And you thought it was just those little mom-and-pop places that got busted by the Chicago's food police. Not so. The lower-level food court at Macy's MarketPlace Foods food court has today been closed by Chicago Department of Public Health. According to this report posted on Chicagotribune.com, quoting from the Department's press release, the food court was found to have:

--a fruit-fly infestation
--a leaking sink
--waste water backing up from a clogged floor drain
--a poorly maintained inside trash area

Look for Macy's to clean up and reopen after a new inspection. UPDATE July 27, 2007: The City's given Macy's the all clear singal

Some sad news to report: Alinea's superstar chef Grant Achatz sent this message to the media today:

"I wanted to personally report that I have been very recently diagnosed with an advanced stage of squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth. I have consulted several prominent physicians and will likely begin aggressive treatment within the next few weeks. I remain, and will remain, actively and optimistically engaged in operations at Alinea to the largest extent possible. Alinea will continue to perform at the level people have come to expect from us -- I insist on that. I have received amazing support from friends, family, and everyone who has thus far been told of the disease, and I look forward to a full, cancer-free, recovery."

We wish Grant all the best for a quick recovery.

UPDATE July 24, 2007: The Chicago Tribune's Phil Vettel and Robert Mitchum have filed this report, with a bit more detail on the chef's condition.

G-Rod signed the statewide smoking ban today, making it a law that on Jan. 1, 2008, it's lights out at all bars, restaurants and most other public places. While Chicago's partial smoking ban kicked in during January 2006, this will put to rest all those questions of whether or not a spot is a full-fledged restaurant, or just a bar and grill, where is smoking allowed.

Personally as a non-smoker, I think this should have come much sooner, but I'm still happy. What are your thoughts on the ban?

Remember when the Brazilian churrascaria craze took Chicagoland by storm (perhaps Texas de Brazil, Brazzaz, Fogo de Chao, Sabor do Brazil or Asado Brazilian Grill ring a bell)? Well, Sal y Carvao -- which had the biggest suburban presence of the pack -- has relaunched its Downers Grove and Schaumburg locations as Zed 451, with the Chicago outpost to follow suit this fall. At $24.50 for lunch and $42.50 for dinner, the fixed prices are equally steep, and the concept remains essentially the same, with a salad bar (whoops, we mean "Harvest Station") and roaming servers, sans gaucho get-ups -- but with a much wider range of cuisine.

The press release we received says the all-you-can-eat concept "allows guests to be entirely in control of their dining experience," but with these sort of things, we usually end up eschewing all reasonable notions of portion size and just stuffing our faces. (Case in point: When my boyfriend took a blood test the morning after a trip to now-shuttered Rio de Churrascaria in Glenview, his doctor noted that his nitrogen levels were "slightly elevated.")

Anyhow, whole concept gets us a bit nostalgic about our childhood trips to Sizzler or Ponderosa (the latter, by the way, still has two Illinois locations, one in Aurora and the other in Waukegan), but with offerings such as parmesan-crusted pork medallions and braised short-ribs with coconut milk and lemongrass, the bent at Zed 451 clearly much more gourmet. 

Apparently, people would rather see Adam Sandler and Kevin James get married and make fun of homosexuals than John Travolta dancing and singing in drag. That's a shame-"Hairspray" is fluffy and fun, while "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" is unfunny and offensive-but it doesn't change the fact that "Chuck and Larry" topped the box office this weekend with $34.8 million. "Hairspray" landed at No. 3 with $27.8 million, a few waves of the wand behind "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which took in $32.2 million in its second week of release. Did you make it to the theater this weekend, or were you too busy reading the just-released, final book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"? Were you offended by "Chuck and Larry"? How many donuts are you eating to properly prepare for "The Simpsons Movie"?