Oct. 21--All-you-can-eat mac 'n' cheese and a day of free cooking demos top this weekend's food events:
DO MORE!
Get your mac on at the second annual Mac Cheese Fest, where chefs from more than 50 Chicago restaurants dish out their cheesiest pasta in hopes of winning one of the festival's Golden Noodle awards. Two-time winner Kitty O'Sheas will return to the battlefield, along with Cheesie's, Bub City, Knife Tine, Porkchop and many more, serving everything from lobster mac to pulled pork mac 'n' cheese bites. A general admission ticket ($60) also scores you five drink tickets for beer or spirits; a VIP ticket ($100) tacks on priority check-in and access to a VIP area with a bar. noon to 3 p.m. or 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at the UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road, www.macandcheesechicago.com.
SPEND LESS!
As part of the James Beard Foundation's Taste America event series, attend a day of free cooking demonstrations, tastings, cookbook signings and product demos. Participating chefs include James Beard award winner Mark Ladner, of New York's Del Posto, and Tanya Baker, from The Boarding House in River North. The day kicks off with a Nespresso coffee tasting at 9:30 a.m.; stick around to sample charcuterie from West Loop Salumi a little later in the morning. Events are free, but RSVP to guarantee seating (maximum two guests per RSVP). 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at Sur La Table, 900 N. Michigan Ave., www.jbftasteamerica.org/event/chicago
