The Bennett-Curtis House in Grant Park will be having Easter Brunch. Here are details:

Early Bird Special (9 – 10:30 a.m. only): $13.95 for adults, $6.95 for kids

After 10:30 a.m.: $19.95 for adults, and $9.95 for children 10 and under. (Kids 3 & under are free.)

Featuring …
* Carving Station
* Fresh Fruit
* Pastries
* Large selection of breakfast items
* Spectacular entrees
* Delicious Sweet Table
* Juices
* Assorted Salads
* Chocolate Fountain

To place your reservation, call 815-465-2288.

Best Bites appears as a print column every Thursday in The Daily Journal. Here’s what’s in today’s paper: (more…)

Thanks to a reader named Jackie, who sent me this yesterday via email regarding The Ray Cafe & Coffee House:

“Have you heard about the new little cafe at the intersection of Rt. 45 and DeSelm Road? Turn West off Rt. 45 at the intersection of the two roads and watch for the brick building on your right. There is usually a sign out front with the daily specials listed.

The kids love it! As you walk in the door you walk onto a footbridge across an indoor pond containing the large goldfish (whatever they are called) on one side and live turtles on the other. The man who owns it has a tropical fish business and the place is filled with large tanks of beautiful tropical fish and other creatures.

The best part is their “blue plate special”. You get your choice of sandwich, soup, drink, chips and a dessert. The tomato tortellini soup is awesome!!

There are all kinds of special coffees and other goodies as well.

Try it — betcha you like it!!!”

I HAVE been to The Ray Cafe, and I DID like it. Great food, and the ambiance is hard to beat. But you have to go looking for it, because it’s not in a location that you just happen to drive by. Here’s what I wrote in my column back in October:

“Speaking of coffee houses, have you been to The Ray Cafe and Coffee House in Manteno? Their address is 150 N. Prairieview Dr., but it’s probably more helpful to say it’s about 1/8 mile west of the Manteno Gas City and the intersection of U.S. Route 45/52 and 9000 N. Road. It’s beautiful — and unusual — inside. The cafe shares space with Aqueous Ideas, a water landscaping company, and there’s a bridge and indoor waterfall as you walk in, and aquariums around the cafe area. The food menu includes seven sandwiches, soup, stuffed pretzels and breakfast sandwiches. Beverage options include “pie shop smoothies” (made with ice cream or low-fat yogurt and topped with whipped cream and graham cracker crumbs), fruit smoothies, frozen frappes and, of course, coffee. The banana cream pie smoothie was delicious. The Ray Cafe is open Monday through Saturday 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.”

If you’re a fan of Greek-style yogurt, I found some the other day at Kroger. Look in the organic section, which is behind the floral section.

Greek-style yogurt is much thicker than other yogurt, and the Fage brand is high in protein and low in sugar. Mix equal parts Greek yogurt and sour cream with some chopped chives for an excellent baked potato topping. Or, add grated and strained cucumber, garlic and salt (and a little fresh lemon juice and dill if you have some) and you’ll have tzatziki sauce,  the creamy condiment that makes gyros so darn good.

If you’re like me, and saving money and eating out are high on your “like to do as often as possible” list, I’ve got great news: There’s now an easy way to do both at the same time.

Let’s Eat Out is a new online program that features coupons for local eateries. The program, which launched this morning, can be found here. From the Web site, you can search the available coupons by cuisine type, location of the restaurant, atmosphere and more. When you find a
coupon you like, print it out and take it to the restaurant.

If that’s not convenient, use our Mobile Club to get coupons sent to your phone. Text the word EAT to our short code, which is 48534. Every time you send a text message, you’ll receive a coupon from our database.

You can also sign up for the Let’s Eat Out Email Club if you want the coupons to be sent to your email in-box. Click here to get started.

More coupons will be available as more advertisers join the program, and advertisers can change their coupons monthly.

Special thanks to our debut advertisers:

* America’s Bistro
* Eddie’s Bar & Grill
* HoneyBaked Ham and Cafe
* JR’s Chicken
* Mr. Giggles Pizza
* Rondinella’s Italian Imports
* Vito’s Pizzeria and Pub

If you have questions about Let’s Eat Out, feel free to contact me at drenckens@daily-journal.com or at (815) 937-3374.

If you’re a restaurant interested in participating in this program, please contact Andrew Wheeler at (815) 929-5416.