Chicago Restaurants: Where to Eat This Week: Between Bites, Wine and Cheese, New Bar Snacks, and Cereal-infused Cocktails

At Chicago Restaurants new dishes and drinks are constantly debuting in Chicago restaurants, cafes, bars, and bakeries, which means there are lots of new things to eat around town. Here are some ideas for what to eat this week. Between Bites: Round Two


mk The Restaurant
(mk The Restaurant)

Eating and storytelling go together like Hansel and Gretel, and it's that combo that forms the crux of Between Bites. The food-oriented storytelling event marks its second event Monday, January 27 at The Dawson, wherein a miscellany of Chicago food writers gather to recite personal stories relating to the theme "Hot/Cold." Considering the forecast calls for 40-degree below zero wind chill, that seems apropos. The event kicks off at 6:30 p.m. and readings start at 7:00 p.m. The $25 entry fee includes appetizers, cocktails, and wine. Purchase here.

 


Wine & Dine on a Budget at mk The Restaurant

Nothing like ample doses of wine and cheese to help get over the midweek hump. Chicago restaurants like mk The Restaurant is now combining wine and cheese into one delicious weekly bargain on Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the lounge space. Each week sees a new roster of cheeses selected by pastry chef Lisa Bonjour, adjoined by three wine pours from mk's expansive wine cellar. All this goodness can be yours for a scant $25. If that's not enough to warm your soul, mk is also serving family-style Sunday suppers. For $30 per person, diners can dig into a rotating lineup of signature dishes for group-friendly feasting. Although not available February 2, the next supper includes shaved winter vegetable salad, osso bucco Milanese, and tiramisu on February 9.


New Bar Snacks at The Berkshire Room

Dealer's choice bar snacks, meats, cheeses, mini sandwiches, desserts, and other noshables comprise the new bar snacks menu at The Berkshire Room. Under the direction of executive chef Chris Davies and pastry chef Chris Teixeira, the overhauled food program at River North's preeminent craft cocktail haven includes items such as cider-braised pulled pork sliders, pimiento cheese-filled arancini, fried chicken skins, Frangelico butterscotch pudding, and key lime panna cotta. A fun addition is the dealer's choice offerings, a nod to the dealer's choice option on the cocktail menu wherein guests select their preferred spirit, flavor profile, and glassware, leaving the creativity to the whim of the barkeeps. Flavor profile options for dealer's choice bar snacks include smoky, spicy, fruity, and herbaceous. Guests can either choose their own dishes or have the staff match snacks to cocktails.


Chicago Restaurants Drumbar
(Drumbar)


Cozy up to Cinnamon Toast Crunch-infused Cocktails

Cereal-infused cocktails and Amaro-based winter warmers are among the new additions at Drumbar. Head bartender Alex Renshaw gets whimsical with his cereal-infused Saturday Cartoons cocktail, enriched with Averna Amaro, Demerara, whole egg, and angostura bitters. Other wintry originals include Spin City made with rum, Batavia Arrack, Kummel, lime, and curry bitters; the Hindsight, rife with gin, ginger, lemon, and beet juice; and Nightrider, a medley of pisco, Boston Baul Madier, cinnamon, lime, and mint. Renshaw is also serving up Hot Toddys, gluhwein, and Irish coffee in regards to classic warm cocktails.


- Matt Kirouac

 

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