Weekday Planner: Sake Dinner at Izakaya Mita, Luau Thursdays, Fried Chicken and Champagne Mondays, National Hot Dog Day
July Sake Dinner at Izakaya Mita
Pro tip: the newly launched sake dinner series at Izakaya Mita is one of the best bargains in Chicago. For $50 per person, guests at this slick Bucktown eatery get several courses of Japanese cuisine paired with one-of-a-kind sakes selected by Vine Connections' . There are two seatings for the dinner on July 22, the first at 6:00 p.m. and the second at 8:00 p.m. The menu, featured asparagus and lotus root in sesame sauce; sukiyaki-style tofu and beef, unagi with wakame, cucumber, and tomago; duck bincho; orange miso mackerel; and tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and avocado topped with nagaimo. Sakes on deck for the night include Kandara Bride of the Fox Junmai Ginjo; Fukucho Forgotten Fortune Junmai; Fukucho Moon on the Water Junmai Ginjo; Yuho Rhythm of the Centuris Tokubetsu Junmai Kimoto; Yuho Eternal Embers Junmai; Mantensei Star Filled Sky Junmai Ginjo; and a dessert sake called Tensei Thousand Waves Tokubetsu Junmai Yamahai. Tickets can be purchased by calling the restaurant.
Luau Thursday at The Duck Inn
From Japanese sake to tropical luaus in Bridgeport, The Duck Inn is starting a recurring monthly luau series featuring Hawaiian fare and libations in the restaurant's vibrant backyard. For $35 per person, guests can partake in a beachy feast prepared by chef Kevin Hickey, including whole roasted suckling pig, Hawaiian buns, Polynesian noodle salad, poi, garlic rice, assorted sauces, and tropical fruit trifle. The luaus take place on select Thursdays, starting with July 23. Drinks include $4 Spam Mai Tais (whoa!) and Tiger Lager Tallboys. The shindig goes down from 5:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. and reservations can be made by calling The Duck Inn. The next luaus take place August 20 and September 17.
Fried Chicken and Champagne Mondays at Lush Wine & Spirits
There's really no better way to start a work week and take the sting out of Monday than with fried chicken and Champagne. Live the high life at Lush Wine & Spirits' West Town location, which just implemented a new weekly promotion centered on comfort food and drink. Each week, starting at 5:00 p.m. on Mondays, the wine bar offers plates of fried chicken and 25% off any bottle of Grower Champagne in the shop. This chicken is no joke either, marinated in buttermilk, chiles, and spices before getting breaded and fried in a cast-iron skillet filled with lard, duck fat, clarified butter, and bacon fat. Fried chicken comes with a biscuit and coleslaw.
National Hot Dog Day Dining Deal
National Hot Dog Day is July 23, and to commemorate this encased meat celebration, Frank Meats Patty in Avondale is offering $1 chardogs all day long. The end.
- Matt Kirouac