Weekday Planner: Tasting Tuesday Nights, "Staff Meal" Mondays, Lunch at TETE, and the Goût de France
Tasting Tuesday Nights
Unlimited wine, cheese, and dessert bites are a nice way to get through the work week in one piece. With its newly instated Tasting Tuesday Nights promo, Marion Street Market is here to hold your hand and comfort you through the daily grind. The Oak Park staple offers unlimited wine, cheese, and bites from the menu and dessert for $20 between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m in the market's tasting room. Guests can expect a new array of seasonal treats each week, selected by chef Steve Chiappetti. Examples include Gouda cheese lollipops, sweet pea soup, and carrot cake. Beverage manager Heather Yargus gets in on the fun by collaborating with Chiappetti each week to march bites with brews and wines.
"Staff Meal" at Le Colonial
Rather than ask what the chef thinks you should order, do as the Romans do (so to speak) and order the "staff meal" at Le Colonial. This new weekly promotion takes place every Monday evening, allowing diners to try something different and offbeat in the upstairs bar. Specials cost $14 and change weekly, featuring dishes like seafood pho, Vietnamese bibimbap, and vit xao, a stir-fried duck dish with mixed vegetables in a light sauce of sate spice, chili, and garlic.
Eat Lunch at TÊTE Charcuterie
You love it for dinner, now you can love it for lunch. TÊTE Charcuterie just joined the West Loop weekday lunch fray, but in a decidedly more casual format than its neighboring brethren. The grab-and-go lunch menu is as convenient and approachable as it gets, served counter-service style off a butcher paper menu. The takeout-focused offerings include sandwiches like Italian sausage, jalapeño-cheddar brat, and jambon beurre with salted butter and Comte cheese. The communal table will also be open for dining in. Sandwiches cost $12 and come with salt and pepper chips and a can of La Croix.
Goût de France at Cafe des Architectes
French cuisine steps into the spotlight in a big way this coming week, as Cafe des Architectes prepares to participate in Goût de France, a global dining initiative designed to promote French cuisine. Organized by Alain Ducasse and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, the Goût de France finds more than 1,300 restaurants across the world to participate in a prix fixe dinner on March 19. In Chicago, your go-to destination is Cafe des Architectes, where chef Greg Biggers and pastry chef Leigh Omilinsky have crafted a five-course homage to French fare at its finest. The menu includes aperitifs and truffled gougeres; foie gras torchon with berry jam and cheddar doughnuts; seared sweetbreads with Boursin polenta, sherry lacquer, and cippolini onions; crispy skin whitefish with beets, leek fondue, and thumbelina carrots; amish chicken ballantine with apricot jus, mushrooms, and celery root; and a chocolate sphere with cherry, hazelnut, and gold leaf for dessert. The cost for dinner is $85 per person, plus $48 for optional wine pairings. Call the restaurant for reservations.
- Matt Kirouac