"Chill and Grill" in Lincoln Park this Weekend

By Anthony Todd in Food on May 20, 2011 3:40PM

Better Homes and Gardens and Weber Grills are throwing one heck of a party this weekend in Lincoln Park - a "Chill and Grill."This Saturday and Sunday, watch grilling demos, take classes on better outdoor fire-cooking and sample tastes from some of Chicago's best restaurants. Admission to the festival (and all the demos) is free, and you can see some of Chicago's best, including Stephanie Izard, the Hearty Boys, Gale Gand, Ina Pinkney, Steve Dolinsky and others, share their best grilling tips. More on the schedule after the jump.

The event is jam-packed with stuff, and the schedule is a little confusing to navigate. Here's the skinny. On the "Main Stage," large-scale demos will be going on throughout Saturday and Sunday. There will be a Grilling Showdown on Saturday afternoon, and a workshop hosted by Steve Dolinsky entitled "3 Courses in 30 Minutes: All on the Grill." If the large demo isn't your style, there will also be plenty of smaller seminars - these are free, but require a sign-up in advance, at the event. Ina Pinkney will be hosting "Breakfast on the Grill" Saturday at 11:15, Gale Gand will be cooking up "Irresistible Grilled Desserts" at 1:30 on Sunday, and Susan Goss (of West Town Tavern) will be showing you how to "Grill it in a Skillet" and make grilled ratatouille on Saturday at 5:15. There are more - check the schedule for exact times. Going on throughout, there is live music, cookbook signings, kids activities, a lounge area...there are even tutorials on grilling at home, for an additional fee - though we're not sure how you'd fit them in!

With all this grilling, you're gonna want to eat. A lot of great restaurants, including Belly Shack, Girl & The Goat, Hearty, HotChocolate, Nacional 27, West Town Tavern and more will be serving up tastings. You have to buy a "tasting card" with 12 punches for $12. 1 Punch gets you a soda, 3 gets you a restaurant tasting, 4 gets you a beer and 5 a full-sized grilled sandwich. Not a bad price ($5 for a sandwich) considering the event is free to attend. Be sure to buy your tasting cards online in advance - at the event, the price increases to $15.

It's gonna be a great show. We'll be roaming around on Sunday - come say hi!