Mayan buildings at the 1893 Columbian Exposition inspired Oak Park's favorite architect and shaped the evolution of his Prairie Style

Imagine Thai or Indian food without chili peppers, Italian cuisine without tomatoes, Irish suppers without potatoes, the whole world without corn. All those seemingly essential food items – and a lot more including avocado, chocolate and peanuts – originated in the south-of-the-border Americas. And it wasn't like the indigenous folks – Aztecs, Maya, Mixtec, Inca and many others – were just lucky enough to live in a place where this stuff busted out of the ground unbidden. No, these foods were genetically engineered by selecting out the plants that had the most desirable characteristics and then cross-breeding them with others.

"The milpa is one of the most successful human inventions ever created." Find out more this coming weekend at Chicago Gourmet.

September is the first big month for oysters, so you're seeing many places offering them…and some places celebrating them. The biggest celebration of oysters in Chicago is undoubtedly Oyster Fest hosted by Shaw's Crab House (21 E. Hubbard, Chicago), and you can also enjoy them in Oak Park at Carnivore and Poor Phil's.

The Berwyn Development Corporation's (BDC) Berwyn's Best competition began in mid-August and was fixed on finding the best local burrito. Thirteen establishments with burritos on their regular menus competed to make it into the Top 5 Burrito-Slinging Establishments. These five local haunts identified their favorite burrito for the second round of voting, and now the vote is in! The winner is Zacatacos Cermak for their Steak Burrito. This burrito is made with a flour tortilla filled with beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream and steak. 

The Heritage in Forest Park has kicked off a series of farm dinners that build on the harvest bounty of local farms and feature guest appearances by the farmers who grow the food.

Wild Onion Tied House has been open for business for only about a week. This new outpost of the original Wild Onion Brewery in Lake Barrington offers a menu that relies heavily upon smoke, and that's a good thing.

Our dear leader has said, "I love war," and he seems man of his word, right (?!), so I'm getting ready for the worst. This time around, I'm going to be a good Scout and be prepared, with the fallout shelter I didn't have in 1962.

The Oak Park Farmers' Market added several new vendors this year, and last weekend we stopped by one of those newcomers, J2K Capraio cheese stand.