“Iron Chef” Michael Symon will visit Fort Wayne on Sept. 20 for the fourth annual “Blessings in a Backpack” fundraiser.
The Food Network star will prepare a dinner with local produce for guests at Sycamore Hills Golf Club to raise money for the national program’s Fort Wayne chapter, which supports 1,125 students at three schools. Each Friday during the school year, the students take home backpacks filled with non-perishable food items.
Symon, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, also owns four restaurants: Lola, Lolita and B Spot in Cleveland; and Roast in Detroit.
In 2009, the James Beard Foundation named him one of the “Best Chefs in America.” That year, he also published his first cookbook, “Michael Symon’s Live to Cook.”
Tickets for the dinner are $750. To reserve them, call Michael Gouloff at 424-9080, Paul Sauerteig at 423-2353 or Gretchen Gouloff at 433-3978.
To make a donation to the local chapter, go to www.blessings-in.com.
Restaurants planning St. Paddy’s Day events
Several restaurants will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Thursday with various feasts.
•JK O’Donnell’s, 121 W. Wayne St., will have its annual party with an all-ages tent that’s open from 5 to 9 p.m. Admission is $5; kids 12 and younger get in free. But you must be 21 to get into the pub, which opens at 11 a.m. There will be bagpipers and other musicians, including Rodney Cordner, Soltre and the Goldmine Pickers.
•Deer Park Irish Pub, 1530 Leesburg Road, opens at 8 a.m. with green doughnuts and Irish coffee. A keg toss will be at 4:45 p.m., followed by the Shamrock Sprint and parade. A karaoke contest of Irish songs starts at 9 p.m. Corned beef sandwiches are $7.95. Guinness, Smithwick’s and Murphy’s Stout will be available.
•Paula’s on Main, 1732 W. Main St., will serve Emerald Isle martinis and corned beef with horseradish cream gravy, sautéed cabbage, carrots and mashed potatoes for lunch and dinner (while it lasts).
•The Lucky Moose, 622 E. Dupont Road, will have corned beef and cabbage ($7.95), Irish stew ($6.95) and Guinness-battered fish and chips ($7.95) all day. There also will be pints of Guinness ($2.50), green beer ($1) and Irish car bombs (Guinness with a shot of whiskey) for $3. Plus, every Friday night through Lent, enjoy all-you-can-eat catfish and tilapia for $12.95, which includes the salad bar.
•The Venice Restaurant, 2242 Goshen Road, will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight serving green beer, corned beef sandwiches ($5.95), Irish stew ($6.95) and corned beef and cabbage ($8.95). Music (and a $3 cover charge) starts at 1:30 p.m. with Jack Alexander and Joyce MacNamara. Bagpipers will play at 5:30 p.m.
•Dicky’s Wild Hare, 2910 Maplecrest Road, will offer Irish stew, $2 pints of green beer and $4 pints of Guinness all day. It’s also added new menu items: mussels, scallops, tilapia tacos and smokehouse tacos (with brisket and pulled pork). The pizza buffet is available weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 5 p.m. until closing, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s $10.50 for pizza buffet, soup and salad bar and a beverage.
•Tyeger’s Pizza Parlour, 931 N. Main St. in Bluffton, will have specials including shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, and corned beef and sauerkraut for $7.17, while supplies last. There also will be hourly specials: Starting at 11 a.m., get a 9-inch, one-topping pizza for $4.17; between 4 and 5 p.m., add Guinness bread to any order for $3.17.
•The Works Ice Cream Café, 396 Manchester Ave. in Wabash, is celebrating this week with an Irish shake ($4.95 and $7.75), Grasshopper sundae ($4.45), Irish cream cappuccino smoothie ($3.19) and Irish hot chocolate ($2.25).
Pancake Café opens downtown
Waynedale Pancake Café has opened at 110 W. Columbia St.
The menu includes breakfast dishes, such as omelets, biscuits and gravy, French toast and pancakes, and a full or half “garbage platter.”
Lunch items include burritos, taco salad, pork tenderloin, burgers, BLT, grilled cheese, Monte Cristo, gyro and a Philly beef or chicken sandwich.
Most prices are $4.99 to $6.99.
Hours are 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays.
For information, call 422-3723.
Organic wine dinner at Chuck & Bird’s
Chuck & Bird’s, 4301 Fairfield Ave., will have its first organic wine dinner at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Chefs Lisa Williams and Pamela Downs will prepare the six-course dinner, which features camembert fritters, seafood cannelloni, mushroom polenta, osso bucco and butterscotch pot de crème.
The organic wines are from Foris Vineyards in Oregon.
The dinner is $45, which doesn’t include tax or gratuity.
Reservations are required; call 387-5000 or go to www.chuckandbirds.com.
Tidbits
•On Monday and Tuesday, the IHOP at 6839 W. Jefferson Blvd. will donate 10 percent of sales to raise money for Orlan Holmes, who needs a lung transplant and is working with the National Foundation for Transplants. Diners must present a flier; contact Crystal Holmes at 418-0017 or crystalg20xf@yahoo.com; or donate online at www.
org; click “Patients We Help” and search for his name.
•From 4 to 10 p.m. Fridays through Lent, the Fort Wayne Marriott’s Red River Steakhouse will offer a $12.95 fish special. It includes all-you-can-eat cod, clam chowder, hush puppies, fries and coleslaw. For reservations, call 484-0411.
•Parkview Women’s Health Center on the Parkview North campus will have an Italian cooking class for children at 6:30 p.m. March 24. Kids ages 10 to 16 are invited to attend with a parent; the cost is $10. To register, call 672-6500.
•Brevin’s Downtown in Churubusco is celebrating its 20-year anniversary through Sunday with various specials: Get $1 off baked subs and sausage rolls today; on Thursday, corned beef will be available at 11 a.m.; and Stuart Hatfield will play the bagpipes between 6 and 7 p.m.
•Big Apple Bagels, 3302 Lake City Highway in Warsaw, will have a grand-reopening celebration Friday and Saturday with discounts and freebies, including some 39-cent bagels. Hours are 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. The new franchise owners are Todd and Don Earl.
