Christkindlmarket Chicago – One Week Left!

If you:

-Need help getting into the holiday spirit

-Still need to get some Christmas gifts

-Are hungry for some meat

-Are thirsty for some Glühwein

Then head down to Daley Plaza for the Christkindlmarket.

The first thing I do when I am there is head to the Glühwein line. Depending on the time and day it can be long so by the time you order you might be a bit cold and ready for a warm drink.

The mulled wine comes in a souvenir boot you can get refilled and take home.

Next is the food line. I’ve been to the market more than a few times so have had the pretzel (comes in about 6 types), potato pancakes, brat, Thueringer, snowballs and curry sausage. All was good and pretty authentic, although any German will tell you, not so cheap. But hey, you are here for the novelty and entertainment.

If you have a sweet tooth there is a whole shop where you can buy kettle corn, cotton candy, gingerbread, roasted nuts and much more. Now that you have stocked up on all of the essentials you can peruse the many shops for your holiday gifts.

If you get cold there is a warming tent with tables to take a break. They have a live band at night and the sing-a-long participation is directly correlated to the Glühwein intake.

Great place to bring kids during the day with educational activities offered, check the website for event calendar. It does crowded at night but if you don’t mind a crowd it is a fun party. Usually Mondays are the least crowded. The market ends on December 24th so just under a week left to go. Prost!

Some history from the Christkindlmarket Chicago website:

Inspired by the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany, which began in 1545, the Christkindlmarket Chicago brings a cherished German and European tradition with international flair and local charm to Chicago. Chicago’s largest open-air Christmas festival was first held on Pioneer Court in 1996. By special invitation of Mayor Richard M. Daley, Christkindlmarket Chicago moved to Daley Plaza in 1997 and has become a stable event on the plaza ever since.

Get Dosed! | Dose Market & Open House Chicago

Image via Dosemarket.com

The Dose monthly market is tomorrow from 10am – 4pm at the River East Art Center.

Another great lineup of fashion, art and of course food. Some debuts by Salted Caramel caught my eye:  pretzel-graham toffee, Salted Caramel cocoa mix and salted bourbon caramel sauce.

Get Dosed! | Dose Market.

Image via openhousechicago.org

The perfect opportunity to see some of Chicago’s most important and fascinating architecture for free.  From the openhousechicago.org website:

“Over the weekend of October 15-16, 2011, the Chicago Architecture Foundation is proud to present openhousechicago 2011 (OHC), a free public event that gets you behind-the-scenes of many of the city’s greatest spaces and places and illuminates areas that are normally open “by invitation only”.”

You can plan your itinerary here.

Attention Oyster Lovers: Shaw’s Crab House – Royster with the Oyster Festival

Image via Shawscrabhouse.com

The  “Royster With The Oyster” 23rd Annual Oyster Festival and Tent Party started this Monday and continues through tomorrow at Shaw\’s Crab House. For anyone that likes oysters and a party, this is for you.

There is an Oyster Hall of Fame Dinner tonight at 6:30pm. $79/person. Friday Shaw’s hosts their Tent Party on Hubbard. There will of course be oysters but also other seafood on Shaw’s menu as well as live music. Live music starts at 3pm.

Last but not least, The Oyster Slurping Contest. Or as Shaw’s calls it,  “…Slurp-Off, is as simple as whoever slurps a dozen oysters the fastest, sans hands, wins.” That should be interesting to watch.

Image via Shawscrabhouse.com

Shaw’s Crab House: Fresh Seafood Events – Royster with the Oyster Festival.

The Weekend | 6th Annual Andersonville Dessert Crawl, Circus In The Parks & More

Beautiful weather this weekend makes just being outside enough of an activity but for those of you looking to combine food or entertainment with the outdoors here are a couple of ideas.

Image via brownpapertickets.com

The Andersonville Dessert Crawl is this Sunday from 2-5pm at the Swedish American Museum. This year there will be 3 routes to choose from:- Candy Cane Route

- Gumdrop Route

- Lollipop Route

Restaurants include M Henry, Ann Sather, Vincent, Swedish Bakery and many more.  Tickets and a complete list of restaurants for each route can be found here. Does not look like any route will leave you hungry or unsatisfied.

6th Annual Andersonville Dessert Crawl.

Circus In The Parks was created by Midnight Circus a troupe of performers and the Park Advisory Council to bring their show Chicago and to raise money for an ailing park that was about to become downsized. The show was a success and continues to grow and is in parks throughout Chicago.

All proceeds from the Circus in the Parks will be split between all participating parks to fund their local parks improvements. To date over $160,000 has been raised by this one-of-a-kind community event.

This weekends show will be October 8th & 9th at Mt. Greenwood Park  on 3724 W. 111th St., Chicago, IL. Ticket and showtimes can be found here.

Of course the Chicago Marathon is this Sunday. It will be a perfect day to be a spectator (for those of you not running) and cheer everyone on.

For some indoor activities:

Quay is serving a strawberry mascarpone tiramisu and will donate 20% of proceeds from the dessert go to benefit the H Foundation in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Image via Metromix.com

- “Girl in the Kitchen: How a Top Chef Cooks, Thinks, Shops, Eats & Drinks” – Stephanie Izard’s, of Girl and the Goat and Top Chef winner fame, new cookbook is available for your reading pleasure. Great gift for yourself or anyone that loves food. Hmm…my birthday is coming up, wink, wink.

Link to book info and details, here.

Image via GrubStreet.com

Chicago Beach Polo World Cup 2011 – North Avenue Beach

The weather was so nice on Sunday I was looking for something to do outside. Looking on the internets I saw, “Chicago Beach Polo World Cup” and was confused. Beach polo and Chicago don’t seem to go hand-in-hand but there it was. The first annual Chicago Beach Polo World Cup was this past weekend at North Avenue Beach.

Beach polo is played with three players per side vs. the regular four players in polo. This variation of polo is very young, starting in Dubai in 2004. Both men and women’s teams played in the cup. I missed seeing any of the women play but did catch the championship game. It was the perfect day to sit and watch something new with the Chicago skyline in the background.

The VIP ticket allowed access to the Kick-Off and Closing Party at Crimson, After-party at Cuvee and another Kick-Off party at Union Sushi & BBQ  (wonder how much alligator was consumed). Also to the high-end food and wine tents. I wish I could say that I attended and/or ate at any of these places but I was not a lucky VIP ticket holder. Maybe next year. I have a feeling this event will get bigger and bigger.

General admission is reasonable and it really is a great way to experience Chicago — no polo shirt required but the crowd, as you probably guessed, is very upscale. Great people watching, if you want to see some South American dandies  strut their stuff this is the place. But this being Chicago, everyone is welcome.

Chicago Beach Polo | Venue.

“A beautiful setting full of happy people” – Dose Market Chicago

The next Dose Market is this Sunday September 25th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m in the River East Art Center. Dose is a year-round monthly event that features local vendors that are handpicked for their food or fashion innovation. Food and fashion — can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Especially as the weather cools off and you need to escape indoors. The hot cider and looking at one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry will make the cold weather bearable.  If hot cider doesn’t do it for you they have drinks as well:

Image via dosemarket.com

You can find a list of vendors and event information here. I am looking forward to tasting the food, drinking the drinks and trying on the wares. I’ll post pictures and keep you updated on the next Dose Market.

A peek at some of the food line-up:
• Wild-caught Alaskan salmon and smoked salmon on New York Bagel + Bialy bagels with Zingerman’s cream cheese
• New candy company Sea & Cane’s sea salt caramels, pistachio cherry nougat and chocolate “sausage” logs
• City Provisions’ Bloody Marys, plus two exclusive beers brewed by chef Cleetus Friedman
• Sweet Cakes Bakery’s brioche bostock (think portable French toast), individual bread puddings and quiche
• Franks ‘N’ Dawgs’ fanciful sausage sandwiches

Some fashion visuals:

Image via mineralogydesign.blogspot.com

Image via cultureclubfashion.com

Market Info.

Dose Market – River East Art Center, 435 E. Illinois St., Chicago, IL

Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements | September 16-18, 2011 – Eckhart Park

Image via www.popmatters.com

Just another Chicago festival? The more I read about Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements the more I realized it did not sound like the typical Chicago festival. The About page of their site states, “Our ultimate goal is to create a distinct environment that allows a wide audience to be entertained with the most creative ideas and performers regardless of genre. As a production the event has no stylistic boundaries, it can  incorporate circus artists, music, comedians, short film and hopefully more.”

The creator is Mike Reed of Pitchfork fame. He designed the event to have something for everyone in a unique and oddly entertaining way. Its sounds intriguing enough to go see for yourself. Of course my question: Is there food?  Yes, there is FOOD. There will be a farmers market on Saturday and Sunday featuring some great Midwest vendors.

Besides the farmers market there are also a number of free events as well. Here are a couple:  Walk for Fun and for anyone that missed Renegade Craft Fair  last weekend, a Renegade Craft Fair Pop Up Market.

The website itself is really well designed and is packed with information so go there and check it out for more info:

Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements | September 16-18, 2011.

Eckhart Park (Chicago Ave. & Noble St.) Chicago, IL 60622

Chicago « Renegade Craft Fair & Other Weekend Fests

Even though the weather has indicated summer is over and fall has arrived it’s still nice enough to enjoy some of the last Chicago festivals this weekend. Here are a few of my favorites:

Image via withlovexox.com

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago - One of the best fairs to showcase handmade crafts and art. The emphasis for this fair is on original DIY works by artist. Even if you don’t end up buying anything it’s a visual treat to see new ideas and work that you won’t see at other Chicago fairs. Now for the real reason I love this fair, the FOOD:

Food will be available for purchase from Antique Taco, Big Bite Catering, and MANA Food Bar, while Black Dog Gelato and Puffs of Doom will be selling sweet treats. Intelligentsia Coffee will be on-hand providing your caffeine fix.

Beer will be available for purchase from Goose Island, and wine will be available for purchase from Lulu B.

via Chicago « Renegade Craft Fair.

Image via www.foursided.com

Lakeview East Festival of the Arts-  This is a great fest for families and art lovers. Artists in almost every medium will be represented including photography, printmaking, mixed media, ceramics, clay, collage, fiber, glass, sculpture, furniture and more. Unique and original artwork is on sale in all price ranges.

The Festival also hosts children’s entertainment featuring puppet shows, interactive arts and crafts and activities to foster an appreciation of fine art in the youngest participant. The Lakeview East Festival of the Arts hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Saturday) and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Sunday).

Image via gozamos.com

German American Fest - This is truly a party starting on Friday evening through Sunday in Lincoln Square. There will be a parade on Saturday at 2pm ending in Lincoln Plaza. Lincoln Plaza  located at Western, Lincoln and Leland. Admission is free. Entertainment-wise there will be traditional cultural programs with participation of many societies, plus German music for your singing and dancing pleasures. Last but not least great FOOD and lots of German beer. There will also be activities for children.

Taste of Greece 2011 – Greektown Chicago

Last weekend was Taste of Greece in Greektown and I did not leave hungry. My knowledge of Greek food is pretty limited, when I think of Greek food the Gyro comes to mind. I did have one and it was good (see pic below). But I was lucky enough to have my friend Dana with me who is 100% Greek and knows her Greek food and guided me through all the food options.

We were on a mission to get Loukoumades. These are Greek donut holes, fried and dripping in honey sugar syrup and dusted with cinnamon. Sesame seeds are often added on top. We found them at Artopolis. They were heaven, satisfying and provided a nice sugar high.

Artopolis also provided us with tasty Spanakopita, spinach pie. It was the perfect size to share with flaky crust and right blend of spinach, feta and spices. Sometimes there seems to be too much crust and not enough spinach or vice-versa. Artopolis got the balance just right.

We rounded it out with Loukaniko, Greek sausage. Rich flavor with hints of citrus I believe there was fennel as well. Wrapped in a quality pita it made a nice little sandwich.

Added bonus to the food, there was some surprisingly good sangria that really packed a punch. I will definitely come back next year!

PETER BJORN AND JOHN & JONAS | LONGMAN & EAGLE

Image via LongmanandEagle.wordpress.com

Longman and Eagle will be hosting an art exhibition starting tomorrow August 23rd and running through September 19th. The artwork will feature Peter Bjorn and John‘s latest record “Gimme Some” created by Jonas Torvestig. For those of you that have been to the Logan Square restaurant you know the wait is worth the farm-to-table food. If you happen to like whisky there are currently 148 selections.

L&E  was also just featured in the Bon Appétit restaurant issue for their Sweet Potato-Pork Belly Hash. Yum.

The band will be hosting an opening preview event tomorrow Tuesday, August 23^rd, at 10 pm at L&E. Go and eat some great food, hear some live music and enjoy some art!

PETER BJORN AND JOHN & JONAS | LONGMAN & EAGLE.