Dining out: Roka Akor, The Table at Crate, True Food Kitchen offer Dry January drinks

Dry January

If you're taking some time off from alcohol, or you already abstain, some suburban restaurants are obliging with refreshing cocktails in January and throughout the year.

Roka Akor: During January, the restaurant will be offering a mocktail menu that includes Roka Ginger Beer (fresh ginger juice, lemon juice and soda) for $6, Cucumber Lemonade (fresh cucumber juice and Fever-Tree lemonade) for $8, Raspberry Mule (fresh ginger juice, raspberry, lime juice and soda) for $6, Matcha Honey Lemonade (matcha green tea, homemade honey syrup and lemon juice) for $6, and the Yuzu Palmer (yuzu juice, lemon juice and Sparrow Roastery Sri Lanka Kenilworth Estate black tea) for $6. Roka Akor is at 166 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 793-4023; 4999 Old Orchard Shopping Center, Skokie, (847) 260-9304; and 456 N. Clark St., Chicago, (312) 757-7318. rokaakor.com/.

The Table at Crate: Beverage consultant Julieta Campos has created a beverage menu for everyone, from spirit-free to low-ABV and more. For those who are sober curious, drink options include the Cucumber Crush (cucumber, grapefruit, lime, demerara and soda water), Berry Bliss (spiced strawberry, lemon, orange flower water, fresh strawberries and soda water), Pretty in Pink (green tea, sumac pomegranate, lime and tarragon), and Autumn Breeze (apple cider, lemon, fall vanilla spice and ginger beer). The mocktails are $6 each. The Table at Crate is at 35 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 590-9444 or tableatcrate.com/.

True Food Kitchen: Diners taking part in Dry January might want to consider beverage director Jon Augustin's nonalcoholic refreshers such as the Sparkling Antioxidant Tea (organic green tea, pomegranate and butterfly pea flower), Dr. Weil's Wellness Shot (sea buckthorn, pomegranate and ginger) and Sparkling Prickly Pear Tisane (prickly pear, hibiscus and lime). For those who would still like to imbibe, seasonal offerings include the Ginger Margarita (organic reposado tequila, ginger liqueur, honey and sea buckthorn), Beets By Jon (organic vodka, red beet, lemon and pineapple), Oaxacan Piña Punch “O.P.P.” (organic mezcal, pineapple, lemon and honey), Pom Collins (lemon-infused vodka, organic aloe liqueur and pomegranate), Passion Colada (lime-infused rum, passion fruit liqueur, pineapple and coconut) and Apple Gold Rush (bourbon, apple, lemon and honey). True Food Kitchen is at 105 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 716-3056, and 1 W. Erie St., Chicago, (312) 204-6981, truefoodkitchen.com/.

Suds and supper

Emmett's Brewmaster Dinner Series is back, featuring a five-course dinner, four beers and a brewery tour for $60. The first one happens at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, in West Dundee, with the subsequent dinners also on Thursdays: Jan. 16 in Palatine, Jan. 23 in Downers Grove and Jan. 30 in Wheaton. The menu features seafood vol au vent with Bier De Garde French Farmhouse Ale; hickory-smoked French onion soup with Back Draft Rauchbier; pink grapefruit and thyme sorbet; stuffed pork loin, basil mashed potatoes and pine nut buttered purple cauliflower with Old Dundee 80 Shilling Scottish Ale; and Opera Cake (almond sponge cake, chocolate ganache and amaretto crème anglaise) with Daily Grind Coffee Stout. Advance reservations and payment are required.

Emmett's is at 128 W. Main St., West Dundee, (847) 428-4500; 110 N. Brockway St., Palatine, (847) 359-1533; 5200 Main St., Downers Grove, (630) 434-8500; and 121 W. Front St., Wheaton, (630) 480-7181. emmettsbrewingco.com/.

Garrett Popcorn for only $1

Why celebrate popcorn on just one day (National Popcorn Day is Sunday, Jan. 19) when you can celebrate it all week at Garrett Popcorn Shops? From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, Jan. 13-17, Garrett will be offering a small bag of original Chicago-style, Garrett Mix, vegan buttery, plain, CheeseCorn and CaramelCrisp for $1.

Garrett Popcorn Shops are located at Woodfield Mall's Grand Court, 5 Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg; O'Hare International Airport Terminals 1, 3 and 5, 10000 W. O'Hare Ave., Chicago; and other Chicago locations. garrettpopcorn.com/.

Bake Your Day

Einstein Bros. Bagel is moving its National Bagel Day to Wednesday, Jan. 15. Stop in that day, make a purchase and receive a coupon for a free bagel and shmear to use on a future purchase or gift it to someone else.

Einstein Bros. Bagel has locations in Barrington, Chicago, Glen Ellyn, Glenview, Gurnee, Hinsdale, Lake Forest, Lake in the Hills, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Naperville, Palatine, Park Ridge, Schaumburg and Wheaton. einsteinbros.com/.

Classic comfort

As the blustery cold of January sets in, comfort food seems even more, well, comforting. Shake Shack is obliging with its new limited edition Classic Comfort Menu featuring three new shakes - Cookie Butter (vanilla frozen custard mixed with cookie butter and topped with whipped cream and cookie crumbles), Malted Milk Chocolate (chocolate frozen custard blended with Ghirardelli sweet cocoa powder and garnished with whipped cream, cocoa powder and miniature marshmallows) and Frozen Hot Chocolate (vanilla and chocolate frozen custard malted and finished with whipped cream and crushed milk chocolate) - and the ShackMeister Burger (topped with beer-marinated crispy shallots and ShackSauce).

Shake Shack is at 1950 Spring Road, Oak Brook, (630) 413-1017; 1765 E. Golf Road, Schaumburg, (708) 852-6305; 864 E. Townline Road, Vernon Hills, (224) 294-2010; and various locations in Chicago.

Be good to you

New year, new opportunities to eat healthy. B.GOOD has added new limited-time lifestyle menu items to help, including Keto Salad (grilled chicken, slab bacon, Parmesan, romaine and lemon Caesar vinaigrette), Paleo Salad (grilled chicken, romaine, cucumber, tomato, radish, zucchini noodles, za'atar and red wine vinaigrette) and Whole30 Approved Salad (avocado, egg, kale, Brussels sprouts, apples, butternut squash, beets, pepitas and red wine vinaigrette).

B.GOOD is at 2555 W. 75th St., Naperville, (331) 213-2705; 1721 E. Golf Road, Schaumburg, (224) 353-4080; and 875 N. Milwaukee Ave, Vernon Hills, (224) 433-7010, bgood.com/.

Sweet cheat

It can be really hard to stick to a diet-related New Year's resolution. But some eating plans allow for a cheat now and then, which is where Krispy Kreme's new mini doughnuts come in. At less than 100 calories each, there are four varieties to choose from: original glazed, chocolate iced glazed, chocolate iced with sprinkles and strawberry iced with sprinkles. And in January, the doughnut shop will be hosting Mini Mondays from 4 to 7 p.m. when diners can get a free mini doughnut.

Krispy Kreme is at 412 E. Devon Ave., Elk Grove Village; 108 N. State St., Suite 50, Chicago; 9150 S. Western Ave., Evergreen Park; 110 S. Mannheim Road, Hillside; and 17815 Halsted St., Homewood, krispykreme.com/.

Email clinden@dailyherald.com with dining and night life events.