—Every Wednesday, French-Vietnamese restaurant Le Colonial, 937 N. Rush St., offers a chef-selected date night menu where a twosome can enjoy a three-course meal for $25 each. The meal includes an appetizer, main course, dessert and a glass of wine. Some popular past date night dishes are the cha gio (crispy Vietnamese spring rolls), the ga xao cari (a chicken curry dish) and the banana wonton. Visit www.lecolonialchicago.com.
—Taste of Latin America will take place Aug. 2-3 on the 3600 block of West Armitage Avenue (at Central Park); admission is free. Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sunday. There will be treats from more than a dozen Latin American countries and Caribbean islands, including Colombia, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Restaurants participating include Sabor Latino, The Scoop Neveria, Cemitas Puebla and La Bomba, among others.
—Frankfort, Illinois, restaurant Dancing Marlin (20590 S. Lagrange Rd.) has launched its new, seasonally inspired midsummer menu and announced its monthly Chef’s Dinner series beginning Aug. 20. New specials added the ceviche jar, octopus a la plancha, paella, pastrami tacos, turtle cheesecake bites and summer corn, among other things. Visit www.dancingmarlinrestaurant.com.
—Bar Takito, an offshoot of Takito Kitchen, will open in August at 201 N. Morgan St., and will be a Latin inspired shared-plate concept drawing inspiration from Mexico, Central and South America. The 3,000 square foot restaurant comes from the same hospitality group who opened Takito Kitchen in Wicker Park in March 2013. In the warmer months, Bar Takito will have a 60-to-80-seat patio along Morgan Street.
—The Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St., is expanding its annual Hot Dog Fest into a two-day event this year. The fest will be Aug. 9-10, and will feature Hutch, Select Cut Steakhouse, SiFu Chino Latino, Chicago Classics and more vendors cooking franks; there will also be live music, Goose Island beer, and entertainment for kids and families. Admission is free but discounted early-bird food-ticket packages are now available online; visit chicagohotdogfest.com/.
—The Taste of Andersonville Dinner Crawl will take place Wed., Aug. 13, 6-9 p.m.—and people can choose the Salt Route, the Pepper Route or both (The Whole Enchilada). Headquarters will be the Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St., with host restaurants located throughout the neighborhood. Tickets are $25 in advance, and $30 at the door; visit www.Andersonville.org. Some of the participating restaurants will include Vincent, Jerry’s Sandwiches, Terry’s Toffee and Andies.
—A Magnificent Taste, Chicago’s annual outdoor culinary event, kicks off Aug. 22, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Pioneer Court, 401 N. Michigan Ave., as a part of The Magnificent Mile Shopping Festival presented by MasterCard, which will take place Aug. 22-Sept. 1. A Magnificent Taste will feature Chef Sam Talbot, a Top Chef semifinalist (season two). Talbot will prepare a dish for guests alongside 15 Chicago chefs from top restaurants in the city to raise funds for Common Threads. Tickets are $125-$200; visit events.commonthreads.org/eventDetails.aspx?eventId=143.
—Pastry guru and Chicago Culinary Museum 2013 Pastry Chef of the Year Chef Alain Roby of the All Chocolate Kitchen announced the launch of his brand-new Exclusive Aroma Line, which features rectangular truffles in 20 exotic flavors. They are $2-$27 before tax; visit the All Chocolate Kitchen store, 33 S. Third St., in Geneva, or call 630-232-2395. Also, see www.AllChocolateKitchen.com.
—Bon Appetit presents Chicago Gourmet has announced an exclusive, newly added dinner to the 2014 event lineup: A Tribute to Charlie Trotter. On Saturday, Sept. 27, many of the world’s finest chefs—including Graham Elliot and Rick Bayless—will gather at Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago for this event, which will benefit Trotter’s Culinary Education Foundation. Tickets are $500 per person for the six-course dinner; see www.ChicagoGourmet.org.
—New York-based burger chain Shake Shack plans to open a second Chicago location in 2015, just months after the debut of its first, according to a Chicago Tribune item. The second Shake Shack will be on the ground floor of the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, a boutique hotel being developed at Madison Street and Michigan Avenue, across from Millennium Park. The first Chicago Shake Shack is set to open this fall at the corner of Ohio and Rush streets.
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