Dining out: Big Burger Collab at The Graceful Ordinary, new intimate dining experience at Truluck’s and more

Burgertime

For the past couple of years The Graceful Ordinary in St. Charles has been teaming up with Chicago chefs to showcase their burger skills with the Big City Burger Collab. The first team up for 2026 will feature four-time James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes and 2024 Jean Banchet Award winner for Chef of the Year Paul Virant and the Vistro Burger.

Virant is executive chef and owner of Gaijin in Chicago as well as Vistro Prime in Hinsdale and Petite Vie in Western Springs. His burger will feature a toasted brioche bun with a burger layered with melty pimento cheese, caramelized onions, bacon and tangy pickled asparagus.

The cross-town collab burger ($18) will be available during happy hour from 4-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, May 7-15, and after 9 p.m. on the late-night bar menu Thursday through Saturday, from Friday, May 9, through Sunday, May 18. It also will be offered during lunch on Saturday and brunch on Sunday.

Virant will be at TGO in St. Charles from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, May 7, to mingle and sell items from Jar Sessions, a line of artisanal, farm-to-fork preserved products he created featuring pickled and preserved Midwest produce.

New spot in an old spot

Truluck’s Ocean’s Finest Seafood and Crab in Rosemont is offering a new, refined dining experience for just a handful of hours each week with their recently opened Pearl Oyster Bar.

Tucked away in the upper level of Truluck’s, the Pearl Oyster Bar promises an intimate dining experience pairing attentive service with a smaller, curated menu featuring a daily selection of East and West Coast oysters, served chilled on the half shell with fresh horseradish, cocktail sauce, mignonette and saltines. Specialty oysters include The Big Easy, a broiled oyster with lemon, garlic and Parmesan; classic Rockefeller, baked with creamed spinach, parmesan cheese and finished with Pernod; and Soiree, roasted with truffle, crab and chive.

You’ll also find a fresh crab selection, exclusive bites including ahi tuna tostados and the Salmon Rillettes Jar, a classic steak tartare and mini lobster rolls.

It’s only open from 5-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Visit trulucks.com/locations/rosemont-illinois/ to make a reservation.

Giving thanks to teachers and nurses

Most everyone agrees that teachers and nurses deserve all the appreciation they can get. Local restaurants are giving back to both in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, which runs May 4-8, and National Nurses Week, which is May 6-12.

McAlister’s Deli will raise a glass to educators and healthcare workers with a free tea May 4-8. There’s no purchase necessary.

Sullivan’s Steakhouse in Naperville is giving teachers a free dessert with purchase of an entree May 4-8.

Eddie Merlot’s will celebrate teachers with a free dessert with the purchase of an entrée from May 4-8. They have locations in Burr Ridge, Lincolnshire and Warrenville.

New menu items (and more)

CRISP & GREEN, which has locations in Naperville and Vernon Hills, has added a number of new menu items as spring blooms.

The lineup includes seasonal salads such as the Feta Believe It with mixed greens, spinach, roasted chicken, strawberries, feta, cucumber, radicchio, sunflower seeds and balsamic vinaigrette, and the Pesto Italiano, which features brown rice, spinach, roasted chicken, roasted tomatoes, shaved Parmesan, quinoa, radicchio, sunflower seeds, lemon squeeze, pesto and balsamic vinaigrette.

Other new items include the Tokyo Garden bowl and Mediterranean Crunchy wrap, as well as new smoothies and seasonal lemonades.

And if you’d like help working up an appetite, the Vernon Hills location will celebrate National Fitness Day at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 2, with a free outdoor workout. The high-energy, all-levels, Pilates-inspired class will be led by Studio Elevate Fit, followed by a post-workout refuel with CRISP & GREEN offerings, samples and more. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.

Or …

White Castle is offering a 10-sack of original sliders for $8.99 from now until June 13. The deal is available for dine-in, drive-through and mobile ordering at participating locations.

• Email dining events to rwest@dailyherald.com.