Dining out: Kings' Olympic drink, Restaurant Week adds three days
Olympic-worthy drink
In honor of the Winter Olympics, Kings Dining & Entertainment will be offering a new patriotic cocktail - Red, White and Booze - starting Friday, Feb. 9. The red, white and blue drink is made with an ice cream base and blue Curacao float, pineapple juice, pineapple and coconut rum and then topped with pop rocks. Kings Dining & Entertainment is at 5505 Park Place, Rosemont, (847) 233-0099 or kings-de.com/rosemont.
Chicago Restaurant Week now extended
For the first time, Chicago Restaurant Week is extending its run for three days, Feb. 9-11, to coincide with the opening of Chicago Theatre Week. The special $22, $33 and $44 prix fixe menus will still be available at a few suburban restaurants, too. They are:
Basil's Greek Dining, 4000 Fox Valley Center Drive, Aurora, (630) 692-1300, basilsgreekdining.com/
Carlucci Restaurant, 1801 Butterfield Road, Downers Grove, (630) 512-0990, carluccirestaurant.com/
Fox & Turtle, 400 E. Orchard, Itasca, (630) 773-1801, foxandturtle.com/
Gene & Georgetti Rosemont, 9421 W. Higgins Road, Rosemont, (847) 653-3300, geneandgeorgetti.com/gene-and-georgetti-rosemont/
Prairie River Restaurant at Eaglewood Resort & Spa, 1401 Nordic Road, Itasca, (630) 694-5942, eaglewoodresort.com/chicagoland_restaurants/
$1 sandwich deal at Rookies
During February, Rookies is serving up $1 chicken sandwiches all day, every day. This deal is dine-in only. A beverage purchase is required; toppings are extra. Wash it down with one of the daily drink specials such as $5 mini domestic pitchers on Mondays, half-price wines by the glass on Tuesdays, $6 Absolut martinis and $3 domestic pints (Miller, Coors and Bud products) on Wednesdays, $4 well mixers on Thursdays, $4 Modelo and Dos Equis and $5 Long Islands on Fridays, $4 craft/imports and $5 Absolut mules on Saturdays, and $5 Absolut Bloody Mary and $8 mini import and craft pitchers on Sundays. Rookies Sports Bar & Grill is at 2486 Bushwood Drive, Elgin, (847) 551-9006; 1545 W. Main St., St. Charles, (630) 513-0681; 4607 W. Higgins Road, Hoffman Estates, (847) 645-0005; and 12220 Princeton Drive, Huntley, (847) 669-8600. rookiespub.com/.
National Pizza Day
Friday, Feb. 9, is National Pizza Day: How are you going to celebrate? Olive Garden is with its own version of pizza: a Meatball Pizza Bowl, which is a crispy pizza bowl filled with Italian cheeses and topped with meatballs and meat sauce. It's $8.99. Olive Garden has locations throughout the suburbs. olivegarden.com/.
Pinstripes pairs with Coppola Winery
Wine and dine starting at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, at Pinstripes in South Barrington during an interactive four-course wine dinner featuring Francis Ford Coppola Winery. The Pinstripes' chef and a Coppola winery expert will lead guests in a discussion about each pairing. The dinner costs $50 including tax and gratuity. Pinstripes is at 100 W. Higgins Road, South Barrington, (847) 844-9300 or pinstripes.com/.
Mardi Gras
Shaw's Crab House in Schaumburg is offering a slew of Mardi Gras seafood specials Friday through Tuesday, Feb. 9-13. To celebrate Fat Tuesday, the Oyster Bar will be offering happy hour all day. The seafood specials include oyster po'boy ($17), shrimp and crawfish étouffée ($24), blackened redfish with crawfish sauce ($26), shrimp jambalaya ($7 cup/$10 bowl), seafood gumbo ($6 cup/$9 bowl), New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp ($24) and homemade banana Foster ($9). Shaw's Crab House is at 1900 E. Higgins Road, Schaumburg, (847) 517-2722 or shawscrabhouse.com/schaumburg/.
Love bacon? The Martini Room in Elgin has created special martinsi just for Mardi Gras. The chocolate covered bacon cocktail is made with Jim Beam Bourbon, Godiva Dark Chocolate Liqueur, Baileys Irish Cream and dark creme de cacao, and is served with crispy chocolate-covered bacon on top. Or try the Spiced Chocolate Martini, made with Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Kraken Black Spiced Rum, cayenne pepper-infused Pumpkin Cream Liqueur and white creme de cacao. The Martini Room is at 161 E. Chicago St., Elgin, (847) 741-0349 or martiniroomelgin.com/.
Lent offerings
Just in time for Lent, Q-BBQ will be serving up fish specials Wednesday, Feb. 14, through March 31. Specials include a Corona-battered cod sandwich with a small side and two hush puppies for $9.99 and a trio of Corona-battered fish tacos for $7.99. The tacos can be mixed and matched with the pork belly burnt end taco, burnt end taco and barbecue pulled chicken taco. Q-BBQ has locations at 103 S. Main St., Naperville, (630) 637-6400, and 70 S. La Grange Road, La Grange, (708) 482-8700 or q-bbq.com/home.
Hofbräuhaus Chicago will offer customers a daily seafood special for dinner during Lent, running Wednesday, Feb. 14 through March 31. Daily seafood specials will feature salmon, halibut, shrimp, mussels, white fish dishes and more. The restaurant is at 5500 Park Place, Rosemont, (847) 671-2739 or hofbrauhauschicago.com/.
Big Bad Beer Night
Beerhead Bar & Eatery in Vernon Hills and sister location The Beer Market in Bolingbrook are hosting inaugural Big Bad Beer Eve and Big Bad Beer Night events this week when they will tap rare beers from American craft breweries. Big Bad Beer Eve, a private food and beer tasting featuring a flight of three barrel-aged beers and three small plates (avocado caprese bruschetta, Bourbon Street meatballs, hardwood smoked BLT) plus a sugar and cinnamon ice cream shooter dessert, starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14. Tickets cost $29. Big Bad Beer Night takes place all day Thursday, Feb. 15, at both locations. The Beer Market will feature beers like Abita Bourbon Street Maple Pecan, Night Tripper Imperial Stout, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, The Bruery Or Xata, New Holland Dragon's Milk Salted Caramel and Firestone Velvet Merkin. Beerhead Bar & Eatery will tap The Bruery Mélange #3, Cascade Vlad The Impaler 2013, Crystal Lake Boathouse Reserve Imperial Stout, Deschutes Abyss, Dogfish Head Oak Aged Vanilla World Wide Stout, Epic Brewing Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist, Firestone Walker Helldorado, Goose Island BCS Reserve Knob Creek, Great Divide Ba Yeti, Odd Side Brandi To Center Stage, Pollyana Orenda Vol. 2 and Revolution Jamo-Nilla. Beerhead is at 1270 S. Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills, (847) 955-1900, and The Beer Market is at 641 E. Boughton Road, Suite 110, Bolingbrook, (630) 739-3000. beerheadbar.com/.