Ride along with “Road Food: Exploring the Midwest One Bite at a Time.” Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance presents its fifth annual symposium, from Friday, April 27, through Sunday, April 29 at Kendall College and locations around Chicago.

The event features keynote speaker Michael Stern, best-selling author of the Roadfood series. He’ll discuss “Will Success Spoil Regional Food?”

The three-day conference kicks off Friday afternoon, wrapping up that night with a food truck dinner including a classic construction-site canteen, one of the city’s hottest chef-driven trucks, and an art installation as food truck.

Saturday’s lunch serves up the rare, authentic Springfield, Illinois horseshoe sandwich, an Indiana breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, a Nebraska runza, and for dessert a true Pig Pickin’ Cake. The day ends with a Midwestern wine and Wisconsin cheese tasting.

Sunday starts with breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s, where Route 66 begins. Breakfast at “The first stop on the Mother Road” will be followed by a choice of two guided tours: one of Maxwell Street Market led by Greater Midwest Foodways president Bruce Kraig and The Local Beet publisher Rob Gardner, the other of the Smart Museum exhibit “Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art,” led by chief curator Stephanie Smith.

Among a dozen notable speakers scheduled to present are Sun-Times writer and Route 66 expert Dave Hoekstra on supper clubs, Smart Museum Deputy Director Stephanie Smith on her current exhibit “Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art,” and Chicago Public Media food blogger and chef Louisa Chu on food trucks.

The full program can be found here: http://www.greatermidwestfoodways.com/index.php/page/ProgramRoadFood.html.

Buy tickets now at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/235228. For more information, email greatermidwestfoodways@gmail.com or call 847-432-8255.

Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) will be available.