Dining out: Restaurants pour on the St. Paddy's drinks
Portillo's Chi-Rish Mint Shake
In time for St. Patrick's Day, Portillo's is serving up the Chi-Rish Mint Shake, a vanilla-mint shake blended with chocolate fudge frosting from Portillo's famous chocolate cake. The shake is only available through March 31 in store and via Portillo's delivery service. Portillo's has locations throughout the Chicago suburbs. portillos.com/.
Guinness Floats
Pinstripes will be pouring $8 Guinness Floats all day Friday through Sunday, March 16-18. The Guinness Float is a concoction of creamy house-made vanilla gelato added to a cold glass of the dark Irish stout. Green beer also will be on tap for $4. Pinstripes is located at 1150 Willow Road, Northbrook, (847) 480-2323; 7 Oakbrook Center Mall, Oak Brook, (630) 575-8700; and 100 W. Higgins Road, South Barrington, (847) 844-9300. pinstripes.com/.
Fish fry beer dinner
In the mood for a good old-fashioned fish fry? Join Wildfire in Schaumburg for a four-course Goose Island Fish Fry Beer Dinner on Friday, March 16. Passed appetizers of apricot-glazed blackened shrimp paired with Goose Island 312 begin at 6:30 p.m. Dinner, which starts at 7 p.m., features a first course of charred octopus salad paired with Goose Island Sofie, followed by a main course of fish and chips paired with Goose Island Old Man Grumpy. Dessert is tres leches cake with a glass of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. Dinner is $60 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Wildfire is at 1250 E. Higgins Road, Schaumburg, (847) 995-0100 or wildfirerestaurant.com/schaumburg/.
Perry's St. Paddy's drinks
In time for St. Patrick's weekend, Perry's Steakhouse & Grille has concocted the Jameson Mocha Old Fashioned ($15), which is a blend of Jameson's Caskmates Irish whiskey, house-made coffee syrup and Bittermens mole bitters. Also new to the Perry's cocktail menu is the PassionNut for Port ($15), a mix of Fonseca Bin 27 Port with DonQ Coconut Rum, passion fruit puree and fresh-pressed lemon juice, and the Rosé Collins ($15), which combines Botanist Gin with Rosé wine and fresh lemon juice. Perry's Steakhouse & Grille is at 5 Oakbrook Court, Oak Brook, (630) 571-1808 or perryssteakhouse.com/.
M Burger's free cheeseburger
To celebrate their eighth year since opening the first location on Huron Street in Chicago, M Burger is giving away one free single cheeseburger with any purchase Wednesday, March 21, at all of their locations. One per person, in-store only. Enter for a chance to win M Burger for a year by texting Birthday to 70717. Contest runs from 9 a.m. March 16 to midnight March 21. The winner will be notified at 4 p.m. March 22 via text. M Burger is located at 1650 Premium Outlet Blvd., Aurora, (630) 692-9558, plus locations in Chicago. mburgerchicago.com/.
Viva la 'Rita
It's Viva la 'Rita time at Bahama Breeze in Schaumburg. Try out two new margaritas: Pina Paradise (a frozen mashup of a prickly pear margarita and a piña colada) and the Mighty Blood Orange Margarita (a shareable drink featuring Jose Cuervo, blood orange, lime and sugar-cane juice). Three new menu items include buttermilk chicken jibaritos (buttermilk fried chicken served between two flattened, fried plantains and topped with Sriracha aioli), Cuban-style jibaritos (ham, roasted pork, pickles, Swiss cheese and mustard served between two flattened, fried plantains) and for a sweet treat, coconut grande (warm coconut cake topped with coconut-pineapple ice cream, fresh pineapple and toasted coconut - served inside a coconut). Bahama Breeze is at 406 E. Golf Road, Schaumburg, (847) 884-7060 or bahamabreeze.com/.