Entries associated with the tag "Whole Foods FlavorFest":

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.

Gourmet market owner Sara Foster discusses Sara Foster's Casual Cooking, her third cookbook, Friday at noon at the Book Stall.

Friday at 8 PM, the Architrouve presents Synaesthesia, a wine, music and visual art happening for which sommelier Jeremy Quinn will pair wines to the music of sax player Frank Catalano, who will in turn match his music to the gallery's current exhibition, "This Side of Hope." Tickets are $40; reservations are recommended.

Saturday at 10, Culinary Historians of Chicago presents "Greektown in All Its Glory," a talk by Alexa Ganakos at the Chicago History Museum. It includes a food tasting, and Ganakos will sign Greektown Chicago: Its History -- Its Recipes; admission's $5 for the general public, $3 for students, and free for CHC members.

The Whole Foods FlavorFest is this Saturday from 11 AM to 9 PM and Sunday from 11 AM to 8 PM in Jonquil Park. It boasts "more free samples than you can shake a stick at," though "free" may be an overstatement -- there's a $5 suggested donation to benefit the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce. In addition to the food, there are cooking demos, an eco-chic fashion show, live music, an farmers' market, and a children's pavilion.

Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse hosts a class on organic pest and disease control for your vegetable garden on Saturday from 10 to noon with the greenhouse's own Kirsten Akre and Angela Mason of the Chicago Botanic Garden. The fee is $20; registration highly recommended.

Crust hosts a family dinner Sunday from 4-6 PM to benefit Purple Asparagus, a non-profit organization "dedicated to bringing families back to the table." There'll be a live auction for a guest spot on the webcast Spatulatta and silent auctions for several more prizes. Tickets for adult members are $45, $50 for non-members; kids' tickets are $10 for members and $12 for non-members; kids under 5 are free.

The Southern Food and Beverage Museum's "Rebirth of the New Orleans Restaurant Industry" exhibit opens Monday at Kendall College and continues through September 21. It "explores the scope of devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans' restaurant industry...and the importance of this industry to the recovery of the city's economy, culture and singular cuisine."