Swine At Its Finest At Baconfest

(Photo via The Bacon Games)

Tickets to Baconfest don't go on sale until the end of the month, but they're teasing the hell out of us with the just-released list of participating chefs.

Oh, just the names on this list will have you salivating, as your imagination goes wild with what they'll have in store for us when the pork party goes down on April 9 at the UIC Forum (725 W. Roosevelt Rd.).

That GT Is Such A Tease . . .

(Photo: GT Fish & Oyster)

GT Fish & Oyster—named after chef/partner Giuseppe Tentori—isn't opening until March, but they just released this tasty-looking photo of miniature lobster and shrimp pot pies.

Wow!

The Buzz Is Hot On This One!

(Photo via Metromix)

"You are going to love Hubbard Inn if you have not checked it out," writes an Ultimate Insider who got a chance to attend a preview party at the upcoming River North venue Thursday night.

But this made me even more excited:

"They are having their own house bourbon made."

YES.

It's set to open Feb. 7.

Whoops! It Ain't Over Yet . . .

(Photo: Ole Hardwood)

The drama apparently isn't over for the South Loop space formerly known as Ole Hardwood.

Police are continuing to investigate the fire that burned down the "gastro-smokehouse" in December, according to Chicago Journal:

Freebies . . . on Friday . . .

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

Benny's Chop House: One of the best deals during the Super Bowl, the menu at this River North steakhouse will offer $2 prime beef sliders, truffle & mushroom flatbreads, and $3 craft beers from Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Also, bring the kids along for generous deals 3-7pm every Sunday. Each child (per paying adult) eats for free from a menu that includes Chef Jonathan's Chicken Noodle Soup, all-natural chicken fingers, petite filet with fries, classic cheeseburger, and an ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce.

'Hottest Chef' Contestant, Others Cook For Vital Bridges

Chef Ryan Poli of Perennial. (Photo: Boka Restaurant Group)

Perennial's Ryan Poli made it through the first round of Eater Chicago's first-ever Hottest Chef Poll, and now you can meet the baby blue-eyed culinary star at a benefit happening Feb. 8.

John Manion Leaves Branch 27

John Manion. (Photo via Chicago Reader)

John Manion is out as executive chef of Branch 27 to start his own Latin venture, according to an Ultimate Insider, who also tells 312DD that sous chef Rich Phelps is also gone and leaving for MK.

We expect something pretty big, considering Manion was one of the forces behind the nuevo Latin cuisine scene back in the late 1990s as executive chef of now-shuttered Mas and Otro Mas.

We'll keep you updated as more info comes out about location, concept, etc. . . .

Some Great News From South Beach!

Chicago's own Todd Appel (far right) won second place in the prestigious Bacardi Legacy Competition, which took place in South Beach Tuesday. (Photo: Lynn House)

While we're up here fighting this dreadful blizzard, three of Chicago's top bar stars have been in Miami all week for the annual Bacardi Superior Rum Legacy Cocktail Competition.

Brad Bolt (Bar DeVille), Lynn House (Blackbird) and Todd Appel (Piranha Bros.) all repped Chicago and the Midwest, but it was Appel who came out on top.