Chicago Restaurant News
MARRIOTT'S HARVEST GRILL TOUTS REAL, LOCAL FOOD
February 19, 2009 – CHICAGO – "We draw on the diversity of the Midwest, and more specifically Chicago, when we write our menus. You won't find a 'New York Strip' or a 'Chesapeake Bay Crab Cake' on our menu," says Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile Executive Chef Myk Banas, talking about the hotel's Harvest Grill restaurant.
Using in-season, local ingredients, the restaurant offers a well-rounded, distinctive menu. "We buy our pork from Plainfield, Illinois, our apples from Michigan, our cheese from Wisconsin and our Proscuitto ham from Iowa. We are proud of the fact that we source as much as possible from the local area," Banas says.
Banas is no stranger to Midwestern cuisine. Originally from the Chicago area, he completed his culinary training at Joliet Junior College, and previously served as executive chef at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare.
Banas also is proud that nearly everything on Harvest Grill's menu is hand-crafted in-house; nothing comes from a can, a box or a bag. "This is real cooking," Banas explains. "Harvest Grill doesn't even own a can opener."
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FULTON'S GOES WILD WITH OYSTERS
February 17, 2009 – CHICAGO – Throughout the month, Fulton's on the River is featuring an Aphrodisiac Oyster Bar menu that includes po' boy sliders, Rockefellers, shooters and more. Meanwhile, noteworthy additions to the regular menu include seared Rushing Waters organic rainbow trout; a flight of three side dishes; Maine lobster mac & cheese; and at lunch, a grilled blue fin tuna mignon sandwich with truffle-ginger mayo.
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ZAGAT SURVEY PUBLISHES CHICAGO DINING DEALS
February 11, 2009 – CHICAGO – Zagat Survey today releases Chicago Dining Deals, a collection of more than 300 Chicago-area restaurants that offer values to diners. Based on opinions from more than 5,000 respondents, restaurants with deals under $30 for dinner and $20 for lunch appear in the guide, which is available for $5.95 at many bookstores.
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BERGHOFF HAPPY HOUR IS CORNED-BEEFY
February 4, 2009 – CHICAGO – Grab a $1 corned beef sandwich with the purchase of a drink at the bar between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, throughout the month of February at The Berghoff.
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NAHA OFFERS LINCOLN MEMORIAL 3-COURSE LUNCH DEAL
February 4, 2009 – CHICAGO – In honor of Abe Lincoln's 200th b-day, get a 3-course lunch at NAHA next week for just $21, or $31 with wine pairings. The menu was re-created from Lincoln's inaugural dinner, and recently served at the Obama Inaugurama...
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ONE SIXTYBLUE OFFERS TASTY BURGER/BEER DEAL
February 2, 2009 – CHICAGO – Last month, one sixtyblue's blue bar debuted Burgeres, Beer and Beats, a Thursday night promotion offering $4 signature burgers and $4 craft beers (selections rotate weekly) with a DJ providing the beats starting at 6 p.m. The burger is made in house using New York strip, tenderloin and hangar steak, and served on a pretzel roll with hand-cut fries and a fried pickle wedge (the building used to house a pickle factory).
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TRIBUNE COMPILES LIST OF RESTAURANT EAT 'N LEARNS
January 29, 2009 – CHICAGO – Thanks to Chicago Tribune reporter Monica Eng, you can find Chicago restaurants offering eat 'n learn deals simply by following this link. Mmmm... knowledge.
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PHIL VETTEL COMPILES LIST OF RESTAURANT DEALS
January 29, 2009 – CHICAGO – Thanks to Chicago Tribune Restaurant Critic Phil Vettel, you can find restaurant discounts for every day of the week, divided by type, from beverage-based deals (half-price wines, no-corkage nights) to burger discounts and multi-course fixed-price deals. Just follow this link.
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NOMI INVITES GUESTS OUT TO LUNCH
January 28, 2009 – CHICAGO – Starting February 2, complimentary offerings combined with swift service will entice diners to enjoy NoMI's elegant winter lunch menu. Guests will receive their choice of complimentary soup and the chef's selection of salad presented simultaneously in a partitioned serving piece. This presentation expedites service, allowing prompt delivery of each guest's main course and gratis dessert selection.
Main course options include a steak sandwich with bearnaise aioli, caramelized onions, arugula and smoked paprika chips; NoMI panini with Swan Creek Farms ham, smoked mozzarella and caraway mustard; or Peekytoe crab cakes with whole grain mustard, fennel and saffron-curry rouille.
At $25 per person, the NoMI winter lunch menu offers an excellent value. It is available Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
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AI HAS ONGOING DEALS
January 28, 2009 – CHICAGO – Every Sunday, it’s all-you-can-eat sushi for $31.95. Every Monday, Ai Lounge offers a 3-course prix-fixe menu with wine and sake pairing for $30 (that beats the Restaurant Week deal)! And every Tuesday, Ai offers an 8-course prix-fixe menu for just $20.09. Who knew???!!!
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SUSHISAMBA RIO SERVES UP FREE DRINKS
January 28, 2009 – CHICAGO -- Order any entrée for brunch at SushiSamba Rio and get three cocktails for free! That’s three “caipiroskas,” mimosas or bloody marys for nothing. Yes, you are reading this correctly!
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January 26, 2009 – MENUS ARE UPLOADED FOR MORE THAN 25 RESTAURANTS... stay tuned for more each day.
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DAVID BURKE'S PRIMEHOUSE HAS $20 DINNER DEAL
January 23, 2009 – CHICAGO -- David Burke's Primehouse offers a $20.09 Sunday night dinner, according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal.
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312 CHICAGO OFFERS HALF PRICE WINES
January 23, 2009 – CHICAGO -- 312 Chicago is offering half-price wines on Mondays during the month of February.
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ONE SIXTYBLUE GETS 3 STARS FROM VETTEL
January 22, 2009 – CHICAGO -- New chef Michael McDonald brings a new focus on contemporary American cuisine to one sixtyblue. The Chicago Tribune's Phil Vettel gives his effort 3 stars.
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C-HOUSE HAPPY HOUR - A GREAT CATCH
January 22, 2009 – CHICAGO -- Check out the lobby bar at C-House in the Affinia Chicago hotel on Wednesdays between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Word is you can get two fish tacos and a beer for $9.
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VALENTINE’S DAY RESERVATIONS AVAILABLE AT NoMI
January 21, 2009 – CHICAGO -- Valentine’s Day reservations are now available at NoMI. Couples can embark on a romantic evening with a 4-course prix-fixe dinner prepared by Executive Chef Christophe David.
A menu including Lobster Consommé, Terrine of Foie Gras and Pan Roasted Brittany Turbot will conclude with a trio of red-themed desserts. Each couple will take away a Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon fragrance gift set as a token of the evening.
Reservations are available from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on February 14th. The price is $125 per person, excluding tax and gratuity; there is an optional $65 wine pairing option. NoMI’s regular a la carte menu will not be available on Valentine’s Day.
For hopeless romantics seeking a distinctive experience, NoMI offers the exclusive “Table for Two,” where NoMI’s private dining room will be transformed to set the mood for a magical evening. The experience is only available to one couple and begins with a pop of champagne. The evening will continue to unfold as Chef David prepares an enhanced 12-course menu with premium wines paired with each course. A special dessert wine for the sweethearts to share rounds out the night. This exclusive evening is priced at $350 per person, excluding tax and gratuity.
Couples wishing to extend the night into a weekend retreat may take advantage of a special NoMI patron guestroom rate of $225 per room, per night, for guests who enjoy dinner in the restaurant.
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January 20, 2009 – MENUS ARE UPLOADED FOR 12 RESTAURANTS... stay tuned for more each day.
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CHEF MARTIAL NOGUIER INTRODUCES NEIGHBORHOOD FRIENDS' MENU
January 16, 2009 – CHICAGO -- Allow Chef Martial of Cafe des Architectes to prepare a relaxed Neighborhood Friends' dinner created with locally farmed ingredients on Sunday or Monday nights. Savor an enchanting 3-course meal at an extraordinary value -- just $29 for adults. This offer is available from January 18 through April 27.
Neighborhood Friends' Menu
(Select one from each course)
Appetizers
Broccoli Velout
roasted hazelnuts / Chicago co-op honey / Capriole Farm goat cheese
Swan Creek Farm Poached Egg
braised pork belly / frise / shallot vinaigrette
Cured Baby Coho Salmon
Nichol's fingerling potato salad / watercress / lemon crme fraiche
Entrees
Winter Roasted Root Vegetables
squash / homemade parmesan gnocchi / lettuce
Lake Superior Whitefish
cauliflower pure / caperberries / lemon reduction
Swan Creek Farm Chicken Breast
Nichol's Jerusalem artichokes / grapes / glazed thigh
Flat Iron Steak
parsnip pure / watercress salad / shallot reduction
Desserts
Warm Bread Pudding
vanilla custard / cognac infused raisins / Navan cream sauce
Duo of Mini Desserts
daily preparation
CDA Crme Brule
Turbinado sugar / shortbread cookies / Madagascar vanilla
For reservations, call (312) 324 4063 or visit OpenTable.com.
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Q&A WITH MARTIAL NOGUIER, FRENCH CHEF DEDICATED TO THE MIDWEST
Chef Martial Noguier may be a native of Paris and a graduate of a French culinary academy, but he considers his mentors the two chefs that he spent years working and learning under in the United States: Joachim Splichal and Michel Richard. “They helped me a lot,” he says. Noguier recently made the move after nearly eight years as executive chef at Chicago’s one sixtyblue restaurant to become executive chef at the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower and Cafe des Architectes.
Q: What was your first kitchen job?
Noguier: It’s difficult to say… When I was a young boy, to make money, I used to work in restaurants after school or during the weekend or holidays. My mother would find me a job in a restaurant doing anything and everything. I was good for the job. I did some dishes, I was making pizza, grilling. Anywhere they needed me I was going. Every year I had a different job.
Q: How would you define your cooking style?
Noguier: My food is not French. It’s French technique. It’s modern food—very light, no cream, no butter. The technique is to make sure the fish and meat is cooked perfect. It’s the marriage of meat and fish with vegetables.
Q: That said, what will change with the food at Café des Architectes (The Sofitel Chicago’s modern French brasserie)?
Noguier: I would like the food and the restaurant to become more a part of the Midwest. My goal is to make sure this restaurant becomes a neighborhood restaurant. What I’m doing is using a lot of farmers in the Midwest. I go to [Chicago’s] Green City Market every Wednesday and Saturday, and use local farmers for the food. I’m going to use fish from the lake (Lake Michigan). I want people in Chicago to understand that Sofitel is part of Chicago and that I respect the Midwest.
Q: What are your favorite ingredients to work with?
Noguier: Root vegetables. I love root vegetables. I love celery root; I love sunchoke. All these vegetables I love. The flavor they have… you can do so many things with them. It’s so easy to put them together with anything.
Q: How do you feel about working in a hotel now versus a freestanding restaurant?
Noguier: It’s a learning experience. I have a lot to learn because it’s a different operation. Working for one sixtyblue and Cornerstone (Restaurant Group), in the beginning I was the corporate chef, so I opened all the restaurants, and some were in hotels, like Wave in the W Hotel on Lakeshore Drive and We in the W Hotel on Adams. So I knew a little bit about the process and the work. But here, it’s a different animal. We do a lot of business between banquets, roomservice, breakfast, lunch and dinner. On Saturday and Sunday, between breakfast and lunch, we do 400 to 450 people.
Q: What was it about the chance to work at Sofitel Chicago that led you to leave one sixtyblue after nearly eight years?
Noguier: I didn’t leave one sixtyblue because I was unhappy—it was a great job. I met good people, I had the freedom to do anything I wanted, like changing the menu four or six times a year. It was a wonderful experience—more like a laboratory. And I had wonderful people with me in the kitchen and wonderful people with passion in the front of the house. I was very lucky.
But I think I liked the challenge. I also like the idea—it’s a French company, a French hotel [brand]… You know when you do a restaurant and you try to find the right concept and everything goes together? I think I saw this: French chef, French company, French hotel.
Q: Did you bring any staff members with you?
Noguier: Of course I brought some staff with me—for example the new executive pastry chef, Suzanne Imaz. But also the employees they had here were very good. They are very nice people, not only in the kitchen, but also in the front of the house. It’s almost like my job was easy—I don’t need to push them. They are passionate, they want to learn and they are doing a great job. They are working all the time. I have to tell them to go home.
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NOMI OFFERS WINTER LIBATIONS IN LOUNGE
January 14, 2009 – CHICAGO -- What better way to beat the winter blues than to thaw out over a warm cocktail in the NoMI Lounge? The winter libations menu has offerings to suit any palate.
Spirited Apple Cider
Hot Golden Apple Cider, Calvados, VeeV, Maple Syrup
Tiramisu Cup
Kahlua, Espresso, Steamed Milk, Cocoa
Glüh Wein
Malbec
Cabernet Sauvignon
Haut Chocolat
Abuelita, Navan Liqueur, Godiva White, Coffee
Crème Brulee Latte
Vanilla, Caramel, Espresso, Steamed Milk
Priced at $12, NoMI Lounge’s Winter Libations are available from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday; 11:30 to Midnight Thursday; and 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday & Saturday.
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W CHICAGO LAKESHORE OFFERS WAVE RESTAURANT WEEK PACKAGE
With a $50 food and beverage credit for Wave, the W Chicago Lakeshore's Restaurant Week vacation package lets guests enjoy inventive Mediterranean cuisine prepared by the W's team of culinary experts. This limited-time package is available only for stays between February 19 and February 27, 2009.
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CHICAGO’S SECOND ANNUAL RESTAURANT WEEK
DISHES UP AFFORDABLE DINING EXPERIENCES
JANUARY 5, 2009 – CHICAGO -- Chicago Restaurant Week…eat it up! produced by the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau’s returns this year for one week February 20 – 27 with more than 130 participating restaurants offering three-course, prix-fixe lunches for $22 and $32 for dinner, excluding beverages, tax and gratuity.
Participation in the second annual event more than tripled as a result of the incredibly successful 2008 Chicago Restaurant Week, the city’s first.
The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau encourages Chicagoans and visitors alike to experience what The Wall Street Journal recently termed “America’s top eating city” during Chicago Restaurant Week.
“No other city in the world can match Chicago’s culinary diversity and experiences created by Chicago’s most notable and emerging chefs,” says Mark Theis, executive vice president of the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau. “Chicago Restaurant Week offers diners an opportunity to celebrate the creativity and mastery of our chefs at two very affordable price points.”
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CHICAGO’S INAUGURAL RESTAURANT WEEK
PROVES TO BE A HUGE SUCCESS
MARCH 20, 2008 – CHICAGO -- The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau’s inaugural Restaurant Week offered February 22-29 did more than raise awareness of the city’s varied dining options – it also tantalized the taste buds of Chicago’s dining critics.
The three-course prix-fixe lunches for $21.95 and three-course prix-fixe dinners for $31.95 left even the sometimes staunchest critics taking credit for the promotion. Phil Vettel, Chicago Tribune’s dining critic immodestly noted in an article that he “whined last May that Chicago needed a Restaurant Week,” but thanked the city and the CCTB for making it happen. And NBC 5’s Bob Sirott stated he would “take credit for this great program” once it becomes a huge success.
Forty-two member restaurants participated in the 2008 promotion. More than half of the participating restaurants responded to an online survey issued by the CCTB following the event.
“We had so much fun this year and would love to participate in the event next year. It definitely brought in a whole new type of consumer and got the Pump Room name out there again,” said Leslie Tovar of The Pump Room. Echoed Lisa Adelman of Café des Architectes, “Our restaurant was much busier than usual. We are very grateful for Restaurant Week since it drove new guests to our establishment.”
Participating restaurants included, 17/west at the Berghoff, Aigre Doux, Alhambra Palace Restaurant, Aria, Atwood Café, Bluewater Grill, Bistro 110, Brazzaz, Bucca di Beppo, Café des Architectes (Sofitel Chicago Water Tower), Carnivale, China Grill (Hard Rock Hotel), David Burke’s Primehouse (The James Chicago Hotel), Devon Seafood Grill, Dine Restaurant, The Drawing Room at Le Passage, Fogo de Chao, Fulton’s on the River, Kiki’s Bistro, Landmark Grill & Lounge, The Lobby (The Peninsula Chicago), Melting Pot, NAHA, Nick’s Fishmarket Grill, one sixtyblue, Park Grill, Phil Stefani’s 437 Rush, Prosecco, Pump Room (Ambassador East Hotel), Riva (Navy Pier), Republic Pan-Asian Restaurant & Lounge, Roy’s, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Seasons Café & Lounge (Four Seasons Hotel), Seasons Restaurant (Four Seasons Hotel), Shor (Hyatt Regency McCormick Place), Shula’s Steak House (Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers), Smith & Wollensky, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, SushiSamba rio, Viand (Courtyard by Marriott Chicago Downtown), Zest Restaurant (InterContinental Hotel Chicago).
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