If you get a "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" vibe when visiting Lil Mama's Chicago Style Hoagy in Patten Parkway, it's on purpose.

The Local Juicery + Kitchen isn't just Luis Contreras' business — it's his mission.

This week's restaurant report card.

Mellow Mushroom has gone Cuban. And Asian. And thrown in a taste of Tex-Mex along with a lot of down-home Southern flavor. The new year ushers in some new dishes on the menu that go well beyond pepperoni pizza.

It's the middle of January, and it's cold. But we can always count on soup to warm us up and soothe our soul. There's nothing more comforting than a bowl of soup steaming with flavor.

So there's a lovely prescription for surviving pandemics. Grow things, think beyond the expiration date, celebrate the abundance nature provides, and be neighbors who share.

Oh, how we've fallen.

This week's restaurant report card.

It's hard to count all the health platitudes we've heard - probably from your parents or health professionals touting guidelines for us to follow making a "better you."

It's always interesting to think we can look into a crystal ball and see what the future holds, though I'm extremely thankful we couldn't do that back in January 2020.

Let's settle down comfortably across our kitchen tables, unmasked at least in the distance, and see what's cooking.

There was a lot to swallow in 2020.

Speaking of home cooking, I was strolling through a cemetery the other day, the historic Graceland on Chicago's North Side.

The latest food trend taking over social media is so simple you'll wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Rarely do I go to the trouble of making a fancy cocktail, but one look at a Facebook photo of Pecan Pie Martini had me running to the liquor store to buy some rumchata.

The best part about winter is hot chocolate. I think we can all agree on that.

Finally we get ready to turn the last page of a pesky year. And in that spirit, as if we were around a dinner table together, I will ask one of two questions.

Hot tomato soup and a melted cheese sandwich was one of my favorite suppers growing up.

This is comforting, thick, creamy, vegetarian soup that is perfect for this time of year.

California native Amanda Nelson-Varnell, caterer and owner of Dish T' Pass cooking school, comes from a family of educators and teachers. She also comes from a family of good cooks.

This Christmas will go down in history as one of the strangest ever.

We occupy ourselves with holiday preparations — or with dreaming of celebrations not yet visible on the far horizon.

Some of the very best dishes are those that take a long time — time you never used to have.