Wednesday, September 9

Dive into the multitude of dairy options in the cheese case at Local Foods (1427 W. Willow St., 312-432-6575). Their offerings are all made within a day’s drive of the shop, and employees will walk through the differences in styles and flavor profiles of many of their offerings. The tour/workshop starts at 6:30 p.m. and is free.

Saturday, September 12

Get a taste of what’s sure to be a pretty meaty throwdown at the public part of the Windy City BBQ Classic at Soldier Field (1410 Museum Campus Dr., South Loop). The main event is for competition-level barbecue teams, but you can order a $100 ticket that allows you bites from some of the area’s best pitmasters, craft beer and cocktail samplings, and tours and demos. Food starts at 11 a.m., and you can get your ticket here.

Sunday, September 13

Two years of Honey Butter Fried Chicken (3361 N. Elston Ave., Avondale, 773-478-4000) means it’s time for a party—they’ll be marking the occasion with $2 pimiento mac and cheese and $2 drafts of Half Acre’s Daisy Cutter or Revolution’s Anti-Hero from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Keep the festivities going at another birthday celebration, this one at Cantina Laredo (508 N. State St., River North, 312-955-0014), with $4 signature margaritas (the drink regularly rings up for $9.25). You can get the discount drinks all day long.

And end the day with (yet another) drink, this time at Goose Island Clybourn’s (1800 N. Clybourn Ave., Lincoln Park) annual Belgian Fest. More than 15 area breweries will pour their versions of Belgian-style ales starting at noon. Tickets to the day of tastings run for $40 and are on offer here.