Louisa Kung Liu Chu

Louisa Kung Liu Chu is the James Beard nominated food critic at the Chicago Tribune. Previously she was a chef, a food reporter at WBEZ and a fixer for Anthony Bourdain. Chu is Chinese American, born in Hong Kong, but raised in Chicago, working at her family’s chop suey restaurant.

OKAY Cannabis and West Town Bakery in Wheeling is the first and only consumption lounge where you can have your cake balls and smoke cannabis too, all with a focus on craft.

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
Guide: At OKAY Cannabis consumption lounge near Chicago, you can have your cake balls and smoke cannabis too

April 15, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

OKAY Cannabis and West Town Bakery in Wheeling is the first and only consumption lounge where you can have your cake balls and smoke cannabis too, all with a focus...

Chefs Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim pose for a portrait with records in their collection at the currently closed Parachute restaurant on North Elston Avenue on March 28, 2024, in Chicago. The chef-partners plan to open a new restaurant in the same space called Parachute Hi-Fi later this summer. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
Parachute Hi-Fi will bring bing bread back to Chicago with a Korean pizza puff

April 1, 2024 at 12:16 p.m.

James Beard award-winning chefs Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim hope to open the new high fidelity music bar and restaurant by June or July in the same space in the...

Open since late last fall, there still seems to be a perpetual line outside. It’s a measure of the reputation within.

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
Review: Akahoshi Ramen, beautiful bowls by Ramen Lord in Logan Square

April 1, 2024 at 12:21 p.m.

Open since late last fall, there still seems to be a perpetual line outside. It’s a measure of the reputation within.

“Tre Dita means three fingers and it refers to the measurement of the bistecca fiorentina,” said chef Evan Funke. “Anything under three fingers thick is considered carpaccio in the Tuscan mindset.”

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
Restaurant news: Tre Dita in Lakeshore East among 9 notable openings and closings in Chicago and the suburbs

March 25, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

“Tre Dita means three fingers and it refers to the measurement of the bistecca fiorentina,” said chef Evan Funke. “Anything under three fingers thick is considered carpaccio in the Tuscan...

$85 for nine seasonal courses is a shockingly low price in the world of tasting menus that typically start at triple digits.

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
Review: Maman Zari translates Iranian American tastes to a Persian escape in Chicago

March 18, 2024 at 4:16 p.m.

$85 for nine seasonal courses is a shockingly low price in the world of tasting menus that typically start at triple digits.

Dan Pashman, the author of “Anything's Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People.” (Dan Liberti)

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
Cookbook news: ‘Anything’s Pastable’ by The Sporkful’s Dan Pashman, plus Nancy’s Pizza book in the works

March 11, 2024 at 3:39 p.m.

Dan Pashman not only invented a new pasta shape just a few years ago, now he’s coming for your pasta sauce. He’s best known as the creator and host of...

When it comes to corned beef, there are two schools, the old piled-high style of sandwiches, and the new style usually with better ingredients and technique, but more modest in their meat.

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
26 of the best corned beef sandwiches in Chicago and the suburbs, including a stunning option from John’s Food & Wine

March 13, 2024 at 8:35 a.m.

When it comes to corned beef, there are two schools, the old piled-high style of sandwiches, and the new style usually with better ingredients and technique, but more modest in...

Notable openings include Bittersweet Pastry, Brasero, Joong Boo, La Grande Boucherie, Publican Quality Bread, Sando Street and Stefani’s Bottega Italiana.

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
Restaurant news: Pookie Crack Cakes in Bronzeville among 8 notable openings in Chicago and the suburbs

February 27, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Notable openings include Bittersweet Pastry, Brasero, Joong Boo, La Grande Boucherie, Publican Quality Bread, Sando Street and Stefani’s Bottega Italiana.

Get the modern, minimalist, Midwestern chili that packs heat on a perplexing menu with potential in the Bridgeport neighborhood.

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
Review: The new Ramova Grill and Taproom brings chili back to Bridgeport in Chicago

February 19, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Get the modern, minimalist, Midwestern chili that packs heat on a perplexing menu with potential in the Bridgeport neighborhood.

Fried chicken on cocoa waffles, topped with caramel rum ice cream, is just one of the new specials created for the annual Chicago Black Restaurant Week.

Restaurants, Food and Drink |
Chicago Black Restaurant Week 2024: 6 specials we’re excited to try, from Haitian cuisine to nonalcoholic wine

February 14, 2024 at 9:32 p.m.

Fried chicken on cocoa waffles, topped with caramel rum ice cream, is just one of the new specials created for the annual Chicago Black Restaurant Week.

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