CHICAGO — When fish fry fatigue sets in, when another pepper and egg sandwich won't do and a salad just feels like a sad default, Chicago's Catholics observing Lent should know there is still hope. Less predictable, off-menu meatless items do exist.
These dishes, like the season itself, are fleeting. Velvet Taco's $7 lobster avocado roll taco, for example, is here this week, gone Sunday.
The following specials are on offer this month — some only on Fridays, some daily — at restaurants around town.
Bang Bang Pie, 2051 N. California Ave., has two Lent-only dishes. Grits loaded with oyster mushrooms and a walnut-arugula pesto and topped with a poached egg is $7.50 and available daily during Lent. Smoked trout chowder ($5), served in a mason jar with biscuit croutons, is only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this month.
De Pasada, 1517 W. Taylor St., is selling crispy potato tacos daily during Lent for $1.25 a piece. These are corn tortillas filled with mashed potatoes, fried to a crisp and topped with lettuce and tomato.
At Belly Shack, 1912 N. Western Ave., the Friday special has been fried catfish tostadas ($12) paired with black beans, curried mayo coleslaw and a fennel-citrus salsa. Specials change often here, so call ahead.
Kuma's Corner, 2900 W. Belmont Ave., known for its hulking meat-on-buns constructions with thrash metal names, does fish, too. Its $12 Lenten sandwich is a beer-battered tilapia filet with serrano pepper coleslaw, pickled onion and chipotle mayonnaise on a pretzel roll. It's also being served at sister location Kuma's Too, 666 W. Diversey Ave., "every day, all day" in March, a staffer said.
DMK Burger Bar, 2954 N. Sheffield Ave., dubbed its Lenten sandwich, seared ahi tuna with avocado and caramelized onions on a potato bun, the "Satisfaction Guaranteed." It's $13 and available on Fridays.
Monti's, 4757 N. Talman Ave., another meat-heavy place, presents its version of the fish sandwich — battered, fried tilapia with coleslaw, chipotle mayo and melted American cheese — on the same hefty, made-in-Philly rolls as its cheesesteaks. The 8-inch is $10.95 and the 12-inch is $13.95. It is also a Friday-only thing.
Honey Butter Fried Chicken, 3361 N. Elston Ave., will swap a peppery egg frittata in for chicken on any of its sandwiches on Fridays during Lent, with no change to the various accoutrements or the price.
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