Chicago’s Weekend Menu Is Wild: Wings, Brats, Tacos and Top Chefs Are Taking Over the City
Chicago is not easing into fall; it is throwing a citywide food party. This weekend, diners can move from an all-out chicken-wing festival in Wrigleyville to Bavarian brats and beer in Lakeview, then cap the day with chef tastings and demonstrations at Millennium Park.
The calendar is unusually crowded, even by Chicago standards. Chicago Gourmet’s Grand Cru tasting, WingOut Chicago, St. Alphonsus Oktoberfest, the new Armitage County Fair and Clark Street Live all land between Friday, Sept. 25, and Sunday, Sept. 27, turning the first full fall weekend into a choose-your-own-feast situation.
Millennium Park is serving a chef-studded Saturday
Chicago Gourmet is in the middle of its citywide festival run, and Saturday brings one of its marquee events: Grand Cru at the Harris Theater Rooftop in Millennium Park. The tasting is scheduled for two sessions, from 2 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 10 p.m., with the earlier session listed as sold out on the festival’s official events page.
Stephanie Izard and Lee Anne Wong will host the afternoon Grand Cru session, while Sarah Grueneberg and Chris Shepherd will host the evening session. UnitedHealthcare is presenting the programming, and the festival has also scheduled chef demonstrations at the Pritzker Pavilion Stage on Saturday, with availability listed as “almost gone.”
Chicago Gourmet’s week has already featured several sold-out events, including Global Stage Dinner with Lorena Garcia, Kwame Onwuachi, Tony Priolo, Doug Psaltis and Mindy Segal; Tacos & Tequila with Rick Bayless, Marcos Carbajal and Diana Dávila; and Friday’s Hamburger Hop, hosted by Joe Flamm and Jeff Mauro. That kind of lineup helps explain why the festival has become a major date on the city’s culinary calendar, not simply another tasting event.[
Sunday keeps the momentum going with Rise & Shine Gourmet, scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. at the Harris Theater Rooftop. Art Smith and Erick Williams are listed as hosts, so anyone unable to make Saturday’s Grand Cru still has a chef-centered reason to make Millennium Park part of the weekend plans.
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Wrigleyville becomes wing central
For the more casual, sauce-on-your-sleeve crowd, the 11th annual WingOut Chicago will take over Gallagher Way at 3635 N. Clark St. on Saturday and Sunday. The event promises wing sampling, live music, adult beverages, competitions, and a crowd vote for Chicago’s top wings.
Organizers say participating vendors include Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap, Woodie’s Flat, Yak-Zie’s, Hattie B’s, Smoke Daddy, Hangry’s, Parlay Lincoln Park, Chef Maurice/Oooh Wee, Rizzo’s, Chkn Box, New Line Tavern, Prime Tacos, Base Hit BBQ, El Campeón, Bust Outs, King’s Chicago, Xurro, Whadda Jerk and Metro Wings. The lineup spans familiar Buffalo-style wings, plus sweet-and-spicy, wood-smoked, jerk, and honey-chile variations.
WingOut will operate in timed sessions. On Saturday, general-admission sessions run from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.; VIP entry begins at 11:30 a.m. Sunday general admission runs from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m., while VIP entry again begins at 11:30 a.m. The event says its VIP ticket includes all-you-can-eat wings and an inclusive sponsored drink package during the designated VIP window.
The festival is open to all ages, though guests must be 21 or older to purchase or drink alcohol, according to the event listing. Live soul, R&B, and reggae performances are also part of the plan, making this more than a speed-run through chicken wings. It is an entire Wrigleyville afternoon, and perhaps an excellent reason to keep napkins nearby.
Brats, pretzels and street-festival energy
Lakeview is getting its own food-and-festivities moment with the 24th annual St. Alphonsus Oktoberfest, running Friday through Sunday in and around St. Alphonsus Church at 1429 W. Wellington Ave. The festival’s centerpiece is a trio it calls the “three B’s of Bavarian cuisine”: beer, brats and bretzeln, the German word for pretzels.
“We are excited about the 24th Annual Oktoberfest celebration,” Rev. Brett Williams said. “Thank you to everyone who attends and comes out to help support St. Alphonsus Church, which continues to be the pillar in the community. Plus, there will be amazing food, drink and entertainment!”
Festival hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10 Friday and Saturday, while Sunday has a suggested $5 donation. Saturday’s entertainment includes a Sam Adams Stein Holding Competition at 7:15 p.m., a fitting challenge for anyone who has successfully navigated a weekend featuring both chicken wings and Bavarian pretzels.
Elsewhere, Time Out reports that Middle Brow’s inaugural Armitage County Fair in Logan Square will run Sept. 26 and 27 with local food and beverage brands including Lonesome Rose, Pretty Cool Ice Cream, Gretel, Marz and Giant. The new Clark Street Live in Wrigleyville will also bring food and drinks from local spots alongside two stages of live music.
The only real problem is deciding where to start. Whether the weekend calls for chef-driven tasting plates, a mountain of wings, a stein beside a bratwurst or a neighborhood street-festival snack, Chicago has built a food itinerary big enough to make skipping meals completely unrealistic.
Chicago’s Weekend Menu Is Wild: Wings, Brats, Tacos and Top Chefs Are Taking Over the City
Chicago is not easing into fall; it is throwing a citywide food party. This weekend, diners can move from an all-out chicken-wing festival in Wrigleyville to Bavarian brats and beer in Lakeview, then cap the day with chef tastings and demonstrations at Millennium Park.
The calendar is unusually crowded, even by Chicago standards. Chicago Gourmet’s Grand Cru tasting, WingOut Chicago, St. Alphonsus Oktoberfest, the new Armitage County Fair and Clark Street Live all land between Friday, Sept. 25, and Sunday, Sept. 27, turning the first full fall weekend into a choose-your-own-feast situation.
Elsewhere, Time Out reports that Middle Brow’s inaugural Armitage County Fair in Logan Square will run Sept. 26 and 27 with local food and beverage brands including Lonesome Rose, Pretty Cool Ice Cream, Gretel, Marz and Giant. The new Clark Street Live in Wrigleyville will also bring food and drinks from local spots alongside two stages of live music.
The only real problem is deciding where to start. Whether the weekend calls for chef-driven tasting plates, a mountain of wings, a stein beside a bratwurst or a neighborhood street-festival snack, Chicago has built a food itinerary big enough to make skipping meals completely unrealistic.
