Seventeen restaurants in Elmwood Park are in the midst of offering discounts, prix-fixe menus and specials as part of a 10-day promotion in the village.
“Dine-In Elmwood Park,” which began Feb. 17 and continues through Sunday, is billed as including restaurants and deals that work for every budget.
The annual food festival showcases the diverse dining offerings that can be found in the village, according to a village news release announcing the dining event.
“Elmwood Park has long been known as a destination for good, authentic Italian food,” said Village President Angelo “Skip” Saviano. “While that still holds true, there are also dozens of other great restaurants featuring dishes from around the globe.”
Taking place on the heels of Chicago’s restaurant week, Saviano said in the release that Dine-In Elmwood Park allows the public to “continue the gastronomic celebration” locally.
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The village president said in the release that Elmwood Park as worked over the years to support local restaurateurs and to grow the town’s dining scene. Saviano said diners who visit the participating restaurants will find good food in a more intimate, local setting as opposed to being in downtown Chicago
Dine-in Elmwood Park is “a great way to promote some places you might pass up in the day-to-day,” Circle Tavern owner Michael Jardine told Pioneer Press.
Opened in January 2021 Jardine’s establishment, at 18 W. Conti Parkway, is participating for a second year and offering 20% off for dine-in customers who mention the “Restaurant Week” special.
“Restaurant Week can shine a light on something you might have missed previously,” said Jardine, who grew up in River Grove and now lives in Des Plaines.
He said he jumped at the opportunity in late 2020 to buy the building from his uncle Rich Mazzulla, who operated Baciami, which primarily served Italian cuisine for 20 years at that location in the Circle area of Elmwood Park.
“I wanted to get into this industry pretty much my whole life after watching him,” Jardine said.
Circle Tavern, which launched Friday and Saturday lunch service Feb. 17, is Jardine’s first business.
“Our double smash burger is outstanding. I’d highly recommend that to anyone who is a fan of the burger. I love burgers. That’s my favorite food,” he said.
“It’s a quarter pound ball of ground beef that gets pressed into the flat top grill. It creates something called the Maillard reaction (with a) crispy outside, juicy inside. It’s something that I fell in love with and wanted to bring to Elmwood Park.”
Other Dine-In Elmwood Park participants include Bon Vivant, 7334 W. Diversey Ave.; Café Cubano, 7426 W. North Ave.; Culver’s, 7542 W. Grand Ave.; Donny G’s, 7308 W. North Ave.; Eggsperience, 16 W. Conti Parkway; The Great American Bagel, 7230 W. North Ave.; and Jim and Pete’s, 7806 W. North Ave.
New Star Restaurant, 7444 W. North Ave.; Señor Jéfé, 7446 W. North Ave.; Spizzico, 7446 W. North Ave.; The Sportz Nook, 7841 W. Grand Ave.; Tacos 2 Go, 7530 W. Grand Ave.; Tony D’s, 7725 W. Belmont Ave.; and Union Tap, 7707 Westwood Drive; are other businesses participating in the restaurant week.
“Armand’s has been up and running for 13 years. We participate in Restaurant Week every single year it’s made available to us,” Virgil Gerin of Armand’s Pizzeria in Elmwood Park, where he and Tony Gironda are owners/partners, told Pioneer Press.
The restaurant,at 7650 W. North Ave., is offering a lunch special of a $6 pizza slice (cheese, sausage or pepperoni) with soup or salad and drink, and a dinner special that features $8 Italian beef or sausage, or meatball sandwiches with choice of soup or salad, chips and drink.
“It’s a great way, as we ease into spring, to remind people how great the opportunity is to dine on North Avenue in Elmwood Park,” said Gerin, who lives in the village.
Restaurant Week specials at Armand’s Pizzeria in Elmwood Park are available for diners at one of its four indoor tables as well as customers of the primarily take-out and delivery operation.
“The village has done a great job of promoting and really incentivizing restaurants to come to Elmwood Park and be a part of this,” Gerin said.
According to Gerin, the Caringella and Cerola families were instrumental in bringing Armand’s Pizzeria, which closed in 2009 after 53 years at 7404 Grand Ave., back to Elmwood Park.
“They had such a good reputation for having outstanding pizza as well as friendly customer service,” Gerin said.
He said other dishes at Armand’s Pizzeria in Elmwood Park include baked clams and baby back ribs.
“We just want people to understand that we appreciate their business. We appreciate their loyalty. We know a lot of customers by name,” Gerin said.
Dine-In Elmwood Park began in 2018.
“It’s a great opportunity to connect with the community and new customers. They’re trying new restaurants because of the special promotions,” Village Trustee Angelo Lollino, who co-owns Gringo & Blondie, told Pioneer Press.
Opened in 2019, the restaurant at 7514 W. North Ave. offers three tacos of choice with rice, beans, a drink and churros for $17; Macho nachos with choice of meat, a drink and churros for $17; meatless Macho nachos with a drink and churros for $14; and 30% off brunch with a $50 minimum order.
Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays.
“We pride ourselves on bringing in high-quality meats. We’re using skirt steak for our tacos,” said Lollino.
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He added that something new for Restaurant Week is tacos de birria consomé, which includes cheese and a dipping sauce.
“Elmwood Park is filled with some great iconic restaurants,” the village trustee said.
A full list of deals is available at elmwoodpark.org/restaurantweek.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.