Ideal Bite

Summer not caliente enough for you? Shake your hips over to pan-Latin eatery Carnivale, where Chef Mark Mendez heats up the kitchen with Chicago’s local produce. Once a month, Jul. through Sep., you can swoon over the Farm to Table Celebration, a fiesta that dishes up Latin with foods from one Midwestern farm for one week, such as Illinois’s Kinnikinnick in late Aug. or Capriole in mid-Sep. Next up: Michigan’s Seedling fruit farm. We’re already licking our lips for strawberry Caipirinhas and plum-accented ceviche. Chat with waitstaff; the farmers give ’em a lesson in seasonal foods, so they know their stuff. Plus, Carnivale salsas to an eco-friendly beat with an in-house water filtration system, green cleaning and a rooftop garden. Spicy.