Wine Spectator Award of Excellence

A number of Chicago and surrounding area restaurants were honored with Wine Spectator's 2014 Restaurant Award, including TRU, which received three glasses, Purple Pig, Nomi Kitchen and Les Nomades. Rosemont's  Rosewood Restaurant also made the list. The complete list is in the Aug. 31 issue, now on newsstands. www.winespectator

Taste of Latin America

Latin food, wine and art take center stage during Taste of Latin America, beginning 11 a.m. Aug. 2-3 on Armitage from Central to Avers. tasteoflatinamerica 

Vie Turns Ten
Paul Virant of Vie, 4471 Lawn, Western Springs, celebrates his restaurant's 10th anniversary with a "greatest hits" menu, featuring ten of the restaurant's most popular dishes through the years, available Aug. 11-16. opentable

TWO Celebrates Second Anniversary

In celebration of its second anniversary TWO Restaurant and Bar, 1132 W. Grand, is offering a pulled pork and beer special for $10. Chef Tom Van Lente's, Swan Creek Farms' smoked suckling pig, cooked using apple wood chips, is pulled and served on a bed of roasted parsnip puree, locally-grown corn and smoked pork au jus, topped with a pea shoot salad. The specialty dish, paired with a rye pale ale from Begyle Brewery will be available from 5 p.m. to closing Aug. 1-8. 113two

Kit Kat Goes Live With "The Sound of Music"

Diva Madame X performs the songs from "The Sound of Music" during a sing-a-long brunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 27 at Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club, 3700 N. Halsted; $14.95. kitkatchicago.com

Craft Beers Arrive at Blue Door Farm Stand

Beginning today (July 23) Blue Door Farm Stand, 843 W. Armitage, is now serving craft beers. Selections carried at the forme BYOB include Dark Horse Brewing Company Crooked Tree IPA; Vandermill Totally Roasted Cider; Smuttynose Brewing Company Robust Porter; Two Brothers Brewing Company Domaine Dupage; Penrose Brewing Company Pronto Gradus; Glutenberg Red and Anderson Valley Brewing Company Summer Solstice. bluedoorfarmstand 

Frontier's July Foodie Dinner

Those foodie dinners just keep coming. Up next: a lamb inspired "So You Think You're A Foodie" dinner, 8 p.m. July 30, 1072 N. Milwaukee; $65. frontier

El Tapeo Opens July 31

Chef Franco Diaz heads up kitchen duties at the soon-to-open El Tapeo restaurant located on the 9th floor of the Le Meridien-Oak Brook, 2100 Spring Road. The Spanish-influenced restaurant will feature authentic tapas dishes and crafted cocktails along with main dishes that include Paella de Langosta (bomba rice, Maine lobster, spicy chorizo, mushroom, mussels and lemon and garlic aioli. lemeridienoakbrook.com 

Old Irving Park Beer & BBQ Challenge

Chefs and Craft Brewers square off during the First Annual Old Irving Park Beer & BBQ Challenge 2-5 p.m. Aug 2 in the St. Viator School Parking Lot, 3644 N. Kedvale; $60. beerbbqchallenge

Frontier's Crawfish Boil

Frontier, 1072 N. Milwaukee, hosts an all-you-can-eat crawfish boil noon to 4 p.m. July 20; $35. frontier

Downtown Dogs Salutes National Hot Dog Day

Downtown Dogs, 804 N. Rush, will donate $1 from every hot dog sold on July 23 (National Hot Dog Day) to Paws Chicago. downtowndogs

Nacional 27 Mojito Class

Nacional 27, 326 W. Huron, beverage manager Elyse Fuller conducts a mojito class 6 p.m. July 30; $15. Fuller will demonstrate how to make three cocktails: N27 Mojito (Brugal rum, mint syrup, lime juice, soda); Hennessey Mojito (Hennessey, mint syrup, lime juice, mint, lime, ginger beer) and the Chadwick Mojito (10 Cane rum, pomegranate juice, habanero ginger syrup, mint, lime, soda). Passed tapas will be served. n27

Mariachi Hospitality Group 's Tour of Mariachis

Mariachi Hospitality Group hosts a Lakeview Restaurant Crawl starting 6:30 p.m. July 24 on the patio of El Mariachi Tequila Bar and Grill, 3420 N. Broadway. The next stop is Revolucion Mexican Steakhouse then on to Tutto Fresca Trattoria; $60. mariachihospitality

Bootleggers Tap Takeover

Revolution Brewing kicks off  Bootleggers', 13 W. Division, Tap Takeover Tuesdays July 22. The weekly takeover features six craft beers from the brewer of the week. Upcoming events, listed below, begin 7 p.m. every Tuesday; $18 for 24-oz flights. During the event Mahoney's Pub & Grille will provide chicken wings made with one of the beers from the brewer of the week. bootleggers

July 29: Firestone Walker Brewing – Paso Robles, CA

August 5: Dogfish Head Brewery – Milton, DE

August 12: Founders Brewing Company – Grand Rapids, MI

August 19: Goose Island Brewery – Chicago, IL

August 26:  New Holland Brewing – Holland, MI

September 2: Brooklyn Brewery – New York, NY

September 9: Speakeasy Ales & Lagers – San Francisco, CA

September 16: Brewery Ommegang – Cooperstown, NY

September 23: Pipeworks Brewing Company – Chicago, IL with

The Grill on the Alley Tasting Menu

Chef Jorge Alvarez of The Grill on the Alley, 909 N. Michigan, kicks off a four-part tasting series July 17. The menu (available on Thursdays only through Aug. 7) include an alcohol or beer pairing and range from $55-$115. Tickets must be purchased in advance. thegrill

Bread & Wine's Tuesday Tasting in July

Bread & Wine's, 3732 W. Irving, three-course "Tuesday Tasting" menu for July is first course: corn chowder, green onion crab salad; second course: pork chop, sweet corn ratatouille, ricotta cheese and third course: lemon corn rice pudding; $30; $50, includes wine or beer pairing.

The restaurant has also added a Rose to its wine list. As part of the launch the vintage will be included in B&W's "Wine Wednesday" (half-price bottle of wine with dinner purchase) special July 9 only. breadandwine

Eddie Merlot's Introduces Summer Menu

Eddie Merlot's Napa Valley Grill summer menu launched July 1. The seasonal menu includes the Napa salad (pictured), barbecue double-cut pork chop; 7 oz. natural filet mignon; citrus-glazed grouper and roasted half chicken. The menu will be available through Aug. 31. A dinner for two special, which includes a bottle of wine from the Trinchero Family Estates, is $89.95. eddiemerlots

Takito Launches New Specials

Takito Kitchen, 2013 W. Division, kicked off its new menu item during $3 fried chicken taco Wednesdays. The taco, crispy chicken in a hot sauce tortilla with Hook's cheddar, herb aioli, Urban Till lettuce (with or without sesame seeds), is available all day for $3 each. On July 4th Chef David Dworshak will offer $20 pairing specials. takitokitchen

Clark Street Dog Celebrates National Hot Dog Month

The Mac Daddy (Vienna beef dog topped with creamy homemade macaroni & cheese, $4.29) is Clark Street Dog's, 3040 N. Clark, burger of the month. The selection was the winner of the restaurant's first-ever B.Y.O.D. (build your own dog) contest held in June. It will be available through July. clarkstreetdog