Lydia & Groucho’s Coffee Shop and Deli (150 N. Schuyler Ave.) in Kankakee is now open until 8 p.m. Monday though Friday, and they’ve added daily dinner specials to their menu.

The dinner specials are:

• Monday – Chicken and noodles with a dinner roll
• Tuesday – Mostacholi with garlic bread
• Wednesday – Pot roast with potatoes and vegetables
• Thursday – Grilled chicken breast marinara with baked potato and broccoli
• Friday – Two deep-fried cod fillets with macaroni and cheese

The dinners come with a side salad or soup of the day and cost $5.99.

Groucho’s opens at 7 a.m. weekdays and at 8 a.m. on Saturday. They’re closed on Sundays. Click here to see a full menu.

For more information or to place an order, call (815) 935-5008.

The Kankakee Summer Farmers’ Market opens Saturday with thirty vendors. Hours are 7 a.m. to noon. (The summer market opens an hour earlier than the spring market.) Music this week is Heartland Bluegrass. For more information, call 815-933-0462.

Also, the Manteno Farmers Market opens June 18. The market will be held in downtown Manteno every Thursday from 2 to 5 p.m.

One of my favorite things to do is help spread the word about “secret” places to grab a meal, and here’s one that’s long overdue: Country Fruit Market, which includes Cakes ‘N Lace Bakery and Country Florals and Gifts, has a deli counter that’s open seven days a week.

Hours for the store and deli are both 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The store is at 1695 S. Schuyler Ave. in Kankakee, making it one of the few places to grab food once you head south over the river.

The menu features a variety of sandwiches, from the basic (turkey, ham or roast beef), to traditional (Italian Beef and barbecue pork), to subs and clubs. They also serve hot dogs, Polish sausage, tamales, daily specials, soups and salads.

Owned by Dick and Sharon Panozzo, the store is an eclectic mix of edible, smell-able and plant-able items, plus home decor and gift items. Besides the deli, notable offerings in the edible category include fresh and dried fruit, a large selection of cheeses, smoked salmon, gourmet jellies, and confections. In the latter category, I recommend the chocolate-covered cashew crunch, which tastes very much like English toffee.

If you’ve never been to Country Fruit Market, Sunday (April 19) would be a great day to go, as that’s the annual spring open house. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be an orchestra, petting zoo, barbecue and samples of their food products. You can also stock up on garden goodies, of course.

X-Line Sportsman’s Club in Kankakee is holding their annual chili cook-off on April 26, and there’s still time to enter.

It costs just $10 to participate, and all the money will be redistributed as first-, second- and third-place prizes. I’m not sure if last year’s winners (Rich “Bones” Huffman of Bradley, Nick Monacelli of Kankakee and Leanne Provost of St. Anne) will be returning to defend their titles, but the more competitors there are the more fun it is. To enter, call LeRoy Smith at (815) 935-2700.

The cooking starts at 9 a.m. and concludes at noon, when the judges will do their thing. Then, as in past years, the public can enjoy the fruits of the competition. $5 gets you a trip through the line, where you can sample any or all of the entries, or grab a hot dog. The public tasting will go until 4 p.m.

Brendan and I have gone the past two years, and I would love to go again, but the 26th happens to be my due date. If the baby hasn’t arrived yet I will try to get out there, but if I don’t, have fun without me!

P.S. If you’ve never tried adding Fritos to your chili, I highly recommend it. I almost can’t eat chili anymore without some of the corn-flavored chips crumbled and mixed in. (It’s kind of like not being able to eat eggs without hot sauce. Once you try it, you’re hooked!)

Thanks to a reader named Rose, who sent me this recently via email:

“I have a few places for you if you haven’t mentioned them yet.

Lydia & Groucho’s on Schuyler – excellent soups each day and fresh sandwiches and burgers. Great lunch deals for those downtown or needing quick service. Prices are more than fair for the portions you receive. Eat in, carryout or delivery offered. Its nice to see something thrive in downtown Kankakee besides BBQ!

The Landing (owners, George & Mary) on Schuyler have a fantastic Gyro Platter (among many other items) that could feed about 4 lumberjacks! Its Hot Chips and a platter with fixings for gyros which you can toss into your own salad for $7.95. George makes his own special greek dressing that you can get with any salad. If you love the farmer’s market tzatziki, you will love George’s!

Turtle’s Tap in Dwight – excellent food and great dining room with several wall murals that are quite interesting when it comes to ambiance. One wall has a giant turtle – hence the name; the other is a bar with deceased celebrities painted in a different (or some the same) light than what they were known for – the brat pack, Tin Man, Lion, JFK & Marilyn w/ JFK, Jr., Johnny Cash, Princess Di, Evel Knievel, etc. Tuesday nights are a favorite with our friends not only for the Beer-Battered Fried Chicken – all-you-can-eat for $5.50 (it went up from $4.99!), but they have an amazing dessert that makes no one mind the drive – A Skillet Cookie or a Skillet Brownie – think small cast iron skillet – chocolate chip cookie/brownie topped by a MOUND of ice cream that is covered with hot chocolate fudge and then nuts and chipped cream. It’s a dessert to share. And, the bloody Mary drinks are pretty good. … And for those in west Kankakee/Limestone, it doesn’t take any longer than driving to Ruby Tuesday’s with no traffic to fight.”

Thanks to a reader named Elizabeth, who sent me this recently via email:

Bull’s BBQ “has a new Smoked Chicken Philly that is out of this world. I am sometimes hesitant
to try a Philly sandwich because most places don’t get the true Philly right. Bull’s has done it though. The grilled peppers and onions are perfect and the chicken is tender and melts in your mouth. Plus for the price ($7.99 I think) it is a huge sandwich and comes with two sides.
They also have a beef one but I have not tried it yet, I keep getting the chicken it’s so good.”

Great American Grill, the restaurant inside the Hilton Garden Inn in Kankakee, is serving an Easter brunch buffet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The cost is $22.95 for adults, and $14.95 for kids ages 5 to 12. Kids 4 and under are free.

There’s a special kids buffet, and for the adults, champagne, mimosas and Bloody Mary’s.

Reservations are preferred; call (815) 932-4444.

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.

Thanks to a reader named Lois, who sent me this yesterday evening via email:

Denise,

You really need to pass the word on about Paul’s Place on Washington Ave. in Kankakee.
Tonight myself, husband, mom, daughter, and 2 grandkids went there. This is what we had: an
order of mushrooms and order of cheesesticks, myself and husband had all you can eat fish
with soup or salad, potato, veg.(both of your choice). Mom had pasta special (huge plate) with soup or salad. Daughter had BLT with fries. Grandson had breakfast 2 eggs links and toast (you can have breakfast anytime) and granddaughter had hot dog with fries. To top it off husband had a piece of pie (the biggest one I’ve ever seen in a restaurant) and the biggest brownie a-la-mode. All of this for $60.40. Everything was great including the service.

If I could figure out how to post a blog I would, but I would hope that you would write about this in your article so everyone would know about it and how they can get good food for the buck (much less then the avg. places). Husband called a friend to meet him there in the AM to try the breakfast — will let you know about that.”

If you have a recommendation, please send it to me at drenckens@daily-journal.com.

The weekly Best Bites column that appears in The Daily Journal print edition is now online. You can read it here.