Pick A Fest: Pitchfork or Lolla?

Chicago attracts fans from all over who come to see Lollapalooza and the Pitchfork Festival. But now it's time to decide, which is the better festival? (Photo: Getty Images)


Our buddies over at NBCChicago.com just hooked up a poll to determine the fly-est local music festival, Pitchfork or Lollapalooza.

Check the stats, lineups, crowds, etc., then sound off on who you think is the best right here.

FYI, Lolla's winning right now!

Dig in . . .

Tortelli di Carciofi is just one of the masterpieces by Piccolo Sogno Executive Chef Tony Priolo—who's set to demo at the Taste of Chicago. (Photo: Piccolo Sogno)


. . . we're set for some well-deserved and amazing weather this weekend, so you should be fully aware of what's going down.

Get the bites, hit the benders, like tonight's annual A Midsummer Eve of the Eve hosted by HighSight. One of the summer's biggest bashes attracts a well-heeled crowd of young-ish professionals who come for the open bar, appetizers, silent auction and live music. This year, the food should be especially good as the party's being held at new American contemporary eatery Bluprint in the Merchandise Mart. Party happens 6-11pm. $50.

Parties, a parade and so much more going on this weekend . . .

THURSDAY

The 10th annual Eli’s Cheesecake/Wright College Farmers Market occurs every Thursday in the parking lot of the school. Get your fresh produce, flowers and artisan crafts, plus free breakfast if you arrive early. If you get there around lunchtime, they're also grilling Allen Bros. steaks and produce from the market. 7am-1pm. Free. 4300 N. Narragansett Ave.

In Fine Spirits launches its weekly Eat Local/Drink Local night with a tasting from Koval Distillery Spirits, the city's first boutique organic distillery. You'll get to taste 10 spirits paired with apps. 7:30-9:30pm. $15.

Toast to even more spirits at Experience The Art of the Cocktail at Luxbar, but if you want to get in you must RSVP ASAP. They'll be pouring complimentary cocktails infused with (ri)1 whiskey. 9pm-midnight. RSVP to rsvpchicago@mirrorball.com.

OK, so we love the sound of this: Rhapsody's 5 after 5 every Thursday. All items on the lounge menu are $5 after 5pm, including Michigan duck nachos, flatbread with Taleggio cheese and the Rhapsody dry-aged burger. They're also doing $5 glasses of red, rosé or white wine, so it's an ideal spot to wind down after work. Menu's available in the bar, lounge and patio area only.

FRIDAY

Those with children have through Sunday to take advantage of Kids' Restaurant Week, with prix-fixe menus (pay your age if you're under 11; $29 for kids and adults 12 and older) and family-friendly dining times of 5-7pm.

Maxwell's at the Club hosts an al fresco, wine-focused dinner on the terrace overlooking Chicago River. They'll have four stations set up with items like Southwestern flank steak, grilled summer veggie skewers and mini strawberry-blueberry shortcakes. All dishes are paired with seasonal wines. 6-9pm. $35.

It's time for Soul Joy, the city's grooviest party happening at the South Loop's Cuatro. Local underground spin stars Vick Lavender, Mario Romay and Celeste Alexander work the tables. You'll find only a tiny dance floor, but somehow they make it work. 6pm-2am. Free before 10pm- $5 after.

SATURDAY

Two key happenings at the Taste of Chicago: Zagat hosts a Sweet Treat Challenge at 11am in Dominick’s Cooking Corner (near Buckingham Fountain). Four students from Washburne Culinary Institute compete to create the best Chicago-inspired dessert. The winner gets a $1,000 scholarship, compliments of Zagat. There will also be giveaways for the first 100 people seated in the audience. Judges include Executive Chef Phillip Foss of Lockwood and Marc Schulman, president of Eli's Cheesecake. And at 1pm, Eli's Cheesecake fetes its 29th birthday with a 2,000 pound cheesecake in front of Buckingham Fountain. We're hearing they'll have some "celebrity" cake cutters, and of course, everyone gets a slice.

If you've always wanted to hit a luau, here's your chance. Moonshine's hosting a special pig roast, transforming Wicker Park's urban roadhouse into a scene out of Waikiki. Yeah, that means expect lots of kitschy stuff, including hula dancers, ukulele player and too many damn Hawaiian shirts (wear the tackiest to win prizes). But you'll get over it because they're doing $5 Mai Tais and pineapple mojitos, plus pulled pork sandwiches from the prized pig. Noon-2am. Free.

All summer long—seven days a week—Theory is doing half off on appetizers. That's 5-8pm Sunday through Friday, and 5-9pm Saturday. You'll also get to take advantage of a number of daily drink specials.

SUNDAY

Every bar and restaurant in Boystown will be crawling with people before and after the Pride parade, so you definitely won't be short on choices. But we're betting the best brunch deal's going down at minibar. The indoor/outdoor event will be out of control with unlimited mimosas and bellinis, plus an all-you-can-eat buffet. 11am-1pm. $25.

Another amazing brunch in the area happens at Angelina Ristorante, where you can get an entree and unlimited mimosas or bubbly for $20. Choose from the breakfast croissant (Canadian bacon, scrambled egg and smoked mozzarella, with home fries), Fritatta di Giorno (Italian-style baked omelet served with roasted potatoes and toast) or B.L.T. Club (toasted brioche, smoked bacon, baby arugula, tomato and pesto mayo). 10am-2pm.

And after Pride comes the party, and we love the idea of Bear Who?'s set at Forno Diablo. He'll actually be there all day, along with the drink specials, spinning deep house and hip-hop. 10am-5pm. No cover.

MONDAY

And Pops for Champagne is back on the chef track again for Shift Drink Mondays. Blue 13 Executive Chef Chris Curren will be behind the bar serving up his infamous Detox cocktail. We don't know what's in it, but that's the intrigue! 9pm-2am. No cover.

Have Ads Gone Completely Mad?!

Last week, Bacardi went and did this.

And now Burger King has gone a created an ad so overtly misogynistic that we're almost at a loss for words.

Here's the ad copy if you cannot read the fine print above:

"Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled with the NEW BK SUPER SEVEN INCHER. Yearn for more after you taste the mind-blowing burger that comes with a single beef patty, topped with American cheese, crispy onions and the A1 Thick and Hearty Steak Sauce."

No wonder I stopped eating fast food . . .

From the 'We're in the wrong biz!' files

312DD reported on Twitter Friday that Johnny Depp took some friends (including Public Enemies co-star Marion Cotillard) to Gibsons following the premiere of the John Dillinger biopic, but we didn't get this info that Sun-Times columnist Stella Foster uncovered:

"Depp and his entourage partied and relaxed at Gibsons till about 2:30 a.m. I understand that the bill came to $4,400 and that Mohammed A. Sekhani, aka Mo, who is known as 'the waiter to the stars' because they all love to sit in his section, received a tip from Depp to the tune of $4,000."

Foster goes on to say that the tip was split among Depp's tablemates, but whatever the case, this story is awesome and sets the bar pretty high when it comes to celebrity tipping. You know how cheap some of these guys have been rumored to be!

It's gonna be a scorcher . . .

. . . and while we know you're not complaining about today's heatwave, you certainly want to be somewhere fabulous to cool off with some mighty fine drinks:

Maven's hosting Mischieve in the Garden of Agave, a sexy, offbeat party with an open bar and deejays spinning sounds you love to hear. Comped cocktails 8-10pm; RSVP to mischieve@directiontourmarketing.com for admittance. At District Bar 8pm-midnight.

According to Delilah's, the city's first-ever absinthe tasting happens there tonight. You'll get to sample 16 different spirits available in the United States—including North Shore Distillery's Sirene. The tasting's also part of Delilah's Vincent Van Gogh bday celebration, which includes Van Gogh-related films. Deejay Mike Miller spins. 6-9pm. $20.

Settle on Red Kiva's spacious outdoor patio and enjoy a number of "adult" SnoCones. Our faves?! Mojito (Bacardi Superior Rum with muddled mint and fresh squeezed lime juice), Tropicana (Absolut Peach and Absolut Razzberry with tropical fruit syrup) and Cappuccino (Absolut Vanil with Starbucks coffee and cream liquors). $8 each.

Beer enthusiasts should head up to Affinia hotel's glamorous scenic lounge, C-View, for an all-new menu of distinctive large format beers. You'll toast to the 750ml bottles of Lindeman’s Peche Lambic ($14), Unibroue La Fin Du Monde ($23) and Unibroue Don Di Dieu ($23).



Rick Bayless, chef of Frontera Grill/Topolobampo, demos at Green City Market on Wednesday.


And Wednesday . . .

Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill/Topolobampo) is the chef du jour for the Green City Market. He'll slow-cooked Goat Birria at 10:30am, and you best believe if you want a seat you should arrive early. Market opens at 7:30am. Free. Also, catch him later on Bravo's Top Chef Masters at 9pm CST.

Several award-winning chefs duke it out in the Summer Market Mystery Soiree at Calphalon Culinary Center (1000 W. Washington Blvd.). Competing chefs include Michael Taus (Duchamp), Roger Herring (Socca), Chris Pandel (Bristol), Giuseppe Tentori (Boka), Bill Kim (Urban Belly) and Rick Gresh (David Burke’s Primehouse). $60 ticket includes summer-styled cocktails and samples of their signature dishes. 1-3pm.

Paul McGee (Whistler) and Charles Joly (The Drawing Room) go head to head in this week's Sweet 16 of Mixology at Perennial. Celebrity judge is Vie Executive Chef Paul Virant. Appetizers and sampling of competing cocktails. 6:30-8pm. No cover.

And the second-annual Chefs on the Grill happens at The Plaza at Park Grill with a number of high-profile, downtown chefs participating in a grilling competition. Chefs include Bernie Laskowski (Park Grill), Cliff Ostrowski (China Grill), Michael Fiorello (Mercat a la Planxa), Ben Walanka and Daniel Romero (Rhapsody), Michael Cisternino (Tavern at the Park) and Dirk Flanigan (The Gage). 6-8:30pm. $55 (a portion of the proceeds benefit the Grant Park Conservancy).

The Dana is doing it big!

Reggie Brown, Obama impersonator (Photo: Reggie Brown)


Last night was the first of the Random Acts of Dana, and man we should've been there!

The boutique hotel staged Chicago native, former hotel employee and Obama impersonator, Reggie Brown, to surprise two unsuspecting guests at a kick-off party with an over-the-top random act of kindness. The first recipient was extended a private dinner for six on the hotel’s rooftop lounge, Vertigo Sky Lounge, prepared by ajasteak Executive Chef Joshua Linton.

The second random act required group participation as all attendees to the kick-off party were given a hotel room key to test on the hotel’s Nirvana Penthouse Suite. One lucky cardholder gained access to the suite for a complimentary weekend stay at his/her convenience.

Through July 1 the hotel will extend more than 3,000 random acts of kindness to guests at the hotel as well as ajasteak, Vertigo and the spa at dana.

More Grocery Bistro drama

And so the drama continues . . .

MenuPages gets an interview with the lawyer for Grocery Bistro, whose executive chef called it quits on Sunday.

As 312DD wrote Thursday, the parents of former chef Andre Christopher staged a boycott outside the restaurant, claiming their son hadn't been paid in nine weeks.

Says the lawyer: "I have no idea why the van's out there when I've made an unequivocal offer of ‘let's sit down and try to work this out.' I think it's very unfortunate because the chef was a major part of making this a good restaurant. There's no question that his cooking and his work is what's helped make the restaurant what it is."

UPDATE: The chef claims the restaurant owes his entire family money. And an Ultimate Insider tells 312DD that Christopher is set to open his own restaurant, Little Bucharest, next week.

Fifty-One comments for a freakin' burger joint?!

So this happened again.

The Chicago Tribune's Cheeseburger Bureau Chief Kevin Pang (where the hell was this title when I was working there?!) writes about another Five Guys opening and folks go absolutely bananas.

Love the way people passionately fight over their favorite burger joints in the comments section, whether its for the chains or the locals (Kuma's Corner, Twisted Spoke, Top Notch Beefburgers) . . .