Dining out: Raise a glass at Oktoberfests, Oartoberfest, Rumtoberfest & more
Fall Seafood Fest
Victory Meat and Seafood in Elmhurst is in the midst of its Fall Seafood Fest. Enjoy a four-course seafood dinner for $60 now through Sunday, Sept. 23. Choose from New England clam chowder or a salad; crab, lobster or shrimp DeJonghe; Chilean sea bass, halibut or scallops; and a dessert. Sneaky Fox Vodka drinks are only $6 during the fest. Victory Meat and Seafood is at 116 N. York St., Elmhurst, (630) 359-5599 or victorymeatandseafood.com/.
In-the-know dessert
Definitely decadent, Olive Garden will be offering its first guest-named dessert - Chocolate Chunkin' Pumpkin Cheesecake - starting Monday, Sept. 24. But, diners can start ordering the treat now by simply asking their server. Get a load of this dessert: It's pumpkin cheesecake filled with brownie pieces on a chocolate cookie crust. It's topped with a layer of brownie bites drizzled with chocolate fudge and served with whipped cream. Olive Garden has locations throughout the suburbs. olivegarden.com/.
Oartoberfest
Broken Oar fetes Oktoberfest with its three-day Oartoberfest celebration Friday through Sunday, Sept. 21-23, featuring German food, beer, live bands and more. Music includes ARRA at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Friction at 1 p.m., TNT-Chicago at 3 p.m. and Kashmir at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, and Modern Day Romeos at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The fun starts at 8 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Broken Oar is at 614 Rawson Bridge Road, Port Barrington, (847) 639-9468 or brokenoar.com/.
Oktoberfest time
Bub City joins in the Oktoberfest fun with its own two-week-long celebration from Saturday, Sept. 22, to Sunday, Oct. 7. Take advantage of German-inspired food and drink specials including housemade brats and sausages, Bavarian pretzels with beer cheese, and lots of craft Oktoberfest beers from local breweries. Don't miss out on the festive giveaways, too. Bub City is at 5441 Park Place, Rosemont, (847) 261-0399 or bub-city.com/rosemont/.
Party time
It's not Oktoberfest, it's Rumtoberfest at Schaumburg's Bahama Breeze, now through Oct. 28. Try the Rum & Coke Chicken and Ribs served with griddled mac and cheese, corn on the cob and jicama coleslaw. The Rum Raid - made for two to share - features eight different signature rum cocktails. And the Pirate Paradise is a rum cocktail featuring Captain Morgan Rum, passion fruit, lime, vanilla and bitters in a take-home glass. Every Friday is “Rumbash Friday” featuring live music, games, giveaways and fortunetellers. Bahama Breeze is at 406 E. Golf Road, Schaumburg, (847) 884-7060 or bahamabreeze.com/home.
Game day at MJ's
It's not all about basketball. The bar at Michael Jordan's Restaurant in Oak Brook is ready for NFL and college football viewing with its Game Day Platters, featuring Little Mike Burgers ($18 half-dozen, $36 dozen); honey barbecue wings with blue cheese dressing and spicy slaw ($7 half-dozen, $14 dozen); chicken tacos with queso fresco, pickled onion, roasted chiles, avocado salsa and crema ($15/$30); and signature garlic bread with creamy Roth Käse blue cheese ($6/$12). The platters are available in the bar only at Michael Jordan's every Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Thursday. Michael Jordan's Restaurant is at 1225 W. 22nd St., Oak Brook, (630) 828-2932 or michaeljordansrestaurant.com.
Raise a stein
Yard House starts its Oktoberfest celebration Monday, Sept. 24, with - what else? - German beer. Choose from Sam Adams Octoberfest, Weihenstephan Festbier, Paulaner Oktoberfest Wiesn and Goose Island Oktoberfest. Of course, there's German-inspired food, too, like the double pork burger, currywurst poutine and jumbo Bavarian pretzel. If you like to collect steins, you can order the featured beer of the week in a branded souvenir stein for an extra $10. Oktoberfest runs through Oct. 28. Yard House is at 1880 Tower Drive, Glenview, (847) 729-9273; and 2301 Fountain Square Drive, Lombard, (630) 495-1912. yardhouse.com/.
Fall Harvest Wine Dinner
Mon Ami Gabi executive chef Bruce Williams will debut the flavors of the season during a multicourse Fall Harvest Wine Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25. Dishes will include local burrata paired with a sparkling Touraine rosé; sea scallops paired with a Vouvray clos de Rougemont; bacon-studded monkfish paired with a Reuilly Gris; Classic beef Wellington paired with a Chinon domain dozon; and roasted pear and walnut frangipane tart paired with a sparkling Vouvray. It's $80 plus tax and gratuity. Reservations required. Mon Ami Gabi is at 260 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 472-1900 or monamigabi.com/oak-brook/.
Lobster Fest
Yes, there's a day for everything. National Lobster Day is Tuesday, Sept. 25, and Bobby's in Deerfield and Cafe Lucci in Glenview are going one step further by hosting a Lobster Fest Monday through Thursday, Sept. 24-27. Bobby's specialty dishes include the Lobster Roll (Maine lobster meat, root vegetables, tarragon aioli and lemon on a buttered split-top roll) and Lobster Newburg (Maine lobster with sherry, cayenne, shallot and cream). Cafe Lucci's specials are Insulata Aragosta (Maine lobster, blood orange, roasted peppers, scallions, honey and tarragon lime vinaigrette) and Linguine Lobster Diavolo (Maine lobster, tomato, garlic, Italian parsley, chili flake and linguine). Reservations are recommended. Bobby's is at 695 Deerfield Road, Deerfield, (847) 607-9104, bobbysdeerfield.com/; and Cafe Lucci is at 609 Milwaukee Ave., Glenview, (847) 729-2268, cafelucci.com/.
CoreLife Eatery opens
Scratch-made every day is how CoreLife Eatery touts its active lifestyle restaurant. And now it's opening a new location at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in Downers Grove. Fast-casual CoreLife offers greens, grains and broth-based dishes made from sourced ingredients. Green bowl options include Sriracha ginger roasted tofu; kale Caesar chicken; and steak, bacon and blue cheese. Grain bowls feature tuna poke; greens and ancient grains; and spicy Thai chicken and rice noodle. A variety of broth bowls and power plates round out the menu. Plus, many of the options are gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. CoreLife Eatery is at 1026 Ogden Ave., Downers Grove, (630) 442-0360 or corelifeeatery.com/.
Ladies Night
Rack House in Arlington Heights recently launched a Ladies Night on Thursdays. Specials include half-priced house bottles of wine, $5 Moonshine cocktails and $5 make-your-own burgers. Rack House Kitchen & Tavern is at 222 E. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, (847) 640-7225 or rackhousetavern.com/.
New beers from Scorched Earth
Apple-picking season has already started, and to honor the harvest, Scorched Earth Brewing Co. is releasing Barrel #7, an apple cider and spice sour ale, which won a gold medal at the recent 2018 Los Angeles International Beer Competition. The beer, aged for more than a year in wine barrels, features apple cider from Harvard's Royal Oak Farm Orchard. Scorched Earth is also releasing a complementary beer, Barrel #12, a farmhouse sour with a blend of Royal Oak's apple cider and St. Pepin grapes grown on a vineyard in Marengo. A third beer will be available in limited amounts: a chocolate mole-inspired stout featuring cocoa nibs from Woodstock's Ethereal Confections. Scorched Earth is at 203 Berg St., Algonquin, (224) 209-8472 or scorchedearthbrewing.com/.