What you need to know about ice wine, New York's wintry nectar

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/24 3:50A Michael Austin

From one of the country’s most-prolific wine-producing states comes one of the country’s rarest wine styles. The state is New York, and the style — ice wine — results in mere drops of liquid per year, relative to traditional table wines...

Good news we need now: Original Rainbow Cone will stay open this winter

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/24 2:10A Louisa Chu

Who needs Mega Millions? You can find your pot of gold, piled high with five flavors, at Original Rainbow Cone, which in a surprise move, will remain open this winter. The pink stucco house of ice cream in the Beverly neighborhood on the South...

Your vote counts! Help pick the finalists in Tribune's annual Holiday Cookie Contest

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/23 4:05P Joe Gray

It’s time to vote! For cookies. All the submissions are in, and the voting has begun in the Chicago Tribune’s annual Holiday Cookie Contest. Contestants are competing for cash prizes and bragging rights, plus a visit to the Tribune’s test...

Erick Williams announces name, more details on upcoming Hyde Park restaurant

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/23 6:15A Phil Vettel

Last month, we told you that Erick Williams, longtime executive chef at MK restaurant, had signed a lease on the old A10 space in Hyde Park (1462 E. 53rd St.) to open a Southern American restaurant . Now we know a bit more. We have a name. The...

Final day: Dig out the recipe box — today is the last chance to enter the Tribune's 2018 cookie...

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/23 2:55A Joe Gray

Tuesday is your last chance to enter the Chicago Tribune's 2018 Holiday Cookie Contest. We are taking submissions online until 11:29 p.m. And voting online begins at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. If you've been waiting until the last minute to enter your...

Planters peanut IPA collaboration with Chicago brewer tastes better than a gimmick

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/23 12:00A Josh Noel

Mike Condon thought the email was a joke. Why would Planters, the nation’s seminal peanut brand, want to make a beer with Condon’s tiny west suburban brewery, Noon Whistle? Why would Planters want to make a beer at all? But sure enough, the email...

What to eat at Mitsuwa Marketplace, home to Chicago area's best ramen and tempura

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/18 6:35A Nick Kindelsperger

Recently, Chicago has seen a surge of new Japanese restaurants offering omakase, the practice where a chef picks out a succession of small, impeccable seafood dishes and then charges you accordingly for the privilege. For example, a meal at Otto...

Former Chicago chef Sara Bradley competes on ‘Top Chef’ in Kentucky, where her Paducah restaurant is...

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/18 5:25A Lori Rackl

When former Chicago chef Sara Bradley heard “Top Chef” would be filming its new season in her native Kentucky, she wanted a piece of the action. Bradley, a tireless champion of Kentucky cuisine, got what she wanted. The 36-year-old chef is the...

Paw paws find their way into fall cocktails — try them Wednesday night at Lost Lake pop-up

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/17 5:45A Kenney Marlatt

Fall has arrived, which means you may be in for a surprise when you try the new limited-release spirit from Apologue. The Chicago-based company that specializes in Midwestern-inspired liqueurs is launching its first seasonal offering, and it’s...

Foreign grocery stores, elderly church ladies and mom's adaptation of Taiwanese beef noodle soup

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/17 3:00A Grace Wong

My mother has always used food in two ways: one, to express love and appreciation, and two, as a means of currency in her community. When mom, Ling Ling Zheng (affectionately called Momma Wong by my friends), moved from Shanghai to Chicago in the...

TripAdvisor claims Alaska has better pizza than Chicago... Um?

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/17 2:20A Nick Kindelsperger

TripAdvisor, where random people rate everything from hotels to helicopter rides, just released a list of the top pizzerias in the country . And the winner is located in — wait for it— Boston? Regina Pizzeria, which has been open since 1926, is...

Give ramen a rest — try these Asian noodle soups instead

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/17 12:00A Nick Kindelsperger

I know what you want. You want a list of the best ramen in Chicago. After all, it's our month of “Craving: Noodles” here at the Chicago Tribune, so a tidy list of the best ramen joints wouldn't be out of line. But I can't give you that. Sure,...

Sneak peek at The Darling, the cool-whimsical bar transforming the former Won Fun space

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/15 5:10A Joseph Hernandez

The Darling is getting ready for its debut. The in-construction restaurant-bar concept, which was first reported by Eater , is taking over the former Won Fun/2Fun space, which closed last year. The space next to J.P. Graziano is massive and may...

Revolution Brewing kicks off barrel-aged beer season with eye-opening V.S.O.J. and curious Code...

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/12 5:00A Josh Noel

Skies are gray. Temperatures are dropping. Baseball is finished. (At least in Chicago). Barrel-aged beer season is back! Revolution Brewing, which has firmly waded into the annual rite of releasing boozy beers aged in whiskey barrels , is back with...

Review: Free Rein is a hidden-in-plain-sight jewel on Michigan Avenue

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 10/12 12:00A Phil Vettel

Free Rein is the Where’s Waldo of Chicago restaurants, hiding in plain sight on Michigan Avenue, just south of the river. It lurks behind a wall of shaded glass — you can’t tell there’s a restaurant in there unless you walk right up to it — on...