Dining events: Taste of Lettuce - Oak Brook lessens stress of weeknight cooking
Taste of Lettuce
If you don't have the time or energy to cook dinner during the week, Lettuce Entertain You is aiming to make life a little easier on Tuesday and Thursday nights during April. Taste of Lettuce - Oak Brook offers $60 dinner packages for two (or $100 for both Tuesday and Thursday dinners) from Antico Posto, Beatrix and Mon Ami Gabi. All you have to do is place an order by noon Monday each week and pick up dinner curbside between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. on the respective day from the respective restaurant. The Tuesday, April 13, meal package from Antico Posto includes house bread and giardiniera, chicken meatballs, Caesar salad, gnocchi Bolognese and chocolate budino, while the Thursday, April 15, dinner from Beatrix features Kung Pao cauliflower, crispy kale salad, chicken bebe, and Tall, Dark & Handsome Chocolate Cake. On Tuesday, April 20, dinner from Mon Ami Gabi consists of a French baguette, carrot amuse-bouche, baby gem salad, Bordelaise petite filet medallions, macaroni gratin and vanilla bean crème brûlée. And supper from Antico Posto on Thursday, April 22, includes house bread and giardiniera, burrata caprese, spinach and avocado salad, spaghetti and meatballs and tiramisu. Order at exploretock.com/tasteoflettuceoakbrook/.
Antico Posto is at 118 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 586-9200, antico-posto.com/. Beatrix is at 272 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 491-1415, beatrixrestaurants.com/beatrix/oak-brook/. Mon Ami Gabi is at 260 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 472-1900, monamigabi.com/oak-brook/.
Munch Wrap Seoulpreme
Seoul Taco chef/owner David Choi recently collaborated with Chicago-based chef Brian Fisher to come up with the new Munch Wrap Seoulpreme, now available at all Seoul Taco locations. The special consists of a crispy flour tortilla filled with a choice of protein (chicken, tofu or spicy pork for $8 or bulgogi steak for $10), plus kimchi, Monterey Jack cheese, sesame seeds, scallion, gochujang and sour cream. During the pandemic, Choi has been helping support chefs whose restaurants have had to suspend operations or shutter by collaborating with them on special menu items, the profits from which the chefs then get to keep. “My team and I feel very fortunate that we were able to keep Seoul Taco open since the start of the pandemic - through shutdowns, stay-at-home orders, and ever-changing government regulations,” Choi said in a prepared statement. “We know some of our fellow restaurateurs weren't as lucky, and we wanted to be a place our peers could turn to for the assistance and help they needed.”
Seoul Taco is at 206 S. Washington St., Naperville, (331) 401-5105; 735 N. Clark St., Chicago, (312) 265-1607; and 1321 E. 57th St., Chicago, (773) 891-2266; seoultaco.com/.
The Librarian
Pierce Tavern, housed in the original location of the Downers Grove Public Library, is honoring National Library Week with The Librarian craft cocktail, available now through Sunday, April 11. For every order of the special libation featuring house-infused blueberry Sneaky Fox vodka, pineapple, ginger beer and blueberries, Pierce Tavern will donate $3 to the Downers Grove Public Library Foundation.
Pierce Tavern is at 5135 Main St., Downers Grove, (630) 869-5333, piercetavern.com/
Mykonos turns 40
2021 is special for Niles stalwart Mykonos Restaurant as the Greek restaurant celebrates 40 years in business. Originally opened by the late Dimitrios “Jimmy” Merageas and now run by his wife, Athena, and their children, Mykonos offers a bevy of Greek Lenten dishes including calamari steak cooked with spinach, baked eggplant, cod, mussels in herb sauce, octopus with spaghetti, oysters, lentil soup and more. “The Lenten season at Mykonos has always been one of the most popular times of the year for us,” Merageas said, “and of course Greek Easter (Sunday, May 2) as well.” Just before the pandemic closed down restaurants in March 2020, Mykonos had undergone a major renovation in the dining room and on the year-round patio, with the new decor more closely resembling that of traditional taverns in Greece. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Mykonos is at 8660 W. Golf Road, Niles, (847) 296-6777, greekrestaurantschicago.com/.
Bloomingdale Restaurant Week
Hungry? See what Bloomingdale has to offer during Bloomingdale Chamber Restaurant Week, running Friday, April 9, through Sunday, April 18. With 20 restaurants participating - including Anyway's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Campana Mexican Restaurants, Chick-fil-A, Dino's Cafe, Fulla Bologna Old World Delicatessen, Giordano's, Golden Corral, Jameson's Charhouse, Jersey Mike's Subs, McAlister's Deli, McDonald's, Okapi, Outback Steakhouse, Pho Licious, Saffron, Sporty's, Steak Burrito Mexican Grill, Taco Maya and Texas Roadhouse - there's bound to be something to satisfy. To sweeten the deal, for every $10 spent at a participating restaurant during the week, diners will get a chance to win a gift card bundle by sending a dated receipt to Contest@BloomingdaleChamber.com. For details, see bloomingdalechamber.com/restaurant-week.
Sweet reward
You've probably already heard of this deal - Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is giving away one free Original Glazed doughnut per day through 2021 to anyone who has received at least one of the two shots of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine by showing their COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card. On Mondays through May 24 - regardless of vaccination status - Krispy Kreme is giving away one free Original Glazed doughnut and a medium coffee to anyone who stops by any of the participating locations.
Krispy Kreme is at 412 E. Devon Ave., Elk Grove Village; 110 S. Mannheim Road, Hillside; 9150 S. Western Ave., Evergreen Park; 17815 Halsted St., Homewood; and 108 N. State St., Chicago; krispykreme.com/promos/vaccineoffer.
Due to evolving COVID-19 restrictions, note that these offerings are subject to change. Send restaurant news to clinden@dailyherald.com.