Tiki cocktails are all the rage these days, as evidenced by the popularity of Three Dots and a Dash and Lost Lake. But it’s not just tiki bars where you can get a taste of tiki culture. From a Tex-Mex lunch counter to a modern Italian restaurant inside an art museum, the tiki torch is burning bright around Chicagoland.

Summer is the season for picnics, and while it’s always nice to prepare food for yourself at home, restaurants and companies throughout the city make it easy to luxuriate with special picnic packages, bottled cocktails, and more.

Gone are the days when men dominated the kitchens and the bars. With more and more women taking the lead in the hospitality industry, two new mixologists have recently assumed position at two of downtown Chicago’s bars.