Photograph from Josh Bancroft on Flickr Take the kids out of the room for this one. Yesterday, Chicago's 18th Ward alderman Lona Lane proposed an ordinance to city council prohibiting the sale of any frozen dessert from a vehicle operating in the 18th Ward. According to the Chicago Reader's blog Food Chain, her explanation: You see them exchange something at the window of the truck but they didn't have any ice cream. So I assumed that they were dealing drugs. I'm not saying every truck is doing that but I prefer them not to be in the 18th Ward. That way we're sure that they are not. A Drumstick with a side of powdery unknown substance? Won't somebody think... More

Pretty Province Manzanita Trees at Province Randy Zweiban, formerly of Norman Van Aken’s Miami outpost Norman’s and Chicago’s Nacional 27, opened up his new spot, Province, last week. When I spoke with Zweiban recently he said he’d chosen “maybe the worst time in the last 150 years to open a restaurant.” He wasn’t worried though, saying his former mentor Van Aken always used to ask why, if the restaurant business was so hard to make money at, was there a restaurant on every corner in America? Hard to argue with that. That being said, Zweiban’s new LEED certified dining room featuring reclaimed wood, cork, a breathtaking ceiling mounted grove of petrified Manzanita trees, and mouth-watering food photography from Laurie Proffitt... More

A photo of Stephanie Izard, the winning Chicagoan of last season's Top Chef, appeared on the show "What's Cookin' with the Republicans!" without her consent, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The show features a cooking segment inside a local Chicago restaurant, followed by a roundtable discussion led by Cook County Republican Tony Peraica, who is also running for Cook County State's Attorney. The logo features Izard next to Peraica, but Peraica had no clue who she was. The show's producer and fellow Republican Dan Schmitt said he picked her because she resembled one of his old girlfriends, and overall, "looked generic."... More

The restaurant gossip and news blog Eater, which started in New York City, then expanded to San Francisco and L.A., is launching a Chicago site. And they've just named their editor: Ari Bendersky. Eater Chicago's tentative launch date is October 15. According to his bio on the Huffington Post: Ari Bendersky is a lifestyle, music and entertainment journalist with nearly 15 years of experience. He's written for the Associated Press, RollingStone.com, Chicago Tribune, the Advocate, Health, and many more national and regional publications, including UR Chicago, where until recently, he served as editor-in-chief. Here's his Facebook page. Go make friends! [via MenuPages Chicago]... More

Mustard ice cream on braised pineapple with coconut foam, pineapple tuille, and mustard sauce at wd-50 in New York. Photograph from roboppy on Flickr. Molecular Gastronomy doesn't have to be scary as it sounds. As our Chicago correspondent Michael Nagrant points out at Hungry Mag, frying an egg in a skillet "southern grandmother style" is molecular gastronomy. The egg proteins get friendly with other molecules. The runny yolk solidifies. Molecular gastronomy—in action! Done. Then you have Alinea chef Grant Achatz and his idea of molecular gastronomy. Before dining at Alinea, Nagrant thought the experimental foams and mousses might "reinforce or mimic the alienation of the world, leaving us more cold and unsettled than we were before." Cold and unsettled:... More

Though our man Michael Nagrant did a bang-up job on his eating guide to Chicago last week, the people wanted to hear his take on the best Italian beef. (How could we leave that one out?) He weighed in, complete with a metaphor to Slim Shady. (Scroll down to see.)... More

We can never get enough bacon. A bacon cupcake? Bring it. This organic bacon peanut butter chocolate cupcake gets whipped up by Michelle Garcia at the Bleeding Heart Bakery in Chicago. She's dear to my heart: I've seen her episode of Food Network Challenge: Extreme Cakes way too many times. In a perfect world, this would count as breakfast. [via Chicagoist] Related Photo of the Day: Meatloaf Cupcake Wake N' Bacon Alarm Clock Bacon+Chocolate+Sugar= Heaven... More

As contracts with "refreshment car" vendors run out (the last one expires Friday), the regional rail network has chosen not to renew them: "The commuter rail line has decided to shut down its rolling taverns, ending an era that hearkens back to the days when executives in gray flannel suits climbed aboard club cars and lubricated the journey home with martinis."... More

"Free ice cream. Cool ZIP code." I have no idea what ice cream has to do with 90210, but the CW network has come up with a stunt to promote the revival of that icon of '90s teen dramas: To promote its already much-hyped ZIP Code revival, The CW will give away 100,000 ice cream novelties over the Labor Day weekend. The network has hired ice cream trucks to drive around waterfront locations in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago to distribute the tasty treats. The story at TV Week says there will likely be ice pops and "something from the chocolate family." We'll be fine as long as there are no sideburn-shaped creamsicles.... More