Monday marked the first time the prestigious James Beard Awards for chefs and restaurants was held in Chicago. Some of the nation’s culinary giants walked the red carpet at the Civic Opera House hoping to go home with a Beard medal. The weekend was jam packed with culinary events to welcome Beard attendees to town after Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Illinois Restaurant Association wooed the celebration away from New York for this, its 25th year. So how did the festivities go? Who were the big Chicago winners? WBEZ food reporter Monica Eng was there and gives us the 411.(Flickr/kurmanstaff)