The latest entry into the annals of great food debates—Trotter v. Tramonto, Levy v. Zarzour—concerns not the ethics of foie gras nor the state of pastry but rather the single most banal phenomenon of our time: Twitter. The discussion, which began with Steve Dolinsky’s tweets from Big Star’s opening night and evolved (or devolved, depending on your taste) into a back and forth between Restaurant Intelligence Agency owner Ellen Malloy, Chicago Tribune writer Kevin Pang and food writers Michael Nagrant and Ari Bendersky, took over Twitter yesterday and has moved over to Facebook today, which makes it significantly easier to follow, and significantly more…verbose.

At stake is the question: Is it okay for a food personality to tweet about a restaurant on its first night? (Responses included: Yes, if it’s positive. Yes, if the writer recognizes that people care. Yes, if the person wants to be relevant.)

We* followed along, but kept mum. Sure, as food writers, we’ve got opinions. (I’m completely neutral about positive tweets, which are—since the Tapas Valencia misstep—all that Dolinsky has ever trafficked in. But I think anyone tweeting negative remarks needs to know that the repercussions can be pretty fucking serious. Michael Nagrant, a bold participant in this conversation, has failed to mention that after he tweeted about the Publican’s bad service at brunch, servers at the restaurant lost their jobs.) But as an eater, and as a reader, I honestly don’t care. And neither does the vast majority of the thousands of Twitter followers accrued by this crew of food writers. These followers RT like crazy when they find out what kind of hot dogs Lula will serve as Hot Doug’s on Halloween or what the process was behind building the oven at Nella Pizzeria or whether the $5 burger at Primehouse is worth heading over for. But when a bunch of food writers tap away on twitter about how to use twitter? And do it in a way that betrays the fact that they’re really in the conversation not so much for the philosophical discussion but rather because they think it will “strengthen their brand”? Well, it’s then that we can hear the sound of one hand tweeting.

*This post was co-written with David Tamarkin.

Former President Clinton is still a beloved man. I’m not referring to the 1,000 well-dressed folk who packed the ballroom at the Palmer House this afternoon to hear the 42nd President deliver a speech as part of the Chicago House’s inaugural Speaker Series. I’m referring to the hovering masses camped on State Street who waited for the President’s departure and shouted names like “Billy Boy” when they finally caught a glimpse of him.

The Chicago House, a social service agency that provides relief for homeless people impacted by HIV/AIDS, was able to book Clinton, who happened to be in town anyway for an event on the eighth. Clinton, who started the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) was no doubt an ideal choice to kick off the series and this crowd was thrilled to have him. He glowed as he entered the ballroom and delivered his trademark thumb gesture before taking the podium. As I gazed upon Clinton from the balcony where they placed the media, and where I gazed upon 1,000 plates of prime rib, fruit cups and cheesecake, I found myself straining to hear him several times, so please pardon the occasional paraphrasing in this post.

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Yes, it is true—according to an email I just received from Billy Dec, the nightlife entrepreneur and partner in Underground and Asian restaurant Sunda won an Emmy—a regional Emmy from the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, to be exact. To quote Dec, in his original capitalization style, “our emmy award was for a piece where I documented our rockit ranch asian travels & our new asian restaurant sunda’s evolution, “hosting” the story we called “Journey to Sunda” … the exact category was for Outstanding Achievement for Arts/Entertainment Programs : Program or Program Series Broadcast/Advanced Media.”

This either means Dec has a lot more going on that some people in the nightlife scene give him credit for or just that people in Chicago need to make more documentaries. You make the call.

Blues Fest downsized from four days to three days this past summer, and the economic shrinkage continues for the local blues scene. Today Blue Chicago announced that one of its two branches, the North location at 736 N. Clark, would shut down on January 2, 2010, consolidating the venue to the 536 N. Clark building. The joint will still stay open 7 nights a week, presumably still serving up regular sets from Shirley Johnson, Linsey Alexander, J.W. Williams, Charlie Love and Grana’ Louise.

Earlier this month, word came from Evanston’s hoodoo institution, Bill’s Blues Bar, that the venue is on the brink of closing for good. Undoubtedly, the posh new SPACE venue a short distance away has hurt bookings. Owner Bill Gilmore’s downer email offered little hope:

Unless there is a drastic change in our financial circumstances, Bill’s Blues last day of operation is on the very near horizon.

Our current economic situation is desperate…

At this point, any last minute attempt to save Bill’s is a very long shot indeed and would most likely result in a complete restructuring of the business. I would be most interested in hearing from anyone who feels that they have anything of value to contribute.

The bar owes back state taxes and by government order lost its liquor license on November 2. Bill’s Blues Bar has been serving up shuffle and Hecky’s BBQ sandwiches on Davis Street for years. It is the longest running live-music venue in Evanston’s history.

Update: I was holding out a little hope, but it looks like it’s all over. Bill’s Blues Bar, as of yesterday, is officially closed.

I have to admit that I’ve fallen off from picking up monthly comics, I’ve mostly relegated my reading to the trade collections. But loyal friends have been talking up Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass enough to make me change my slackerly ways, and luckily, the first collection is out in just a few weeks. And now, there’s a trailer that has me excited for a movie based on a comic book I’ve never read. Well done:

Your where-to-go, what-to-eat daily.

Events

Forget the cabaret—Courtright’s considers life a cabernet, and is proving it at this evening’s “Life is a Cabernet” wine dinner, featuring food from chef Jerome Bacle and wine from Twomey Cellars (whose winemaker Ben Cane will be in attendance) and Silver Oak Cellars.  7pm. 8989 Archer Ave, Willow Springs (708-839-800). $125 per person (includes tax and gratuity).

It’s Veteran’s Day, and you know the best way to thank a veteran, right? Cookies. So head to Studabaker Classic Cookies’ fundraiser for the USO of Illinois tonight, where you can listen to the Alan Gresik Swing Shift Orchestra, take a swing dance lesson, watch a burlesque performance by the Chicago Starlets of Studio L’Amore and buy an officer a cookie or two. (While you’re at it, go ahead and buy one for yourself.) 7pm. Alhambra Palace, 1240 W Randolph St. Tickets ($50 in advance, $60 at the door, $100 if you want a full dinner) can be bought at classiccookies.net.

Pinot Days starts this weekend, but Uncommon Ground Devon is starting early with a Pinot Days pinot noir tasting. Six pinot producers will pour their stuff, and the Uncommon kitchen will pair the wine with pinot-friendly snacks. 6pm–8pm. 1401 W Devon Ave (773-465-9801). $25 (call to reserve a ticket).

Tonight Piccolo Sogno hosts Masi Agricola winery with a five-course meal, each course of which will be paired with a different wine. (Of particular note is the rasiny Amarone and Recioto.) 7pm. 464 N Halsted St (312-421-0077). $99.

The wine you buy at tonight’s event at Fine Wine Brokers will last, at best, maybe an hour. But the bottle—the bottle will last a lifetime. Because the Chilean winemaker Santiago Margozzini will be signing his bottles. So what are you going to do with it? Throw it out? 5-7:30pm. 4621 N Lincoln Ave (773-989-8166).

Dining Deals

Browntrout serves a 3-course meal for $35 tonight; meanwhile, at Crofton on Wells, tonight’s Wednesday Suzy Special is a squash-and-duck soup served wth a pork-shoulder-and-goat-butter sandwich for $20 (whisper the words “Wednesday Suzy special” to your server…he’ll know what you’re talking about…)

As we mentioned yesterday, Top Chef finalist Dale Levitski has taken over at Lincoln Park’s Sprout restaurant. Yesterday, GM Tofer Kristofer told me Levitski would be rehauling the menu, and he wasn’t kidding. While à la carte options are available, the menu is geared toward $60 three-course tasting menus. The three-page menu below shows the options for each course. And damn if it doesn’t look pretty rad.

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Yesterday, romantic vampire movie hype came to Aurora. Cast members Ashley Greene (who plays Alice Cullen) and Kellan Lutz (who plays Emmett Cullen) from the highly anticipated sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon swooped in on the Hot Topic shop at Fox Valley Mall signing movie posters at a meet-and-greet for 500 lucky fans who purchased New Moon T-shirts early and answering Twilight questions in a Q&A later in the evening. In between, Anya Marina, who features on the film soundtrack, played a live solo set. TOC was on hand to photograph all the action. See the photo gallery above.

Photos: Jon Willoughby

Visit our Twilight page.

The new restaurant, bar and concert hall Lincoln Hall welcomed English and German indie rock band Art Brut last night. West Palm Beach’s Surfer Blood opened with more of a pop tilt. The night’s genre mix proved to sit well with all fans. Check out the slide show above for photos from the event.

Photos: Amy Mokris

The New Adventures of Old Christine 7-7:30pm, CBS. Eric McCormack returns as Max and teaches Christine a lesson about her tendency to give up when things get too hard.

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