Dining events: The beef's at Barleycorn

Where's the beef? At Barleycorn

There're some new burgers in town at John Barleycorn, and they're custom-made, half-pound, all-American beef burgers. Among them, there's the Southwest Burger with a bold rub, pico de gallo, guacamole and pepper jack cheese for $12 and a Jalapeno Bacon Burger with jalapeno-cured bacon, Chihuahua cheese and fried jalapenos for $11. Stop in on Thursday nights for the $5 special — a half-pound cheeseburger with fries. John Barleycorn, 1100 American Lane, Schaumburg; (847) 619-5540 or johnbarleycorn.com.

PL8 celebrates the Year of the Dragon

Celebrate the Chinese New Year through Sunday at PL8. Special dishes to mark the occasion include Jaoizi dumplings filled with shrimp and crabmeat for $7; salt and pepper shrimp served with red and green peppers for $8; tangerine chicken marinated in coconut batter for $14; and chocolate treasure molten cake for $6. PL8 Simply Asian Restaurant, 736 W. Northwest Hwy., Barrington. (847) 382-1988 or pl8simplyasian.com.

Happy Buddha's egg roll offering

Nothing like a good review in the Daily Herald to bring in the crowds. That's good news and bad news for a small place like Happy Buddha in Barrington. The vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant was overwhelmed, to say the least, by a flurry of patrons after the Jan. 6 review. To appease customers new and old who were turned away or left because of long waits, Happy Buddha is offering a free egg roll appetizer for every party, with the purchase of an entree throughout January. You might want to call ahead. Happy Buddha, 207 W. Northwest Hwy., Barrington. (847) 304-1472 or buddhabuddha.net.