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100 Chefs, 30 Drink Vendors Hit Annual Green City Market BBQ

By Ted Cox | July 19, 2017 1:09pm
 The annual Green City Market Chef BBQ is one of the highlights of the summer.
The annual Green City Market Chef BBQ is one of the highlights of the summer.
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Green City Market/Facebook

LINCOLN PARK — One of the city's true summer highlights hits Lincoln Park Thursday evening with the 17th annual Green City Market Chef BBQ.

Many of the city's top chefs and almost all of its top restaurants will be represented in a summer showcase that started out with just about a dozen taking part.

"It just keeps getting bigger and better every year," said Melissa Flynn, executive director of the Green City Market.

"It’s a very special event, having more than 100 of Chicago’s best chefs all in one place, all creating something special and unique using produce and meats from Green City Market vendors," Flynn said. "Everything is so fresh, interesting and new. Put that all together with a beautiful summer evening in Lincoln Park — it is just an evening beyond compare."

 Melissa Flynn is executive director of the Green City Market.
Melissa Flynn is executive director of the Green City Market.
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Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce

Admission is $125 for adults, $25 for kids 12 and younger, but once you gain admission — with wristbands for those 21 and older — Flynn said, "You can eat and drink as much as you like for the rest of the evening."

It runs from 5:30-8 p.m. Thursday at the usual Green City Market location in Lincoln Park, 1817 N. Clark St., and it typically attracts as many as 2,000 people.

"You can never do a tasting menu of 100 chefs for $125," Flynn said, adding, "You can eat quite a bit with 100 chefs cooking."

Much of the food comes fresh from the Green City Market itself, of course, and the chefs will be cooking on 50 grills running on wood and charcoal — no gas.

Flynn emphasized that what most typifies the event these days is the "diversity of menu," including vegetarian fare and an abundance of desserts.

Tickets can be bought online in advance, and there are various VIP packages available as well. The list of restaurants taking part is extensive, and drinks will come from local breweries such as Lagunitas, Half Acre and Begyle, as well as the Koval Distillery and other local spirits.

Green City Market, one of the city's top farmers' markets, operates twice weekly in Lincoln Park from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays, while having expanded to the West Loop on Saturdays and this year to the new Park at Wrigley Field on Thursdays when the Cubs are out of town, including simultaneous with the barbecue at 4 p.m. Thursday at 3637 N. Clark St.

Green City Market is a nonprofit, and the Chef BBQ is its largest annual fundraiser, helping to pay for the organization's food education and its matching program for those on public assistance paying with Link cards.