Dashing To The Dives . . .

Saturday's Christmas, and by the end of the night you're going to need to get away from the folks.

Here's your easy escape plan, a list of several bars open on Christmas night.

Happy Eggnogging!

Bite Cafe Closes For Renovation

Longman & Eagle was an instant success when it opened earlier this year, so naturally folks are looking to see what the owners will do next.

The next big thing will come almost one year to the date when partner Bruce Finkelman shutters Ukrainian Village's Bite Cafe for a few weeks in January for a quickie renovation.

MeatyBalls Delivered to 312DD!

Chef Phillip Foss and his Meatyballs Mobile truck. (Photo: The Pickled Tongue)

It was a really good thing that we were paying attention to Twitter Thursday morning.

That's when Phillip Foss of the Meatyballs Mobile tweeted that he'd make special stops along his regular route to deliver his signature meatball sandwiches.

Whether You're Good or You're Bad . . .

Chandra Lee Schwartz (left) and Jackie Burns, Glinda and Elphaba respectively, perform in "Wicked." (Photo: Joan Marcus)

Stars of the hit musical Wicked square off against one another to see who can make magic in the kitchen.

That'll happen 6-9pm Sunday at Kenmore Live Studio when Chandra Lee Schwartz and Jackie Burns (who portray "Glinda" and "Elphaba" respectively) whip up some healthy treats with ingredients provided by Whole Food Markets.

It's a Wrap For Glazed Donuts

Maple Bacon-infused donuts from Glazed. Now I need a donut fix! (Photo: Glazed Donuts Catering)

Glazed owners Kristen Anderson and Betsy Yagunic are finally calling it quits, but one wonders if it has to do with the city cracking down on similar operations, which forced them to go underground earlier this year.

But all is not lost.

Longman & Eagle Gets Another Big Honor

(Photo: Longman & Eagle)

Praise upon praise has been heaped upon Logan Square hot spot Longman & Eagle, so it's no surprise that GQ's Alan Richman has named it to his annual Best New Restaurants in America list.

This time, it was the only Chicago resto to get that honor, and it came in at # 10. Richman calls it a "neo flophouse" and had this to say about it:

Epic Executive Chef Is OUT

(Photo: Epic)

"Stephen Wambach is no longer part of the company," confirmed the employee on the phone when I called Wednesday morning.

That would be the award-winning chef of Epic, which just had a lavish bash sponsored by Esquire exactly one week ago to celebrate the fact that it had been named one of the Best New Restaurants of the Year.

The Le Passage Reunion is Thursday

(Photo: via Planet 99)

But check this out: It's not going down at Le Passage.

Instead, the lively bash that's expected to draw hundreds of the old regulars (deejays, promoters, patrons) who frequented the spot for years on Thursdays is taking place in the upstairs lounge at Le Colonial—located directly above the venue.