Friday food porn: Can you take all of Big Timmy?

Two half-pound beef patties, layered with cheddar, Jack, mozzarella and Swiss cheeses, piled with strips of bacon and onion straws and dressed with barbecue sauce, lettuce and red onion, then served with french fries and onion rings.

Night out: Fantastical circus evenings at Excalibur

 
At 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 28, BigTop JoJo, the fictitious ringmaster of the Towering Show of Wonder, turns Excalibur in River North into the “Phenomenal Phantasmagoria,” an innovative evening of storytelling, puppetry and original music, with a revolving roster of circus, burlesque, theater and musical acts, including the turtle boy, the mermaid, [...]

Don’t miss Chicago’s August summer festivals

Festival season continues in Chicago, with Taste of Little Italy, Northalsted Market Days and the Air and Water Show.

Will you pay more for ‘The Pause That Refreshes’?

Would increased taxes on soda pop make you give up Coke and Green River and drink water instead? Or will you just have a beer?

Eat this! Beer-can chicken, an upright bird

A whole chicken cooked upright with an open can of beer stuffed up its hindquarters, beer-can chicken has become a staple of summer cookouts.

Friday food porn: Seasons’ sexed-up hot dog

Through July 31, Seasons Lounge and Bar inside Streeterville’s Four Seasons Hotel Chicago serves this handmade version of a Chicago hot dog. (Part 4 of a series in honor of National Hot Dog Month.)

Hot Chicago hotel menu happenings

Chicago’s hotel restaurants are sizzling this summer. Here’s a sampling:

Stetson’s Chop House in the Loop’s Hyatt Regency Chicago has added a $38 three-course set menu to recently enhanced regular menu. Served daily before 6:30 p.m. and after 8 p.m., the prix fixe offers a choice of French onion soup or caesar salad to [...]

Friday food porn: Longman & Eagle’s funky funnel cake

More than fried dough: Longman & Eagle in Logan Square recently added this riff on summer carnival fare to its menu. The black pepper beef-fat funnel cake is topped with grilled foie gras, Spence Farm strawberries and wild chamomile, $15.

‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ to play in River North

It’s a timewarp!

Excalibur in River North begins monthly midnight screenings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” that 1975 musical classic, on Friday, June 25.

Friday food porn: Boning up at The Bristol

Sensually unctuous roasted beef marrow bones, served with toast for smearing and a seasonal garnish at The Bristol in Bucktown, $12. Bone appetit!