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Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
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Playlist Theater
Last Chance: Griffin House Tickets
By Brianne
 At the Uptown, we certainly don't like to beat a dead horse. If you're an avid newsletter reader (or even just a casual one), chances are you've seen us mention Griffin House a time or two.
Let's just say we'd be remiss to not mention him once more before it is too late. His shows scheduled for our very own Playlist Theater are merely hours away.
Speaking of which...
Do you have your tickets yet?
Thursday, September 13 | 7:30 pm
Friday, September 14 | 7:30 pm
Take your pick of nights at $20 a ticket. Friday is nearly sold out, but it's rare that you have two opportunities to catch this amazing musician!
A concert review from last month mentions how his performance could "melt faces" and kept the audience "captivated by the music." After the brutally hot summer we've had, who isn't up for a little face melting of a different variety?
Stop in and see for yourself. Tickets are available for purchase in house or online while supplies last.
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On Special
Quiche Lorraine
By Jeannie
Mmmmm....applewood smoked bacon, eggs, onions, cream and swiss cheese baked in an open faced pie crust? How simply delicious can you get? Breakfast is one of my favorite meals and this dish takes it to the next level. Time is not of the essence. Quiche is breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. Served with a mesculyn salad topped with gorgonzola cheese and housemade sugared walnuts--this dish is perfect. Come and enjoy Chef Chris's delectable Quiche Lorraine.
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Uncork Illinois
Vintage Illinois Wine Tasting
By Ryan
 The Vintage Illinois Wine Festival was an event that I did not attend until just a few years ago. Once I did, I now try to make sure I get back each and every year. It is one of our area's nicest festivals. Many of the wineries do not offer your standard varietals. Finding a wine varietal you really enjoy, that you have never heard of before, is a large part of the fun. Each year I discover something new and look forward to it yet again.
The festival will take place this weekend - Saturday & Sunday the 15th & 16th - at Matthiessen State Park, Vermillion River Entrance. The festival will open to the public on Saturday from 11am to 6pm and Sunday from 12 to 5pm. There will be almost 30 winery participants at this event from all over Illinois. You can expect a wide range of selected red and white wines for you to sample or purchase by the glass or by the bottle. The entry fee will be $20.00 in which you will be given a complimentary "Vintage Illinois at Starved Rock" wine glass and 5 tasting tickets.
 If you are worried about tasting all the wines and how you will get home, bring a designated driver. Designated drivers can get into the event for $5 each and will receive a special wrist band with 2 complimentary drink tickets for Coca-Cola products.
There will also be musical entertainment provided by local artists including: Cassandra & The Gravel Road Band, The Steve Sharp Band, PLUSH, The Tavern Hill Liars, Howard and the White Boys, and Blend Acoustic. The Vintage Illinois Wine Festival is a great event where you can enjoy and support Illinois wineries and businesses. I encourage you to ask questions about the wine-making process to any of the vendors. I'm sure they will be happy to oblige. Local participants include:
- August Hill
- Illinois River Winery
- Illinois Sparkling Co.
- Starved Rock Marketplace
 After going through the wine tasting, if any of you enjoy wines from August Hill, remember that we do carry a few of their varietals. The red varietal we offer is their Ginocchio. This is a full bodied red that is aged 10 months in French and American Oak barrels. Probably most comparable to a Merlot, this wine has a hint of raspberries with white pepper on the finish. The white varietal we offer is their Vignoles. This is a light-bodied white wine that is a French-American hybrid grape. It is probably most similar to a riesling.
The sparkling wine we offer is their Dollface, which is actually from Illinois Sparkling Co. These grapes are grown right here in Peru. ISC began after winemakers Mark and Teri Wenzel discovered that Champagne, France and Utica, Illinois actually shared similar grape producing climates that allow for grapes high in acid and low in tannins. Technically the wine can not be called Champagne because it is not grown in that French region, but nonetheless this really is a legitimate sparkling wine that you should have no reservations about ordering.
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Around the Industry
No Substitutions
By Jimmy
 I recently came across an article in one of the trade magazines that deals with menu substitutions.This happens more often than you think in this business - and in all efforts to create the most enjoyable experience for guests in service, food, and beverage - you sometimes face some decisions. Hopefully this gives us that work in the restaurant world a chance to explain ourselves. The article states that according to some bigger city restaurants, they simply would rather lose a customer by telling them no to any subsititutions or alterations to their menu. Now why would a business want to do such a thing? Why would you want to turn customers away in this economy? Their reasons are actually simple. A lot of time and effort is spent in creating some of these amazing dishes, and there is fear that the end result will no longer be what the chef intended. They feel that with an extensive menu, there should be something there that the customers are interested in. According to the article, the "no substitutions" rules aren't just about kitchen efficiency these days, because many chefs are eager to preserve the authenticity of their painstakingly-created dishes. Jon Shook, a chef and co-owner of a Los Angeles-based restaurant, has a quick response for questions about the philosophy behind their policy: "Would you ask Picasso to change his painting?" Here at the Uptown, we see these substitutions every day. It also seems over the course of the last decade, this happens more and more often. We try to accomodate all allergenic, as many as possible diets and "almost" all personal requests to a dish according to the customer's needs. However, there are times that we do simply have to say, "I am sorry but we cannot do that," and here are a few reasons... We feel that our menu is quite extensive for our area. In fact, from appetizers through desserts and after-dinner drinks, you will not find a bigger, better menu around - we are proud of what we offer! However, behind the scenes, there are times that this actually hurts us. There are things to consider in the making of such a menu. Consistency is very important in whom we have become over the course of the last 27 years. Our cooks are trained to prepare each dish on a slow Monday lunch the same way as on a busy Saturday night. We also strive for our customers to receive their meals in a timely fashion. Any ticket longer than 15 minutes is considered too long by our standards. We do not want you waiting so long for your food. This means the storage of all ingredients on the line is crucial so the kitchen staff has easy access to them. The more things you throw at them, the more it could actually slows things down. And this does not only mean your order, it can mean the rest of the dining room too.
Busy nights, our kitchen staff works like a well-oiled machine. Once a specific request comes in, things slow down to accomodate the dish and it becomes nothing like what we intended. So how can we honor our name on it? Splitting dishes is one thing we also like to avoid. Again, this is only due to the fact that we really strive for a nice presentation. Splitting, we feel, hurts that presentation. Share a dish no problem, and ask for an extra plate. But please do not ask us to change our presentation. In all, I thought this article was interesting and I wanted to share it with you. Sometimes you have to ask if this is really happening out there... and although you probably will not find that here, we do hope that you trust us and try a dish according to how we feel it should be prepared. And by all means, we love to hear your comments.
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From Dust to Darling...
Thank You to the City of LaSalle
Cheers to a job well done!
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Uptown Playlist Theater
Thursday, September 13 & Friday, September 14 Tickets $20
___________________________________________________ Thursday, October 25th
Tickets $25 Wednesday, November 21st Tickets $20
Please purchase tickets in person or online only.
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"Not Your Everyday Specials"
Monday Nights, Steak Diane
Every Monday after 4 pm, we will be serving Steak Diane for $17.75. This will be just like the Red Door Inn. With Victor's stamp of approval.
 Fish Taco Tuesdays
Every Tuesday, we will be serving fish tacos. The taco includes panko breaded tilapia, red cabbage, chipotle mayonnaise, and a mango pineapple black bean salsa. They will be served with corn chips and adobo sauce. Available for dine in and carryout. 3 for $6.75 or $2.50 each.
Wienerschnitzel Wednesday
Every Wednesday after 4pm, we will be serving authentic German Wienerschnitzel. Served with roasted asparagus, spaetzel and veal demi glaze, it is only $11.75.
Burger Me Thursday
Every week we have a new burger creation that we serve all day with any beer in house for only $10.00! Thursday, September 20th will feature our Ultimate "Grilla Cheese" Burger. Our juicy Uptown burger is topped with american cheese before being placed between two grilled cheese sandwiches. So order up, smile, and "say cheese!"
 Friday Nights, Seafood Mixed Grill
4 oz. grilled lobster tail with drawn butter, 4 oz. tilapia filet with crab meat stuffing, and 4 oz. whitefish parmesan with lemon caper butter. All for only $19.75
Friday Nights, Surf Your Turf
Friday nights we offer a 4oz lobster tail that you can add to any steak on our menu for only $5.38! This means that you will pay what we pay for the lobster and not a penny more!
Prime Rib, Friday and Saturday Evening
Available after 4pm every Friday and Saturday night is our herb crusted prime rib of beef. Our prime rib is slow roasted for several hours in our 1980 alto shaam. It is served with au jus, mushrooms and your choice of side dish. Available in 12oz or 16oz.
 Slow Roasted Boneless Pork Loin,
Saturday Evenings
Available after 4pm every Saturday night we have slow roasted boneless pork loin with a bourbon demi glaze. 10oz sliced pork loin served with our daily mashed potato and vegetable side
Sunday, All Day, Sizzling Fajita and Margaritas
You get a chicken fajita with a 64 ounce pitcher of margaritas,
perfect for a relaxing Sunday! Serves 2 for $20!
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Specials This Week
appetizer
artisanal cheese sampler
1. Shepherd's Way (Minnesota) 2. Reny Picot Saint Rocco
Triple Creme (Michigan) 3. Ludwig Kickapoo (Illinois)
4. Senorio De Montelarreina Manchego (Spain)
5. Carr Valley Billy Blue Goat (Wisconsin) 6. Sap Sago (Switzerland)
serves 2 to 4 people 19.75
breaded gorgonzolla stuffed ravioli
four gorgonzola stuffed ravioli hand breaded and fried.
served with a mushroom ragu 8.75
salad and sandwich
mesculyn salad & panini sandwich combo
cuban marinated pork, smoked gouda cheese and black bean aioli.
balsamic vinaigrette. 11.25 with soup of the day 12.75
quiche lorraine, mesculyn salad and soup combo
housemade quiche with onion, bacon and swiss cheese.
served with mesculyn, walnut and gorgonzola salad and a cup
of soup of the day 12.75
italian beef sandwich
shaved and seasoned prime rib topped with sauteed peppers, onions
and provolone cheese. served on an italian roll with housemade fries 10.75
grilled wedged romaine salad
grilled wedged romaine topped with salemville blue cheese,
pancetta, roasted beets, asparagus, tomato and red onion.
served with balsamic vinaigrette 13.50
entrees
beef tenderloin steak ka-bob
skewered beef tenderloin, red bell peppers, red onion,
tomato and portobello mushrooms served with a wild rice
pilaf and mushroom marsala sauce 21.50
stuffed chicken breast
breaded boneless chicken breast stuffed with ham and
tillamook cheddar. served with uptown rice blend 13.75
salmon, roasted corn and saffron risotto
fresh atlantic salmon, roasted corn, shallot and portobello
mushrooms with a saffron arborio rice and reggiano
parmesan 17.75
sauteed grouper cheeks
lightly floured grouper cheeks sauteed and topped with a lemon parsley
plugra butter and reggiano parmesan. served over angelhair pasta
with roasted asparagus 19.75
10 oz lobster tail
10 oz australian rock lobster tail, served with horseradish
mashed potatoes and a corn sautee of bacon, asparagus,
red onion, carrot, celery, and sweet bell peppers.
drawn butter 39.00
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food specials, drinks, and MORE!
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Foodie Fight
 Each week in the newsletter, we will ask three questions from the "Foodie Fight" cards. The first person to email us (see link below) the correct answers to all three questions will receive a complimentary lunch. The winner has to have the exact answer for all three questions, no exceptions! The following week we will publish the correct answers and the winner of the previous week. So come in and have a drink, study the cards, test each other and have fun.
Good Luck!
1. How many days must raw-milk cheese age to be sold in the United States?
2. Which of Ben and Jerry's 2010 ice cream flavors was a limted edition Wal-Mart excusive?
3. What fish is making a comeback from severe depletion in the 1980's?
Fine Print:
- You must be the first person to respond with all three correct answers.
- The response must go to the email address in the above link.
- You must reply within 24 hours from the time the newsletter is published.
- Participants are eligible to win up to 3 times a year.
Last Week's Questions & Answers:
1. What mysterious insect disorder became a threat to food crops across the US in 2006?..................... colony collapse disorder (CCD)
2. What term describes someone who prefers food that's been harvested or produced as close to home as possible? ........................Locavore
3. What bread relies on a moist batter and two heat settings to cause it to pop over its mold and form a hollow interior? ...........................popover bread
Last Week's Winner: ....................RICK URBAN
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Uptown Grill
601 First Street | LaSalle, IL 61301 | 815.224.4545
Monday - Thursday: 11am -10pm
Friday - Saturday: 11am - 11pm
Sunday: 12pm - 10pm
uptowngrill.com
Uptown respects your privacy and will not sell or distribute your personal information. |
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