Happy Hour International

$4 Fat Tire drafts, half price appetizers
Tuesdays

A ‘Biggest Loser’s’ calorie-busting tips
It’s been four months since Bernie Salazar won $100,000 on NBC-TV’s get-thin show “The Biggest Loser.” Now the Chicagoan, who dropped 130 pounds in six months, is crisscrossing the country doing motivational speeches, including a talk at a recent National Restaurant Association conference. Yes, he’s still lean.

Cubs Home Game Day Specials
Before the game, show your ticket or rooftop pass to get 20 percent off all regularly priced food. Deal available until the first pitch.

Goin’ Crazy for Cava
Dana celebrates summer with some sparkling sangria at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba.

Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot
Hot Chocolate’s decadent drinks and desserts help awaken Dana’s dormant sweet tooth.

Whisked Away at the Violet Hour
Dana goes incognito to find a drink that’s just right.

Beer Olympics
Teams of six compete for prizes in bar sports such as beer pong, flippy cup, bags, Golden Tee, quarters and pool.

A Ginger Zinger
Le Colonial’s upscale Vietnamese fare demands a high-class cocktail to match.

Let’s Go Alfresco
This is prime outdoor-eating-and-drinking time, whether it’s in a beer garden, at a sidewalk cafe or in the ‘burbs.

Hawaiian Luau
Includes $3 Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandys and $5 tropical drinks, prize drawings, a wet T-shirt contest and more. Wear a bathing suit and get a free lei.

Vettel’s 10 fave O’Hare eats
When you head to the airport, you know you’re going to be spending some time there.

Table hopping
Chef watch: \Anthony Bourdain Anthony Bourdain, chef, author (”Kitchen Confidential”) and acerbic host of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations,” was in town Monday, shooting an episode of “No Reservations” scheduled to air early next year. In the TV series, Bourdain comes to a city and basically eats a lot—indigenous street food, a high-end dish or two.

Croatian Fest
This Old World tradition, now in its 102nd year, features a huge roast of 75 whole lambs and 10-15 whole pigs on the grounds of St. Jerome Croatian Catholic Church.

A ‘Biggest Loser’s’ calorie-busting tips
It’s been four months since Bernie Salazar won $100,000 on NBC-TV’s get-thin show “The Biggest Loser.” Now the Chicagoan, who dropped 130 pounds in six months, is crisscrossing the country doing motivational speeches, including a talk at a recent National Restaurant Association conference. Yes, he’s still lean.

Beer Dinner
Master brewer Jason Ebel of Two Brothers Brewing Company and master sommelier Alpana Singh host a reception and four-course meal with pairings.

Doggy Happy Hour
Have drinks with your pooch on the patio. Highlights throughout the summer include dog boutique vendors and pet psychics. Drink specials include $3 domestic bottles and $6 Coors Light pitchers.

repeat w/Madeline
A one-act comedy about the romantic foibles of an eccentric man who falls in love with a woman he meets on a bus.

Vettel’s 10 fave O’Hare eats
When you head to the airport, you know you’re going to be spending some time there.

CHEAP EATS: Bien Trucha’s 4-forks
First impressions: Even if you know Geneva, Bien Trucha is hard to find. It’s tucked next to a hair salon in a small, nondescript building on the main drag. But what a find it is. There’s nothing exotic about this Mexican restaurant, unless you count watermelon-infused guacamole or tangerine margaritas. What it has is simply great. Even though it has been open for just one year, Bien Trucha has a lot of regulars already. Many remember Tia Maria, the Geneva Mexican restaurant run by Ricardo Garcia-Rubio before he left in 2003 for an ill-fated restaurant in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. He was back by 2006, and figured even if he had a little money he would do his own thing. His vision of a “nice little restaurant” was Bien Trucha; what he didn’t expect were crowds lining up for his small place.

New Chicago restaurants to try this summer

A Ginger Zinger
Le Colonial’s upscale Vietnamese fare demands a high-class cocktail to match.

Sold on Sangria
The refreshing wine cocktail goes down easy at these spots.

Let’s Go Alfresco
This is prime outdoor-eating-and-drinking time, whether it’s in a beer garden, at a sidewalk cafe or in the ‘burbs.

Gettin’ Gritty
Dana goes up north to try a classic Southern cocktail…and to have another go at a popular side dish.

A Ginger Zinger
Le Colonial’s upscale Vietnamese fare demands a high-class cocktail to match.

CHEAP EATS: Bien Trucha’s 4-forks
First impressions: Even if you know Geneva, Bien Trucha is hard to find. It’s tucked next to a hair salon in a small, nondescript building on the main drag. But what a find it is. There’s nothing exotic about this Mexican restaurant, unless you count watermelon-infused guacamole or tangerine margaritas. What it has is simply great. Even though it has been open for just one year, Bien Trucha has a lot of regulars already. Many remember Tia Maria, the Geneva Mexican restaurant run by Ricardo Garcia-Rubio before he left in 2003 for an ill-fated restaurant in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. He was back by 2006, and figured even if he had a little money he would do his own thing. His vision of a “nice little restaurant” was Bien Trucha; what he didn’t expect were crowds lining up for his small place.

$1.25 mini-burgers and barbecue pork sandwiches, $3.25 Amstel Light and Heineken bottles, $3.75 bloody marys, $5.75 entrees with first beverage 6 p.m.

Texas de Brazil, Zed 451 reviewed
Tableside flair at Zed 451, Texas de Brazil

S ometimes more is more. Witness the continued popularity of the area’s churrascarias, the Brazilian-style steakhouses wherein costumed chef/servers feed you slabs of fire-grilled meats until you beg for mercy.

Korean Street Festival
The 13th annual cultural event features a mix of traditional and contemporary Korean entertainment and more.

Brain Freeze
Evoke the summers of your youth with one of these blended beach-inspired drinks.