Jimmy Jo’s BBQ (665 N. Covent) in Bourbonnais is offering grilled or blackened salmon and grilled or blackened shrimp skewers during Lent.

They also will be serving smoked corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day.

For coupons, visit Jimmy Jo’s Let’s Eat Out page.

French Toast, a new breakfast and lunch restaurant, is expected to open next month at 161 E. Bethel in Bourbonnais, in space formerly occupied by Cheezer’s Pizza.

It will be “a gourmet cafe without the gourmet price,” according to owner Heather Lavine.

The breakfast menu includes waffles, crepes, pancakes, omelets and french toast, of course. Omelet fillings include fresh crab or smoked salmon.

Specialty breakfast items high on my must-try list are the spinach and feta hash browns, creme brulee french toast, and verde chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican breakfast dish made with corn tortillas and green salsa.

Lunch offerings include a roasted portabella ciabatta sandwich and a croque-monsieur, a ham and cheese sandwich that’s dipped in batter and then grilled.

Lavine’s vision is for a restaurant similar to Toast, her favorite Lincoln Park cafe. She’s hired chef Justin Daniels to help develop the menu and lead the kitchen.

French Toast will lean toward the healthy, with some gluten-free and some organic items, and focus on quality, homemade ingredients. Dressings and sauces will be made from scratch, Lavine says, and pastries, breads and granola will be homemade on site.

Hours will likely be 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Lavine hopes to open sometime in April.

An anonymous reader called to recommend the fish fry at Knights of Columbus (187 S. Indiana Ave.) in Kankakee. Every Friday during Lent, they serve all-you-can-eat fish for $10 and all-you-can-eat shrimp for $12. The dinners include a salad bar and dessert.

Kids aged 6 to 12 are $5, and kids under 6 are free. Hours are 5 to 7 p.m.

For more information, call (815) 932-2031.

Luconi’s Pizza (496 S Kennedy Dr.) in Bradley is celebrating Customer Appreciation Week and has knocked $1 off the price of their lunch buffet. From today (Monday) through Friday, the buffet is only $3.99 per person instead of $4.99.

The buffet features pizza, salad bar and desserts. It’s served from 11:30 a.m. to 2  p.m.

Firehouse Twenty-Eight Cafe (28 N. Dixie Highway) in Momence will be open for dinner on Fridays during Lent.

They will offer their regular menu, plus a Friday night fish fry for $7.50. It’s “a healthy portion of fish hand-breaded in our famous breading” and is served with fries and cole slaw, according to owner John Sokol.

Dinner hours will be 4 to 8 p.m. Carry-out is available.

The Friday night dinner service is new for the cafe. Breakfast service has also changed. It is now only available Friday through Sunday beginning at 7 a.m. Lunch begins at 10:30 a.m. daily.

Anything that’s offered at the cafe, including the fish, is also available in the adjoining bar, Border Town Pub (22 N. Dixie Highway). Food is always available in the pub until at least 8 p.m., even when the restaurant is closed.

Both businesses can be reached at (815) 472-4340.

Firehouse Twenty-Eight Cafe participates in our Let’s Eat Out program. Click here to view their merchant page, which includes a downloadable menu, map, coupons and more.

A reader named Gina likes the Friday night dinners now being served at American Legion Post 755 in Manteno:

“I’m not sure if you’ve mentioned them yet, but the Legion in Manteno has DELICIOUS and affordable meals every Friday night.  For just $10, diners have their choice of five entrees (pecan crusted tilapia is a favorite…the choices change each week).  The price includes a hearty salad bar with fresh fruit, several salads, soup and a dessert.  Not only do the meals taste great, they look like something you would be served at a downtown Chicago restaurant.

I believe they serve from 5 – 8 PM. Chef Ryan Jackson runs the kitchen, with help from his family in the dining room.”

I did share some information about the Legion’s Friday night dinners in July. Click here to read the post.

American Legion Post 755 is at 117 N. Walnut St. in Manteno. Call (815) 468-8324 for more information.

Here’s a copy of the Best Bites column that appears in today’s edition of The Daily Journal.

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From a reader:

I had written you I believe last year or the year before, recommending Green Street in the Kankakee area for the best Hot Dogs next to Chicago. Now I have come across the hot dogs that they are making over at John Panozzo’s Produce. Quite frankly, these are the best I have ever had. Better than Portillos or any mom and pop hot dog stand in the Chicagoland area, including downtown Chicago.

I am originally from the Chicago area, and moved down here due to business. I always was frustrated that I never could find a hot dog in the city of Kankakee that was made the Chicago way. Which is topped with fresh mustard, onion, sweet pickle relish (dyed neon green), a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. Now I have, and I would really appreciate it if you let others in Kankakee know about this as well. Thank you, and have a wonderful day.

Sincerely,
Stephen R.

P.S. I forgot to mention that they also use fresh poppy seed buns for their Chicago Hot Dogs at Panozzo’s. This is key.

P.P.S. Also let me tell you that they give you a deal of 2 Chicago-style hot dogs for $5.

I’m a big fan of John Panozzo Produce, too. Here’s what I wrote about them back in 2008. Amazingly, the prices haven’t changed!

“I bet you didn’t know they have a deli counter inside where you can get a sandwich for only $3, and a soup-and-sandwich combo for $5.50. For the sandwich, select any meat and cheese from their well-stocked deli case. If that wasn’t reason enough to stop in, I also find it to be a great place to grab last-minute perishable items for dinner. I can be in and out in about two minutes, which is wonderful.”

John Panozzo Produce is at 1310 N. Hobbie Ave. in Kankakee, on the northeast corner of Illinois Route 50 and Brookmont Boulevard.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. They are closed on Sundays until April.

Their phone is (815) 933-3305.

Cheezer’s Pizza Buffet opened Friday at 906 N. Convent St. in Bourbonnais.

The buffet includes:

• 10 different kinds of pizza
• a pasta bar, with two kinds of noodles and three kinds of sauce
• a salad bar
• soup
• breadsticks
• a selection of desserts that includes warm brownies, cinnamon sticks and Rice Krispies Treats.

The cost is $4.95 for adults, $3.95 for children aged 3 to 11, and free for children aged 2 and under. Beverages are purchased separately.

The restaurant, which has a 50’s diner-themed decor, is located in the new Promenade of Bourbonnais strip mall. That’s on the east side of North Convent, south of Bethel Drive.

Owners Cindy and John Karasiewicz have owned and operated Cheezer’s Pizza in the Bradley area for more than 20 years. For the last several years they’ve been at 161 Bethel Dr., which is about a hundred yards from the new location. They decided to expand to a buffet-style restaurant last fall.

The new space has ample seating and easily accommodates large groups.

Carryout is still available, and I’m told the prices are lower than they were at the original restaurant.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

The phone is (815) 939-2229.

Friend them on Facebook.

In my column two weeks ago I joked about my fondness for Tuna Noodle Hot Dish. A very nice reader named Candy called and asked for the recipe. I’ve never actually written it down before, but I did for Candy. Here it is for anyone else who would like to try one of my favorite comfort foods:

1. Prepare half a (12-oz) package of egg noodles.
2. Dice 1 cup of white or yellow onion.
3. Dice two stalks of celery.
4. Sweat the onion and celery with a little butter until softened, about 5 minutes.
5. Put the noodles and vegetables in a casserole pan.
6. Add two 5-oz. cans of drained tuna.
7. Add 17 oz. (a 12-oz. can and a 5-oz. can) of evaporated milk.
8. Season mixture with salt and pepper.
9. Bake at 350 until hot, about 35 minutes.

Optional variations:

• I usually had a handful of frozen peas, too.
• I like to add a cup of finely shredded cheddar or colby cheese, either to the mixture, to the top, or if I’m trying to use up the bag of cheese, both. You can never have too much cheese, right?
• Instead of cheese, try crushed potato chips on top. My dad loved it that way.
• My mom always adds a 2-oz. jar of diced pimientos. You’ll find them in the vegetable isle, usually on the top shelf by the artichoke hearts.

Notes:

• I have one of those really nice Dutch ovens that can go from the stove to the oven. If you have one of those, you can use it to sweat the vegetables on the stovetop, then throw everything else in and put it in the oven, which makes for one less pan to clean.
• My mom always made Jiffy corn bread muffins with this. Sometimes she made honey-butter to go with them. Good stuff.