Today is Bastille Day, which means that Chicago’s French restaurants (and a few with tenuous to nonexistent French ties) will be offering special meals and deals, many of them through the weekend. Here are a few samples:
– At Le Francais (269 S. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling), a special multi-course menu, with a glass of champagne, is $80; the menu is available Thursday and Friday. 847-541-7470.
– The only night bigger than Bastille Day for Bistro Banlieue (44 Yorktown Convenience Center, Lombard) is New Year’s Eve. The bistro will offer a special prix-fixe menu for $48, plus a special list of discounted wines, followed as always by an outdoor fireworks show (the outdoor patio is already sold out for the late seating, but you can always gawk from the parking lot). 630-629-6560.
– Cyrano’s Bistrot, Wine Bar & Cabaret (546 N Wells St.) turns Bastille Day into a weekend-long celebration. Thursday through Saturday, the restaurant will feature a four-course menu (with choices in each category) for $35; there will be complimentary music each night from a violinist, and on Saturday night Suzy Petri will perform in the downstairs cabaret ($8 cover). 312-467-0546.
– Festive decor and menu specials mark the celebration at Mon Ami Gabi (2300 Lincoln Park West; and Oakbrook Center Mall, Oak Brook). In addition to the regular menu, there will be specials such as halibut with roasted tomatoes and sauce choron, rack of lamb with mint-basil pesto and chilled vichyssoise soup. 773-348-8886 or 630-472-1900.
– Le Titi de Paris (1015 W. Dundee Rd., Arlington Heights) will serve a special Bastille Day menu Thursday through Sunday. The four-course menu is $52. 847-506-0222.
– Sweets & Savories (1534 W. Fullerton Ave.) celebrates Bastille Day and its newly obtained liquor license. On Bastille Day, champagne will be served for $1 per glass. Thursday through Sunday, a four-course prix-fixe dinner will be featured; cost is $25, with the regular menu also available. 773-281-6778.
– The Noodle Cafe (1875 Grove St., Glenview) will serve a post-Bastille dinner of French treats, wine included, at 7 p.m. Monday. Cost is $60, tax included; reservations required. 847-724-2228.
Christopher Albano has been named executive chef of 10 West (10 W. Jackson St., Naperville), replacing his boss, Patrick Cassata, who has returned to Eclectic, his restaurant in Barrington. Also new at 10 West is an early-bird prix fixe menu that includes three courses for $30. 630-548-3100.
A “Rodney Dangerfield tasting” of undervalued and overlooked wines will be held 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at The Tasting Room in the Randolph Wine Cellars (1415 W. Randolph St.). For $30, patrols can sample more than 30 wines from such regions as Beaujolais, South Africa, Portugal, Austria, Greece and the Middle East. 312-942-1212.
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pvettel@tribune.com
