CHICAGO (WLS) — Upscale grocery and convenience store chain Foxtrot will be making its return to Chicago this week after stores abruptly closed earlier this year.The store will be located at 23 W. Maple Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood. More Foxtrot locations are scheduled to reopen in Chicago and Dallas throughout 2025.ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watchFoxtrot locations across Chicago abruptly closed last April under former parent company Outfox Hospitality.The company’s original founders say the reopened stores will have an expanded coffee experience and reimagined food offerings.Food offerings will include breakfast tacos, panini sandwiches, salads…

Following two years of celebrating regional American cuisine, Bitter Pops has announced the launch of its Regional Hot Dog program, set to begin on September 5th, 2024. This year-long culinary journey is the third installment in Bitter Pops’ ongoing tribute to the food culture across the United States. Building on previous years’ Regional Burgers and Regional Sandwiches, Bitter Pops will offer a new regional hot dog each month, available exclusively on Thursdays. The program kicks off with the Michigan Coney, a hot dog that carries the flavors of the region but also a story from just north of Chicago.  The Regional Hot…

Fall menu items are all the rage as the seasons begin to change, with one restaurant chain based in the Chicago area reminding everyone that fall is more than just pumpkin spice lattes. This week, Portillo’s debuted a new Salted Caramel Spice Cake and an accompanying Salted Caramel Spice Cake Shake for the fall season, according to an announcement from the chain. The addition marks the first time in two decades that Portillo’s has added a new cake flavor to its menu. “After 20 years, we knew our new cake had to be something special,” Portillo’s said, “and the Salted…

Chicago trolley tour transforming access to fresh food Chicago’s Austin neighborhood has been called a food desert. In a Fox 32 special report, Terrence Lee looked at a new program that’s highlighting a number of local fresh food sources growing right under our noses. The Brief A unique trolley tour in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood showcases local urban gardens and fresh food sources in an area known as a food desert.The initiative educates residents, especially children, about gardening and the availability of fresh produce in their community, promoting healthier lifestyles.The trolley, which runs twice a month, provides an easy and free…

Treating the Metabolic Disorder of Modern City Life Perhaps no American city rose so meteorically from farm field to industrial giant as Chicago. Just some sixty years after the city was first platted, the World’s Columbian Exposition brought travelers from around the globe to this dynamo, this behemoth of production. Smokestacks belched here and there, hogs were slaughtered by the thousands in the stockyards, and commodities were traded downtown. The glory of the World’s Fair and the beauty of Lake Michigan contrasted with the heft of freight ships and locomotives. The great poet Carl Sandburg captured this strange city, at…

For more than 70 years, the International Meat Company has been butchering and trimming beef in the Galewood neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest Side. During the pandemic, the restaurant realized they couldn’t keep injecting brine into briskets without steady customers, so they opened Top Butcher Market across the street. “It kind of evolved into a lunch/restaurant/catering space, that started out with one menu item a day, to now a full-blown menu of 20 items,” said Dave Berni, chef of Top Butcher Market. Selling beef by the pound was a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want USDA Prime steaks at a discount? But it…

For more than 70 years, the International Meat Company has been butchering and trimming beef in the Galewood neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest Side. During the pandemic, the restaurant realized they couldn’t keep injecting brine into briskets without steady customers, so they opened Top Butcher Market across the street. “It kind of evolved into a lunch/restaurant/catering space, that started out with one menu item a day, to now a full-blown menu of 20 items,” said Dave Berni, chef of Top Butcher Market. Selling beef by the pound was a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want USDA Prime steaks at a discount? But it…

Amazon Fresh in Logan Circle by Ted Eytan licensed under Creative Commons. Chicago considers opening public grocery stores in food deserts. States are increasingly overriding city efforts to reduce driving. Effective climate policies combine measures like carbon pricing and cap-and-trade. Chicago could open its own grocery chain: Chicago is considering opening three groceries to support neighborhoods where national chains have recently shut their doors. The program would be the first time a city tried to operate a publicly-owned grocery store. Community and non-profit groceries have undertaken similar initiatives, but it’s a tough road when they don’t have the purchasing power…

Le Sud Mediterranean Kitchen will celebrate six years in Roscoe Village with a week-long celebration in September. From Tuesday, September 17 to Sunday, September 22, all dining guests will receive complimentary pizza slices from Le Sud’s soon-to-launch Mediterranean-style pizza menu. In addition, Le Sud will feature $6 glasses of wine, cocktails and small plates during happy hour each day from 4-5:30 p.m. Chef William Lara’s six new pizza selections will be available for purchase beginning on September 24.  Le Sud Mediterranean Pizza MenuMenu launches Sept. 24; Complimentary slices from Sept. 17-22 Margherita Mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil, pomodoro sauce Basque Spanish chorizo, manchego, roasted red pepper, pomodoro sauce Siciliana Speck, pickled red onions, cremini mushroom, shaved garlic,…

As summer transitions to fall, there are still plenty of opportunities to get outside for food festivals in Chicago and the suburbs. Taste of Chicago returns in September. Plus, there are several Oktoberfest celebrations across the area this month.Friday, September 6 through Sunday, September 8 | Grant ParkThe city’s signature food event returns this September to Grant Park, showcasing restaurants from all over the city.Friday, September 6 through Sunday, September 8 | 4521 Lincoln Ave.Lincoln Square’s Oktoberfest (one of several in the Chicago area) returns this month with German food, beer, wine, dancing, and more.Friday, September 6 through Sunday, September 8 |…