1st Annual ISBS, Will you be there?

 The Suburbs are full of amazing restaurants as we all know.  Eat the Burbs was created in response to a need to highlight what's going right in Suburban Food. Thus far, we've done a great job showcasing Suburban restaurants and keeping up with food happenings and trends.  Recently, Eat the Burbs began looking to partner with other Suburban Enthusiasts and boy were we happy to be introduced to the collective 'Ale to the Burbs'.  Ale to the Burbs is a dedicated group of beer lovers that coordinate events to bring people together in celebration of craft beer in the Chicago suburbs!!!  This group is the bacon to my eggs, the salt to my pepper, the bread to my butter; I could go on forever with cheesy pairings but I'm sure you get the picture.  Ale to the Burbs is as committed to mobilizing the Suburban Beer community as Eat the Burbs is about showcasing what’s right in Suburban Food.

Ale to the 'Burbs has been supporting and organizing beer events in the suburbs for some time now and they have worked with some amazing brewers. They are now co-hosting an event with Nevin's Brewing Company on March 8th that is not to be missed!  The 1st Annual Illinois Suburban Brewers Summit will take place at Nevin's Brewing Company(12337 S. Route 59, Plainfield) next Saturday between 6:30pm and 9:30pm. If you're like me you'll want to be there to drink every drop of the 15 4oz pours that are included with the ticket, but if you are of the more cerebral set then you'll be happy to know that there will be an assembly of approximately 30 breweries that will sit on a moderated panel for an open forum.  The forum will be open to all attendees and the brewers will share information about what's going on in the craft beer arena and answer questions from the public.  In addition to the beers and open forum there will also be some light bites and a live performance by a local band.  The tickets are $25 and available at http://isbs.brownpapertickets.com.

Eat the Burbs is pumped to see what the guys of Ale to the Burbs have in store for us next Saturday night! 

You can find more information about the 1st Annual Illinois Suburban Brewers Summit (ISBS) on Facebook in the Ale to the Burbs group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/aletotheburbs/

Checkout this list of some of the brewers that will be a part of this epic event:

- Ale Syndicate

- Aleman Brewing

- Church Street Brewing

- Destihl

- Emmett's

- Flesk

- Goose Island

- Hopvine

- Lagunitas

- Nevin's Brewing

- One Trick Pony

- Penrose Brewing (open forum only)

- Pollyanna Brewing (open forum only)

- Revolution

- Slapshot

- Solemn Oath

- Temperance Beer

- Tighthead Brewing

- Two Brothers Brewing

- Urban Legend Brewing

- 350 Brewing

Look forward to future collaborations between Ale to the Burbs and Eat the Burbs.  We live and play in the Burbs! 

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Restaurant Week Starts Tomorrow - Where Are You Eating?

No need to make a long drive when you can grab a bite in the 'burbs for Chicago Restaurant Week. 

There are Suburban Restaurants participating!! Check out the complete list on Choose Chicago.  

Please continue to follow my blog and social media accounts @eattheburbs (twitter, fb, andinstagram) for a look into local restaurants, giveaways, and local dining events.  2014 is going to be huge!

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Mini Review: Fox Valley Winery

One weekend every November my siblings and I get together, cook, laugh, and celebrate the life and memories of our Mom who passed away several years ago due to lung cancer.  My house is the usual gathering place, since my bro (Unc Unc) and my sis (Tee Tee) like to spend time with the kids while I cook for everyone.  The kids love having them over for the weekend and my husband loves having unlimited video game time without me giving him the stink eye.  So all in all it's a lot of family fun, just like my Mom would've wanted.

This particular 'Moms Weekend' my sister mentioned that she wanted to checkout a winery, needless to say I was in, doesn't take much persuading.  I wasn't in the mood to take the long drive to another local winery that I'm a member of so we decided to check out Fox Valley Winery.  I was excited to go since I've driven past so many times and usually I have the kids with me or just don't have time to check it out.

After parking in their private lot, we walked in and were greeted after a minute or so.  I honestly think that the two women working were shocked that we were visiting on such a dreary day.  After explaining that we were there for a tasting we were told that the first three were complimentary (a nice surprise), you are also able to add 3 additional glasses for $5.00.  Since we were already in their showroom we decided to browse the glassware and gifts first before doing the tasting.

Unfortunately, I never got the name of the young woman who conducted our tasting, but she was very hospitable which I appreciated.  As she handed us the menu, I was very pleased with the selection of reds, whites, blushes, ports, and sparkling wines that we could choose to taste.  Most wineries have a pared down tasting menu but Fox Valley Winery pretty much lets you have the run of house including some of their premium wines.  Personally, I stick to reds with a dry profile but we were really here to help my sister find a wine or two that she likes, so we started with medium whites and worked our way drier.  Ultimately, she found something that she likes (White Niagara) and I found another local winery to join, a fun time.  We may have been there 45 minutes to an hour total.

I'll be visiting them again soon and doing a full review, highlighting their selection, their vineyard, and talking more about their wine membership.  Be sure to leave me a comment below if you'd like me to cover anything in particular!

If you haven't already please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so that we can share our suburban food finds with each other.

Thank you for reading, stay tuned for more reviews, exclusives, and give-aways. 

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