On Aug. 25, Freshiithe fast-casual, fresh food franchiseopened its doors at Citigroup Center at 500 W. Madison St. Freshii offers healthful options in 70-plus cities and 15 countries. The customizable menu includes breakfast, soups, salads, wraps, bowls, burritos, Lifeway frozen kefir, juices and smoothies.
A new organization aims to have diners know of the Chicagoland's "hidden gems." Chicago Independents ( ChicagoIndependents.com ) currently has 20 places listed, including city restaurants such as Knife and Tine, Red Door, Ani and Chez Moi as well as suburban places like Berwyn's Autre Monde. The members will be offering $50 gift certificates for $35.
Chef Tony Priolo has revealed the autumn dessert menu at sister Italian restaurants Piccolo Sogno and Piccolo Sogno Due. Items include tortino di Gianduia ( $9; warm hazelnut and chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato, candied hazelnuts and chocolate sauce ) and millefoglie ( $9; "thousand layers" of crispy pastry dough layered with vanilla custard and chocolate chips ), among others.
Rosebud Restaurants invites guests to celebrate with a commemorative 40th-anniversary menu highlighting a collection of signature dishes Rosebud made famous. The anniversary menu will be available at all Rosebud locations ( excluding Joe Fish ) for dinner only, and will run through Wed., Sept. 30. Some of the items include Rosebud original eggplant salad, filet Italiano, the 1975 cocktail and Chivalini Italian sausage with rapini.
Beatrix is opening a second location, at 671 N. St. Clair St., according to Eater Chicago. The restaurantwhich will be taking over the old Cicchetti spacewill be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and will offer the same favorites on the current menu. The original Lettuce Entertain You restaurant is at 519 N. Clark St.
Jake Melnick's Corner Tap has joined forces with Great Lakes Brewing Company to launch a Monday Night Football Mayhem Special. The special includes a Monday Mayhem Burger ( $14.95 ) with Jake's nine-ounce beef patty with cheddar, fried jalapenos, pickled red onion, topped with a fried egg and Jake's secret sauce served on a pretzel bun with hand-cut fries.
Chicago's Best Summer WingFestadvertised as "a bigger and better version" of Chicago's Best WingFestwill be held Saturday, Sept. 5, 1-7 p.m., at the Bailey Auditorium, 1340 W. Washington St. Chicago's Best Summer WingFest will feature double the wing-slinging restaurants, live music, carnival games, a vendor market, craft beer and a full bar. Tickets for Chicago's Best Summer WingFest ( $40 ) will go on sale Wed., June 24, at 12 p.m; visit www.WingFest.net .
Jeff "Sandwich King" Mauro will open Pork & Mindy'sa casual, sandwich-focused restaurant featuring local art and musicin the former Red Hen Bread space, 1623 N. Milwaukee Ave., according to The Chicago Tribune. Pork & Mindy's won't open until late 2015. Among the menu items will be slow-smoked Bao to the Pork sandwiches, pulled chicken smoked over mulberry wood, a Pig Candy ( super-crispy bacon ) BLT and pulled lamb.
Guests who visit Commonwealth Tavern, 2000 W. Roscoe Ave., during Labor Day weekend will enjoy brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday with a Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary Bar for $6 each and Mimosa Bar for $3 each. Brunch highlights include Pupusa ( breakfast sausage, chihuahua cheese, red sauce, curtido, farm egg ), Pig Muffin ( maple pig head, farm egg, American cheese, English muffin ) and Kentucky Hot Brown ( smoked turkey, bacon, tomato, beer cheese, sourdough ). See CommonwealthChicago.com .
Frontier, 1072 N. Milwaukee Ave., will host a "Drunken Oyster Party" on Labor Day, Sept. 7, starting at 12 p.m. Specials will include $1 raw oysters, $4 Abita pints, and $50 bottles of Piper-Heidsieck champagne with a dozen oysters. See TheFrontierChicago.com .
Shaw's Crab House, 21 E. Hubbard St., will hold its annual Oyster Fest celebration Sept. 7-11. Among other things, there will be live entertainment ( such as Dave Specter and Mississippi Heat ) and a "slurp-off" competition as well as specials such as half-priced oysters, blue crab-stuffed oysters ( $16 ) and other items. Tickets are $30 each; visit OysterFestChicago.com .
Pizza Barra, the newest venture from baker and restauranteur Rich Labriola, will open at 3011 Butterfield Rd. in Oak Brook, on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m. Executive Chef and Partner Chris Macchia created a menu highlighting Italian and American flavors. Selections include three styles of pizzascoal-fired artisanal, Chicago thin crust and pan-stylealongside piattini, or Italian small plates, antipasti, housemade pasta, salads, burgers and desserts. Visit www.pizzabarra.com or call 630-861-6177.
Cafe Bustelo's Pop-Up Cafe Experience will take place at 1152 W. Taylor St. on Sept. 10-14. The Chicago pop-up marks the first leg of Cafe Bustelo's national tour, and there will be complimentary coffee, live performances, free wi-fi, charging stations, great branded giveaways, a photo booth and more.
Luca Corazzina, executive chef of 312 Chicago, will kick off his cooking classes on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 12 p.m., and continue every Saturday until Oct. 17. The month of September will be dedicated to "The Art of Fish" while October's classes will focus on "The Art of Pasta." Classes are $50/person, and include a light meal, recipe cards and a bottle of 312 aged balsamic. Visit 312Chicago.com .
Seventy pit masters and their teams from around the country are set to battle in the fourth annual Windy City BBQ Classic, the only Chicago barbecue competition to ever be sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society. The event will take place at Soldier Field on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. With more than $12,500 in prizes for categories including Best Chicken, Best Ribs, Best Pork and Best Brisket, teams will contend for the title of Grand Champion. Tickets are limited to the first 500 people, and can be purchased for $100 per person online at www.windycitybbqclassic.com .
The Andersonville Development Corporation ( ADC ) is presenting the 3rd Annual Andersonville City Made Fest, the only all-local street festival that highlights Chicago-made beer, music and products in the historic Andersonville neighborhood. It will be Sept. 12 ( 12-9 p.m. ) and 13 ( 12-7 p.m. ) at 5000-5100 N. Clark St. There is a suggested gate donation of $5. See Andersonville.org .
ENO Wine Room, 505 N. Michigan Ave., will host "ENOversity: Wine 101" Sunday, Sept. 13, at 6 p.m. In this session of Wine 101, guests will explore various expressions of popular grapes from around the world through sights, smells and flavors. Tickets are $50 each; visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2030474 .
Honey Butter Fried Chicken, 3361 N. Elston Ave., celebrates its second birthday on Sunday, Sept. 13, with $2 pimento mac and cheese and $2 draft beers ( limit two per order ) of either Half Acre Daisy Cutter or Revolution Brewing Anti-Hero from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visit www.honeybutter.com or call 773-478-4000 .
Guests are invited to enjoy Rosh Hashanah dinner at Tuscany in Wheeling on Sunday-Monday, Sept. 13-14. The cost is $17.95 ( children under 10 )-$34.95. Items include homemade chopped liver, roasted half-chicken, wild Atlantic salmon piccata and homemade apple tart, among others. Call 847-465-9988.
The Mexican restaurant Cantina 1910 will open in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood on Sept. 16 at 5025 N. Clark St. at 8 p.m. The culinary team is led by Executive Chef Diana Davila, with dishes like chorizo de chivo ( goat chorizo, huatape verde, sunchoke mash and pan-fried chochoyotes ), sweet potato panuchos and shrimp ceviche. Visit Cantina-1910.com or call 773-506-2609 .
Bon Appetit presents Chicago Gourmet and Charlie Trotter's Culinary Education Foundation have announced "A Toast to Charlie Trotter," presented by American Express. Chef Emeril Lagasse will host. The event will take place Friday, Sept. 25, 1-3 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Dr., in the Crystal Ballroom. Tickets are $175 and go on sale Sept. 3; visit ChicagoGourmet.org .
Trinity United Church of Christ's annual Farmers Market will take place Saturdays through Sept. 26 at 95th and Eggleston streets, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Among the items offered are produce grown by Black-owned farms, homemade baked goods, body moisturizing products, specialty blended teas and honey, health and fitness sessions ( yoga, Zumba ), and custom-crafted jewelry and clothing. Credit and debit cards, Link, cash and Farmers Market coupons are accepted. Visit www.TrinityChicago.org .
The Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce has officially opened ticket sales to the 4th annual Wicker Park Bucktown Fall Dinner Crawl, which will take place Tuesday, Sept. 29, 6-9 p.m. There will be Fork, Knife, Spoon and Plate routes, with each featuring different restaurants. Tickets are $30 each; visit wpbfalldinnercrawl.brownpapertickets.com . For more about the event, visit www.wickerparkbucktown.com/neighborhood-events/wpb-fall-dinner-crawl-2015 .
Tickets are on sale for the 7th Annual OctoberFeast, an Oct. 6 ( 5-10 p.m. ) tasting tour featuring River North restaurants. Hosted by the River North Business Association, OctoberFeast showcases specialty food and drink from participating restaurants as well as a culminating after-party. Attendees can purchase tickets for $75 each online and choose a restaurant route led by a tour guide. Visit OctoberFeastChicago.com .
On Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., Evanston's Koi Fine Asian Cuisine & Lounge will host the first in a series of Chefs' Table events with a "Flavors of Fall" tasting dinner. Some of the items to be served in the six-course dinner include sushi and sashimi, walnut shrimp, salmon with black-bean sauce and chocolate lava cake. These events will be the first Tuesday of the month. Tickets are $45 each; visit koi.ticketleap.com/koi-chefs-table-fall-2015/details, or call 847-866-6969 .
The participating restaurants have been revealed for the Mac & Cheese Fest taking place at the UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd., on Saturday, Oct. 24. Among the dozens of restaurants are Luella's Southern Kitchen, Famous Dave's, Red Door, Whisk, Blackfinn Ameripub, Mr. Brown's Lounge, Piggyback Tavern and Bub City. Visit Ticketmaster.com and MacAndCheeseChicago.com .
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