Baconfest Chicagoa walk-around tasting event featuring creative bacon dishes from local chefswill take place April 6-7 at the UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Blvd. Since 2009, Baconfest has raised more than $400,000 enabling partners like the Greater Chicago Food Depository to distribute more than 1.2 million meals to hungry people in the area. Just a few of the restaurants that will be represented this year include Bar Roma, Candyality, Chop Shop, Wrigley BBQ, PR Italian Bistro, Old Town Social, fourteensixteen and Honey Butter Fried Chicken. See baconfestchicago.com/ for tickets for more info.
The Up Room, ascended on the 13th floor of the Robey Chicago, has a new drink: The Root of All Evil. It's a bottled cocktail made with bourbon, rum, cynar, 11th Orchard Birch bitters and sarsaparilla bitters, with an option to add housemade vanilla ice cream to create a boozy root-beer float.
Commonwealth Tavern, 2000 W. Roscoe St., will broadcast the Cubs home opener on Monday, April 9, at 1:20 p.m. Specials will include $5 Chicago beers ( local Chicago beer only ), $5 soft pretzels and a $6 corn dog with fries. For guests' sports viewing pleasure, there are 12 TVs including a 70-inch plasma.
Roanoke, 135 W. Madison St., will start its daily happy hour early beginning at 1:20 p.m. for the Chicago Cubs opener. The happy-hour menu is available in the bar area only until 6:30 p.m. Featured specials will include half-price select bottles of wine and a $16 premium beer and burger combo. The game will be shown on all five TVs in the bar area and 11 TVs in the upstairs lounge.
Sixteen, the acclaimed restaurant inside the Trump International Tower and Hotel, is closing after a decade to make room for a new restaurant, Eater Chicago noted. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant, which opened in February 2008, will close April 28. Chef Nick Dostal will head a more casual concept. It appears the Trump name has affected business, with former employees telling Eater Chicago that sales dropped as low as 40 percent during weekdays in recent months.
Honey Butter Fried Chicken chefs Christine Cikowski and Josh Kulp have opened TriBecca's Cubano, in partnership with Chef Becca Grothe. The latest concept born out of their underground dining concept Sunday Dinner Club, the pop-up at Revival Food Hall, 125 S. Clark St., features Chef Grothe's take on a Cubano sandwich. ( There are also vegetarian Cubanos, sweet-potato fries, griddled rum-cake donuts and beverages. ) The pop-up will run through June 29 on Mondays-Fridays, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
Forum 55, the food hall and marketplace at 55 E. Monroe St., welcomes its newest restaurant partner, Broken English Taco Pub-Mijo. This is the fourth Chicago location of Broken English, which specializes in street-style tacos. Broken English's menu at Forum 55 revolves around some of its most popular items, including carnitas tacos filled with pork confit and a housemade salsa verde; fried chicken tacos; a spin on Baja-style fish tacos featuring smoked cabbage slaw and a ghost-pepper mayonnaise; freshly made guacamole and chips; and, for dessert, churros with chocolate sauce. ( New items will be there as well. ) See TacoPub.com .
4 Star Restaurant Group will open its second Smoke Daddy restaurant at Hickory Street Capital's Hotel Zachary, 3630 N. Clark St., on Monday, April 9, to coincide with the Chicago Cubs home opener. The two-level restaurant includes a 1,500-square-foot terrace that allows guests to view all of the excitement at The Park at Wrigley. ( Some of the other eateries at the hotel will include Mordecai, Westtown Bakery + Tap, and Jeni's. )
Brindille, 534 N. Clark St., will offer a five-course burgundy wine dinner prepared by Chef Carrie Nahabedian on Tuesday, April 10, at 7 p.m., with a 6:30 p.m. reception. The cost is $150/person ( all-inclusive ); call 312-595-1616.
Heartland Cafe, 7000 N. Glenwood Ave., has a new( ish ) chef. Sean Sanders, who has been at the cafe for three months, has worked at Green Dolphin Street, Bin 36 and Hotel Chicago. Also, he applied his experience in New Zealand at to open Browntrout, a Michelin Bib Gourmand-rated spot that was located at 4111 N. Lincoln Ave.
Kizuki, 1482 N. Milwaukee Ave., will offer 10 of its chicken wings for $10 for the Cubs opener. The housemade wings are marinated and crispy, and guests can choose from either a honey citrus or Tokyo buffalo sauce. The wings will be available for dine-in or delivery.
As part of the Masters of Food & Wine series, Park Hyatt Chicago ( 800 N. Michigan Ave. ) will welcome Domaine Leroy to NoMI Kitchen on Wed., April 11, at 6 p.m., with dinner starting at 6:30 p.m. Featuring six pours from the famed producer, the evening will be led by special guest Gilles Desprez, with dishes ( such as shaved Hudson Valley foie gras salad and bitter chocolate pave ) from Park Hyatt Chicago Executive Chef Eric Damidot. Tickets are $170 per person plus tax and gratuity, and can be purchased through Eventbrite; for more info, visit NomiRestaurant.com .
The first-ever Halal lifestyle festival in America, "I Heart Halal," will showcase the range of contemporary U.S. halal at Navy Pier, Festival Hall A, Friday, April 13-15. This new three-day festival will provide a welcoming space for anyone interested in Halal living embraced by U.S. Muslim consumers. See IHeartHalal.com .
On Thursday, April 13, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Marshall's Landing ( 222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza ) will welcome guests to its "Rose Showers Bring May Flowers" event. Some of the world's most respected champagne makersMoet and Veuve Clicquotshare their selections of rose and prestige cuvees, and Executive Chef Michael Kornick will prepare light bites. Admission is $30-$35 each; visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rose-showers-brings-may-flowers-tickets-44375646754.
On Tuesday, April 17, at 6 p.m., the team behind Logan Square's Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Quiote are headed to the West Loop for a one-night collaboration dinner at James Beard Award-winning Blackbird, 619 W. Randolph St. Quiote Chef/Owner Dan Salls and Chef de Cuisine Ross Henke, along with Blackbird Chef de Cuisine Ryan Pfeiffer, Pastry Chef Nicole Guini and former Blackbird Pastry Chef Dana Cree are teaming to create a nine-course tasting menu capturing the flavors of Mexico. This exclusive dinner is $125 per person ( inclusive of tax and gratuity ), with an optional beverage pairing for $35; see "Quiote Meets Blackbird: A Pop-Up Dinner Collaboration" at Eventbrite.com .
On Tuesday, April 17, Bistronomic, 840 N. Wabash Ave., will offer its Baked Alaska dessert for $4.17 in honor of Tax Day. Bistronomic is open for dinner on April 17 from 5 to 10 p.m. For reservations, call 312-944-8400.
Also, Chiya Chai, 2770 N. Milwaukee Ave., will offer cocktails for $4.17 all day in honor of Tax Day. Signature cocktails include the CC Cool, with fresh cucumber juice, fresh lime juice, vodka, cilantro and tripple sec; the Golden Chai Russian, with natural coffee liqueur vodka, masala mix, cumin, coriander and turmeric; and the Maharaja, with gin, cardamom, rosewater, pandanus ( exotic tropical plant ) essence, cinnamon, blueberry juice, fresh lemon juice and triple sec. Chiya Chai is open April 17 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; call 773-360-7541.
Cornerstone Restaurant Group will celebrate Chef Bill Kim's debut cookbook, Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill in Seven Sauces, on Tuesday, April 17, 6-9 p.m., at bellyQ, 1400 W. Randolph St. The event will feature six guest chefs who will head grill stations fashioned after food stalls, with each chef taking on a recipe from the book. Tickets are $50 each, and will include food, a signed copy of Korean BBQ and a Suntory Toki drink; visit https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3373966.
Shore Club, 1603 N. Lake Shore Dr., will return to the Chicago dining scene on Saturday, May 11. Described as an "upscale dining option and event space," it is set to feature a newly developed set of programming and activities this year ( including morning workout classes on the beach to a cold towel service in the cabanas ). The Patio at Shore Club, which features lunch and dinner service on a first-come-first-serve basis, will add an additional bar and a new set of lighting for evening dining. There will also be The Oasis at Shore Club and The Restaurant at Shore Club. See ShoreClubChi.com .
Bernie's Lunch & Supper will host its first wine dinner on Monday, May 14, 6:30-9:00 p.m., in the main dining room. For $75 per person, guests can enjoy a four-course dinner with Oregon pinot noir wine pairings and a welcome champagne toast. Space is limited, and reservations can be made by calling 312-624-9892.
Signature '18 at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Showa modern take on the traditional keynotewelcomes 66th Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice for a discussion with National Restaurant Association President/CEO Dawn Sweeney. The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show runs May 19-22 at McCormick Place. For more information about this year's Show, visit https://show.restaurant.org/Home.
Long Grove's Chocolate Fest will take place May 18-20 at 308 Old McHenry Rd., Long Grove, Illinois. According to a press release, "While children roam the village in search of chocolate treasures during the famed Chocolate Scavenger Hunt, local vendors on cobble-stone streets wheel out chocolate-infused creations, everything from chocolate pudding pie pops to burgers lathered in BBQ chocolate sauce." See LongGrove.org .
City Barbeque ( citybbq.com ) will be opening its second location in the Chicagoland market in Orland Park. It's scheduled to open April 23, with a grand-opening celebration April 28. Located at 14301 S. LaGrange Rd. in Orland Park, this location will be City Barbeque's 36th nationally, with four more locations to open in the Chicago area this year.
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