—Morton's Steakhouse, 1050 N. State St., is hosting a Silver Oak & Tworney wine dinner on Thursday, Aug. 17, at 6:30 p.m. Some of the courses will include seared sea scallops with pink grapefruit-brown butter; Manhattan-cut NY strip streak with Blue cheese mashed potatoes and roasted rainbow carrots; and merlot-infused chocolate mousse with lavender. The price is $150 per person, not including tax and gratuity; contact Jessica Richard at mtolcsm@ldry.com or 312-266-4820.
—Completing the Travelle "Chef Collab" dinner series on Thursday, Aug. 17, Travelle Kitchen + Bar's Chef Ricardo Jarquin opens his kitchen to Tanta Chef Jesus Delgado to collaborate. The event ( at 330 N. Wabash Ave. ) will feature two dishes from each chef, and will start at 6 p.m. The price is $65, excluding tax and gratuity; call 312-923-7705.
—Restaurants across the country will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Chef Charlie Trotter's eponymous restaurant during the 4th annual Charlie Trotter Days celebration to raise funds for the Pillars of Excellence Mentor Program —a Trotter Project youth mentorship program which seeks to educate, train, and offer opportunities for the next generation of aspiring chefs and hospitality professionals. A few of the Chicago spots involve include Fat Rice, Salero, bellyQ, GreenRiver, Arun's and Taus Authentic. See TheTrotterProject.org/charlie-trotter-day-event-page/ .
—Portsmith and Leviathan have opened at dana hotel and spa, 660 N. State St. Portsmith, helmed by Executive Chef and Partner Nate Henssler, is an upscale seafood restaurant highlighting diverse flavors of the sea. Perched right above Portsmith, Leviathan serves cocktails handcrafted by barman Benjamin Schiller, with inspiration deriving from mythical creatures of the sea. See PortsmithChicago.com and LeviathanChicago.com .
—LM Restaurant Group has opened Land & Lake Kitchen for dinner service starting at 81 E. Wacker Dri., on the ground floor of the LondonHouse Hotel. Menu highlights include buttermilk fried Amish chicken featuring Gunthorp Farms chicken and a sweet-corn succotash salad; a burger with two Rain Crow Ranch beef patties, housemade pickles and a housemade Thousand Island dressing; and a classic NorthWoods fish fry with beer-battered walleye. Decor-wise, there's a patio that overlooks the Chicago River. See landlkitchen.com .
—The Florentine, 151 W. Adams St., has new beer flights, for $10 each. The City Flight has offerings from Baderbrau Brewing Company, Maplewood Brewery and Off Color Brewing; the Suburban Flight has items from Temperance Beer Company ( Evanston ), Solemn Oath Brewery ( Naperville ) and Two Brothers Brewing Company ( Warrenville ). Guests may also enjoy the Create Your Own ( $10 ) flight, including a selection of three pours from breweries found in Ohio, Michigan, California and Colorado, as well as any of the previously mentioned Illinois selections.
—Wow Bao is celebrating National Bao Day on Aug. 22 by giving away two free bao to anyone that wishes the staff there a Happy National Bao Day. Also, people can enter to win a lunch for 10 by posting on Twitter or Instagram ( account must be public to enter ) with #NationalBaoDay, or by uploading your photo to the contest page ( "Wow Bao" on Facebook ). Contest rules are at https://woobox.com/offers/rules/76bdzz.
—Lawry's The Prime Rib, 100 E. Ontario St., is offering a $99 dinner ( plus tax and tip ) for two special throughout the month of August. The prix fixe menu includes the original spinning bowl salad, a six-ounce California cut of prime rib, sides of mashed potatoes and gravy and Yorkshire pudding, choice of creamed Corn or creamed Spinach, and creme brulee for dessert. Guests can also opt for fresh salmon with seasonal vegetables in place of prime rib. See LawrysOnline.com .
—Green Curtain Events is holding the 2nd annual Tacos y Tamales Festival on Aug. 18-20, with the main festival entrance at 16th and Peoria streets in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. Regarding entertainment, there will be two performance stages featuring live music throughout the weekend, with traditional acts during the day, interactive dance performances and lessons, and higher energy Latin rock into the night. There is a $5 suggested donation upon entry; visit ChicagoTacoFest.com .
—During the weekend of the Chicago Air & Water Show ( Aug. 19-20 ), Joy District, 112 W. Hubbard St., is offering a $20 sake flight featuring Tyku Silver, Tyku Black and Tyku Coconut. Patrons can pair the flight with items from Executive Chef Matthew Wilde's Asian-fusion menu like Asian BBQ duck steamed buns, poached shrimp and cucumber salad, sake-poached Scottish salmon and more. See www.joychicago.com .
—For the Air & Water Show weekend, the Patio at Lincoln Park Zoo's Café Brauer is offering a special burger-and-beer combo for $15.95. Said combo includes a blue cheese burger topped with caramelized onions, a side of fries and a domestic bottled beer.
—On Sunday, Aug. 20, at 5:30 p.m., Oyster Bah, 1920 N. Halsted St., will host an oyster roast, leading to a champagne and Chesapeake fried-chicken dinner as well as peach slab for dessert. The evening costs $39.95 per person ( exclusive of tax and gratuity ). Call 773-248-3000.
—On Monday, Aug. 21, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., I/O Chicago, 127 W. Huron St., will have a solar-eclipse viewing party. ( The eclipse is slated to start at approximately 11:54 a.m. ) Executive Chef Nathaniel Cayer celebrates this occasion by crafting The Eclipse, a special frozen cocktail that goes from light to dark. Guests will be seated on a first-come, first-serve basis to the free event. ( Food and beverage packages vary in price. )
—The 10th Annual Slow Food Vegetarian Harvest Dinner will take place Wed., Aug. 23, at 6 p.m. at Uncommon Ground, 1401 W. Devon Ave. ( Greenstar Organic Brewery is co-hosting. ) Items will includes appetizers; smoked carrot-and-organic wheat berry salad; heirloom tomato-and-scallion shortcake; charred sweet corn risotto-stuffed poblano chilies; and crispy rosewater meringue. Tickets are $84.83 each ( including tax and gratuity ); visit BrownPaperTickets.com/event/3050160.
—An heirloom tomato dinner with Nick Nichols of Nichols Farm & Orchard will take place Thursday, Aug. 24, at 6:30 p.m. at Osteria Via Stato, 620 N. State St. Guests can meet the farmer while enjoying a selection of passed appetizers before sitting down for a multi-course dinner with wine pairings. The cost is $68 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Call 312-642-8450 to RSVP.
—The Logan Square Food Truck Social will return Aug. 25-27. The 2017 Logan Square Food Truck Social ( LoganSquareFoodTruckSocial.com ) will feature 24 food trucks per day in addition to a showcase of local restaurant and retail vendors. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Illinois Food Truck Owners Association and La Casa Norte / Northwest Food Partners Network.
—The Taste of Greektown returns for its 28th year on Friday-Sunday, Aug. 25-27, and will take place on the 400 block of South Halsted Street. A newer component will be the second annual Gyro Eating Contest at 6 p.m. on Saturday. ( Participants must be 21 or older. ) Fest hours are 4-11 p.m. on Friday and 12-11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. A $5 gate donation for adults benefits the Chicago Greektown Chamber of Commerce. See TasteOfGreektown.com .
—Loews Chicago Hotel, 455 N. Park Dr., will host an exclusive wine-tasting, preview show and meet-and-greet with folk/pop singer-songwriter Brett Dennen on Monday, Aug. 28, featuring Dennen Vacationer California Rose. The event will begin at 5 p.m.; tickets are $10, which includes a complimentary glass of Dennen Vacationer California Rose. all ticket sales will go to North Star Reach, a non-profit organization located on 105 acres in Pinckney, Michigan, that serves the Chicagoland area. See https://www.eventbrite.com/e/acclaimed-singer-songwriter-brett-dennen-hosts-wine-tasting-and-meet-greet-benefitting-north-star-tickets-36563302823.
—The Neo-Futurists present Ensemble Member Dan Kerr-Hobert's The Food Show, partnering with Metropolitan Brewing to bring the site-specific world premiere to the brewery's new Avondale location, 3057 N. Rockwell Ave., through Saturday, Sept. 2. A press release says, "The Food Show, created by Dan Kerr-Hobert with the help of his cousin and Neo-Futurist alum Caitlin Stainken, explores how food brings us together and sets us apart." Tickets are $10-25; visit NeoFuturists.org or call 773-275-5255.
—Nando's PERi-PERi—the South African-Portuguese restaurant known for its spicy flame-grilled chicken—celebrates the opening of its flagship Chicago restaurant on Monday, Sept. 4, at 155 N. Michigan Ave. This new and highest profile location, at Michigan Avenue and Lake Street, will mark the 12th Nando's to open in and around Chicago over the past two years.
—Chicago Bourbon & Barbecue Fest will make its debut in the Roscoe Village neighborhood ( at Roscoe and Damen avenues ) on Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 9-10. Hours are noon-10 p.m. both days. Ticketed tastings of barrel-aged Southern bourbon whiskeys will be 2-6 p.m. each afternoon; with the purchase of a $40 daily tasting pass, ticket holders will be able to savor up to 12 bourbon samples ( a sample size is one quarter of an ounce ) in a souvenir tasting glass. Among the vendors selling barbecued treats will be Aussum Aussie Australian BBQ, Luella's Southern Kitchen, Robinson's Ribs and Bill's Grill. A portion of the $5 gate donation benefits the Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce. See BourbonAndBBQ.com .
—Italian Village Restaurants will present the 20th Annual Ferrari Fest at 71 W. Monroe St. on Sunday, Sept. 10, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. There will be special guest speakers, cake-cutting, an Italian buffet, wine-and-beer tasting and a Ferrari showcase, among other things. A $30 donation will benefit Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Inspiration Corporation. See ItalianVillage-Chicago.com .
—SideDoor, 100 E. Ontario St., is teaming with Nueske's Applewood Smoked Meats and Tyranena Brewing Co. for a collaborative dinner on Wed., Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. The evening begins with an opening reception featuring BBQ-glazed bacon slab with bread-and-butter pickles, brat in a blanket and whole-grain mustard. Dinner courses include smoked duck breast with assorted melon, Belgian endive, mache lettuce and candied walnuts; pheasant consomme and pheasant dumpling; cherrywood bacon-wrapped colorado filet with lobster claw, fingerling potatoes, and balsamic; and bourbon maple-glazed bacon cannoli for dessert. Tickets are $75 per person, excluding tax and gratuity, and include five courses with Tyranena Brewing Co. pairings; email Shannon at stauschman@lawrysonline.com .
—Making a stop in Chicago on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 22-23, Brooklyn Brewery Mash presents Beer Mansion—an interactive, multi-room celebration of beer, food, music and community. Part of an international seven-city world tour, Beer Mansion makes its way to Morgan's on Fulton, 950 W. Fulton. with a two-day event featuring room after room of Brooklyn Brewery themed beer-tasting experiences, as well as home-grown Chicago breweries such as Solemn Oath, Hopewell Brewing Company, Marz Community Brewing. Also check out food from local restaurants such as Budlong Hot Chicken, an exclusive preview of Chef Danny Espinoza's Lobo Rey tacos, Bombay Wraps and more. Tickets ( $55 each ) are at BrooklynBreweryMash.com/Chicago.
—The 17th annual Kohler Food & Wine Experience will take place Oct. 19-22 in Kohler, Wisconsin. The chef line-up includes Richard Blais, Alex Guarnaschelli, Stephanie Izard, Jeff Mauro and cast members from America's Test Kitchen. See KohlerFoodandWine.com .
—The James Beard Foundation ( JBF ) has announced that tickets for the fifth anniversary year of the Taste America national culinary tour are now on sale at JamesBeard.org/taste-america-tickets. Chicago's itinerary will kick off on Friday, Oct. 27, at Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago with "A Night of Culinary Stars." On Saturday, Oct. 28, free in-store consumer events will take place at Sur La Table, 900 N. Michigan Ave.
—Kendall College Trust's ( KCT's ) Fried Chicken & Champagne Fest will take place Saturday, Nov. 4, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the college's Skyline Room. A dozen of Chicago's award-winning chefs ( including Acadia's Ryan McCaskey and Monteverde's Sarah Grueneberg ) will make their best chicken renditions, while KCT Executive Director and Check, Please! host Catherine De Orio will host. Admission is $85-$195; visit kendallcollegetrust.org/events/fried-chicken-event/ .
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