—Food for thought: There are fewer than 100 days left until the presidential election.
—Pop life: Don’t forget my other Substack: “Pop-Eds: My takes on pop culture.” Thank you so much to the people who’ve already subscribed! Among other things and people, my latest columns discuss White Dudes for Harris, the Olympics and Donald Trump’s NABJ appearance. Subscribe to Andrew449.Substack.com for less than $5/month to get all my thoughts each week.
And now on to culinary items…
—The beat goes on: The Illinois State Fair will run Aug. 8-18 at the Fairgrounds in Springfield, and some of the acts slated to perform include the rock group Gin Blossoms; artist Shaboozey; country stars Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban; the Jonas Brothers; the heavy-metal group Mötley Crüe; The Smashing Pumpkins; and rapper Lil Wayne.
As for new food vendors this year, they include Cotton Landy (which serves cotton candy, of course), Food Baby (items such as doughnut burgers, fried pickle burgers and hand pies, among other items), Hae’s Inc (sandwiches, cake pops, lotus drinks, etc.), Homerun Grill (pizza), Indolishus (Indonesian ramen, potato twisters, Korean corn dogs, etc.), Potbelly and Shroom Shack (jackfruit and oyster mushroom nachos, “carrot cake” and more), among others.
For more info about the fair, visit this link.
—Cool: WNDR Museum, 1130 W. Monroe St., has recently debuted the WNDR Bar—a DIY ice-cream bar in partnership with Pretty Cool Ice Cream.
Starting with a vanilla bean or chocolate fudge ice cream bar base, guests can customize their treat by choosing three tasty toppings from a curated list of nine ingredients before topping everything off with their choice of a decadent chocolate drizzle. Novelty toppings include wild Thai bananas, bubu arare, Hawaiian toasted coconut, astronaut mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches, mini gummy bears, candied sunflower seeds, chocolate pebbles, Big Fat Cookie crumbs and a WNDR sprinkle blend. Two WNDR Whirlees are also now available at the lounge: Frosé (for guests 21 and older) and a non-alcoholic Blue Bliss flavor.
WNDR Bar is open to the public, and no museum ticket needed to enter the lounge.
—Dear deals: Dearly Beloved, 900 N. Franklin St., has a deal (or several) for you.
During happy hour (4-6 p.m.) on Wednesdays through Fridays, patrons can enjoy half-priced signature cocktails and special menu items. Said cocktails include the Basil & Cleopatra (Mushroom & Parmesan Bordiga Extra Dry, Faccia Brutto Centerbe, St. George Aqua Perfecta, orange flower water, Italian lemon olive oil and soda); The Diamond as Big as the Ritz (Cihuatan Cinabrio, Ming River Sichuan Baiju, lime, papaya, agave nectar and Peychaud’s) and the Last Kiss (Kyro Dark Gin, Luxardo Espresso Liqueur, Giffard Banane du Bresil, Faretti Biscotti Liqueur, Fee Foam, orange bitters, soda, coconut milk and Palo Santo smoke). Menu items include lamb gyro arancini and the Beloved Burger (which contains smoked bone-marrow aioli).
—Vive la France: Honoring the spirit of France in honor of the 2024 Paris Olympics, steakhouse La Grande Boucherie, 431 N. Dearborn St., has crafted a prix fixe menu that will be available through Aug. 29.
For $58, patrons can choose either Caesar salad or tuna tartare; oven-roasted cauliflower, steamed mussels, sugar snap peas and corn cream, or steak tartare (the latter with capers, cornichons, shallots, quail egg and crostini); and ice cream/sorbet or Basque cheesecake. Also, the $19 cocktail Pastèque a Paris (Grey Goose, St. Germain, watermelon, lemon, mint and soda) will be offered through Aug. 11.
—Shellfish behavior: Also on Aug. 5, spots will celebrate National Oyster Day.
At 4-9 p.m., the French brasserie Venteux, 224 N. Michigan Ave., will mark the day with $1 East Coast oysters. (RSVP here.) Moreover, on Wed., Aug. 7, 6-8 p.m., there will be a hands-on oyster shucking and Champagne pairing class, with Executive Chef Marcel Heiduk leading “Parisian Pearls.” (RSVP for the class, which is $79/person, here.)
Also, Shaw’s Oyster Bar, 21 E. Hubbard St., will offer half-price oysters at 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Check out more here.
The Smith, 400 N. Clark St., is also promoting its oysters, which include varieties from Prince Edward Island, Canada; Cotuit Bay, Massachusetts; Fishers Island, New York; and Puffer Petite oysters from Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Additionally, there’s the Martini Hour from Monday to Friday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., where guests can savor a half dozen oysters for just $13 or the royale platter for $29.
—Puppy love: A lot is happening Aug. 5. On that date, The Goddess and Grocer and PAWS are hosting a night of food, drinks and animal support with their Pours 4 PAWS event at Goddess and Grocer Fulton Market, 911 W. Randolph St.
Tickets ($40/each) include all-you-can-eat-and-drink access to various wine, beer and non-alcoholic tasting stations from various distributors as well as grazing stations, passed hors d’oeuvres and desserts courtesy of The Goddess & Grocer. Attendees will receive access to discounts on in-store purchases of select wines/beers from the tasting. Plus, there will be raffles of prize packages and goodies from the beer and wine vendors along with other local businesses.
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