Eat and drink pink

You don't have to strap on a fancy three-piece or have a wallet brimming with Benjamins to do a good deed. At least not when these local bars and restaurants are offering such charitable deals, all in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Martini Park: American Cancer Society
Martini Park's homespun cotton candy makes it easy to donate. The sticky-sweet treat might look like your average carny fluff, but this sugary pink concoction is a far cry from what you'd find at a festival booth. A portion of each cotton candy sale will benefit the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer Society will also be hosting its five-mile "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" walk at Lawrence and the Lakefront on October 19, festivities begin at 8:30 a.m.

sola: Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation
All October long, guests dining at Sola will have the option of tacking on one dollar (or more) to their bill; the extra cash will benefit the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation. Chef Carol Wallack's seasonal menu highlights Asian pears-which are high in fiber and natural vitamins-this month, so you'll be benefiting your own health while you're at it.

More Cupcakes: Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation
Patty Rothman of MORE has enough couture cupcakes to always be in vogue, but that doesn't stop her from making, well, more. In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness month, Rothman and her crew will be serving a limited "Hope MORE" cupcake with a white velvet base, topped with pink buttercream frosting and pink white chocolate curls. A portion of the "Hope MORE" cupcake sales will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists.

Blue Water Grill: Bright Pink
Blue Water Grill is whipping up a sparkling pink grapefruit parfait this month. The layered dessert starts with a bottom of champagne gelee with suspended grapes, following that is a layer of sugar-tossed grapefruit segments. Next comes champagne foam with a quenelle of grapefruit sorbet. It all gets finished with a heaping of confetti (read: candied grapefruit peel). The parfait costs $10 and 75 percent of that will be donated to Bright Pink, a resource for young women who are at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

Nuts on Clark (Water Tower Place): Network of Strength of Illinois
Stop in Nuts on Clark and grab a bag of the shop's specialty Poppin' Pink Kettlecorn. A portion of sales from the pink chocolate-coated treat will benefit the Network of Strength of Illinois. The promotion runs through October 31.

David Burke's Primehouse: Bright Pink
This Near North Side restaurant will be offering its signature cake-in-a-can with a pink twist. The pink velvet pastry is baked to order and served in a tin alongside a jar of cream cheese frosting and chocolate-covered beaters. The dessert is $24 and serves 4 to 6 guests, $5 from every cake-in-a-can purchase will benefit Bright Pink.

This article was first published on Centerstage
Photo courtesy of Shakir Akbari.

Bleeding Heart Bakery: DIY cupcakes

Last month I mentioned Bleeding Heart Bakery teacakes at Cafe Avanti and how ridiculously delicious they were. I still haven't had a chance to make it over to Bleeding Heart, but I did get to try one of its vegan cupcakes on Friday night when the punk minded pastry crew partnered up with GOOD Magazine for an event at Salvage One.

Housed within Salvage One's dimly lit, lofty space were plenty of local vendors selling samples of their decidedly green products. A number of them had great things to offer, like the cashew spread and caraway crackers from The Balanced Kitchen and organic juices from Crust. But none could compete with Bleeding Heart's DIY cupcake station. The bakery brought in over 200 of the things and charged guests $2 to decorate their own.

Toppings included vanilla or chocolate (both vegan safe) frosting, homemade marshmallows, carob chips, chocolate-chip cookie crumbs and sprinkles. I grabbed a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and gave it a few hearty spoonfuls of cookie crumbs and carob chips. It was easily one of the best cupcakes I've tried in a while, I even entertained the idea of giving up meat. Thankfully I came back to my senses once my plate was empty.

This article was first published on Examiner.com.