—Garrett Popcorn Shops has announced its partnership with Feeding America in support of its mission to feed this country's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks, and engage the country in the fight to end hunger. September is Hunger Action Month, and Garrett Popcorn has unveiled its co-branded, special-edition Feeding America Tin design. Garrett will donate 10 percent of its sales to Feeding America from purchases made online and in shops across the United States.
—Chicago Loop Alliance ( CLA ) launches its fifth ACTIVATE event of the year, TASTE, on Thursday, Sept. 15, 5-10 p.m., in Cow Path Alley, 100 W. Monroe St. Attendees will get a TASTE of ACTIVATE as they experience art installations by local artists, a fashion show, DJs and plenty of sweet surprises in the transformed Cow Path Alley. Next, guests will venture from alley to rooftops AIRE Rooftop Bar/Hyatt Centric The Loop and Boleo at The Grey Hotel as the journey continues with more art, food, live shows and specialty bites and sips. Guests who RSVP in advance at LoopChicago.com/activate receive a complimentary drink ticket for beer or wine.
—Starting this fall, Appellation, 5212 N. Clark St., will host special jazz brunches with recording artist Elaine Dame and her jazz duo. ( Dame will perform 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on select Sundays throughout the fall season. Having performed Sept. 11, she will return Oct. 9 and Nov. 6. ) The Andersonville hot spot is also introducing $15 bottomless mimosas to its brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays at 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
—After more than 48 years, The Parthenon—the Greek restaurant in Chicago credited with starting the practice of lighting cheese on fire tableside—has closed, Eater Chicago noted. Chicago's Greektown, just south of Randolph Restaurant Row, is changing with the addition of sports bars—like Tapworks Tavern & Grill—which cater to customers other than the Greek immigrants who clustered around Halsted Street.
—Inspired by the flavors of the Mediterranean, Eden arrives this fall at 1748 W. Lake St. The restaurant is led by the culinary and hospitality team behind the catering company Paramount Events, including Principal Jodi Fyfe, Chef/Partner Devon Quinn and Chef de Cuisine Miles Schaefer. Menu items will include braised duck lasagna; strip steak with wilted mustard green, new potato, garlic roasted mushrooms, and salsa verde; and roasted baby beets with cajeta, goat cheese, plum, gooseberry, black walnut and cress.
—BIG Bar is offering a Paralympics-inspired cocktail menu. Items include the 100mm Mule ( vodka, lime, ginger beer and sparkling wine ), Rio's Punch ( rum, amaretto, lime, orange juice, apple juice and cranberry ) and the Finish Line Martini ( vanilla vodka, mango puree and ginger ale ).
—The JW Marriott Chicago Lobby Lounge, 151 W. Adams St., released its latest seasonal menu, inspired by the award-winning Broadway hit Hamilton, coming to Chicago later this month. Some menu highlights include late-harvest corn chowder, pork rillette, chevre cheesecake and 7 Paces ( Earl Grey tea, fresh oranges, Granny Smith apples and demerara sugar ).
—Tortoise Club, 350 N. State St., has gotten a makeover of sorts, Crain's Chicago Business noted. Co-owners Keene and Megan Addington have tweaked the restaurant's name to now make it the Tortoise Supper Club. Also, the menu has become more accessible; whereas pheasant and Dover sole were menu highlights at the Tortoise Supper Club in the early going, they have been supplanted on the menu by a Friday night fish fry and a Saturday prime-rib special. In addition, cocktails are now a fixture. See TortoiseSupperClub.com .
—Jake's Cider Bash will take place Thursday, Sept. 15, 6-8:30 p.m., at Jake Melnick's Corner Tap, 41 E. Superior St. Among the featured items will be smoked apple BBQ wings; local hot links with cider-braised onions; applewood-smoked pork-loin sliders with bacon-honey mustard slaw; BBQ chips; and house-baked apple pie. Admission is $40; visit CiderBash.eventbrite.com .
—Mid-Autumn Festival, also referred to as Moon Festival, is a traditional Chinese holiday that will take place Thursday, Sept. 15. In celebration, The Peninsula Chicago's Shanghai Terrace, 108 E. Superior St., will be selling mooncakes, round pastries filled with egg custard, which are made individually by Chef de Cuisine Elmo Han. Orders can be placed starting this week and can be picked up from Shanghai Terrace through Sept. 15. ( The Peninsula is offering $40 for a four-piece box and $78 for an eight-piece box, and mooncakes are on the menu at Shanghai Terrace for $8 apiece. )
—The Chicago Athletic Association hotel announced Shake Shack in-room dining service, becoming the first hotel worldwide to offer Shake Shack room service for hotel guests. Now available for daily delivery to all 241 guestrooms, the burger stand features all menu items available from its location within the hotel's first-floor lobby, including a selection of ingredients from local purveyors such as Publican Quality Meats, Bang Bang Pie Shop, Glazed & Infused and more.
—Hofbrauhaus Chicago—the German microbrewery, beer hall and restaurant directly affiliated with the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich—will celebrate its fourth annual Oktoberfest Sept. 16-Oct. 23. Festivities include a variety of authentic Bavarian entertainment, freshly brewed "Oktoberfestbier" inspired by the original Hofbr�uhaus in Munich, daily food specials and celebrity keg-tapping ceremonies. See HBChicago.com .
—Hubbard Inn, 110 W. Hubbard St., is celebrating Oktoberfest on Friday, Sept. 16, 6-9 p.m. Tickets are available for $5 and can be purchased at the door or in advance online. Each ticket includes access to the event, a raffle ticket and complimentary passed appetizers at 6-7 p.m. At 6-9 p.m., a variety of Leinenkugel specials will be available, including Oktoberfest and Harvest Patch Shandy ( 32-oz. stein for $10 ). Additional food specials will run through Sept. 18 and include a grilled German sausage appetizer with grain mustard, caramelized onion and watercress salad ( $14 ) and chicken schnitzel with braised cabbage, sp�tzle and rustic apple vinaigrette ( $21 ). The full menu will also be available that evening.
—Drink Local—a one-day showcase of domestic, U.S. distilleries, breweries and wineries with a special focus on Chicago's popular bar and restaurant scene—will take place Saturday, Sept. 17, at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Chicago Marriott at Medical District/UIC, 625 S. Ashland Ave. ( Food will be available for purchase ) Tickets are $60 ( general ) and $80 ( VIP ); visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/drink-local-chicago-presented-by-social-power-hour-tickets-26494827743.
—The Signature Room, 875 N. Michigan Ave., and Veuve Clicquot join forces to host an exclusive brunch reception on Sunday, Sept. 18. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., guests can enjoy a brunch buffet along with champagne pairings, including Veuve Clicquot Rose, Veuve Clicquot Rose Yellow Label, and The Signature Room at the 95th Sparkling Brut. Tickets are all inclusive and are available for $75 per person. Guests will also take home a signature gift bag. Seats may be reserved by calling 312-280-0465.
—Replay Andersonville, 5358 N. Clark St., will celebrate its one-year anniversary this Sunday, Sept. 18 ( aka National Cheeseburger Day ), with free cake and $2 mimosas and glasses of champagne ( to ring in its second year ). The special burger of the day will be the Day of the Dead Burger, and there will also be a bourbon quiche, in honor of National Bourbon Month.
—Bon Appétit presents Chicago Gourmet will take place in Millennium Park on Sept. 23-25. This year's celebration welcomes its first-ever host chef, Rick Bayless, who will be joined by celebrity chefs such as Todd English, Stephanie Izard, Jose Garces, Art Smith, Amanda Cohen, Lorena Garcia, Jeff Mauro, Takashi Yagihashi, Tony Mantuano, Jimmy Bannos Jr., Sarah Grueneberg, Edward Lee and Richard Sandoval, among others. The complete line-up is at ChicagoGourmet.org .
—Devon Seafood Grill, 39 E. Chicago Ave., is celebrating the autumnal equinox by hosting an exclusive four-course wine dinner, complemented by pairings from Rutherford Hill Winery, on Wed., Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. The slated culinary items are passed hors d'oeuvres, Chardonnay poached bass, Snake River Farms Wagyu frites arancini, red wine-braised shortrib and white chocolate mousse. Admission is $70/person; call Tim Sherlock at 312-440-8660.
—Smack Shack, 326 N. Morgan St., is unveiling new cocktails for fall. They include the Mule Stable, Rose Today, Gin It to Win It ( all $12 each ) and Hurricane ( $15 ). Those who are looking for other ways to enjoy Smack Shack's new cocktails should check out their Moscow Mule Tasting on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 6:30 p.m. Tasting tickets are $30 and include trips to Five Unique Moscow Mule tasting stations ( each with different recipes, liquor vendors and types of ginger beer ), passed apps and a complimentary Smack Shack Mule mug. See https://nightout.com/events/smack-shack-chicagos-moscow-mule-tasting/tickets?a=pr-6#.V8WBryMrL1w.
—The 28th Annual Oyster Fest Presented by Shaw's Crab House returns to Chicago on Friday, Sept. 30, 3-10 p.m., at the corner of Hubbard and Rush streets in River North. Oyster Fest will feature six varieties of oysters—both East Coast and West Coast—on the half shell as well as other festival favorites like king crab bites, lobster rolls, clam chowder, fish tacos and more; there will also be local blues bands including headliner Bumpus. Admission is $20-$50; visit OysterFestChicago.com .
—Identita Golose returns to the United States for the third annual Identita Chicago on Oct. 1-2. Eataly Chicago, 43 E. Ohio St., will host the event, which features some of Italy's most revered chefs along with esteemed U.S. chefs, all from prominent Michelin-starred restaurants. Admission is $75 for the Oct. 1 master classes, and $150 for the Oct. 2 lunch; see IdentitaGolose.com .
—The River North Business Association will hold its 8th Annual OctoberFeast, a tasting tour, on Tuesday, Oct. 4, with an afterparty at Untitled Supper Club, 111 W. Kinzie St. ( Registration is at Bottled Blonde, 504 N. Wells St., at 5-6 p.m, with the tour taking place 6-9 p.m. ) Some of the restaurants include Kinmont, Siena Tavern, Morton's Steakhouse and Maggiano's Little Italy. Admission is $75 each; visit OctoberFeastChicago.com .
—French restaurant Bistronomic, 848 N. Wabash Ave., will offer a celebratory three-course Rosh Hashanah menu from Sunday, Oct. 2, through Tuesday, Oct. 4, beginning at 5 p.m. nightly. Rosh Hashanah menu highlights include Bistronomic's signature chioggia and golden beet salad, prime beef short ribs and the apple challah bread pudding; vegetarian options are offered for each course. The price for the three-course meal is $39. A two-course meal is available at 5-6 p.m. on Oct. 2-9 for $32. Call 312-944-8400.
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