Chicago's Culinary Crossroads NATO Promo Starts Today

With the arrival of the NATO Summit later this month, the Illinois Restaurant Association has teamed with more than 200 restaurants around Chicagoland to promote the city's dining scene. So between May 1 and May 25, Chicagoans can hit many spots to check out special tasting menus, dishes and desserts and drink some great wine and cocktails that all represent the visiting NATO nations.

This Thursday, a number of restaurants, including Piccolo Sogno, Henri/The Gage, Bistronomic, Phil Stefani's 437 Rush, Rhapsody and Signature Room at the 95th, will host dinners pairing the local chefs with visiting chefs from all over the world, like Latvia, the UK, Norway, Canada and Italy, for special dinners. Next week, Keefer's will host José Luis Estevan Mataix from Madrid. All the dinners are open to the public. Call each spot to reserve.

Over the next few weeks, hit at least three of the participating restaurants and register a culinary passport for a chance to win passes to Chicago Gourmet, which includes tickets to the Grand Cru tasting event and a two-night hotel stay. Not bad for just going out to eat.
· Chicago's Culinary Crossroads [website]

Piccolo Sogno [Photo: Barry Brecheisen]