• Burrito Beach Party Platters Put a New Twist on Box Lunches

     
    BY Hannah Fox
    FROM THE Fall 2016 ISSUE
     

Although they’ve been around for the past 20 years, Chicago’s Tex Mex emporium Burrito Beach is charting new waters with a foray into affordable catering for meetings and events. While its taco and nacho bars bank on the popularity of “build-your-own” stations, “beach boxes” update the old lunch staple with a choice of burrito, salad or quesadilla. Even breakfast gets a wakeup call with genius breakfast burritos and a breakfast taco bar. All ingredients, from the tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole to meats and seafood, are freshly prepared in-house. “Our wide array of combinations are a much-needed break from traditional business lunches and catering options [for] private parties,” says CEO/founder Gregory Schulson.

Orders can be placed within 24 hours and delivered free within a five-block radius of six locations in downtown Chicago and O’Hare International Airport. 
Event Snapshots: Tourism Talk

Nearly 500 people from Illinois and the greater Midwest gathered at the stunning Palmer House Hilton Feb. 26-28 for the annual Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism. During the three-day event, attendees had the chance to hear from key industry officials, including an opening keynote from Carroll Rheem, vice president of research for Brand USA; a luncheon talk on crisis management and tourism security from Dr. Peter E. Tarlow, founder and president of Tourism & More; and an address by Cory Jobe, director of the Illinois Office of Tourism, at the closing breakfast.

 
Meet Catherine Mrowiec, Marriott Marquis Chicago General Manager

By training her team to view every guest as an individual, Catherine Mrowiec is changing the impersonal perception of large hotels.

 
Delectable Food and Beverage, Lively Environs and Karaoke at BellyQ

Our server placed the dish of kimchi on our table, and I took a deep breath. Could I do it? Could I stomach a bite?

My husband and I were dining at bellyQ for the first time last week, and I’ll admit, it was a little out of my comfort zone. While we certainly enjoy Chicago’s incredible and diverse food scene, Korean barbecue is a cuisine we were unfamiliar with.