Entries associated with the tag "Purple Asparagus":

Friday from 6:30 to 9 PM, Viet Bistro and Lounge hosts a free tasting of spirits from North Shore Distillery, including gin, vodka, and the new Sirène absinthe; mixologist Rashed Islam will serve samples of two new martinis he’s created with North Shore spirits, and chef-owner Dan Nguyen will make appetizers. Reservations required.

Alliance Française hosts a cooking class with ingredients from Green City Market Saturday; participants will meet at 9 AM at the market in Lincoln Park to shop for organic lamb, tomatoes, French green beans, and early-fall apples. They'll then head to the Alliance Française kitchen to make tomato soup, roasted lamb with vegetable garnish, and an apple cake. $85, $75 members.

The Oak Park Micro Brew and Food Review, Saturday from 3 to 7 PM on Marion Street between Lake and North, features 50 craft beers from 15 local breweries, including Metropolitan, Two Brothers, and Goose Island, as well as locally sourced food from Oak Park restaurants like the new Marion Street Cheese Market, Trattoria 225, and Buzz Cafe. All disposable materials used at the event will be compostable or recyclable. A VIP event from 2 to 3 PM at Marion Street Cheese Market (100 S. Marion) includes a tour of the new eco-friendly facility, tapping of "select" microbrews, and samples of sustainable specialty cheeses. $35, $65 for VIP tickets.

The Whole Foods FlavorFest returns Saturday from 11 AM to 9 PM and Sunday from 11 AM to 8 PM at Webster and Racine, with free samples of natural foods, live music, kids' activities, and cooking demos from local chefs including Dean Zanella of 312 Chicago, Bruce Sherman of North Pond, and Jason Hammel of Lula Cafe.

Purple Asparagus, a nonprofit dedicated to "bringing families back to the table" by promoting good eating, hosts "Corks and Crayons," a fund-raiser dinner, Sunday from 4 to 7 PM at Webster's Wine Bar. In addition to food including specialty pizzas, crab cakes, and tandoori chicken kebabs, there'll be wine for the adults, plus live and silent auctions and kids' activities. $65 adults, $25 kids 13-18, $15 kids 2-12, free kids under 2 (members $60/$20/$12).

Slow Food Chicago also has a fund-raiser BBQ dinner Sunday, at 6 PM at Kendall College, to honor Chicagoland delegates to this year's Terra Madre, a Slow Food conference in Italy. Kendall students will cook and serve smoked meats and side dishes. $20.

Willis P. Jenkins, Allá, and Tirra Lirra play a fund-raiser at the Empty Bottle for the Dill Pickle Food Co-op Wednesday at 9:30 PM. The Logan Square community-owned grocery store, which now has 255 members, is slated to open at 3039 W. Fullerton by March 2009. $12, $10 in advance.

RSVP today for a "paczki fun day" at Delightful Pastries, Sunday from 2-3:30 PM. Participants can fry, glaze, and fill their Polish doughnuts with fillings including plum butter, rose petal jelly, raspberry, boozy custard, and whipped cream. $15.

Fine Wine Brokers hosts Red/White, a wine tasting to benefit Red Door Animal Shelter, tonight from 7-9:30 PM. $35.

The Grand Chefs Gala Benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, this Friday from 6 PM to midnight, has a safari theme this year. Some of Chicago's best chefs will prepare hors d'oeuvres, a four-course dinner, and desserts; there will also be live and silent auctions, a DJ, dancing, and cocktails, as well as the presentation of the Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence. Tickets are $400 per person, but $50 will get you into just the after-party, which starts at 10 and offers desserts, dancing, and an open bar.

Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. hosts its annual Comparative Bordeaux Tasting Friday from 6:30-8 PM at the Newberry Library. They'll be comparing the 1995 and 1996 vintages from all five first-growth chateaux (Margaux, Mouton-Rothschild, Latour, Haut-Brion, and Lafite-Rothschild), plus 15 "super seconds." $275. There's also a wine auction at Tru Saturday starting at 9 AM; lunch is available for $75.

Saturday at 10 AM, historian Richard Lytle will give a talk titled George H. Hammond and Marcus M. Towle: Forgotten Pioneers of the Beef Packing Industry, about two Indiana business partners who owned a slaughterhouse and helped introduce refrigerated rail cars for transporting meat in the mid nineteenth century. It's at Kendall College, 900 N. Branch, and costs $2 (free for Kendall students). Presented by the Chicago Foodways Roundtable.

The Alliance Francaise hosts a Mardi Gras brunch and cooking class Saturday from 10-11 AM. On the menu: poached eggs with crabmeat, chicken andouille hash, and sweet potato pecan pie. $85.

An Edible Art Workshop at the MCA Saturday from 1-4 PM, led by artist and pastry chef Tara Strickstein, focuses on "transforming the edible into the aesthetic." Strickstein will discuss artists like Janine Antoni, who makes sculptures from lard and chocolate, and Vik Muniz, who uses sugar, chocolate syrup, peanut butter, and jelly to re-create paintings by the likes of Leonardo and Monet. Participants can also make their own art from materials including candies, bread, sugar, and chocolate syrup. Reservations required. $45.

ChicaGourmets' Art, Food, and a Play (PDF) Saturday at 12:30 PM offers salads, gourmet sandwiches, brownies, and wine along with a viewing of paintings by students at the Palette and Chisel gallery and a performance by Shaw Chicago of The Cassilis Engagement, about a proper British mother who disapproves of her son's fiancee, next door at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. 708-383-7543, $50.

Local nonprofit Purple Asparagus holds its first event for Project Dine Out, designed to help parents eat out with their kids, Tuesday from 5:30-8:30 PM at May Street Market. Chef Alex Cheswick will prepare a four-course dinner with wine pairings and Olivia Gerasole of Spatulatta will demonstrate a recipe from her new cookbook. $65 for adults, $25 for kids under 11.

Fat Cat has a Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday bash on (big surprise) Tuesday, starting at 4 PM and going until 2 AM. An all-you-can-eat buffet ($9.95) features crawfish boil, oyster po'boys, jambalaya, and king cake; there's also a costume contest. Some of the proceeds will benefit Make It Right, Brad Pitt's project to rebuild the lower Ninth Ward community destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. 

The Wine Discount Center features its new wines for February at its First Look Tasting Wednesday from 6:30-8 PM. The 35 to 40 on offer include La Posta’s 2006 Cocina malbec-bonarda-syrah blend from Argentina, Selvapiana’s 2005 Chianti Rufina, Mumm’s Carte Classique champagne, and Beckman’s 2005 Santa Ynez Valley cabernet sauvignon. Reservations required. $10.

Wine Enthusiast presents Toast of the Town tonight at the Field Museum, featuring over 500 wines and 30 restaurants. The "Grand Tasting" is $95 and starts at 7:30.

Friday at 5:30 mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim conducts a free tasting of "market fresh fruit" cocktails at Fox & Obel, 401 E. Illinois. Call 312-410-7301.

Saturday the Oak Park Conservatory's annual herb sale starts at 8 AM at 615 Garfield Street. Call 708-386-4700.

Kid-centric eating org Purple Asparagus is presenting a pizza making class at Spacca Napoli, 1769 W. Sunnyside at 2:30 pm Saturday. Tickets are $42 for adults; $16 for kids 5 to 12; 4 and under are free.

At 10 am on Saturday the Culinary Historians of Chicago host Patricia Wells on "Sensory Delights of the French Garden" at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark. It's $10; call 708-788-0338 to reserve. Then on Sunday at 11 AM she'll sign copies of her new Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate at Fox & Obel, 401 E. Illinois. Call 312-410-7301.

Saturday Beerfest comes to Navy Pier in two four-hour sessions starting at noon and 6 PM; all the beer you can drink from dozens of brewers for $47.50 at the door; $37.50 in advance. Later that night Three Floyds is hosting a kick off party for Gumballhead wheat beer at the Handlebar, 2311 W. North. Call 773-384-9546.

In Fine Spirits, 5418 N. Clark, presents the Andersonville Wine Walk, Sunday at 2 PM. $20 buys you a glass and 40 different wines. Call 773-728-7552.

Sunday at 5 Alpana Singh hosts a wine tasting to benefit Lifeline Theatre at Hotel Allegro, 171 West Randolph, Tickets are $100. Call 773-761-4477. 

Tuesday at NoMI in the Park Hyatt Chicago, 800 N. Michigan, sommelier Fernando Beteta conducts a "Women Winemakers from Around the World" tasting. It's at 5:30. Call 312-239-4030.

Also on Tuesday, at 7, chef Charlie Socher of Cafe Matou, 1846 N. Milwaukee, will be pairing dishes to wines of the Val de Loire. It's $62. Call 773-384-8911.

Tonight Goose Island brewmaster Greg Hall hosts a stout and cheese class at The Chopping Block, 4747 N. Lincoln. Hall will discuss the stout brewing process, suggest cheese pairings, and offer tastings. It runs from 7 to 9:30 PM and costs $40. Call 773-472-6700.

Friday is March of the Chefs, a four-course dinner organized by Slow Food Chicago and hosted by John Bubala of Timo. It's one of many such dinners happening across the land showcasing local, traditional ingredients. Proceeds go toward Slow Food Nation, a four day conference in San Francisco, planned for Spring 2008, to "promote and reinvigorate America’s diverse food traditions." It's $50 and starts at 6:30 PM at Timo, 464 N. Halsted. Call 312-226-4300.

Mario Batali and Alton Brown go head to head on Saturday with respective downtown appearances. Brown will be doing a knife demo at Crate & Barrel at 1 PM, 646 N. Michigan. Call 312-787-5900. Meanwhile, Batali will be signing copies of his new cookbook Molto Italiano at Fox and Obel, 401 E. Illinois, from 2 to 3 PM You have to buy the book to get in, but you can reserve a space as soon as the store opens at 7 AM. Call 312-410-7301.

WAVE chef Kristine Subido is hosting a Greek cooking class Saturday, the second in her "Global Kitchen" series exploring various ethnic cuisines. It starts at 2:30 with a shot of ouzo, and will cover olive oil, bread, tzatziki, olives, cheese, keftedes, grilled octopus, and cherry chocolate baklava. $35 gets you the class, the meal, a menu kit, and a satchel of spices. That's in the W Hotel, 644 N. Lake Shore. Call 312-943-9200.

Also on Saturday, the not-for profit, familycentric organization Purple Asparagus is hosting a kid- and adult-friendly Thai dinner at the excellent Elephant, 5348 W. Devon. Here's the menu. It starts at 2 PM and features traditional music and dance performances. It's $35 for adults, $12 for kids 5 to 12, and free for those 4 and under. More at info@purpleasparagus.com or call 773-991-1920.  

Monday is Common Threads Second Annual World Festival, a huge grazing to benefit the organization founded by Oprah chef Art Smith to introduce kids to world culture through food. The event features a bevy of national and local celebrity chefs and "talent," including Paul Kahan, Ming Tsai, Giada De Laurentiis, Gale Gand, Paula Deen, and a live auction hosted by Chili's spokesman Tyler Florence. Regular tickets are $125. It starts at 6 PM at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington; call 312-752-2692.

Foie gras scofflaw Martial Noguier of One Sixty Blue is hosting a cheese demonstration at Marsha--er, Macy's--on Wednesday evening at 6. He'll teach cooking, serving, and garnishing techniques as well as "share tips on the newest cheese craze, flat cheese." It's $65 at 111 N. State; call 1-800-456-2297.