Epic lives up to its name with top-notch cuisine
"Epic,” when used as an adjective, describes something very impressive, even lofty. Epic, the smart new restaurant on West Hubbard Street in the River North section of the city, fits that definition and then some.

Mexican fare at Don Diablo is one hot deal
At Taqueria Don Diablo you can choose from 10 tacos, and they go for $2 each, which is just about where the price should be. Tacos are fast food, fun food that allow adjustments for individual tastes (at least that’s how it went for me at this taqueria).

PatPourri

From Taquerias Atotonilco in Joliet (more than a dozen taco choices costing $2 each) to a slew of taquerias in Little Village and points north (Carmela's on West Lawrence, where the al pastor taco is a knockout), it's taco time all over the place.

BYOB choices abound for your favorite cuisines
We've consulted with a few wine experts to find out what wines work best with popular BYOB cuisines, from Indian to Japanese. So next time you head out for some pizza or pad thai, give your fallback bottle of Chardonnay the night off and bring one of these recommended varieties instead.

Foodie fun: Tours offer up town's tastiest treats
Both tourists and those sticking around for a staycation are finding there is much to explore in Chicago's culinary world. "We sometimes offer conventions culinary tours or extra help in planning things, and these requests are growing every year," says the city's Judith Dunbar Hines. You needn't look any further than the volume of food tours being offered.

Catch this Wave: W Hotel eatery a classy take

The east wall of the first-floor dining room at Wave in the W Chicago Lakeshore hotel is all windows, so if you can snag one of those big, comfortable (sofa comfortable, actually) booths that front those windows, you are in the catbird seat for a pleasant view of the lake and Navy Pier just beyond.

Things are looking sunnyside-up for Nana

What's not to like about a restaurant named Nana? Now that's a name we can all relate to on some level. And, quite wisely, Nana set up shop in Bridgeport, where a mini-boom in cafes and restaurants is taking place.

Patpourri

Eggs Benedict has been around since 1928. And as with most food lore, there are several versions of how the dish came about. But 80-plus years later, eggs Benedict is more popular than ever (e-mails asking where to find an egg-cellent eggs Benedict are in the Top 10 of where-to-get food requests I receive).

Original Rosebud still going strong after 33 years

There are eight restaurants sprinkled around the city and suburbs that carry the Rosebud name, but this is the Rosebud on Taylor Street, the original, and it has been around for 33 years now. And I have been eating at this Rosebud pretty much since it has been around, though not nearly as often as I would like to by any means.

Patpourri

Gnocchi, gnocchi, who's there? Though it has been around for umpteen years, the pasta of the moment is gnocchi (a k a cavatelli; in some Italian homes it is called "horses"). Some gnocchi are made with ricotta, some with potato, and some simply with flour, water and vegetable oil. It all depends on the type of chew (the latter has the most dense chew; potato, the softest chew) you enjoy with this particular pasta. And where does one go around here to fully enjoy these pasta dumplings? Here are a few of my favorites:

Brauhaus remains readers' favorite after all these years

Questions, concerns, tips and tidbits ... that's what the dining mail bag is all about:

Burger King adding beer, launching Whopper Bars

Gimme a Whopper, fries … and a beer. Those words are no longer wishful thinking. Today, Burger King will unveil plans to sell beer and burgers at a Whopper Bar — a new BK concept to compete with casual dining restaurants — in Miami Beach’s tourist-heavy South Beach. The South Beach Whopper Bar is scheduled to open in mid-February.

All fired up: Pizzas are hot stuff at Nella Pizzeria Napoletana

For months on end, I had been receiving e-mail reports on how things were progressing with the opening of Nella Pizzeria Napoletana on North Clark Street. "The wood-burning oven is on its way from Naples." "The artisans, also hauled in from Naples, are due to arrive at any moment to install the oven in the restaurant." "The installers are here and everything is shaping up fine."

The Pie Chart

A Neapolitan pizza is defined by 10 distinct rules set down by the "Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana." These rules concern how the dough should be mixed, rolled, handled and sized (never to exceed 30 centimeters in diameter), what tomatoes must be used, the type of oven, the toppings, etc. To be honest, it gets a bit weird. The one constant knock against a Neapolitan-style pizza is that the center is "wet." Basically, this is caused by the short baking time (2 minutes or less). Deal with it or go with a different style.

Patpourri

While October has been National Pizza Month since 1987 (and I never fail to celebrate it with enthusiasm), it seems as if the vaunted tomato pie is being sliced more than a few different ways these days. We now have National Pizza Week (Jan. 11-15). And we have National Pizza with Everything Day (including anchovies) on Nov. 12. It seems as if special pizza days continue to be thrown into the food chain of celebrations. I, for one, will not ignore the call.