Dining out: Fill up on paczki, plus Chicago Northwest and Rosemont restaurant weeks

Fat Tuesday is coming up, which means it’s time to order your paczki. We also have a couple of very big restaurant weeks in the Northwest suburbs, and March 5 is National Absinthe Day, so head to Western Springs to toast the green fairy.

Pączki time

The Lenten season is almost upon us, so it’s time to celebrate Fat Tuesday and fill up on pączki, the fruit- or cream-filled Polish pastries traditionally enjoyed the day before Ash Wednesday. Several suburban restaurants are taking orders now for pickup next week.

Bennison’s Bakery in Evanston takes the seasonal fun up a notch with its 14th annual pączki-eating competition at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 1. They’re also offering a dozen different flavors to enjoy at a regular pace.

Central Continental Bakery in Mount Prospect is renowned for its pączki, and the bakery goes all out to celebrate with a six-day event Thursday, Feb. 27, through Fat Tuesday, March 4. They’ve added two new flavors to the extensive lineup this year — espresso martini and pistachio delight. Orders must be placed by noon for next-day pickup.

Saturday, March 1, is the last day to order from Jarosch Bakery in Elk Grove Village for pickup on Monday or Tuesday, March 3-4. They have a dozen fillings from which to choose, including peach, pineapple and all the standard favorites.

Katie’s Kitchen in Des Plaines has 11 flavors from which to choose, including the usual favorites, plus apricot, cannoli, Nutella, pistachio and more. They’re available as boxes of three ($14.50), six ($27) and 12 ($54). Supplies are limited, so the pączki must be preordered, with pickup starting Saturday, March 1.

Stan’s Donuts is offering pączki with five different fillings (cannoli, chocolate or plain pastry cream, raspberry and strawberry) that can be purchased individually or in boxes (a half dozen is $20 and a dozen is $38.95). In addition to Stan’s shops around the Chicago area, they’ll also be offered in Mariano’s locations.

The pastry chef at Vistro Prime in Hinsdale is hard at work on three flavors — Boston cream, strawberry shortcake with whipped white chocolate ganache and blueberry — that will be sold in packages of six or 12. Pickup is Monday, March 3.

Suburban restaurant weeks continue

• Chicago Northwest Restaurant Week, which takes place Friday, Feb. 28, through Sunday, March 9, is the largest in the suburbs, with more than 90 restaurants in eight communities participating.

Diners can expect specialty menus and prices at restaurants in Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, Itasca, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg, Streamwood and Wood Dale during the 10-day event sponsored by Meet Chicago Northwest.

New participants in 2025 include Chez Paul, Ramen USA, Sweet Orange Cafe, Nostimo Greek Kitchen and Garibaldi’s Italian Eatery. Returning favorites include The Capital Grille, Coach’s Corner, Southern Kitchen, Tokio Pub, and Fox & Turtle.

The list of restaurants and more details can be found at chicagonorthwest.com/restaurant-week/.

• Diners can take advantage of special prix fixe, three-course lunch and/or dinner menus at 17 restaurants in less than two square miles during Rosemont Restaurant Week running Sunday through Saturday, March 2-8.

Participating restaurants include Bub City, Carlucci, Carmine’s Rosemont, Crust Brewing, Fat Rosie’s Taco & Tequila Bar, FLIGHT, Giordano’s, Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse, Land & Lake, McCormick & Schmick’s, Moretti’s Rosemont, Morton’s The Steakhouse, Saltwater Coastal Grill, SLYCE Rosemont, The Ashburn, Thorn Restaurant & Lounge and Truluck’s.

Menus and dining reservation information is available at RosemontRestaurantWeek.com.

The green fairy

Once popular in the United States, absinthe was banned in 1912 and called “one of the worst enemies of man” by the U.S. Pure Food Board. That ban was rescinded in 2007, and now Wednesday, March 5, is National Absinthe Day.

Petite Vie in Western Springs is celebrating “the green fairy,” as it is sometimes known, with a curated absinthe cocktail menu, complete with an authentic absinthe drip experience.

The cocktail menu includes two better-known classics with the Sazerac and Corpse Reviver No. 2., as well as the La Fée Volante, which adds Cointreau, lime and sparkling bubbles to absinthe, and the Mort du Sureau, which includes absinthe, elderflower liqueur and sparkling wine. A traditional absinthe drip is available to slow pour Pernod Ricard Absinthe Supérieure over a sugar cube, unlocking the complex herbal notes in an elegant ritual.

Mandy’s makin’ moves

Mandy’s Soul Food Kitchen, a staple in Bolingbrook for years, has closed its restaurant and is relocating to Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, where it will reopen in March as The Soul Spot.

Other than the move and the rebranding, everything else stays the same, including the same owner, cooks and menu featuring homemade favorites such as fried chicken, collard greens, banana pudding and sweet potato pie.

• Send dining events to rwest@dailyherald.com.