For sheer carnivorous excess, it would be tough to beat the meaty manly indulgence on display in this year’s listing of Father’s Day events, to be enjoyed all over town. Like the Goat Roast which Troy Graves will be holding at Red Door, whose patio is pictured above. Check ‘em all out, pick a place for dad, and treasure the sight of him slipping into a meat coma. He’s earned it.
PRE-SUNDAY
• Today/tonight, State Street Barbers becomes a barbershop popup, with the emphasis on bar— dads (or any male of shaving or drinking age) can enjoy cocktails and free grooming services courtesy of Gentleman Jack Tennessee. It runs from 3 to 8; RSVP here.
• Smoke Daddy is having a pre-Father’s Day pig roast on Saturday; $15 gets you all you can eat pork. There will be beer too, and not only can you bring the whole family, you can bring the dog.
ON THE GRILL
• Red Door, Troy Graves’ newly-opened spot with a great outdoor patio (it used to be Duchamp’s great outdoor patio), will be doing a Father’s Day Goat Roast. Yeahhhh! $18 a head gets your goat, plenty of sides, and $5 frozen margaritas by mixologist Jeremiah Krickhahan with Olmeca Altos.
• If you have a lot of siblings or guests to do it up with, Frontier has a real meal to impress: $250 gets you a whole suckling pig and sides for 8 to 12 people.
• More suckling pigs at Mercat a la Planxa, where chef de cuisine Cory Morris debones the pig, stuffs it with marinated pork belly, meat-glues it together, wraps it in banana leaf and roasts for six hours. You can also get it to go, but hurry— you have to order 72 hours in advance.
• For a smaller version of that, try Rustic House, where $34 gets you a rotisserie chicken and sides to serve 2-3 people.
• Dad gets 10% off when you take him to Taxim for Greek items off the grill such as Païdákia me pligoúri (wood-grilled lamb chops with almond currant bulgur wheat pilaf, marinated pepper salad and grilled lemons, $34) and Htapodáki sti schára (wood-grilled octopus, fennel root and red onions, $15).
• Chicago Q offers two gift baskets of barbecue sauces, dry rubs, Chef Lee Ann Whippen’s bread and butter pickles. $45 gets you all of that, $60 gets you a BBQ apron, too.
• And if Dad insists on grilling, don’t forget about Chef Scott Walton’s made to order sausages at Markethouse, or the ready to go versions of favorite flavors.
BRUNCH
• Elate has a brunch special for father’s day— the Land and Sea Benedict, Braised hanger steak, butter poached lobster, fava bean puree and Meyer lemon hollandaise for $17. Or if that’s not his fancy, there are new small plate choices such as Rushing Waters trout with fettucine, fava beans, corn pudding and roasted red pepper, or Lamb Merguez Meatballs with tomato, fennel, cerignola olives, feta, and house made naan.
• Mercadito is hosting a Macho Dad brunch, including a family-style brunch menu including a guacamole tasting, four Latin-tinged entrees, two sides and a dessert to share per table, plus one Bloody Mary cocktail for Dad for $30 per adult. Or you can give dad the gift of a Mexican BBQ cooking demo on Tuesday June 19. For more details visit the Mercadito site.
• The Peninsula is doing a pop-up gastropub in its lobby, with a build-your-own burger bar offering organic beef burgers, Thai chicken burgers, Moroccan lamb burgers, BBQ pork belly burgers and a “spa burger,” as well as BBQ, an oyster bar, and more. It’s from 10:30 to 2.
• Nana has frequently Latin-tinged brunch specials from 8 am to 2:30 such as an al pastor omelet and surf and turf Eggs Benedict with grilled house andouille. From 5 to 9 p.m. it offers Sunday Supper of Gunthorp fried chicken and sides for $22 per person, as well as specials like Tacos de lengua and a grilled Andouille sandwich.
• Shaw’s will have a lavish brunch including a Surf and Turf station, an omelet and waffle kitchen, and more from 10 to 2, and dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Plus, every Dad gets a $25 Shaw’s gift certificate for future use.
• Maxwell’s at the Club has an elaborate brunch to work off on Sunday from 10 to 2, including carvery, shrimp cocktails, omelets, pastries, and a dessert bar.
• Kanela, a breakfast spot in Lakeview, offers dads a complimentary Bougasta (phyllo, lemon custard and berries) or Monkey Bread (cinnamon and honey butter) when they come in for breakfast on Sunday.
• Hub 51 will have a brunch for $30 per adult, $15 kids 12 and under, featuring the likes of short ribs benedict, thick cut brioche French toast, and sushi and dessert bars.
• Paris Club will have Frenchy delights such as Alaskan King Crab omelette (no, Alaska isn’t in France, but note the very French “te” at the end of omelet), smoked salmon and asparagus benedict, or brioche French toast.
• Or take an Asian turn at Sunda, where brunch offerings include a roast pig with bao buns. They’ll be serving brunch from 10:30 to 3, and dinner from 5 to 11.
• Even more freaky-cool Asian is at Tokio Pub, where there will be a $25 per person feast hot off the 1000-degree robata grill, which will probably become sentient, realize its awesome power, and devastate the Streets of Woodfield at some point in the day; they’ll be serving it from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar has a three course brunch menu for $34.95, including entrees like Filet Mignon Benedict with sliced filet mignon and egg on an English muffin with herb béarnaise sauce and tomato concassé and New Orleans-Style French Toast. Dessert choices include Chocolate Bread Pudding with bourbon crème anglaise and Walnut Turtle Pie, with house made caramel, walnuts and chocolate in a chocolate pie crust.
• Brasserie by LM in the South Loop has a Father’s Day brunch from 11 to 2:30 including French Toast ($10), LM Benedict ($10), Crepes ($10), Brasserie Burger ($12) and more. Brasserie’s Croque menu will be available which includes Croque Monsieur ($9), Croque Vegetable ($9) and the Croque Salmon ($11). In addition to the a la carte menu brunch menu, a $25 mimosa and entrée special will be available. View of Michigan Ave.: priceless.
• Socca in Wrigleyville has a new summer brunch with farmers market-inspired dishes like house-smoked salmon and Klug asparagus hash, Green Acres summer Italian greens hash, and Green Acres strawberry and sweet cherry croissant French toast. But for Father’s Day they’re also dishing manlier fare such as lobster hash, steak and eggs or a housemade Bloody Mary with a mini Miller High Life beer back.
MEAT AND DRINK
Of course there were lots of references to dinner above, but here are a few more:
• Carnivale has a la carte specials including smoked spare ribs with a chipotle glaze and Three Sister’s cornbread ($10), tomahawk ribeye, with pirple potatoes, huancaina (Peruvian spicy cheese sauce), housemade bacon and Daisy Cutter chimichurri ($75), or whole crispy fish with garlic, citrus, chile rub, purple sticky rice, and seasonal escabeche (market price).
• Lottie’s Pub, which just celebrated its 78th anniversary, invites dad in for $4 20-oz summer seasonal pints and half off the kids menu— while each Dad is entered to win Chicago Cubs or White Sox tickets or other sports memorabilia.
• Free burgers for dads on Sunday at The Counter. All it requires is going up to the counter at The Counter in Lincoln Park and mortifying your dad by saying, “My dad’s a BFD [Big Freakin’ Deal].” Hey, it’s hardly the first time your behavior has mortified him.
• Each of the first 23 Dads who order Michael Jordan’s favorite cut— the Delmonico— at his steakhouse will receive a complimentary MJ signature steak knife.
