Thursday, June 27 Rush Hour Music With Lee Barrie at the Chicago French Market

Thursday, June 27 Rush Hour Music – Lee Barrie
4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Complimentary

Lee Alec Barrie is a contemporary jazz guitarist whose style has been compared to Larry Carlton,
Chuck Loeb and other popular contemporary jazz guitarists.  Barrie was professional by age 14, starting out with a teenage rock band, playing Beatles, Beach Boys and Chuck Berry tunes plus some classic R&B.

These early musical relationships lasted well into his twenties and he had the privilege of recording with Lipps Inc., a Minneapolis-based band best known most for its number one hit “Funkytown” in the late 70’s. Barrie’s evolution as a guitarist was accelerated when he began to experiment with a Roland guitar synthesizer, which allows his electric guitar to take on the sound of a wide range of instruments. He now has the opportunity to solo as a saxophonist, flutist, organist, violinist and many others, all while playing on the guitar. He chooses the instrument based on the style and mood of the song.

Barrie’s idea for a “virtual band project”—whereby he plays solo over his pre-recorded jazz backing tracks—evolved naturally. Having taken a break from professional performances for a number of years, he became a self-taught jazz pianist, which gave him the technical and musical skills to arrange and record his own instrumental backing tracks at his home recording studio.

A rush hour featuring the live music of Lee Alec Barrie, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. June 27 is sure to be an energizing and memorable experience.

Make Music Chicago at the Chicago French Market

Friday, June 21 Make Music Chicago
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Complimentary

Make Music Chicago is a live, complimentary musical celebration across the city that takes place each June 21. Throughout the day, people of all ages and from all backgrounds – beginners, amateurs, professionals, and marquee artists – gather in Chicago’s public spaces to make music of all genres. Make Music Chicago comes to the Chicago French Market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Stop by and enjoy the sound.

Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine Introduces New House-made Pesto and Picnic Baskets for Two

Just in time for summer, Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine introduces a new house-made pestousing a special blend of fresh basil, lemon, toasted almonds, pecorino and olive oil. The new pesto is the perfect accompaniment to fresh mozzarella, pasta dishes, or simply for dipping with fresh bread. Try this tasty spread on Pastoral’s Caprese Pastorale and Mediterranean Turkey sandwiches, or purchase to take home, sold by the pound for $13.99.

Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine has launched a new line of Pastoral Picnics for Two! Pastoral Picnics feature a tantalizing selection of cheese, charcuterie, accompaniments, and a fresh baguette. Ask any Pastoral employee for the perfect wine to pair with your picnic. Perfectly sized and portable, Pastoral Picnics are ideal for picnics in the park, a day on the lake, an evening at Ravinia or any of Chicago's summer concerts. Pre-order the Pastoral Picnic at the Chicago French Market, by phone (312-454-2200), or online at http://shop.pastoralartisan.com/index.php/picnics.html. Please allow 6 hours’ notice.

Wednesday, June 19 Lunch Hour Music - Chris Goranson

Wednesday, June 19 Lunch Hour Music - Chris Goranson
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Complimentary

Notable Chicago musician Chris Goranson is coming to the Chicago French Market for a Lunch Hour jazz performance. Goranson is a guitar teacher with a degree in Jazz Performance from Northern Illinois University. Currently, Goranson plays in a rock band called OurGlass, who recently performed for JBTV. Catch the Libertyville native again, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 19 for another Lunch Hour performance at the Chicago French Market.

Bello Tea Announcements and Father's Day Gift Ideas

In a quandary about what do give dad? Why not join Bello Tea’s Tea of the Month Club. Bello will ship their tasting selection of exciting and wonderful teas throughout the year. The membership is a great way to adventure into the world of tea and herbals. Bello Tea frequently introduces new teas to their customers and club members will be the first group to sample them. It is a great gift for tea lovers – healthy and delicious options.

Featured teas are hand selected by Bello Tea each month from our wide selection of loose leaf Black, Green, White, Oolong, Yerba Mate, Rooibos teas and other botanical.

Membership includes: 2 – 2 oz. packages of our featured loose leaf tea sent to you directly each month and early-bird email notification of new products, special promotions, and events at Bello Tea. Membership includes shipping and handling of featured teas with delivery anywhere in the U.S. Prices begin at $50.

Enjoy Bello’s Father’s Day Sale between June 8 and June 16 and receive a 10 percent discount.on tea, accessories, and gift baskets, excluding Tea of the Month Club and Gift Cards.

Bello Announcements:
2013 Japanese Shin Cha (first harvest Sen Cha) has arrived! Quantity is limited.  Mention June13 to get a 10 percent discount, for a limited time.
Bello now opens at 8 a.m. Stop by for Selected Daily Hot Tea Special, $2 for regular and $2.50 for large, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Can’t get away, Bello has partnered with Chicago Messenger Service to provide deliveries of its drinks and products or gift baskets in the Loop area. Call 312-380-0707 for orders.

Father's Day Gift Idea: Lillie’s Q

Want the perfect gift for Father’s Day? Aside from the amazing ribs and bbq sandwiches offered by Lillie’s Q, treat dad to Chef/Owner Charlie McKenna’s special award winning BBQ – six regional BBQ sauces and spice rubs made in-house that perfectly compliment Lillie’s Q award-winning BBQ.  All sauces are $8.00 each. Flavors include Smoky, Carolina, E.N.C., Hot Smoky, Carolina Gold and Ivory. For details, visit: http://www.frenchmarketchicago.com/vendor/lillies-q.

Thursday, June 13 Rush Hour Music – Andy Young at the Chicago French Market

Thursday, June 13 Rush Hour Music – Andy Young
4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Complimentary

Andy Young is a Chicago-based musician, sought after at music festivals nationwide, performing Gypsy Jazz & Irish Traditional Music on Hammered Dulcimer. Andy Young’s concerts infuse expressive musical arrangements with humor and insight to provide a deep understanding of the role of music in our multicultural and interpersonal world. Catch him from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 13 at the Chicago French Market.

Say hello to Little Goat Bread!

Vanille Patisserie For Father's Day Gifts

Visiting dad for Father's day? Don't go empty handed. Vanille Patisserie offers something the entire family will enjoy. Macarons, the famed Parisian confectionery delivers the essence of a dessert in a single bite. These colorful sandwich-shaped delicacies have a crunchy meringue shell encapsulating an intense burst of flavor at its creamy core.

Vanille offers a colorful spectrum of flavors, whether strawberry lemongrass in the summer or classic vanilla bean year around. No matter what the variety, Vanille never strays far from its French roots, while evolving its ever-changing flavors in new and unexpected directions that characterize the Vanille spirit of innovation.

Pickup a Vanille Gift Basket...their gift baskets are the perfect way to give the gift of traditional French pastries, packaged in design as elegant as the artisan French pastries nestled inside. An instantly recognizable statement of premier quality and good taste, Vanille gift sets include of a sampler of our highly acclaimed French macarons, positively addictive Pate de Fruit, luscious Buttery Caramel and their signature Montélimar-style Nougat bars, it will be a gift long remembered. Prices range from $40 and up for phone and in-store orders and 24 hours notice for online orders.

City Fresh Market Features Gourmet Sandwiches

City Fresh Market will feature its gourmet sandwiches beginning Monday, June 3 through Saturday, June 7 for only $8.99 each, regularly $9.99. With fresh ingredients and amazing meats, it is a great meal for lunch or to share with family. City Fresh Market also will offer Academia Barilla Di Parma for $8.99 for half a pound and Redondo Iglesias Jamon Serrano for $7.49 for half a pound.

Little Goat Bread Opening June 7 at Chicago French Market!

On Friday, June 7, Chef Stephanie Izard will bring Little Goat Bread to the Chicago French Market. This marks the first time Izard is expanding Little Goat Bread beyond the walls of her newly opened West Loop diner Little Goat to serve downtown Chicago.

Little Goat Bread in the Chicago French Market will serve breads in the morning, soup and sandwiches for lunch and freshly roasted Stumptown drip coffee throughout the day. Just like the West Loop location, Little Goat Bread will sell loaves of its artisan breads for take home, including baguettes and a sampling of breads available on the menu at Girl & the Goat, Izard’s award-winning restaurant also located in the West Loop.

The 22-foot booth will be located between Chef John des Rosiers' Wisma and Food Network Sandwich King-featured Fumare Meats. It will have a similar look and feel to the warm and rustic vibe of Little Goat Bread West Loop location attached to Little Goat Diner.

"I’m excited to join other Chicago stand-outs like Lillie's Q, Saigon Sisters, Beavers Donuts, Pastoral in the culinary lineup at the Chicago French Market,” said Stephanie Izard, chef and owner.  “With so many of our clients working in the Loop and commuting on Metra, it will be nice to offer them our freshly baked goods, soups and sandwiches to take to their offices during the week or to take home in the evening, as well as to provide our unique products for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the market.”

In addition to all ready-to-eat items, Izard have her new product line, “The Flavor, by Stephanie Izard,” available for purchase. This unique blends of sauces and rubs is intended to help busy home cooks bring Stephanie’s “make your whole mouth happy” philosophy to life in their own kitchens, providing an aid to create dishes that are the right balance of savory, sweet, salty and even a little spicy. Three sauces, including The Marinade, The Sauté and The Chee, and two rubs, Rub 1 and Rub 2, will be available at the Chicago French Market.

Chicago French Market is the first and only year-round, indoor marketplace that provides access to local artisans and purveyors.  Each retailer located in the market offers fresh selections for cooking at home, dining on premise or taking food to go.  With the addition of Little Goat Bread, the market now features 31 unique individual vendors.

About Stephanie Izard

Stephanie Izard, James Beard “Best Chef Great Lakes” and a 2011 Food & Wine “Best New Chef,” is the Executive Chef/Partner of two Chicago restaurants, Girl & the Goat and Little Goat. A 2011 James Beard “Best New Restaurant” nominee, Girl & the Goat has been praised by many high-profile publications. Izard is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Scottsdale Culinary Institute and has worked in some of the most respected kitchens in Chicago including La Tache, Spring and Vong. She previously owned the highly-acclaimed restaurant Scylla, which she sold just prior to appearing on and winning season four of Bravo’s “Top Chef.”  Izard’s first book, “Girl in the Kitchen,” was released in the fall of 2011 (Chronicle). Izard also has a newly launched product line called "The Flavor, By Stephanie Izard," consisting of sauces and rubs.

For more information on Stephanie Izard please visit www.stephanieizard.com or follow her on Twitter @StephAndTheGoat

Wednesday, June 5 Lunch Hour Music - Matt Cantlon

Wednesday, June 5 Lunch Hour Music - Matt Cantlon
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Complimentary

Chicago musician Matt Cantlon has been singing and playing rock, pop and country music on his guitar for more than 20 years. In addition to doing solo acoustic gigs he also plays in the popular duo, The Acoustic Generation. Cantlon averages about 200 live performances a year and is a prolific song writer spanning a variety of genres. Catch him from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5 at the Chicago French Market.

Saturday, April 27 – 3rd Annual Pastoral’s Artisan Producer Fest

Pastoral’s Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine will be hosting the third annual Pastoral Artisan Producer Festival. The event will include talented and award-winning culinary artisans from around the world. Those who attend will experience these products through small portions of food, beer, spirits and wine from more than eighty culinary producers. Held on April 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chicago French Market (131 N. Clinton St., Chicago, IL 60661), the festival is recognized on a national and international level for being entirely free and open to the public.

The festival features more than double the amount of artisans from when the event started in 2011. The list of those participating include award-winning cheesemakers from coast to coast and even a few being represented from Switzerland, Germany and Italy through Columbia Cheese in New York. Cypress Grove Chevre in California, Dutch Girl Cremery in Nebraska and twenty other companies will all be showing off their best cheeses in Chicago.

Sweet and savory will be represented in many forms through Pastoral’s distinctive food and beverage selection. There will be artisanal imports in small batches of beer from Germany, Belgium, England and the Netherlands. Meanwhile local breweries such as Uncle Jon’s Cider and 5 Rabbit will represent the Chicagoland area. Vodka distillers, such as Pinot from Oregon, and whiskey distillers in Illinois will example spirits. France will show off their mustard making skills while Wisconsin artists will demonstrate hand crafted jam. Together the festival will illustrate the hard work of culinary artists on both a national and international level.

Aside from the food and drink offerings, events will take place throughout the day to entertain all. There will be book signings with the distinguished author and food enthusiast Ari Weinzweig, who also is the co-founder of Zingerman. There will be the “Best of the Fest” competition, where food industry celebrities will be voting for their favorite featured artisans and products. The competition will offer a VIP ticket to Cochon 555, the one and only heritage pig and chef competition held in the United States. Cochon 555, taking place in Chicago on Sunday, April 28, has been working in collaboration with the Pastoral festival.

Other festival events include a BBQ butchering demonstration with Butcher & Larder’s Rob Levitt, Lillie’s Q’s Charlie McKenna, and Cochon 555’s founder Brady Lowe. The three will show the audience how to butcher and prepare an entire breed pig from in “Butchering for a Better BBQ.” Vendors at the Chicago French Market will also feature items such as wines and burek from City Fresh Market, rich chocolates from Delightful Pastries, Pastrami from Furmare Meats, and more.

The Pastoral’s Artisan Producer Festival brings Pastoral and Chicago French Market together to host the third annual festival. Sponsors include national media Culture Magazine and local media Edible Chicago along with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB).

Wednesday, April 24 – Lunch Hour Music with Annalee Hooson

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Complimentary

If you are looking for something fun to do during your lunch break, Annalee Hooson can provide a great option. Hooson will be performing cover songs along with her own original songs. Join her for a mid-day pick me up during lunch. For more information about her, visit http://www.facebook.com/annaleehooson.

Les Fleurs Provides Popular Flowers for Administrative Professionals Week

Whether it is a vase bouquet needed for Administrative Professionals Week or a hand tied bouquet, Les Fleurs has prepared themselves for this workplace event. Celebrated worldwide, Administrative Professionals Week is the perfect opportunity to show assistants they are appreciated. The week, beginning April 21 through April 27, is an event worth celebrating at any office. To hear more about what Les Fleurs has to offer call 312-463-1111.

Pastoral Artisan Now Offers Pastoral Bites

Pastoral Bites is the newest facet of Pastoral Catering options.  Each bite is carefully designed to be pleasing to the eye and to the palate alike.  Customers can choose classic combinations such as Crostini Italiano with Prosciutto and oven-roasted tomatoes, comfort foods such as the “Pimento” Cheese and Salumi Crostini, or fresh flavors such as the Chevre and Fennel Blood Orange Canape and more!   Each tray begin with 25 ready-to serve bites on the Pastoral signature wooden tray with the option of adding more.e bites on our signature wooden tray with the option of adding more! All trays must be ordered 72 hours in advance. 

Thursday, April 18 – Rush Hour Music with Annalee Hooson

4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Complimentary

Performing for the second time during April, Annalee Hooson is back for another rush hour. Grab some food from Chicago French Market’s vendors and listen to Hooson’s rendition of popular cover songs as the day winds down. For more information about her, visit http://www.facebook.com/annaleehooson.

Enticing Salads Offered at Wisma This Spring

Wisma is featuring an expanded salad menu with ingredients that are sourced from sustainable and local products. The appetizing Arugula Salad features Roasted Tomato’s and grilled Olives and Feta Cheese ($9) or the Quinoa Salad with Romaine Lettuce, Feta Cheese and Toasted Hazelnuts ($7). Also offered is Wisma’s Spinach Salad with Fresh Strawberries, Walnuts and Blue Cheese ($8).

Saigon Sisters Offers Catering and One of Kind Products

Now one of the premier caterers, Saigon Sisters joined Cater2.me. This allows company meetings, special occasions, or lunch for 10 or more to enjoy Saigon Sister’s meals.

Also offered are one-of-a-kind products like the unique hand-crafted bags and wallets made from recycled rice bags from Vietnam. Specialty food includes Vietnamese dark chocolate from MAROU. From local cacao famers, the chocolate is made from only local ingredients. Don’t forget to try Saigon Sister’s new sandwich, Lobster Banh Mi. It uses lobster meat along with a special sauce in a buttery toasted brioche with cucumber, cilantro and jalapenos ($15). 

Tiesta Tea Time at Oh Olive!

Oh Olive! offers many great tea choices for those looking for incredible teas with no sugar or caffeine. Served hot or iced, the teas feature an offer of buy four, receive one free. For a better deal, purchase five teas and receive a free teapot.

Also during the month of April, Oh Olive! will give customers a free bottle of extra virgin olive oil with any fifty dollar purchase. It’s a perfect time to stock up your pantry.