thursday30
Toast of the Town, Wine Enthusiast‘s annual bash, features more than 500 wines and food from restaurants including Piccolo Sogno, Mirai Sushi, and Boka. 7-10 PM (VIP tasting starts at 6), Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., 800-847-5949, $75, $150 VIP.
friday1
The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust hosts a tasting of limited-edition wines from Raymond Vineyards at an event that features access to the normally private third floor of Robie House and a silent auction whose items include wines from chateaus Margaux and Lafite-Rothschild and overnight stays in other Wright-designed structures. 5-7 PM, Robie House, 5757 S. Woodlawn, 877-848-3559, $40.
American-influenced Belgian-style beers from Ommegang–including Hennepin Saison, Rare Voss, Abbey Ale, and Three Philosophers–will be pitted against its sister company Maredsous’s traditional Belgian ales, including Blonde, Brune, and Triple, at Battle of the Belgians. The beers will be paired with dishes like five-spice ribs with molasses glaze, barbecue mussels, eight-cheese garlic bread, and dark chocolate creme brulee. Fri 5/1, 7-10 PM, Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap, 41 East Superior, 312-266-0400, $25.
saturday2
Blue Sky Bakery celebrates its one-year anniversary with a tasting of sweet and savory doughnuts—including rosemary, rhubarb, and coconut varieties. Sat-Sun 5/2-5/3, 9 AM-2 PM, Blue Sky Bakery and Cafe, 4749 N. Albany, 773-478-2233, $5.
Restaurants including Mundial Cocina Mestiza and Nuevo Leon compete in a mole cook-off at Mole de Mayo. Attendees can sample the mole and buy margaritas, Micheladas, and beer. 11 AM-7 PM, El Zocalo Plaza, 18th and Paulina, $1 suggested donation.
Chef Paul Virant prepares a meal featuring fresh morels and finishing with a cheese course; Goose Island will be providing samples of Matilda, a Belgian-style ale. The morel hunt beforehand is sold out. Sat 5/2, noon, Vie, 4471 Lawn, Western Springs, 708-246-2082, $55, $20 kids under 12, plus tax and tip.
sunday3
Eric Aubriot will demonstrate how to cook flatiron steaks, which’ll be served paired with various wines. 2-4 PM, Taste Food and Wine, 1506 Jarvis, 773-761-3663, $15.
monday4
Sepia hosts a spring dinner by chef Andrew Zimmerman featuring duck and pistachio paté, foie gras croquettes, kona kampachi with shaved fennel, and rabbit with braised morels and asparagus, with wine pairings. 6:30 PM, 123 N. Jefferson, 312-441-1920, $80 plus tax and tip.
wednesday6
Doug Sohn of Hot Doug’s and Bruce Kraig, author of the new book Hot Dog: A Global History, discuss encased meats at a Chicago Foodways Roundtable lecture. 7 PM, Kendall College, 900 N. North Branch, 847-432-8255, chicago.foodways.roundtable@gmail.com, $3.