“The Dish” From TOC

With an abundance of concerts, neighborhood festivals, parades, and events taking place in Chicago this spring and summer, we thought we’d get the fun started by highlighting a few of the upcoming events. Ready, set… go!

You have probably heard of the Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza, but the lesser known neighborhood festivals are a chance for each neighborhood to show off its unique character and a true opportunity to get to know the city.  May 17-19 Mayfest kicks of the city’s festival season in Lakeview.    Lakeview’s offers diverse dining, shopping and entertainment and has a broad appeal to visitors and residents of all ages. Located on the North Side, it encompasses two popular districts: Wrigleyville, home of Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs; and Boystown, one of the nation’s largest and most vibrant LGBT communities. The cost of admission is $10 but well worth it for the food, shopping, drinking, and music options inside.

If you didn’t get your fill of parades over St. Patrick’s Day, your next opportunity is the annual Memorial Day Parade taking place on May 25^th.  The parade, one of the largest Memorial Day parades in the nation, will start at 12 noon at State and Lake and head south to Van Buren on State (not far from Lou Malnati’s South Loop or River North).  Admission is free and its family friendly option if you’re in town for the long weekend.

If it’s music you’re after, the options (many free!) are abundant. The local festivals often feature local bands, and are awesome opportunities to see some of Chicago’s most talented yet unknown bands.  Millennium Park offers a concert series throughout the summer.  Lawn seats are free, so bring a blanket and picnic basket and enjoy!  In Highland Park, a northern suburb of Chicago, sits Ravinia.  Known as Chicago’s “sound of summer” since 1904, Ravinia offers nightly concerts and a schedule packed with variety.  Tickets are available to sit in the pavilion, but the true Ravinia experience is found on the lawn with a blanket, a picnic, candles, and friends. 

Contributed by Meggie L.

Mother’s Day is coming up on May 12th and I’ve been thinking about some fun things that my Mom would enjoy doing on “her” day.  Of course, the final decision will be hers, but I can always offer up some fun ideas :).

Classic choices include going to brunch, taking a stroll through the park, visiting the zoo, and helping Mom plant her garden.  But what if you want to do something outside the box?

• Chicago’s Original Brewery Tour:  Hop aboard the Chicago Brew Bus and check out some of Chicago’s best breweries!
• Tommy Gun’s Garage Interactive Dinner Show:  Channel your inner gangster and brush up on your flapper skills at the longest running interactive dinner show in the city.  It’s even set in a 1929 Chicago speakeasy.
• Fashion at the Field Museum: If Mom loves fashion then you should definitely check out the Maria Pinto exhibit at the Field Museum.  
• Chicago Architecture River Tour:  See the city from the best seat in town on board a Shoreline Sightseeing boat!  You’ll see dozens of famous buildings and hear their history in this hour long tour.

Those are just a few ideas to get your creativity flowing.  There are so many places to see and things to do in Chicago that the options are endless.  If you want some more ideas, check out Metromix.

If you’re looking for the perfect gift, you know Tastes of Chicago is here to help, too.  Check out some of the sweet treats we have just for Mom:

Head on over to our website to see some more goodies.

Contributed by Meghan R.

Happy Administrative Professionals LifeSaver Week

This week we celebrate the nearly 4.5 million administrative professionals that are part of the U.S. workforce.  Don’t miss the perfect opportunity to recognize office administrators for their many skills and talents for keeping everyone in place and everything in balance.

If your office is anything like ours, you probably can’t imagine life without your administrative professionals!

When the Bulls and Knicks face off tonight, the Knicks will be fighting for home court advantage in the playoffs.  Meanwhile, the Bulls are looking to snap the Knicks’ impressive 13 game winning streak, and secure a spot in post-season play.

But the rivalry doesn’t stop there.  Bragging rights are on the line. 

Bulls vs. Knicks
Windy City vs. Big Apple
Chicago Style Deep Dish vs. New York Style Foldable Thin Crust 

A randomly selected winner has been chosen from the pool of entrants that picked Louisville as the winning team in our Malnati Madness promotion!  Congratulations to Dom L. of St. Charles, IL!  Thank you to everyone who participated!

Who would have thought that there would be a day dedicated to deep dish pizza?  It’s not surprising when you think of the history.  Lou’s grandmother ran a trattoria in Barese, Italy and every Friday, Lou would join his grandma in making bread.  She would reserve some of the bread dough and spread it with tomato sauce and leftovers - cheese and sausage - and then bake it.

Lou may have gotten his start in the business in the 1940’s working in Chicago’s first deep dish pizzeria but it was his childhood upbringing in Italy where everything took off and eventually led him to open his own pizzeria in Lincolnwood.  From the start, Lou’s has been known as a family-style restaurant where people get together to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and more of life’s major milestones.

I have many fond memories of celebrating birthdays, new jobs, and college acceptances with my family over slices of deep dish right from the pan.  Lou’s helped make those lasting memories more enjoyable, and tasty, because that’s what Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria is about - family.  

Whether we’re serving up slices at one of our pizzerias in the Chicago area or packing our signature red box with a stack of deep dish, we’re honored to be a part of families celebrating life.  So get one of those pizzas out of your stash in the freezer and let’s get to celebrating National Deep Dish Pizza Day - the best “holiday” of all… well, at least to us ;-).

Contributed by Meghan R.

One of the great Chicago traditions is the Cubs opening day at Wrigley Field.  It is a tradition that I haven’t missed in 20 years, and one that I think every Chicago fan should experience in his lifetime.  After all, it is a time of hope (and every Cub fan knows about hope!).  Hope that spring is finally here, and hope that the Cubs are going to be better this year than last.

This week the Cubs come home to start their season.  Even if you can’t be there, start your own Chicago-style tradition.  Place an order for a Lou’s deep dish pizza and a sports gallon tin of Garrett Popcorn Shop’s famous Chicago Mix, pour yourself a beer, and catch the game on TV.  Sit back and join other Chicago fans as they celebrate spring – the season of hope!

Contributed by Mindy K.

It may be April Fools Day, but this offer is no joke!  When you order a six-pack of tasty deep dish pizza, you get a seventh free.

See the best pranks of all time at The Museum of Hoaxes, and watch your back today!