—Casting for season five of MasterChef will take place at the Le Cordon Bleu, 361 W. Chestnut St., 10 a.m.-6 p.m on Saturday, Oct. 19. More details are available at www.masterchefcasting.com . MasterChef judge Graham Elliot will be at the Chicago casting event.
—The Illinois Restaurant Association announced that Chicago Gourmet 2013 welcomed 12.456 attendees. Tickets for the Hamburger Hop, the festival's Friday night kick-off event, completely sold out this year, as did the newly added Late Night Gourmet. Saturday and Sunday main-event passes were also entirely gone, as were those for the Grand Cru. Bon Appetit magazine, in conjunction with Southern Wine & Spirits of Illinois, sponsored the event.
— Catholic Charities rejected a donation proposed by Kuma's Corner after the Chicago-area restaurant's new "The Ghost" burger caused a stir, according to NBC News. The new burger, offered through the month of October, comes served with a red-wine reduction and topped with a controversial unconsecrated Communion wafer. The owner and operations director posted that they "in no way created this as a commentary on religion or as an attack on anyone's personal beliefs."
—French eatery Troquet, 1834 W. Montrose Ave., has announced its new fall menu. Featured dishes include coq au vin, pork loin, steak Lyonnaise, braised pork shoulder and a fish of the day. Highlights from the newly conceived menu include poutine with shredded duck confit; La Épinard salad with baby spinach, roasted butternut squash, candied walnuts, parmesan cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette; and Bauernwurst, a pork and beef sausage with onions and mushrooms. See www.Troquetchicago.com .
—The popular suburban restaurant Q BBQ is headed to Chicago, according to Patch Lakeview. Already in La Grange and Naperville, Q BBQ will replace the former Barrio Urban Taqueria at 714 W. Diversey Pkwy. The restaurant has earned a Bib Gourdman, one of only 12 restaurants in Chicago's suburbs to receive the honor. A review of Q BBQ in Naperville is at www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Zealous-Q-BBQ/40058.html .
—Dinkel's Bakery and Cafe, 3329 N. Lincoln Ave., is celebrating its 92nd year by offering a schnitzel sandwich cafe special as well as complimentary pumpkin pie slices with sandwich purchases during October. The sandwich is made with breaded pork schnitzel, sharp cheddar cheese, Granny Smith apples, fresh Roma tomatoes, crisp romaine lettuce and Bavarian mustard on a Dinkel's pretzel roll ( $7.95 ). See www.dinkels.com .
—Perry's Restaurants will open an 11,000-square-foot location of its Perry's Steakhouse & Grille in Oak Brook this fall. Perry's Steakhouse will be located at Oakbrook Center adjacent to Neiman Marcus. The new restaurant will accommodate 350 guests, and includes design features such as a towering wine wall, five private dining rooms and an island bar as well as main dining with glimpses of the kitchen and an outdoor patio.
—The Andersonville Dessert Crawl will take place Sunday, Oct. 27, 2-5 p.m. More than 20 restaurants will be involved, and attendees can choose the Caramel Apple or Candy Corn Route. Headquarters will be pH Comedy Productions, 1515 W. Berwyn St. Tickets are $20/advance, $25/day of event; see www.Andersonville.org .
—Nouveau Tavern, a New Orleans-style restaurant, is set to open in River North at 358 W. Ontario St. Executive Chef Norman Hargrove, formerly of The Peninsula's Pierrot Gourmet, has created the menu. Dishes will include, among others, shrimp and creamy Stoneground Heirloom grits, blackened catfish with Brussels sprouts, and seafood gumbo.
—Frontier, 1072 N. Milwaukee Ave., is hosting its first-ever "Chef vs. Amateur Gumbo Cookoff" Sunday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. The public will determine the winners; the prizes are $500 ( first ), $200 ( second ) and $100 ( third ). Amateurs who wish to compete should email media@papergirlpr.com with their recipes and a photo of the dishes by Friday, Nov. 1.
—In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Roka Akor, 456 N. Clark St., is offering the "Decoding Annie Parker" cocktail—made with Eiko Fuji Sake, Quinta do Tedo, lemon juice, raspberries and strawberries—throughout October. The cocktail is available for $11 and a portion of the sales will be donated to Editha House Rooms in the Illinois Medican District Guest House, which provides affordable lodging for adult cancer patients and their adult caregivers traveling for medical treatment.
—Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse invites guests to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month this October and enjoy a classic pink cosmopolitan ( $12 ). The restaurant will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from cosmopolitan sold to the Lynn Sage Foundation in support of finding a cure for Breast Cancer. See www.gibsonssteakhouse.com . ( Other restaurants in the Gibsons Restaurant Group who are donating to the foundation include Luxbar, Quartino, and Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House. )
—Bebe's Kosher Deli—advertised as "Chicago's only downtown kosher deli"—has opened at the Chicago French Market. Bebe's will have a traditional deli menu and nostalgic classic Jewish cuisine. Sandwiches will be made to order, with deli favorites including pastrami, corned beef and kosher hot dogs. Matzo ball soup, knishes, latkes, lox, hot pretzels and more will be available daily. Bebe's is open 7:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. daily Monday through Thursday, and closes three hours before sundown on Friday. See Bebeskosherdeli.com .
—Dining out for Equality will take place Thursday, Oct. 10. A portion of the evening's sales at each restaurant will benefit pro-LGBT group Equality Illinois. Among the participating restaurants are Wood, Hamburger Mary's, Yoshi's Cafe and Nookies Edgewater. See www.eqil.org/events.html .
—The Grid has announced a new restaurant concept that has opened in the former Baume & Brix space, 351 W. Hubbard St. Chef Dirk Flanigan, formerly of Henri and The Gage, serves as the opening chef. Highlights include spicy green curry mussels; roasted swordfish with olive oil, rosemary, caper and fennel salad; and a build-your-own slider board with pulled pork shoulder, pickles and slaw. See thegridchicago.com .
—Throughout October ( Breast Cancer Awareness Month ), Riva ( at Navy Pier ) will highlight several dishes on its menu. Each time a dish designated with a PINK RIBBON is ordered, $1 will be donated to benefit the Lynn Sage Scholars Program at Northwestern University ( www.lynnsagefoundation.org ). Featured dishes include Riva lobster Diavolo ( $42 ) and Atlantic salmon ( $29 ). See www.RivaNavyPier.com .
—Geja's Cafe, 340 W. Armitage Ave., will host its 40th Annual Professional/Amateur Wine Tasting Contest Sunday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. ( Amateurs are defined as not having worked in the wine industry for the previous three years. ) To enter, contestants pay an entrance fee of $20 and must be 21 years of age or older; to RSVP, call Geja's Cafe at 773-281-9101.
—Odyssey is hosting two pasta lunch cruises for Chicago Marathon participants as well as family and friends Saturday, Oct. 12 ( 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; 3-5 p.m. ). Offerings will include a caprese pasta salad; and a pasta station featuring three-color cheese tortellini and imported rigatoni noodles. The cost starts at $40.44; call 888-957-2320 or visit www.odyssey.com .
—Musician Buddy Guy will headline Shaw's Crab House's annual Oyster Fest Block Party on Friday, Oct. 18, in the parking lot on Rush Street between Hubbard and Illinois streets. The celebration will cap the restaurant's 25th annual Oyster Fest extravaganza, which will feature events/specials all week leading up to the block party. Visit www.ticketweb.com and www.shawscrabhouse.com .
—The second annual Fine Chocolate & Dessert Show ( Oct. 18-20 ) and National Chocolate & Dessert Show ( Oct. 20-22 ) will take place in the halls of Navy Pier. This event for both professionals ( National Chocolate & Dessert Show ) and food enthusiasts ( Fine Chocolate & Dessert Show ) is open to the public and will give attendees the chance to see demonstrations on how to make all kinds of chocolate treats. See www.chicagochocolatefestival.com .
Send items to Andrew@WindyCityMediaGroup.com .
