Grub Street Grub Street Chicago

River North: Diana Kennedy will be giving a cooking demonstration at the Merchandise Mart Chopping Block and also signing copies of her latest book, Oaxaca al Gusto, An Infinite Gastronomy, on Monday. Tickets cost $65, and also include a copy of the book. [Chicago Reader]
River North: Elate is offering a three-course dinner for only $29. [FineDiningDeal]
Industrial Corridor: Visit Pei Wei tonight and get a ticket for 50% off Thai River Noodles, which you can redeem on October 4. [Pei Wei]
Arlington Park: Emeril LaGasse will give a cooking demonstration at the Arlington Park Race Track this Saturday for Fork, Cork & Style. [Examiner]

Even though Alice makes her seconds-in-command do the dirty work of firing employees at Chez Panisse, and even though they say, "Alice isn't happy about the way things are going," fired employees always seem to love her in the end, regardless. According to Robert Sutton, author of business tomes The No Asshole Rule and the new Good Boss, Bad Boss, in an interview with Inc., the example of the perennially serene Ms. Waters is "an argument from a leadership perspective that having a bad guy you can blame isn't all bad." But come on, they can't possibly all still love her.

Lessons From Nightmare Bosses [Inc. via Eater National]
Earlier: It’s Alice’s Kitchen, Those Vegetables Only Live There [Grub Street]

In a world in which Thomas Keller dresses up like Superman, Groupon launches a dating service, Graham Elliot considers running for mayor of Chicago, and a bust of Kevin Bacon is made out of actual bacon, absolutely anything can happen. But we're still shocked by some of the stuff that happens in this week's James Weird Awards.

Steve Dolinsky has struck again. We realize that this is just one of dozen or so lists that he has kicked out in the past few months, but we can’t help but engage in a burger discussion. Usually a Chicago burger list just places Kuma’s Corner at top and then moves on. That famous spot does make the list at number five, but it’s his number one that we really find fascinating. Dolinsky's favorite burger in the city is Top Notch Beefburger in Beverly. The old-fashioned spot was picked because they “grind the beef on-site, toast their buns, offer deluxe fixin’s and fresh-cut fries cooked in pure beef fat.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Want to eat for free at what some people consider to be the best restaurant in North America? Well, thanks to Chicagoist and Lexus (?) you have the chance to win a dinner for two to Alinea. You'll need to follow Chicagoist on Twitter, and then retweet this message. Click here for all the details. Oh, and you better hurry. The contest ends at 2 p.m. [Chicagoist via Feast]