Weekday Planner: Cheese Tour at Tru, Family Tree Dinners at Heaven on Seven, Lunch at Beacon Tavern, and Summer Specials at Chop Shop
Cheese Tour at Tru
Get ready to say cheese! French and French-style domestic cheeses take the spotlight in a big way as part of a special event at Tru on June 22. From 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., the famed restaurant and executive chef Anthony Martin will showcase nine different cheeses with accompaniments in a tasting format. Cheeses will be paired with wine, beer, and cocktail tastes as well. The spread will include one of the rarest cheeses, the Abbaye de Citeaux, which is a Burgundian cow’s milk cheese that’s been in production more than 200 years just south of Dijon. The cost for the cheese tasting is $60 per person and reservations can be made by calling Tru.
Family Tree Dinner Series at Heaven on Seven
One of the most original dinner series’ to take shape in Chicago in recent years, Heaven on Seven is poised to welcome back a string of chefs who clocked time at the legendary New Orleans-style restaurant in the Loop with its “Family Tree” series. It’s all about esteemed chefs getting back to their roots and cooking alongside Jimmy Bannos again for special dinners. The series starts June 22 with Cleetus Friedman, formerly of City Provisions and Fountainhead, and currently chef of Caffé Baci. Friedman and Bannos will team up for a “Hot as a Mutha” dinner, which will consist of a six-course tasting of hot and fiery dishes. Friedman worked at Heaven on Seven as a server, eventually going on to run the restaurant’s catering program before embarking on his own with the now-shuttered City Provisions. The dinner will take place at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $60 and can be purchased here. Of note: drinks can be purchased separately and are cash only.
Lunch at Beacon Tavern
Fresh after opening a few weeks ago off Michigan Avenue, Beacon Tavern is expanding their portfolio to include lunch service. Available from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., chef Bon Broskey’s impressive menu features the likes of fried chicken, soft-shell crab sliders, a blackened redfish sandwich, vegetable tartine, and more. There’s also a mid-day menu available between lunch and dinner service, with items like salads, a burger, crudo, and oysters.
Summer Specials at Chop Shop
Summer brings forth a slew of new weekday specials at Chop Shop. On Mondays, the restaurant/butcher shop features half-off starters and $3 PBRs between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. On Tuesdays, it’s $4 select drafts all day long. Wednesdays is half-off bottles of wine all day, plus $1 oysters from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Then it’s $5 vodka lemonades and $10 butcher’s burgers with fries from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Finally, Fridays are all about boozy slushies, which go for $5 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
- Matt Kirouac