Openings

Open now: The new restaurant at the W Lakeshore called Current (644 N. Lake Shore Dr., Streeterville, 312-255-4460) switched on over the weekend—you’ll find an Italian-inspired menu and a sizeable Scotch list among its offerings.

Open now: As further evidence that Chicago has entered an Age of Wurst (see: The Radler, etc.), Kaiser Tiger (1415 W. Randolph St., 312-243-3100) has started serving up sausage and beer in the West Loop.

Friday, May 23: After months of renovations, the new and improved Spiaggia (980 N. Michigan Ave., Gold Coast, 312-280-2750) will debut this weekend, with a completely updated dining room, menu, and executive chef (Chris Marchino, who took the reins from longtime chef Sarah Grueneberg late last year.)

Morsels

In case you missed the (huge, giant, massive) news yesterday, next year’s James Beard Awards will be handed out in Chicago—not New York City as they always have been. The so-called “Oscars of the food world” (brace yourself, you’re going to be hearing that phrase a lot in the next year) will take place at the Lyric Opera on May 4, though we should note that these are just the chefs’ awards and not the writing and journalism portion.

The mourning for Hot Doug’s continues unabated this week. The crew at Dia De Los Tamales (939 W. 18th St., Pilsen, 312-496-3057) has channeled their sadness into the brand-new Chicago-Style “Hot Doug” tamale: a housemade sausage wrapped in poppyseed masa with mustard, relish, tomato, onion, and pickle.

If you’ve ever wished subjective lists of best restaurants could do with a little more hard-and-fast data, Chicagoist heard you and compiled the “Statistically Accurate” list of the city’s best restaurants. They awarded restaurants all over the city points for recognition in lists of top places to eat (including ours!) and ranked the restaurants accordingly. Unsurprisingly, Alinea and Grace top the list, but there are a few upsets to be found.

And a quick programming note: Dish will be off next week for Memorial Day. If you need us, we’ll be in line at Hot Doug’s.