Dining out: Rock N' Roll Brunch rolls into City Works, Old Town Pour House
I wanna rock
Get ready to rock at the new Rock N' Roll Brunch debuting at Old Town Pour House and City Works. Rolling from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, new brunch dishes pay homage to great rockers and have fun names to boot. Try the Johnny Hash (braised short rib, bell pepper, onion, potato, jalapeño salsa verde and sunny side up eggs), The Clash Smash (smashed avocado on toasted challah with roasted corn, pickled red onion, shaved radish and a sliced hard-boiled egg), Chak Shuka Khan (spicy tomato sauce, sunny side up eggs, goat cheese and a toasted garlic baguette) and Lox N' Roll (whiskey house-cured salmon on flatbread with dill cream cheese, grape tomato, mozzarella cheese, red onion, capers, baby arugula and citrus mustard vinaigrette). Or try shareables like the Jon Bun Jovi (a jumbo cinnamon roll with vanilla icing) or the Dock of the Beignets (French doughnuts with chocolate hazelnut sauce and mixed berry jam for dipping). And don't forget the drinks, such as the Beermosa (beer, Bottlenectar, Tanqueray gin and orange juice), the Flapjack Old Fashioned (rye whiskey, butterscotch Schnapps, candied maple syrup, bacon and orange bitters) and the Hot Blooded (an 18-ounce spicy Bloody Mary with fried onion rings, celery and a skewer with candied bacon, housemade spicy pickles, a cheese curd, an olive, cornichon, pepperoni, pickled jalapeños and a hard-boiled egg). There's also a mimosa flight featuring the classic, Bellini, Aperol, rosé, paloma, tropical and more. The specialty brunch started last week at City Works in Schaumburg; it begins at City Works in Wheeling on Saturday, Sept. 7. Brunch at Old Town Pour House in Naperville and Oak Brook start Saturday, Sept. 14.
City Works is at 1850 E. Golf Road, Schaumburg, (847) 584-2500, and 365 W. Dundee Road, Wheeling, (847) 941-0990, or cityworksrestaurant.com/. Old Town Pour House is at 1703 Freedom Drive, Naperville, (630) 448-6020, and 8 Oak Brook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 601-1440, or oldtownpourhouse.com/.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe opens Friday
Known for smoothies and food with a tropical twist, Tropical Smoothie Cafe is hosting a grand opening ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6, in Arlington Heights. There will be giveaways Friday and Saturday during the launch. Besides made-to-order classic and superfood smoothies, the fast-casual cafe also offers toasted flatbreads, wraps, sandwiches, quesadillas, bowls, breakfast items, sides and a kids' menu.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is at 115 W. Rand Road, Arlington Heights, (770) 821-1900 or tropicalsmoothiecafe.com/.
Hugo's fetes 15
Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House in Naperville is about to turn 15, so the restaurant is celebrating throughout September. For the entire month, Hugo's will be serving up an anniversary cocktail, The Lily Pad Martini, featuring Hangar One vodka, Midori, Malibu and pineapple juice for $13.75. Plus, from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursdays in the bar area, it's $1 oyster happy hour. Make plans now to dine at Hugo's on Monday, Sept. 23, to take advantage of two anniversary specials running all day: steak & cake (a 7-ounce filet and a crabcake) for $30 and the jumbo lump crabcake for $10.
Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House is at 55 S. Main St., Naperville, (630) 548-3764 or hugosfrogbar.com/.
Taste at the Track
How does an afternoon of live music, hundreds of varieties of wine, small bites and horse racing sound? Experience it all at Binny's Taste at the Track from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Arlington International Racecourse. Admission, which is $50 in advance or $60 at the door, includes four hours of wine, beer and cider tasting, one red and one white wine pairing food ticket, a tasting glass and a special gift. Red wine food pairings include roasted pork hash, braised beef gnocchi and balsamic tomato jam crostini and white wine pairings feature domestic and imported cheeses, smoke salmon panzanella and crabcakes. The food pairing tables will be open from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and the wine, cider and beer tasting runs from 1 to 5 p.m. Come prepared: The 21 and older event will be held outdoors rain or shine. And there are no refunds or exchanges.
Arlington International Racecourse is at 2200 W. Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights, (847) 870-7223 or arlingtonpark.com/.
Grandparents' Day
Culver's: Treat your grandparents to a Sundae Funday: Starting Sunday, Sept. 8, and running on Sundays in September, buy one frozen custard sundae and get a second one free for your grandparent. Limit one per customer; dine-in only. Culver's has locations throughout the suburbs. culvers.com/.
Maggiano's: Show your grandparents some love at the Grandparents' Day Pancake Breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday, Sept. 8. Nosh on pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and more from the breakfast buffet. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for kids 5-12. A cash bar will be available. Maggiano's is at 1901 E. Woodfield Road, Schaumburg, (847) 240-1600 or maggianos.com/.
Rookie's $1 deals
Who doesn't love a deal? Rookie's has one that the whole family can enjoy every day in September: $1 burgers and hot dogs all day. The offer is good for dine-in only. A beverage purchase is required, and toppings cost extra. If you stop in at the Elgin location, hot dogs are $1.50 (but that's still a steal). Wash your meal down with daily drink specials, including $3 PBR, $4 Corona and Corona Light, and $6 Mai Tais and Rum Barrels.
Rookie's All-American Pub & Grill is at 2486 Bushwood Drive, Elgin, (847) 551-9006; 4607 W. Higgins Road, Hoffman Estates, (847) 645-0005; 12220 Princeton Drive, Huntley, (847) 669-8600; 1360 Lake St., Roselle, (847) 278-1666; and 1545 W. Main St., St. Charles, (630) 513-0681; rookiespub.com/.
Crush wine dinner
Get your taste buds ready for Victory Meat and Seafood's Crush A Taste of California five-course wine dinner at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the Elmhurst eatery. For $85, the meal includes tempesta charcuterie featuring homemade salami and local market cheeses, chicken tamale, Santa Barbara spot prawns and a prime bone-in filet with a potato and onion torte and charred broccolini. For dessert, dig in to the peach bread pudding with mascarpone whipped cream and caramel. Seating is limited, so reservations are required.
Victory Meat and Seafood is at 116 N. York St., Elmhurst, (630) 359-5599 or victorymeatandseafood.com/.
Email clinden@dailyherald.com with dining and night life events.