Fall preview CAN’T-MISS FOOD EVENTS
Oysters, craft beer and mac and cheese lead this season’s eating itinerary. Sounds awful, right? By Elizabeth Atkinson
OYSTER FEST Windy City Wine Festival
Oyster lovers unite at the 27th annual bivalve festival, hosted by Shaw’s Crab House. This year, chef Doug Psaltis (RPM Italian) helps curate a menu of fresh seafood, including oyster po’boys, steamers with butter and oysters on the half shell. St. Lucia will provide the music and there’s a wide selection of craft beer and wine. 435 N Wabash (
oysterfestchicago.com). Sept 11 3–10pm; $30.
WINDY CITY WINE FESTIVAL
The season’s biggest wine event has more than 300 pours, including the likes of Bonterra Organic Vineyards and Total Beverage Solution. Sip outside around Buckingham Fountain, listen to acoustic duo Sons of Bildor and fuel up with snacks from Gayle’s Best Ever Grilled Cheese, Adobo Grill and other local vendors. Buckingham Fountain, 301 S Columbus Dr (888-695- 0888,
windycitywinefestival.com). Sept 11 4:30–10pm, Sept 12 2:30– 8pm; until Sept 10 $35, after Sept 10 $38, at the door $45, designated driver ticket $15.
LOGAN SQUARE BEER FEST Chicago’s beer epicenter, Logan Square, hosts
20 local breweries, including Off Color Brewing, Ale Syndicate and Revolution Brewing, with tastes of barrel-aged beers, collaboration brews and more. While you throw back a cold one, take in music from local jazz outfit The Space Diamonds and Jesse RS, a Denver indie funk rock band and maybe even win raffle prizes like brewery T-shirts and (yep) more beer! Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N Kedzie Blvd (
logansquarebeerfestival.com). Sept 12 1-4pm, 5-8pm; $47.50.
Logan Square Beer Fest
One of fall’s biggest food fests combines top chefs (including celebrity chefs Rick Bayless and Emeril Lagasse), sommeliers (Serafin Alvarado of Southern Wine and Spirits of Illinois and Alpana Singh of the Boarding House), bartenders (including Punch House’s Will Duncan) and food lovers (that’s you) for cooking demos, seminars and tastings. Hamburger Hop pits chefs against each other to see who makes the best burger while Pigs n’ Tiki invites you to a punch party and pig roast. Millennium Park, 201 E Randolph St (
chicagogourmet.org). Sept 25–27 at various times; single-day tickets $170.
CHICAGO GOURMET TASTE TALKS
Curious about what you’re eating and the future of the food and drink industry? Paul Kahan (Avec, Blackbird) teamed up with April Bloomfield (San Francisco’s Tosca and New York’s The Spotted Pig) to curate panels, tastings and dinners led by
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TIMEOUT.COM/CHICAGO September–November 2015
local food media, including Chandra Ram of Plate magazine, and chefs, like Girl and the Goat’s Stephanie Izard, who will speak on “Expediting a Cookbook” with Bloomfield. Various locations (
taste-talks.com). Oct 2–4 at various times; ticket packages $100, $170 or $500.
MAC & CHEESE FEST
Sixty bucks gets you all the mac and cheese you can eat, and that’s our kind of challenge. In addition to samples from 50 restaurants, including Chicago q, Bub City and last year’s winner, Kitty O’Shea’s, you’ll get five drink tickets for wine, beer and cocktails. Restaurants will also compete for the Golden Noodle, which crowns the best dish of the fest. UIC Forum, 725 W Roosevelt Rd (773-999-9885,
macandcheesechicago.com). Oct 24; $60.
FESTIVAL OFBARREL AGED BEERS The big one for Chicago beer nerds, FoBAB offers
more than 300 barrel-aged beers from 90-plus breweries in this festival and competition. Beers range from wild ales to IPAs to stouts and have been aged in everything from whiskey to gin barrels. UIC Forum, 725 W Roosevelt Rd (
illinoisbeer.com/events/fobab). Nov 20 6-10pm, Nov 21 1-5pm & 6-10pm; $60.
Chicago Gourmet
Mac & Cheese Fest
PHOTOGRAPHS: WINDY CITY: COURTESY WINDY CITY WINE FESTIVAL; MAC & CHEESE: SHANNON BRANIFF;
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