Lake Zurich chamber to launch first restaurant week Friday

This weekend, 10 Lake Zurich-area restaurants will begin offering special dishes, drinks and discounts to diners as part of the first restaurant week hosted by the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce.

From Friday through March 8, eateries such as Beelow's Steakhouse in Lake Zurich and Joanie's Pizzeria of Long Grove will offer prix fixe menus for lunch, dinner or both. The prices typically will range from $10 to $15 for lunch and from $20 to $30 for dinner, Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Claire Slattery said.

Slattery said the event, which the chamber has branded INDULGE Restaurant Week, will coincide with Lake County Restaurant Week, which includes more than 75 restaurants and is organized by Visit Lake County.

A growing number of towns — including Naperville, St. Charles and Rosemont — are hosting restaurant weeks designed to showcase local eateries and bring in new diners.

Chamber staff members in Lake Zurich began urging member restaurants in December to participate, Slattery said.

“It came from our mission to look for ways to provide value to our members, especially those who can't get out to our regular networking events,” Slattery said. “The goal is to bring the community into their doors.”

Reed Bartuska, one of the co-owners of Consume in Lake Zurich, said he was excited about the idea.

“I thought it would be a good way to highlight some food we don't usually serve,” Bartuska said, adding that he and the staff have prepared a completely new menu.

Consume will offer both special lunches and dinners. For their dinner entree, patrons can select either a whole roasted quail with pomegranate ginger glaze and farro salad or braised short ribs with herbed dumplings, kale and hen of the woods mushrooms.

Other participating businesses include Beelow's, Brunch Cafe, The Hungry Mule, McAlister's Deli, Fritzl's European, Bacchus Nibbles, Joanie's Pizzeria, La Passoquia and Nothing Bundt Cakes.

Slattery said each participating restaurant will raffle off a $50 gift card. To enter, patrons must post about their INDULGE experience on Facebook and use the hashtag #lzaccindulge.

Slattery said the chamber staff will randomly select posts to pick the winners.