In restaurant news this week, a Wicker Park restaurant has launched a new lunch menu, a long-awaited West Loop eatery opened, and a cocktail lounge is throwing a “funky” wine tasting.

Summer is BBQ season, and there’s no better time to dig into plates of smoky meat. Whether you want to make the ’cue at home or go out to one of the many BBQ joints in the city, here’s one new-to-us type of BBQ to check out – Alabama white.

No doubt you’ve heard about the “cronut,” the hybrid croissant/doughnut that has swept the nation in the past month. The dessert, the brainchild of New York chef Dominique Ansel, has a trademarked name, so Chicago chefs jumping on the fried dessert bandwagon have to come up with their own names for them. Here’s where to find doughssants, croughnuts, dossants, and crognets around Chicagoland.