Art Smith

Everyone knows Charlie Trotter as the chef of Charlie Trotter's. It's his name, his restaurant, and he's the boss. But that title “chef” has many meanings, and Trotter has embodied just about all of them during his 25 years at Charlie Trotter'...

"America's Got Talent" will do this week what the National Radio Hall of Fame couldn't last November: It will get legendary shock jock Howard Stern to come to the Chicago area. Stern — who was inducted into the Chicago-based Hall of Fame but...

CLAVERING, England — In this rural Essex village stands The Cricketers, the once-quiet pub that launched the career of British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who first cooked in his parents' kitchen. Trevor and Sally Oliver's place has grown with...

Gold Coast resident Yanina Beccaria and her partner Ken Barrington won season 2 of the Jenny McCarthy-hosted NBC reality show “Love in the Wild” Tuesday -- just as many had expected. The couple clicked from the beginning, unlike other...

What do Steve Zahn, the actor who played Elliott in 1982's "E.T.," the telepathic police officer from NBC's "Heroes" and Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt from FX's "Sons of Anarchy" all have in common? They're all scheduled to film TV pilots for ABC in the...

As summer's fleeting charms begin to fade, fall swirls into view in a burst of kaleidoscopic color. Relish autumn's arrival with 50 nifty travel ideas for the Mid-Atlantic region: from leaf peeping and leisurely drives, to museum-hopping, fall-inspired...

Curtis introduces the Quickfire with the absolute worst two words any high schooler has ever used to start an essay: "Throughout history," (insert my inner English major gouging out her eyes here). The challenge? Make a sexy dish using ingredients...

Editor's note: We are thrilled to welcome Mary Alice of Charm City Cakes as our recapper for the new season of "Top Chef Masters." We think it's a sin that she doesn't have her own Wikipedia page. But she does have a fan page. Take it away, Mary. "Top...

Charlie Trotter says he first thought of closing his namesake restaurant after his plane sat on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. “I realized really how fragile the world is,” he reflects. “I love what...

Episode two starts off right to the point -- there will be no quickfire this week, we have no time for such nonsense! Right to the elimination challenge, which, if you watched last week's preview (or saw the title of this episode), is no surprise.  ...

Happy Wednesday! Here we go with episode three:  Chefs enter the kitchen still reeling over the wedding mayhem of last week. Quickfire presents a giant ice bar laced with every seafood imaginable. The catch of the day (har har) -- the chefs cannot use...

What do Chicago restaurants Spiaggia, Table Fifty-Two, Girl and the Goat and Topolobampo have in common? They all feature former “Top Chef” and “Top Chef Masters” contestants in their kitchens. And, not coincidentally, they’...