Please Note: For your health and safety, our policy is that all guests must wear a mask when entering, moving around, and exiting the restaurant. This includes when you leave the table to go to the restroom. Masks are not required once you are seated at your table. Thank you for doing your part to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

At Lettuce Entertain You, the health and safety of our guests and employees has always been at the core of everything we do. Since our beginning in 1971, Rich Melman understood the importance of a safe and welcoming environment and the role it played in the success of a restaurant. Throughout the years, Lettuce has built a solid foundation of health and safety practices. Because of this foundation, our guests are able to relax and experience great food in a comfortable environment, and our employees can come to work and feel supported and secure.

Many would see this new world as a challenge. We, at Lettuce, look at it as an opportunity to bring our employees together, stronger than ever in their commitment to the health and safety standards in our restaurants. We also see a stronger relationship with our guests; those who are new to our restaurants, and those have grown up with Lettuce Entertain You. Our employees and our guests have come to trust Lettuce Entertain You restaurants for our commitment to excellence.

We are not starting over. We have always been here, ready to provide our guests with a dining experience they can trust, and our employees with a workplace they can be proud of. We are ready to welcome our guests with the same level of service, food quality and atmosphere that they have always enjoyed.

As we put into place our new health and safety guidelines, we realize that we are living in a time of great change. Our ability to accept change will move us forward. We are closely monitoring Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Model Food Code, government mandates, government policy changes, and public health advancements. We will continue to make changes as necessary or appropriate to our procedures and protocols.

As we look ahead, we are excited about moving forward, together.

Posted on June, 4 2020.

We haven’t said a lot these past few days. We stand unequivocally with Black Americans and the tens of thousands of people of conscience demanding that we live up to our values as a nation. But it is the voices of those who have suffered the injuries of systemic racism that must be heard right now. We are listening intently. As we face the indisputable truth that we can do better, we reflect on how we can best drive meaningful change within our own organization and communities.

We are starting with a thorough review of our corporate giving strategies to ensure that we are focused on efforts to eliminate social injustice and improve lives in Black communities and communities of People of Color. We are making an immediate contribution to the NAACP LDF. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans.

We know that actions speak louder than words and that we have a lot of work to do. It's a start. We pledge to move with deliberate speed and look forward to reporting back to you on our efforts.

R.J. Melman
President

The Holiday Bonus cards expired as of April 15 and cannot be used at this time. However, we will be issuing a 30 day extension period from August 15 to September 15, 2020. During that time, you will have four weeks to use the cards for dine in or carryout. Please note the following restrictions for using your Holiday Bonus from 8/15 - 9/15:
Valid for one time use
Not valid on Saturdays after 3 pm
Not valid with any promotional certificates or other offers
Not valid towards Frequent Diner Rewards, certificates or points
Not valid at Maggiano’s Little Italy locations outside Illinois
Not valid towards gratuity or redeemable for cash
Not valid towards private parties, events or delivery orders

Please keep in mind that the Holiday Bonus cards can be used any year between January 2nd - April 15th. The Holiday Bonus cards can also be used for carryout up to April 15th at participating restaurants during the government mandated shutdowns.

In The Restaurants

Sherry Wine 101 With Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

Jan 27, 2020

“If penicillin can cure those that are ill, Spanish Sherry can bring the dead back to life.” -Sir Alexander Fleming, Nobel Prize winner & inventor of penicillin

Well if that’s the case, we definitely need to hear more. We sat down with Mark Sotelino, Managing Partner of Cafe Ba-Ba-Ba-Reeba! – Chicago’s original Spanish tapas bar – to get the scoop on this fortified wine. Popular for both sipping and mixing, here’s a look at what you need to know about Sherry including ideas for how to make delicious cocktails with it, like a Sherry Old Fashioned or Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!’s new El Rebujito.

Click here to make a reservation at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! Sherry Group Shot

Did you know…

Sherry is a fortified wine, meaning that it’s made with white grapes and fortified in barrels with a distilled grape spirit. Dry sherry is made with a grape called Palomino, and Sweet Sherries are typically made with Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel. There are about ten different styles of sherry that differ in sweetness and dryness pending how long it has been oxidized.

All Sherry is made in the same region of southwest Spain, near a town called Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia. There is no such thing as Sherry from outside of Jerez, just like there is no true Champagne outside of Champagne, France.

Dry vs. Sweet.

Dry Sherry is a more savory wine with higher salinity that is usually served chilled. When it’s dry, Sherry is meant to be an aperitivo (before dinner drink). Sweet Sherries are more of a digestivo (after dinner) and have a raisin-like, nutty flavor (more so than port wine, which is a typical dessert drink), and a dessert-like quality. The most well-known Sherry, Pedro Ximénez is the sweetest.

Not sure which you’d like best? Our menu at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! gives you the chance to taste different styles of sherry.

Click here to see Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!’s full drink menu.

Let’s talk about food.

We offer our Sherry selection in flights – a dry or sweet flight of three. Dry Sherries have high salinity, so they go very well with salty, briny tapas, like grilled seafood, jamón or Spanish olives. Having Sherry with ham and olives and some of our house-baked bread is one of the most culturally authentic ways to begin your Spanish dining experience.

Sherry Wine Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

And sweet Sherry?

The sweet Sherry flight could stand alone or pair with dessert. Sweet Sherries are a nice complement to tapas desserts. Something as simple as vanilla ice cream can be elevated to a whole new level by sipping Pedro Ximenez alongside it. A dessert with fresh berries, like our Tarta de Santiago with blueberry compote and goat milk ice, goes wonderfully with a Moscatel sherry (we serve the Lustau “Emilin” Moscatel).

Click here to see Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!’s full dessert menu.

CafeBaBaReeba_Dessert_Tarta-de-Santiago

So what’s the big deal?

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!’s Managing Partner, Mark Sotelino, told us that although Sherry is not something that the American palate is used to, it’s an important part of Spanish gastronomy and culture.

“We’re seeing a younger generation of curious wine drinkers ordering Sherry more frequently, particularly as an aperitivo to start the meal or even in cocktail form, which has become an exciting new direction in the cocktail world,” Sotelino continued. “I am always excited, and also feel obligated as a Spaniard, to introduce Sherry to new taste buds.”

Sherry cocktails are a thing…

Beyond just sipping, Sherry – particularly a dry Sherry – can be mixed into some tasty drinks. One of our new favorites is Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!’s El Rebujito with lustau manzanilla papirusa, pisco control, agave, lime, mint and lemon bitters. To download a PDF version of Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba’s El Rebujito cocktail, click here.

Cafe Ba-Ba Reeba! El Rebujito Cocktail

For something more classic try a Sherry Old Fashioned which uses Sherry as a complementary liquor rather than the base, with Palo Cortado Sherry replacing vermouth that you see in a traditional Old Fashioned. It smoothes out the drink by picking up the nutty flavor making it less harsh. To download a PDF version of Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba’s Sherry Old Fashioned, click here.

Sherry Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

Sold. How can we enjoy Sherry at home?

For dry Sherry, you’ll want to stock your cabinet with Tio Pepe (about $20), the most well known for sipping as an aperitivo. For sweet Sherry, the most popular is Pedro Ximénez which is the sweetest and concentrated, but we recommend Lustau “Old East India” (about $30) as a beginner sweet Sherry.

Not quite ready to drink it straight? Try your hand at the El Rebujito with lustau manzanilla papirusa, pisco control, agave, lime, mint and lemon bitters or Sherry Old Fashioned with Koval Rye Whiskey recipes below!

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!’s El Rebujito Cocktail Recipe

Yields: 1 drink

INGREDIENTS

2 oz Lustau Manzanilla Papirusa Sherry
3/4 oz Pisco Control
1 oz Agave
1 Lime Wedge
1 Lemon Wedge
12-16 Mint Leaves
2 dashes Lemon Bitters
Sprite

METHOD

In a shaker tin, add the sherry, pisco, lime wedge, lemon wedge, mint leaves and lemon bitters.
Add ice and shake for 10 seconds.
Dump the whole contents of the shaker into a collins glass and top with a splash of sprite.
Garnish with a large, fresh mint leaves and enjoy!

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!’s Sherry Old Fashioned Recipe

Yields: 1 drink

INGREDIENTS

2½ oz. koval rye whiskey
½ oz. lustau “peninsula” palo cortado sherry
¾ oz. demerara syrup (raw sugar syrup)
3 dashes orange bitters
Orange peel

METHOD

In a shaker, combine all ingredients with ice and shake vigorously for 4-6 seconds.
Strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice.
Garnish with a wide orange peel.

Click here to learn about the unconventional wine regions of the world from our top sommeliers!