Special Zealous Menu Inspired By Spain

Zealous Owner/Executive Chef Michael Taus and wife Annette on their recent trip to Barcelona. (Photos: Michael Taus)

Ever since I saw Vicky Cristina Barcelona (starring Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall), I've been obsessed with traveling to Spain.

The wine, the cuisine, the culture and the passion of those beautiful people are simply breathtaking and one day I'll get there.

In the meantime, I'll just live vicariously through Zealous owner/executive chef Michael Taus, who just returned to Chicago after an eight-day trip to Barcelona.

'Chicago Restaurant Week' On Its Way!

Prairie Fire's slow-braised Tallgrass beef barbecue brisket. (Photo: Ron Kaplan)

You can only dine at so many restaurants a year—mostly because you only have so many $$$ to dine out.

That's why you should thank your lucky stars for the annual Chicago Restaurant Week, which allows you to choose from at least 200 restaurants that may be out of your price range on the regular.

From Feb. 18-27, the 10-day event features special prix-fixe menus of $22 for lunch and $33-$44 for dinner. Here's a list of all participating restaurants, but you'll also find a handful of newcomers to the scene:

Would You Stand In The Cold For This?!

The Southern Mac Truck's Lobster Cheddar Mac 'n' Cheese (Photo: The Southern)

Cary Taylor, executive chef of The Southern, is the latest to roll out with his own food truck.

Expected to debut by month's end, the Southern Mac Truck will serve nothing but mac 'n' cheese and we're perfectly fine with that action.

Blue 13 Chef Takes Over Elate Menu

Blue 13's Chris Curren will consult on Elate's menu. (Photo: Blue 13)

A cool little tidbit dropped in my inbox over the weekend regarding Blue 13's executive chef Chris Curren.

Apparently, the notorious rock-inspired toque is taking over the menu at Elate in the Hotel Felix in River North.

Martial Noguier's Q&A On Bistronomic

(Photo: via Time Out)

Chicago mag's Dish snagged an interview with Martial Noguier and his new gig at Bistronomic—the new casual focused French eatery 312DD told you about Wednesday night.

The highlights:

Keep Your Fingers Crossed For This Bar Star

Roscoe Tavern bartender Shawn Hazen (right) is the Illinois winner for the Woodford Reserve/Esquire Manhattan Experience Finals. (Photo: Woodford Reserve)

Manhattans have made a triumphant comeback and no one's more excited than Woodford Reserve bourbon and Esquire.

That's why they teamed up last fall to conduct the second-annual Manhattan Experience contest nationwide to search for the ultimate cocktail.

Martial Noguier is Bistronomic's New Chef

(Photo: via Time Out)

Former Cafe des Architectes Executive Chef Martial Noguier didn't travel far to snag his next gig.

In fact, it's literally half a block away from the Sofitel, where he oversaw the kitchen for a couple of years.

According to an Ultimate Insider, Eve—which served its last meal Jan. 2—has already been renamed Bistronomic with Noguier as its executive chef.

In With A Bang . . .

Chef James Toland of The Black Sheep. (Photo: Lorenzo Tassone)

In less than one year, we've seen the likes of The Purple Pig, Girl & The Goat and Longman & Eagle soar to great heights during a tumultuous time for dining out.

What all of these spots have in common—in addition to kick-ass chefs and restaurant names paying homage to animals—is that they're dedicated to local and sustainable ingredients. True, there's a lot of that going around in the city, but The Purple Pig's Jimmy Bannos Jr., GATG's Stephanie Izard and L&E's Jared Wentworth have taken their menus far beyond trends and onto every critic's hot list.

James Toland hopes to be added to the hot list when his West Town eatery, The Black Sheep, opens in March.