Weekday Planner: Shark Week Specials, Sprig's Next Guest Chef Night, Blackwood BBQ Starts Dinner, Mediterranean Mondays

Shark Week Specials

CHOMP. That's the sound of Shark Week taking a bite out of your social life for the next few days. Discovery Channel's morbidly fascinating seasonal favorite has been moved up earlier in the summer this year, from July 5 through July 12. The fan-favorite shows beget a special Shark Week-inspired cocktail selection at Bottleneck Management bars and restaurants Sweetwater Tavern and Grille, The Boundary Tavern and Grill, Howells & Hood, and Old Town Pour House, all of which are garnishing drinks with toy sharks. During Shark Week, Sweetwater will offer a drink called Shark Water, made with Bacardi, Stoli, Blue Curacao, pineapple juice, and pina colada mix. There's also a few droplets of grenadine added in, which looks eerily like blood. But more delicious. The Shark Attack cocktail at The Boundary, meanwhile, contains Grey Goose La Poire infused with berries, lemonade, and grenadine, while Howells & Hood's Shark Infested Water drink features Bacardi pineapple, orange and cherry "chum," lime juice, Pimm's, and ginger ale. Then there's the Martha Gin-Yards at Old Town Pour House, which is mixing Oxley Gin with lime juice, ginger beer, Vandermill Hard Apple Cider, and Blue Curacao. 

 

Shark Week Cocktail
Sip on Shark Week



Sprig's Guest Chef Night With Kyle Connaughton 

There's a new meal delivery service in town, and it demands your attention. San Francisco-based Sprig goes far beyond the call of meal delivery duty by offering three organic, unique daily options for chef-inspired "home cooked" meals brought to your home in minutes. The seasonal, locally minded app has partnered with chefs to literally bring a chef-driven service right to the comforts of your home. For instance, acclaimed chef Kyle Connaughton is the next name to align with the company for their guest chef night. Previously of world-renowned restaurants like The Fat Duck and Michael Bras, the chef has created a special menu for Sprig's guest chef series on July 9, allowing diners to order Connaughton cuisine with the click of a button or two. A portion of the proceed's from Thursday's guest chef night go to local culinary charity, Pilot Light. Menu options courtesy of Connaughton include a smoked salmon bento box with cherry blossom wood-smoked salmon, walnut-nori pesto, dashi-maki tamago, tatsoi ohitashi, and charred scallion brown rice; a bento of hokkaido yakitori with miso ginger chicken yakitori, blistered shishito with preserved Meyer lemon, agedashi eggplant, komatsuna, king trumpet mushrooms, and charred scallion brown rice; and another bento with hodo soy yuba stuffed with yuzu kosho and basil rice with pine nuts, broccolini and shiitake with temple-style dashi, roasted fingerling potatoes, and corn and smoked heirloom tomato with creamy sauce. Visit the app store and download Sprig to make the magic happen. 

Blackwood BBQ Beckons Dinner Service

Summer is high time for barbecue cravings, and thanks to Blackwood BBQ's new dinner service, there's more succulent meat to be savored this season. The venerable Loop and West Loop lunchtime favorite is rolling out dinner service starting July 10 at their West Loop locale. New hours will be 7:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, covering all meal periods. Expect all your Blackwood favorites like brisket, pulled pork, and smoked chicken, along with new dinnertime options like Alabama BBQ sauce, apple slaw, and housemade pickles. 

Mediterranean Mondays at Allium

Start your week with a trip to the Mediterranean. Except instead of splurging on airfare, you're just enjoying a three-course themed prix fixe at Allium as part of the restaurant's new Mediterranean Mondays. Every Monday, the restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel Chicago is taking guests on a culinary journey overseas with dishes like chicken shawarma, beef and lamb gyros, and baklava. Diners can custom design their dining experience at Mediterranean food stations with various toppings and dishes that change each week per chef Stephen Wambach's inspired whim. The menus cost $35 per person. 

- Matt Kirouac

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