Tony Mantuano

Restaurant Michael in Winnetka feels a bit like stepping back into the famed Le Francais dining room in Wheeling, except it's cozier, a touch more casual, with brighter lighting and upbeat jazz gently playing on the speakers. It all makes sense because...

A roundup of restaurants reviewed in 2012 by critic Phil Vettel. Acadia ✭✭✭ 1639 S. Wabash Ave., 312-360-9500. Ryan McCaskey's gamble to place a luxury restaurant in the South Loop is, so far, paying off. People are crowding into...

Summer's here, and the time is right for eating in the street. Or near the street. Or in a bottle-service cabana high above the street. Chicagoans love outdoor-dining season, all the more so because of its short duration. There are precious few days in...

It's safe to say that nobody knows what to expect from this year's Taste of Chicago. Stripped down to five days from its usual 10, the number of food vendors trimmed to 40 (compared with 59 in 2011) and separated from its traditional Fourth of July...

Move over, all you Hillary Clinton and Henry Kissinger wanna-bes. Here come Chicago’s Rick Bayless, Tony Mantuano and Art Smith, along with 87 other renowned chefs, willing to perform a little kitchen diplomacy on behalf of the U.S. Department of...

Beach trips and picnics are summer fun staples, but there’s nothing like lazing away an afternoon at brunch. Forgo your regular haunt and consider checking out the new brunch service at these eight restaurants. As an added bonus, five have outdoor...

Chef Susan Feniger heads to town Aug. 16 to celebrate her latest cookbook “Susan Feniger’s Street Food” (Clarkson Potter) with a book signing/demo at Williams-Sonoma on Michigan Avenue and a pop-up restaurant at Tony Mantuano’s...

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’...

Buoyed by near-perfect weather, Taste of Chicagoreturned to Grant Parkon Wednesday to a substantial lunchtime crowd that looked very much like opening-day Taste crowds from years past. Concerns that this 32nd Taste of Chicago would be poorly attended,...

To corrupt an old saying, the good Lord never closes a condo without opening a bungalow. Berwyn is on the rise. The financial crisis has turned the near west suburb into a hot spot of affordable housing, and young couples and families are crowding in....

Student performances and Top Chef stations were the main attractions at "A Taste for the Arts" benefiting the Chicago Academy of the Arts. More than 350 attended the free performances by students and alumni May 10 at the Harris Theater. The show opened...

There's nothing like sitting down to a three-course meal prepared by a top-name chef. But at Taste of Chicago? If the City Council gives the OK, that could be an option in July. An ordinance going before the City Council Wednesday would allow the...