A reader named Rick sent me this tip this morning via email. What a great day for ice cream …

“PJ’s Ice Cream & Coffee in Manteno has a new, custom flavor made exclusively for them.  It is Pink Grapefruit Gelato.  Sweet, tart, smooth, and extremely refreshing.  Just in time for the heat of summer.”

PJ’s is at 41 W. 2nd St. in Manteno. Summer hours are noon-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; noon-11 p.m. Friday; 3-11 p.m. Saturday; and 3-10 p.m. Sunday. Their phone is (815) 468-8680.

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.

Starting tomorrow, The Ray Cafe and Coffee House in Manteno will be offering several specials in conjunction with their grand opening. Here’s the information I received:

Hi Denise,

Just wanted to let you and your readers know that we at THE RAY CAFE and COFFEE HOUSE are celebrating our Grand Opening, May 8 thru May 16th. We have many hot prices, like 49 cent brewed coffee, 99 cent lattes, 99 cent smoothies, etc. But the best deal is our lunch special. Our “All Wrapped Up” Special includes a wrap of your choice, a bag of chips and a drink for $5.95, during our grand opening they will be BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE , dine in only!

If any reader has any questions, they can call us at 815-468-0511 or e-mail me at coffeeguru@comcast.net.

We are looking forward to seeing all! We are located on Manteno Road just west of Route 45.

The Ray Cafe and Coffee House (150 North Prairieview Dr.) in Manteno now offers their sandwiches on 100% stone ground whole wheat wraps. This week, to introduce the wraps, they have the following specials:

Bourbon Peppercorn Hand-Carved Turkey Breast, $4.95.
Served on a Sundried Tomato Wrap with ranch dressing, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomatos.

Dijon Roasted Garlic Beef, $4.95
Served on a Italian Herb Wrap with our own dijon roasted garlic sauce, provolone cheese, lettuce and tomatos.

The Ray Cafe offers free delivery. To order, call 815-468-0511.

Several readers have contacted me to tell me about Ray’s, and I’ve posted their feedback on the blog. Here are two links if you want to see what they had to say:

• Jackie says, “The kids love it!”
• An anonymous reader from Bradley said, “They have a great Blue Plate Special and the people there are super nice!”

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 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.

PJ’s Ice Cream and Coffee in Manteno will begin offering seven new flavors on Tuesday, including dark chocolate, maple walnut and sugar-free apple pie. This is in addition to the more than 50 flavors of ice cream, Sherbet, frozen yogurt and Italian ice that PJ’s already offers.

PJ’s is at 41 W. 2nd St. Winter hours are noon-9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; noon-11 p.m. Friday; 3-10 p.m. Saturday; and 3-9 p.m. Sunday. They’re closed on Monday.

Summer hours, which will kick in around April, are available here.

(Thanks to Paula for sending me that information.)