Umami Burger Wicker Park One Year Celebration

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Umami Burger Wicker Park kicks off a One Year Anniversary celebration kicks off with a party 6-10 p.m. Sept. 18. The Boozy Brunch featuring the Boozy Brunch Combo (Sunnyside burger, maple bacon fries, bottomless mimosa; $28) will be available 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 19-20.

Special brunch drinks include: Stumptown cold brew ($6); maple bacon old fashioned ($6); bacon bourbon bloody or Michelada and One Hope bottomless mimosas ($12).

Food and drink specials through the weekend include drafts ($5); glasses of wine ($6) and specialty cocktails ($7). Also, the Calabrese (pictured) burger ($10) and Calabrese fries return for the occasion.

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Oktoberfest @Timothy O'Tooles

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Timothy O'Toole's Pub, 622 N. Fairbanks, celebrates Oktoberfest 11-4 a.m. Sept. 25-26. Highlights include 25-ounce bier steins, German bites and plenty of oom pah-pah music and lederhosen-wearing wait staff.

Food includes soft pretzels and spicy mustard ($7); bratwurst sandwich with sauerkraut and a choice of side ($10) and chicken schnitzel served mashed potatoes and spiced apples ($14).

Beers ($7) include Goose Island Oktoberfest; Sam Adams Oktoberfest; Leinenkugel Oktoberfest; Weihenstephaner Festbier; Ayinger Oktoberfest; Erdinger Fest; Great lakes Oktoberfest; Left Hand Oktoberfest; Metropolitan Afterburner and Bell's Oktoberfest.

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Chicago Mac & Cheese Fest

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Get your tickets before they sell out. Last year tickets sold out for the Mac & Cheese Fest long before a lot folk found out what the hoopla was all about. Tickets are on sell now for the Second Annual Mac & Cheese Fest, noon to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 24, UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt. Click here for ticket information.

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Stretch's New Daily Specials

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Stretch Bar & Grill, 3485 N. Clark, features food and daily drink specials, available on non-Cub game days, that include $5 32-oz Bloody Marys served in a Mason jar (Saturday and Sunday); $2 steak or chicken tacos (Thursday) and the $20 Six O'Clock Happy Hour deal, proceeds benefit the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, which raises funds for cancer research and provides support for children, and their families, battling cancer, 6-9 p.m. Friday. The cost includes cheeseburger and fries, or one appetizer; domestic bottles and well drinks. A $5 upgrade includes call drinks.

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2015 Chefs Hall of Fame Inductees

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Chicago Culinary Museum and Chefs Hall of Fame announced its 2015 inductees: Tony Mantuano (Chef of the Year, Spiaggia); Judy Contino, Pastry Chef of the Year (Bittersweet); J. Joho (Legendary Chef, Everest; Paris Club); Georges "Kiki" Cuisance (Industry Legend, Kiki's Bistro); Stephen J. Lombardo, Jr. and Hugo Ralli (Industry Leaders, Partners, Gibsons Restaurant Group). The induction gala is 5-9:30 p.m. Oct. 15, Crystal Garden, Navy Pier, 700 E. Grand. Congratulations to all the inductees. Click here for ticket information.

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Barbakoa's Toast to Mexican Independence Day

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Chef Dudley Nieto of  Barbakoa, 1341 Butterfield Rd., Downers Grove, celebrates Mexican Independence Day Sept. 16 with a lineup of drink and food specials that include a pig roast; $5 margaritas and green, white and red tamales ($5). Party festivities include a pinata.

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Kanela's September Specials

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Kanela Breakfast Club, participating locations, hosts September and Rosh Hashanah specials beginning Sept 8, through Sept. 30. As a salute to Mushroom Month guests ordering the wild mushroom and arugula Benedict (poached egg, arugula, wild mushroom, sriracha hollandaise, mornay sauce, English muffin) will receive a complimentary order of loukoumades, (pictured). One order per customer.

A $5 Matzo Ball soup special for Rosh Hashanah will be available Sept. 13-15.

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The Dawson's New Menu

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As we straddle between the tail end of summer and beginning of fall Chef Shaun King of The Dawson's, 730 W. Grand, introduces new "mid-season" dishes that includes: pork mac & cheese (Sausage House bacon ends, smoked shoulder, caramelized onions, herb breadcrumbs-pictured), baby artichokes (black garlic vinaigrette, almond, Parmesan, baby kale) and pan roasted scallops (creamed farro, Chantrelle mushrooms, corn crumble, apricot broth, fennel, pickled pluot). PHOTO: PORK MAC & CHEESE (NICOLE ESS)

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Renaissance Gets Creative with Cocktails

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Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel's, 1 W. Wacker, mixologist, taking notes on each guests, creates the perfect drink, using spirits from local distiller Koval, 6-9 p.m. Sept. 10. Cocktails will be designed based on the individual's preference for a sweet or sour libation.

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Chicago WingFest

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More than 60,000 chicken wings from Chicagoland’s favorite wing stops will be served up during WingFest, 1-7 p.m. Sept. 5, Bailey Auditorium, 1340 W. Washington. Highlights of the event include a woman's wing eating competition; man's wing eating competition and cooking demos. Proceeds benefit Variety: The Children's Charity of Illinois. Click here for participants and ticket information.

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DJ Lani Love Spins @Meals on Wheels Event

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Tickets for Meals on Wheels Chicago Celebrity Ball, 6 p.m. Nov. 13, Morgan Street Manufacturing, featuring the city's top chefs and entertainment by DJ Lani Love, go on sale Sept. 10. in addition to the 40 chef stations on the floor a VIP Chef's table, featuring a six-course prepared by three chefs and a mixologist,
will be available. Click here for event information.

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Prairie Grass Cafe Promote Sustainable Fish

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Chefs Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris of Prairie Grass Cafe, 601 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, are promoting sustainable fish with a weekly fish fry. The current feature is batter-fried wild Alaskan black cod, potato wedges and a peach and corn slaw; $28. The cod is pot caught in Petersburg, Alaska.

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Fountainhead's Rooftop Harvest Dinner

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Chef Cleetus Friedman of Fountainhead, 1970 W. Montrose, hosts a four-course dinner, paired with carefully selected libations that enhance each course, celebrating the fall harvest, 7 p.m. Sept. 16 on the whiskey bar's rooftop garden. Click here for ticket information.

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