A choice cut of beef from the rib section of quality meat, the traditional preparation of prime rib is to rub the outside of the roast with seasonings and slow roast to seep the flavor in with dry heat. Only about 2.9% of steaks rank as U.S. prime quality by the USDA. Here’s where to get the best of the best- meat that matters.

Michael Symon once said, “One of the great skills of a chef is to cook an egg perfectly. If you can cook a perfect sunny-side up egg, a perfect scrambled egg, a perfect omelette, you have the finesse to cook pretty much anything.” As the most important meal of the day, a stellar breakfast sets the tone to a good morning and fuels you for the activities to follow. Here are 5 places that always hit a grand slam, and we don’t mean Denny’s.

Join Chicago’s top celebrity chefs as they compete against each other in the 3rd Annual Food Fight for Scleroderma today Sunday, April 10, 2011. Beginning at 5:00 p.m. on the 5th floor of Kendall College (900 North Branch Street), three of Chicago’s most recognizable chefs will have 30 minutes to cook one amazing dish in front of a live audience. Challengers include Rick Gresh, Executive Chef of David Burke’s Primehouse at The James Chicago, Stephanie Izard, Owner and Executive Chef of Girl & The Goat and Roger Herring, Owner and Executive Chef of Socca.

I will be the first to say I love carbs- glorious carbs. But as we all know, that takes it’s toll on you. When my friend told me she lost 85 lbs. from eating at Protein Bar, a new chain in the Loop I knew I had to try this mystical place for myself. If food existed that-gasp-was healthy and didn’t taste healthy, these guys were on to something.

After anxiously awaiting, no stalking the Next website, facebook page and twitter for hints at opening dates, menus or any sneak peak for almost a year now, when master chef Grant Achatz and partner Nick Kokonas of Alinea fame announced last week on his social networks that tickets for the highly anticipated Next Restaurant would be released 500 at a time per hour in the order you signed up for the notification list (now closed to the public), foodies were sent into what can be described as nothing less than a complete frenzy. With close to 19,000 on the pre-order list, and no set date or time of when sales would begin, the chaos began as people obsessively refreshed their email servers waiting for the magical message inviting you to request a password.

With a culinary landscape second to none, new gems pop up faster than we can indulge. Check out these fantastic new hotspots from the land to the sea as the the charcuterie trend and oyster bars burn up the Chicago dining scene.

High fashion meets high tea on the Royal Wedding Day on Friday, April 29 at 3:00 pm at Four Seasons Hotel Chicago with “Crumpets and Couture” – an afternoon tea and fashion show featuring the collections of London retailers Karen Millen and soon-to-open L.K.Bennett (the first store to open in the States, of which Kate Middleton is a fan). If you missed the 4:30 am live broadcast of the Royal Wedding, the fashion tea will feature coverage of the Royal Wedding festivities and nuptials on large flat screens in Seasons restaurant on the 7th level.

While pizza by the slice is certainly not what Chicago’s known for (as you can’t exactly get a single serving of deep dish), when push comes to shove, we can give New York style a run for their money when we have to. NYC, eat your heart out. Literally.

Like knives? Feeling salty? As Bravo’s Top Chef comes off of another intense season, Flavour Gallery, the recently launched men and women’s fashionable clothing line specially designed with foodies in mind, is calling all aspiring chefs and fashionistas as they kick off the Flavour Gallery “Chef of the Month” contest starting April 1, 2011. Enter your best recipe for a chance to win a Flavour Gallery “Bundle of Joy” featuring any one-of-a-kind customized t-shirts, tanks, hoodies, and accessories of your choice such as the popular Knives, Salt, Le Boeuf, or Colazione Del Contadino off the shoulder tee, a reusable Farmers’ Market Bag, and a limited edition Flavour Gallery “old school” reporter’s memo pad.