Chefs

In celebration of 93XRT's 40th anniversary, Chef Troy Graves of Red Door and XRT's Lin Brehmer will host the Lobster Bash on July 31. Red Door, 2118 N. Damen Ave. in Bucktown, will host the event--from 6:30 to 10  p.m.--which will feature a group of leading local chefs assembled by Graves.   "It's always fun getting the chefs together and making some food," he said. "I expect it should be lots of fun. " Event organizer Carl Galvan, of Red Door, called the participating chefs "leaders and trendsetters in the industry.

UPDATE: Baconfest tickets sold out within an hour of release on Feb. 20. Love bacon and have $100 to burn? Then you've probably already marked your calendar for Wednesday, when general admission tickets for Baconfest 2013 on April 20 go on sale. Tickets will be available for purchase online starting at 12 noon on Wednesday on ticketing site Eventbrite.com. In past years, they've sold out within a matter of hours. The $100 (plus fees) general admission ticket buys you access to the fest during either the lunch session (12:30-3 p.m.)

Just a tremendous deal by the Cubs, locking up Starlin Castro for seven years. Maybe. We'll see. There is a lot that can happen in seven years. He could get injured. In fact, I think we all know this is bound to happen. The ADD could really kick in, rendering him useless in the field as he will forget how many outs there are. He could gradually become … a Cub. You know, time passes, you fall in love with life here, it gets too comfortable. He could just implode and go away like Carlos Zambrano.

(Hi. This is the part where I tell you that this post doesn't reflect the views of my employer and other things that I'm putting out into the ether just in case someone is offended.) You remember when your parents would have parties? Remember how your friend Ken's mom's voice would be on 10 when you were trying to sleep and then your dad would wake you up so you could do your crappy impression of ( insert whatever cartoon character was popular when you were 6 here) ? Now take that party, add like 500 people to it, and give them unfettered access to all the wine that has ever existed.

It looks like we're going to see a whole lotta Chicago on "Top Chef: Texas. " In a qualifying round on last night's first episode, five of the six Chicago hopefuls were awarded a spot in the season's cast of 16 cheftestants. That included Sarah Grueneberg of Spiaggia , Heather Terhune of Sable , Chuy Valencia of Chilam Balam as well as Chris Jones and Richie Farina, both from Moto . The sixth Chicago hopeful, Beverly Kim of Aria , has yet to compete in her qualifying challenge and won't appear until the second episode next Wednesday.

Last night, the 16 cheftestants for "Top Chef: Texas" were finalized, and this season is 37.5 percent Chicago. That's right: All six of the Chicago-based chefs included in the group of 29 hopefuls made the final cast.   With five of the six Chicago chefs having completed their first round of competition in the first episode, our eyes were on remaining local chef Beverly Kim from Aria in last night's second episode. Each chef in her group was asked to choose an ingredient to cook with, and each was secretly matched with a preparation time ranging from 20 to 60 minutes.

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In past seasons of “Top Chef,” we've had one, two or sometimes zero Chicagoans to root for. On the upcoming ninth season filmed in Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, Texas, we have a whopping half dozen -- but there's no telling how long they'll stick around.   Because everything's bigger in Texas, the producers decided to start the show with 29 hopefuls who have to cook their way into 16 cheftestant spots. In other words, mass elimination on the first episode, airing 9 p.m. CST Nov. 2. Though the bigger group was intimidating, Chicago's hopefuls were ready to bring it.  “I feel … grateful that I'm part of a season that's different than the rest.

If you saw the teasers, then you knew what was coming for the remaining 12 cheftestants: The dreaded double elimination! And of course, continued conflict between Heather and Beverly, which we knew was coming. Quickfire: Guest chef Tim Love of the Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Forth Worth challenges the chefs to create a dish using a tequila of their choice. Elimination challenge: Cook a six-course game dinner to a panel of game-savvy chef guests -- and each other.

One of three chefs with Chicago ties on Bravo's"Around the World in 80 Plates"reached the end of the road Wednesday night. On a show of big personalities, travel agent-turned-chef Gary Walker proved himself a reliable supplier of one-liners and a steady source of entertainment for fans. The ladies of the Kappa Phi Delta sorority house at Illinois Institute of Technology, where Walker worked as a chef before filming the show, even got a shout-out when he chugged beer during a pub crawl challenge on the show's first episode filmed in London.