This Is What We Call Team Spirit!

The Fifty/50's exterior right now. (Photo: The Fifty/50)

We love the guys over at The Fifty/50 namely for stunts like this.

They took the photo above, along with this caption on Twitter:

"A little message to our friends in Green Bay written on cheese heads hanging outside of The Fifty/50 right now."

Go Bears!

Freebies . . . on Friday . . .

The Truffled Grilled Cheese at Bangers & Lace isn't free, but it'll go well with some of the beer samples you can get if you play your cards right. (Photo: Freddy Love)

Low on cash, but got an appetite for the good life?! Every Friday, 312DD features the best bargain bets around town:

Bangers & Lace: Lively music, log cabin-themed washrooms, lace-covered windows and hipsters with grizzly beards! Gotta also love the inventive budget bites (brioche corn-battered dog, truffled grilled cheese, lamb flatbread) you can pair with the daily updated beer menu. That list's so awesome that they'll let you sample whatever you want in a nice sized shot glass.

Best Spots for Biz Dinners Don't Come Cheap

(Photo: Shanghai Terrace)

If you're still lucky enough to have a corporate card and one of your job descriptions is "entertaining clients," then this list is for you.

Esquire just released a list of best business restaurants across the country, and of course Chicago made it.

Bar Stars Rock 'Grand Chefs Gala' After-Party

Brad Bolt of Bar DeVille (Photo: Bar DeVille)

This is fantastic.

The Grand Chefs Gala, now in its 14th year, is changing the event up a bit with an Emerald City theme and after-party featuring some of the city's most celebrated bar stars.

Chefs Wager on Bears vs. Packers Game

Inovasi chef/owner John des Rosiers (left) and Phillip Foss of the Meatyballs Mobile.

And so it begins . . .

Look for everyone under the sun making wagers on the Bears vs. Packers NFC Championship Game going down Jan. 23.

Two Chicago-area chefs are also getting in on the action, and thank your lucky stars you'll be able to benefit no matter the outcome.

Yet Another Chef Breaks Out On His Own

(Photo: Mark Steuer)

The Gage's executive sous chef Mark Steuer just gave notice so he can finally dedicate time to working on his own venture.

Then he gloriously followed that up with an announcement of his forthcoming project: The Bedford.

In December, he exclusively told 312DD that he's settled on an underutilized space in the Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village area. And while he wouldn't disclose the concept, we have a pretty good idea he'll take a page or two from his current employer at The Gage as well as Hot Chocolate—where he served as chef de cuisine for a few years.

We'll keep you posted . . .

Happy Birthday, Dr. King!

Dr. King would have been 82 today. He would have also been proud to see us getting along and taking care of one other.

Here's a chance to give back to those less fortunate, with the great civil rights leader in mind:

Feeding America: Provides food for more than 37 million U.S. citizens a year.

Heifer International: Help others get the livestock and other sustainable products they need in order to survive.

Meals on Wheels: Provides home-delivered meals to the disabled and seniors.

Share Our Strength: Proceeds from its Taste of the Nation benefits—last year featuring 3,000 chefs in 50 cities—go to local organizations that serve the 12 million American children who need food pantries and other forms of assistance to obtain the nutrition they require.

Vital Bridges: For more than 20 years, the organization has helped men, women and children impacted by HIV and AIDS.

The BYOBandits Are Pretty Damn Funny

(Photo: BYOBandits)

Sam and Owen, the masked bloggers behind BYOBandits, have my vote when it comes to originality on reviewing Chicago's restaurants.

Their take on the city's burgeoning BYOB dining scene is a refreshing escape from some of the stuffy, self-important reviewers you'll find on other sites.

Just a few of their best bits: