Today, January 16, is International Hot and Spicy Food Day, an appealing prospect for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere who are currently battling the bitter winter weather or a stuffy nose.

Our trusty Check, Please! reviewers checked out Balmoral Tap Room by Half Acre Brewery, a veteran of the Chicago craft beer scene.

Happy 2019! This year marks the 70^th anniversary of an American culinary institution: The Pillsbury Bake-Off^®, which has given housewives (and house-husbands, too) an opportunity to showcase their creativity in the kitchen since 1949, when company executives dreamed up the competition as a simple way to spur sales of their products.