This week, do dinner, a drink and a movie: dine at Mercadito for their anniversary $1 menu or splurge on a multicourse degustation menu at this year’s Toque benefit event. Then, head to Smith & Wollensky for their National Wine Week specials, and finish it all off with the premiere of Kings of Pastry, a documentary film about two of Chicago’s best pastry chefs.

Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer prepares to be judged in Kings of Pastry

Kings of Pastry Premiere Foodies and film buffs alike should check out the Chicago premiere of Kings of Pastry, a new documentary film created by Chris Hegedus and PA Pennebaker (The War Room, Don’t Look Back). The film follows Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-founder of the French Pastry School at City Colleges of Chicago in his pursuit of the prestigious title, Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France). In the competition, which happens only once every four years, Pfeiffer and his team aim to master their craft and do the best that can be done in pastry. The already critically-acclaimed Kings of Pastry will be showing at the Gene Siskel Film Center on 164 N. State Street from October 1-7, and tickets can be puchased here. Dollar Anniversary Menu at Mercadito Mercadito of River North is celebrating its first anniversary from September 26-28 with a special $1 menu that will be available for both lunch and dinner. Its offerings include taco tinga de pollo (shredded chicken, tomato-chipotle sauce, avocado, queso fresco, salsa verde), tostada de escabeche de pulpo (crispy tortilla, octopus, pickled jalepeno) and picada de cochinita (crispy corn masa, black bean hash, achiote pork, tomatillo salsa, pickled red onion). Mercadito is located at 108 W. Kinzie Street.

Photo by yashima on Flickr,
licensed under Creative Commons

National Wine Week at Smith & Wollensky Taste ten wines for ten dollars during lunch hours in honor of the 47th National Wine Week at Smith & Wollensky steakhouse (318 N. State Street). The week, which lasts from Monday, September 27 to Friday, October 1, will feature different selection of ten wines for each day, so you can continue your tastings throughout the week if you choose. To reserve your table, call Smith & Wollensky at (312) 670-9900 or book online. Smith & Wollensky’s lunch hours last from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Toque Culinary Masters Dinner Benefit Enjoy signature dishes from over a dozen master chefs at Toque, the fifth annual event to benefit Children’s Oncology Services Inc. (COSI) on Thursday, September 30 at 6 p.m. at the Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel (1 West Wacker Drive). The night will include a cocktail reception and a seated, multicourse degustation menu featuring signature dishes from each participating chef, as well as specially selected wine pairings. In addition to dining, there will also be silent and live auctions, and Oscar-nominated actress Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), who has acted in films such as My Sister’s Keeper and The Ultimate Gift will be Toque’s honorary host. An individual ticket is $250 and a table of ten costs $2,500, and all proceeds from the event will go to COSI to send kids with cancer to summer and family camp programs. - by Samantha Rollins