—Through Friday, Aug. 31, Lawry's, 100 E. Ontario St., is offering a $150 prime-rib dinner for two. Items include a choice of Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc or the signature Meat & Potato Martini; the Original Spinning Bowl Salad; a choice of prime rib or salmon filet; and a dessert option. See http://www.lawrysonline.com/lawrys-primerib/chicago/general-info.
—Wow Bao will mark National Bao Day ( Wed., Aug. 22 ) by offering free lunch. The offer is available at all Chicago Wow Bao locations, including the newest fully tech-enabled location at 200 N. Michigan Ave., and the Water Tower location at 835 N. Michigan Ave. Said offer is available 11 a.m.-2 p.m, with up to a $10 value.
—On Aug. 23-26, Magnolia Bakery, 108 N. State St., will be serving banana-pudding cones ( for $5.25 each ). There will be scoops of the banana pudding in wafer cones, with your choice of confetti or chocolate sprinkles. ( Note: They are available in store only and not for advance order. ) Also, the Boston Cream Pie Banana Pudding—which is typically only available at our Boston location in Faneuil Hall, and has layers of vanilla pudding, vanilla wafers, bananas and chocolate fudge—will be available during Aug. 23-26 as well. ( Note: The pudding WILL be available in store and for advance order at all locations while supplies last. )
—The Langham, Chicago, 330 N. Wabash Ave., announced the appointment of Chef Damion Henry to executive chef. Henry oversees all culinary operations within the hotel—including its 15,000 square feet of banquet space, Travelle Restaurant, Pavilion, in-room private dining and exclusive Club Lounge. Henry has more than two decades of experience in the kitchen and worked as the executive sous chef at The Langham, Chicago since its opening in 2013.
—Italian spot Osteria Via Stato, 620 N. State St., is offeirng brunch. Items include tems like the carving station featuring Slagel Farm pork belly, a ricotta doughnut station, a dolce station and a smoked fish station highlighting Faroe Island salmon, trout and bay scallops. Guests can also order made-to-order sourdough waffles, desserts like strawberry panna cotta, almond macaroons and enjoy farm-fresh ingredients like asparagus and strawberries. Osteria's brunch is $34.95 and is offered on Sundays at 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. See osteriaviastato.com .
—Entente has new summer dishes on its upscale menu. Items include fjord sea trout ( with watermelon, sumac, black olive, heirloom tomato and licorice ), lobster ( with mango, peanut, coconut, plum and cucumber ), Hudson Valley foie gras, Berkshire pork and corn-based dessert ( with corn ice cream, corn cake, shio koji and anise hyssop ).
—Fort Willow Bar + Bites, 1721 N. Elston Ave., is open Tuesdays-Saturdays at 5 p.m., and Sundays at 10 a.m. The globally influenced bites include items such as blistered long beans, tandoori prawns, glazed pork belly, fluke curdo and more. There are also several cocktails, such as the Daisy Pusher ( jalapeno tequila, mezcal and guava ) and the Cape Route Mule ( turmeric vodka, cumin, ginger and cilantro ). See www.fort-willow.com .
—City Mouse, the signature restaurant at Ace Hotel Chicago, hosts Bingo Night every last Thursday of the month at 8-10 p.m. Free to play at the West Loop restaurant, the winner of each round will be entered to win a one-night stay at Ace Hotel Chicago, with free breakfast at City Mouse.
—Stan's Donuts & Coffee will be celebrating Stan Berman's 89th birthday on Saturday, Aug. 25. To celebrate the man who started it all, Stan's Donuts & Coffee will be celebrating his birthday with 89-cent glazed donuts that day across all Chicago locations. Stan's will also offer one dozen glazed donuts for $10, with customers encouraged to pre-order their dozens.
—On Thursday, Aug. 30, at 6:30 p.m., Pilot Light will host a "Vino & Vinasa" fundraiser, with a class led by CorePower yoga instructors, complete with a charcuterie table and wine. Located at Savage Smyth, 920 N. Franklin St., the hour-long yoga class will start things. Then, wine will be available from vineyards including Peju, D'Alfonso-Curran and Skater Girl, and there will be popsicles from Ozzie's Pops & Pretzels as well as a large charcuterie table from FoodMatch. See www.eventbrite.com/e/vino-vinyasa-at-savage-smyth-tickets-48072162131 for tickets ( $30 each ).
—International Bacon Day happens to fall over Labor Day, so Spanish restaurant Mercat a la Planxa, 638 S. Michigan Ave., is offering a special for the holiday all weekend long. The restaurant's signature bacon-wrapped dates will be complimentary for any guest who mentions the special. The dates are stuffed with chorizo and a marcona almond before being wrapped in a bacon and drizzled with a La Peral cheese fondue. See mercatchicago.com .
—Ballyhoo Hospitality's Walton Street Kitchen + Bar ( @waltonstreetchicago ), an upscale spot at 912 N. State St., will open on Wed., Sept. 12, with two distinct restaurant and lounge experiences: the Kitchen + Bar and The Lounge. Chicago-based design group 555 International is behind the interior design of the two-level space as well as much of the custom-fabricated details and furnishings inside it. See WaltonStreetChicago.com .
—Shore Club, 1603 N. Lake Shore Dr., has announced a series of events running through October. Events include Rose Fest on the Beach ( Saturday, Sept. 15, 2-5 p.m. ), Whiskeyfest on the Beach ( Saturday, Sept. 22, 2-5 p.m. ) and Oktoberfest on the Beach ( Saturday, Oct. 6, 12-4 p.m. ) For more information, visit www.ShoreClubChi.com .
—Bon Appetit presents Chicago Gourmet's event Hamburger Hop returns Friday, Sept. 28, on the Harris Theater Rooftop at 6-9 p.m. To celebrate Chicago Gourmet's overall Rock the Fork theme, the evening's DJ will spin crowd-pleasing, old-school jams while 15 chefs compete for the title of burger champ. The competitor line-up includes chefs from Miller's Pub, Virgin Hotels Chicago, Kinzie Chophouse, Cochon Volant Brasserie and other restaurants; chef/author/TV figure Carla Hall and Chef Tony Mantuano are among the judges. Visit https://www.chicagogourmet.org/page/HamburgerHop.
—The James Beard Foundation ( JBF ) announced the cities and dates for its sixth annual Taste America national culinary tour: Sept. 28-Nov. 17. Chicago will share the dates of Oct. 26-27 with San Francisco. Chicago events include the Taste Chicago Benefit Dinner on Oct. 26 at Prime & Provisions/Builders BLDG, and free demos on Oct. 27 at Michigan Avenue's Sur La Table with Karen Akunowicz and Big Jones chef Paul Fehribach. See https://www.jamesbeard.org/tasteamerica.
—Noyane, 101 E. Erie St., is offering a special branded lunchbox promo with a portion of the proceeds go toward CPS just in time for back to school. Guests can add the souvenir lunch box to their orders for $9 to donate ( $5 going to CPS fundraisers ) through Sept. 30 during Lunch & Dinner service ( opens at 11 a.m. daily ). Noyane will be donating proceeds to the Back To School Campaign.
—On Sunday, Sept. 30, at noon-10 p.m., Thalia Hall and Dusek's Board & Beer are hosting the 4th Annual Blocktoberfest. Located outside Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St., the free event will feature a variety of craft beers and specialty cocktails for purchase. In addition, there will be items such as Dusek's soft pretzels with house-made beer mustard ( $4 ); garlic sausage served with chips, sauerkraut and beer mustard ( $5 ); and local apple streusel ( $5 ). There will also be DJs like Jesse De La Pena, Darryn Jones and Yessenia G.
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