pig Roast at Goose Island featuring 5 chefs preparing different dishes using Slagel Farm pigs. Tons of our favorite chefs are involved in this annual Slow Food Chicago fundraiser (Rick Gresh + Rob Levitt + more). Down Goose Island beer and sober up with Intelligentsia coffee. Attention #vegetarians, look for Chris Spear of Uncommon Ground‘s meat free dishes you’ll devour. $60, 2-5pm, 1800 W. Fulton St.

9/12 – 9/13 FREE FREE FREE. Not a lot better than FREE.  Take advantage of the Shedd Aquarium Community Discount Days as Illinois residents receive free general admission… While in the area, dive into some solid deli food at Eleven City Diner. 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive.

Delicious DIRT. Get Dosed: Food and Fashion, One Sunday a Month

You’ve spent many a Sunday trekking from Bucktown to Chinatown, Andersonville to the Gold Coast, and back again, in order to soak up everything Chicago has to offer. Life would be easier if there were just one stop.  CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Dose Market is just that: The new food and fashion market takes place one Sunday a month at the River East Art Center. Heather Sperling (Chicago Editor, Tasting Table) and Emily Fiffer (DailyCandy Chicago Editor) helm the food end; April Francis (the Haute Closet) and Jessica Herman (Associate Shopping Editor, Time Out Chicago) add a healthy dose of fashion and design to the mix. The foursome’s goal is simple: to expose Chicagoans to the creativity that makes this city tick – and put Chicago on the map, once and for all.

At the July 10 market, Grant Achatz crafted complimentary cocktails for guests in the morning hours.

Slightly sloshed, shoppers soaked up the booze with Fritz Pastry’s buttery croissants and smeared them with passion fruit lime curd from Rare Bird Preserves.

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TAKASHI ASSEMBLES SUPERSTAR LINEUP

TO RAISE FUNDS FOR JAPAN

DISASTER RELIEF

Elevate Your Presence HEARTS Takashi and this time he’s done it again!  This is a food porn event you won’t want to miss.

4/18 Join some of Chicago’s most talented & giving chefs on Monday, April 18 at Takashi as they come together, raising funds to provide assistance to those affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that took place in Japan on March 11.

Monday, April 18 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Six courses, $200 – $250+ per person, inclusive of wine, tax and gratuity. All proceeds benefit the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Participating Chefs

Jimmy Bannos, Sr.- Heaven on Seven
Jimmy Bannos, Jr.- Purple Pig
George Bumbaris- Praire Fire, Praire Grass
Sebastian Canonne- French Pastry School
John Hogan- Keefer’s
Paul Kahan- Blackbird
Bill Kim- Urban Belly, Belly Shack
Tony Mantuano- Spiaggia
Mindy Segal- Hot Chocolate
Sarah Stegner- Praire Fire, Praire Grass
Paul Virant- Vie, Perennial Virant
Dean Zanella- Rhapsody
Takashi Yagihashi- Takashi

All Proceeds Go To Red Cross

Event Juice

• On Monday, April 18, chefs from across Chicago will join forces to prepare a spectacular six-course meal at Takashi restaurant. This is a case where too many cooks in the kitchen is a good thing – so many chefs are donating their skills that many will be acting as servers on what will surely be a one-of-a- kind evening. The restaurant will be open at 5:00 p.m., with the last seating at 10:00 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant at 773- 772-6170 and 100% of the funds raised go directly to disaster relief.
• Seating between 5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. & at 10:00 p.m.: $200 minimum Seating between 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.: $250 minimum Price is inclusive of dinner, wine, tax & gratuity

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