Eater's Digest: July
Hot diggity: IT'S NATIONAL HOT DOG MONTH
All month: Brasserie Jo, 59 W. Hubbard, dishes up $1 French-style dogs in its lounge from 5 to 7 p.m. daily. Harry Caray's Tavern, 3551 N. Sheffield, offers a rotating weekly special (from July 12 to 18, it's a Wagyu beef hot dog with glazed onions, mushrooms and truffle oil).
Go hog wild at the Naperville RibFest, through July 5; $10 at door. Details: www.ribfest.net.
Pack a picnic and catch some fireworks!
Head to Grant Park for one last bite at the Taste of Chicago.
Got $22? Enjoy the all-you-can-eat clam bake (plus two beers) at Fulton's On the River, 315 N. La Salle.
Lunch roll: Take in a cooking demo (11 a.m. every Wednesday) and pick up local produce at Chicago's Downtown Farmstand, 66 E. Randolph.
Eighty breweries, 200 brews -- it's Chicago Alefest, 2 to 6 p.m., Soldier Field. $40 (includes 20 samples); www.AleFest.com.
We all scream: Kid-friendly ice cream making session, 6 p.m., Fox & Obel, 401 E. Illinois. $10; www.fox obel.com.
Twenty wines for 20 bucks. That's the deal at a 5:30 p.m. tasting at Osteria Via Stato with master sommelier Alpana Singh. (312) 642-8450.
Green City Market's wildly popular Chefs' BBQ, 6 to 8 p.m. at the south end of Lincoln Park.
Check out N9NE's new Bevs & Bites bar menu -- 99-cent drinks (changing daily) and $9 bites (ahi tuna crudo, steak sliders and more). (312) 575-9900.
Browse the farmers market at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; www.chicagobotanic.org.
Free wine tasting at D.O.C. Wine Bar in Lombard; (630) 627-6666.
Happy National Hot Fudge Sundae Day -- you know what to do.
Summer reading: The 452-page 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $19.95) by Jane and Michael Stern.
Sip a Sno Cone Martini at Red Kiva, 1108 W. Randolph. Six flavors; $8.
Does bacon really make everything better? Find out in a pork-centric 7 p.m. class, Chopping Block, 4747 N. Lincoln; $40.