'Top Chef' Stars To Bartend At Hotel Thrillist

Chefs Grayson Schmitz (left) and Dale Levitski

Just about every notable local bartender will be away this weekend for the annual Tales of the Cocktail down in New Orleans.

Of course you'll still be able to get a well-made cocktail around town (or maybe stick to drinking beer or wine!), but their absence leaves room for some other stars to shine behind the bar.

Specifically it's a couple of chefs you may have heard about: Top Chef alums Grayson Schmitz and Dale Levitski, who will serve as special celebrity bartenders at the Hotel Thrillist.

Important Fundraiser For MANA Line Cook

Ashley Pruneau (Photo: Facebook)

MANA Food Bar line cook Ashley Pruneau was brutally attacked with a hammer in her home earlier this month by an unknown assailant. The guy beat her around the head so badly that she required emergency surgery, but she's going to require another one. Add to that the mounting hospital bills, and she's in dire need of some assistance.

According to Eater Chicago, MANA's already set up a recovery fund, and now one of her former employers, Letizia's Fiore, is also pitching in.

How To Be A VIP at GT Fish & Oyster . . .

GT Fish & Oyster partners Kevin Boehm (left) and Giuseppe Tentori possibly discussing their next VIP customer. (Photo: GT Fish & Oyster)

If you're like me, you've seen those coveted, bronzed nameplates at GT Fish & Oyster's bar and seriously wanted to be down.

Now the secret's out in this new video on how to get one with your name brandished across it. It's not an easy task at all, but I think a 312 Dining Diva nameplate would look awesome right in front of that oyster bar!

Patrick Fahy Now At Trump's Sixteen

Pastry Chef Patrick Fahy during his days at Blackbird. (Photo: Blackbird)

This bombshell just dropped in my inbox:

Sarah Kosikowski quietly left her position as executive pastry chef at Sixteen and Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago at the end of June to work for Valrhona Chocolate.

Taking her place on July 30 will be Patrick Fahy, who was most recently at Cafe Des Architectes. He also garnered rave reviews for his work at avec, Blackbird and Publican (where he received a James Beard Foundation Award nomination in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category).

Who else is coming aboard?!

Do This: Four Fab Foodie Fetes

(Photo via San Francisco Examiner)

Here are a few heavy-hitter chef events coming up. The best part is that there's something for every budget—from $25 to $250—and you'll go home feeling satisfied:

BBQ Beasts & Blues. Three Aces' Matt Troost has gathered some of his culinary cohorts for an event to support MEMA-Music, a nonprofit organization motivating youth through music.

Who's Involved: Each chef [Troost, Mark Steuer (The Bedford), Chris Curren (Stout Barrel House & Galley), John Manion (La Sirena Clandestina)] will prepare a whole animal (think whole pig, lamb, fowl and/or goat) with accompanying side dishes. Bonus: Live music from Chicago blues artists Mississippi Gabe Carter, Matt Hendrix and Dave Herrero.

When & Where: 4-10pm Sunday, July 22 at Three Aces.

$: $25 at the door only

Best Views For Air & Water Show!

The view from above at the J. Parker at Hotel Lincoln. (Photo: 312 Dining Diva)

Unobstructed, 360-degree views of the lakefront.

That's what you will get at J. Parker, the snazzy new rooftop lounge set to open July 30.

It's owned by the Boka Restaurant Group (Girl & The Goat, GT Fish & Oyster, Perennial Virant, etc.), so expect an impressive cocktail and cuisine menu.

Should We Stop Tipping Bartenders?! Why One Writer Thinks We Should . . .

Here's a guy who barely drinks, yet believes that tipping your local bartender is a waste of $$$. He thinks you should be tipping instead your mail carrier, bus driver, pilot . . . basically anyone other than a bartender.

More of his thoughts on the subject:

Bourdain Impresses Staff at El Ideas

The Layover host Anthony Bourdain may have canceled one appearance while he's in town, but he most certainly showed up for his reservation Tuesday at the innovative BYOB El Ideas in West Pilsen.

The ecstatic owner/chef, Phillip Foss, had this to write about the experience: