—Howells & Hood Beverage Director Andrew Macker and the restaurant celebrates the recent news of same-sex marriage nationwide by creating the Equal Parts cocktail, made with Hendricks Gin, St. Germain, lemon juice, and a cucumber-blueberry simple syrup, with an orange peel garnish. A portion of proceeds benefits the Center on Halsted.
—At Filini Bar and Restaurant, 221 N. Columbus Dr., there is the "Love Is Colorful, Make It Blu" cocktail. This drink has Bacardi 151 Rum as the main ingredient and different layers of color courtesy of Midori Melon liqueur, DeKuyper Blue Curacao, sweet and sour, and grenadine. The cocktail is priced at $10.
—Windy City RibFest in Uptown will take place July 3-5 at Lawrence Avenue and Broadway. In addition to slabs, libations and music, there will also be arts & crafts and kids' activity areas ( art, games, inflatables, etc. ). Rib vendors are Aussom Aussie Australian BBQ, BBQ King Smokehouse, Chicago BBQ Company, Arkansas' Porky Chicks BBQ, Sweet Baby Ray's and Texas Lightning BBQ. Visit WindyCityRibfest.com .
—Bar Toma, 110 E. Pearson St., will be closed starting July 6 for renovations. With chef Tony Mantuano and chef partner Kevin Schulz, the eatery will undergo a design revamping as well as a new menu and beverage program to complement. Bar Toma will reopen to the public in August.
—River Roast, 315 N. LaSalle St., invites Chicaogans to jump-start the 4th of July weekend on Thursday, July 2, with a live musical performance from blues legend Dave Specter on its riverfront patio. At 5-7 p.m., guests can enjoy music while sipping on craft cocktails and dining on River Roast's contemporary American tavern fare. Call 312-822-0100.
—In dual honor of Independence Day and the Grateful Dead's 50th Anniversary three-night run at Soldier Field, LUXBAR, 18 E. Bellevue Pl., invites guests to a Grateful Dead-themed brunch all weekend long. The Gold Coast restaurant will be playing the Dead's greatest hits and pouring pints of Dogfish Head's liquid tribute to the iconic band, American Beauty. Also, guests are invited to enjoy Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse's ( 5464 N. River Rd., Rosemont ) regular menus this Fourth of July, featuring USDA Gibsons Prime Angus steaks, chops, fresh fish, enormous lobster tails, massive desserts, extensive wine list and famously large martinis.
—Pinstripes Chicago, 435 E. Illinois St., is hosting a four-course dinner overlooking the Chicago River for the Fourth of July. Items include antipasto-and-cheese platter, market salad, filet mignon trio or pine nut-crusted halibut, and housemade gelato. Admission is $49 per person ( not including alcohol, tax or gratuity ). Reservations are required; visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1644856.
—Shaw's Crab House ( in Chicago and Schaumburg ) will mark the Fourth of July with a half-priced oyster deal all day. Upping the ante further, at 4-6 p.m. the Schaumburg location will serve the items for $1 apiece. Visit ShawsCrabHouse.com .
—Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation's 6th Annual Summer Cocktail Party will be held at Rockit Bar & Grill, 22 W. Hubbard St., on Thursday, July 9, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Guests will enjoy cocktails and nibble on Rockit Bar & Grill's bites in the venue's recently renovated second-floor lounge. Tickets are $75 in advance and $85 at the door; visit lynnsage.org/event/summer-cocktail-party/register or call 312-926-7133.
—Taste of Lakeview will take place July 11-12 at the intersection of Lincoln and Belmont avenues. Headliners include Too White Crew, Wedding Banned, 16 Candles and Hairbangers Ball. Admission is a suggested $5 donation; visit starevents.com/festivals/taste-of-lakeview/ .
—More than a dozen local restaurants will fire up their grills when Roscoe Village Burger Fest returns for its sixth year on Saturday-Sunday, July 11-12, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., on Belmont and Damen avenues. Judges will include Doug Sohn of Hot Doug's fame, ABC-7's Janet Davies and another to be announced. The music line-up includes New Jersey alt-rockers The Smithereens and Chicago electronic pop-rockers I Fight Dragons, among others. Visit RoscoeVillageBurgerFest.com .
—Sunda, 110 W. Illinois St., will honor the rich culinary history of the Philippines with a traditional Kamayan feast on Sunday, July 12, 6-8 p.m. Items will include whole crispy fish, longaniza, crispy soft-shell crab and halo halo dessert, among other items. Tickets are $50; visit https://nightout.com/events/kamaya-feast/tickets#.VYl3_VVVhHx.
—Bistronomic, 840 N. Wabash Ave., will offer a three-course gluten-free Bastille Day menu from Monday, July 13, to Sunday, July 19, during dinner for $39 per person. ( Bastille Day is July 14. ) The gluten-free menu is a remembrance to the period when flour was scarce and the French had to make do without bread because of high grain prices. Items include country pate and chicken-liver mousse, or oven-roasted summer carrot salad ( appetizers ); a duo of New York steak and steak tartare, or Faroe Island salmon ( entrees ); and Floating Island and Baked Alaska ( dessert ). Visit Bistronomic.net .
—Toni Patisserie & Cafe, 65 E. Washington St., will mark both Independence Day on July 4 and Bastille Day on July 14. During July 4-14, stop into Toni's city location for a red, white and blue champagne flight for $10. There will also be macarons are $1.75, but stop in on Thursdays and grab them for $1 each. Call 312-726-2020.
—Twenty-two new restaurants will join Green City Market's 15th annual Chef BBQ Benefit 5:30-8 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, in Lincoln Park. Some of the restaurants that will be featured include Taus Authentic, Acanto, The Kitchen, Lillie's Q, Bottlefork and River Roast. Advance tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets and at the Green City Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays; visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1382133. General admission tickets are $125; individual VIP tickets are $250.
—Chicago's Best Summer WingFest—advertised as "a bigger and better version" of Chicago's Best WingFest—will 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 .
—Barcocina, 2901 N. Sheffield Ave., now has weekend brunch at 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Executive Chef Matt William's menu includes steak and eggs, maple sausage pancake sliders, chorizo Benedicts, ancho cinnamon French toast and champagne margaritas. Visit BarcocinaChicago.com .
—Originally debuting as a neighborhood bar on Clark Street in 2007, an entirely new iteration of Villains Chicago officially returns for business this summer with a 4,000-square-foot South Loop location at 730 S. Clark St. Executive Chef Dennis Stover ( Vie, The Publican, Longman & Eagle, Big Star, HotChocolate ) takes the helm in the kitchen with American fare, alongside spirits director and head bartender Nick Salazar ( Billy Sunday, Yusho ) and General Manager Marco Silva. See VillainsChicago.com .
—The Meatloaf Bakery is opening a second location in Chicago's French Market, 131 N. Clinton St. Customers will enjoy items like The Mother Loaf, Herby Turkey Loaf and Loaf-A-Roma, as well as options tailored to the new location. Visit www.frenchmarketchicago.com/index.php or www.themeatloafbakery.com .
—Rosebud Steakhouse, 192 E. Walton St., has announced Andrew Sikkelerusas its new executive chef. Sikkelerusas has launched a brunch that be served every Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is $35 per person and $12.95 for children under 12. The menu will feature a grazing table with oysters and shrimp, smoked salmon and salads. In addition, guests will enjoy one hot entree of their choice; choices include brick chicken, French toast, omelets and more.
—Pie Five Pizza's fifth Chicago-area restaurant has opened, in Palatine at 787 E. Dundee Rd. The unique Pie Five model allows patrons to top their pizzas any way they want for $6.99, baked in 145 seconds in a custom-designed oven. There are millions of possible pizza combinations Pie Five customers can create with four crusts ( including artisan thin, classic pan, whole grain Neapolitan and gluten-free ), seven sauces and 28 toppings. Visit PieFivePizza.com .
—C Chicago, 20 W. Kinzie St., has a new lunch prix-fixe menu, with meals costing $27. Appetizers include Greek salad, chilled English pea soup and other items; entrees include baked Aleutian code and Scottish salmon ( among other offerings ); and desserts include chocolate ice cream, fresh fruit and vanilla anglaise, and key lime pie. See CChicago.net .
—RumChata has brought back its iced coffee sampler pack ( $19.99 ). The pack includes two eight-ounce cans of Casa del Sol iced coffee with a 750ml bottle of RumChata brand rum cream. Visit RumChata.com .
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