Restaurant Roundup: Lunch returns at Chef Lance’s, free Hy-Vee grill-out, Oktoberfest menus
Oct. 3, 2024
Chef Lance’s on Phillips is bringing back lunch service. The restaurant at 431 N. Phillips Ave. originally served lunch when it opened in 2020 but discontinued it to create more work-life balance for owners Lance and Jenny White.
“We thought we had to be open for lunch, and it turns out we didn’t, and now we want to,” Lance White said. “We found we really enjoy serving people, and we’re at home going, ‘what do we do next,’ and this was something where we didn’t need to relocate or buy new equipment or come up with a theme for a new restaurant. We’re just doing something we’ve done in the past and we know works well and we have the team to do it.”
The newest member of his team already has been there six months, and some have been there since the day the restaurant opened, he said.
“So we talked to them first to see if they were interested, and that actually worked out really well for work-life balance for some of our employees, so it seemed like the next smartest move,” White said.
The lunch hours will resume Oct. 17 and run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations are available, and some have been made for the first day already.
White is finalizing a menu but said some dinner entrees will make an appearance at lunch, and there will be burgers on the menu, including buns from Breadsmith. The restaurant’s wedge and Caesar salads were popular at lunch and will be back with the choice to add chicken, salmon or steak, he said.
Here’s a look at Chef Lance’s three-course menu for October.
Hy-Vee is celebrating its customers with a free meal from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Each customer can get a free burger or hot dog, chips and water, while supplies last. The event comes after the Midwest grocery chain was voted the No. 1 Grocery Store in America, according to USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. Hy-Vee also was voted America’s Best Grocery Store for Produce and ranked as the No. 2 Best Grocery Store for Prepared Food in the nation.
The Oktoberfest menu is available at Granite City Food & Brewery until Oct. 27. Choices this year include the Oktoberfest Sausage Platter, Spaetzle Pasta, Jagerschnitzel, Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich, Sweet Kraut Sausage Sandwich, Currywurst Sandwich, Soft Pretzel Sticks and Caramel Apple Bread Pudding. Drink offerings are Pumpkin Spice Margarita, Autumn Spice Mojito, Fallelujah Sangria Spritz and Maple Pecan Old-Fashioned.
Tinners Public House and Tinners North have an Oktoberfest theme for the October food and drink specials.
The east-side Attic Bar & Grill has a featured Bill of Fare for fall.
Over at the west-side Attic, there’s an Oktoberfest special this week with a Beer Brat Sandwich featuring Guinness beer brats, smoked cheddar, grilled onion sauerkraut and dark ale mustard on a pretzel bun. For dessert, there’s a special Apple Bourbon Spiked Cake Cheesecake. Look for more German-inspired specials in the weeks to come.
Crooked Pint Ale House has updated its menu for the season. New items include pot stickers, lobster melt, mad pepper lucy, peanut butter bacon burger, lobster tacos and tater tot hotdish. Bone-in or boneless wings now come in five- or eight-wing sizes, and there’s a new garlic Parmesan sauce.
Watecha Bowl has a new menu for fall and winter featuring elk and bison items in addition to the regulars like Indian tacos, bison burgers and wojapi with frybread. Daily specials also are available. Monday is a choice of soup with frybread, Taco Tuesday is two Indian tacos for $15, Wednesday is bison cheeseburger mac-and-cheese, Thursday is a bison hot dog topped with elk chili and cheese, Friday is frybread pizza with choices of smokey bison brisket, chicken bacon ranch or Indian taco, and Saturday is bison chislic. Hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Be sure to check Facebook for daily updates. On Fridays and Saturday nights, customers can order until 1:45 a.m. for DoorDash delivery.
Jack Rose Social Club is celebrating its grand opening all month. The former Tavern 180 changed ownership a while ago and rebranded this summer. The restaurant and bar, which has a full liquor license, is giving each table a complimentary hummus platter. Weekly drawings include gift cards, and the grand prize – a dinner party for eight with a wine or bourbon tasting – will be drawn on Halloween. Happy hour specials include 25 percent off appetizers and signature cocktails and $1 off draft beers and wines. Hours are 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Jack Rose recently added lunch service too.
Here are the featured ice cream flavors for the month at Stensland Family Farms.
And if you’re a fan of the Twin Bing flavor, there’s a seasonal closeout special at Stensland with $2 dips and $25 off 2.5-gallon tubs.
Rev It Up Grille at Thunder Road Entertainment has a $9 lunch deal that includes a drink. Choices are a barbecue pulled pork sandwich and fries, a 9-inch one-topping pizza or a cheeseburger and fries. The special is good for dine-in from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
Cinnabon is celebrating National Cinnamon Roll Day on Friday by offering $1 Classic MiniBons from 3 to 6 p.m. at participating locations.
October is First Responders Month, so firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics and EMTs can get a BOGO offer on sandwiches all month at Firehouse Subs.
Subway has a BOGO footlong special through Oct. 13 for online and app orders. Use the code FLBOGO.
What started as an April Fool’s Day joke is now a real thing that’s an annual treat at Culver’s. The CurderBurger is available through Oct. 14 or while supplies last. It’s a patty-sized cheese curd that goes on a Deluxe ButterBurger.
There’s a couple of weeks or so left to try the Big Cheez-It featured items at Taco Bell. The chain partnered with Cheez-It to create a cracker that’s 16 times larger than the regular snack. It’s featured in a Crunchwrap Supreme and a tostada, or you can order just the Big Cheez-It.
Goodcents in Sioux Falls is one of the test locations for new baked pastas. They’re available for a limited time. Choices include chicken alfredo, buffalo chicken, pasta with meatballs, alfredo pasta and pasta with marinara.
Rainy Day Coffee Co. now has a permanent location in addition to its mobile coffee truck. Owner Shania Rozeboom has opened a shop at 216 N. Third St. in Beresford. Fall hours are 6:30 to 10 a.m. Monday through Wednesday. The coffee shop has a drive-thru and a roasting and packaging area for the business, along with storage and room for “Lucille,” the coffee truck. Hours will expand once food truck season ends.
Fernson Coffee has released its autumn featured flavors. The Spiced Pumpkin concoction is recommended in a latte or cappuccino, and there’s also a housemade maple flavoring for any drink. The Spice & Tea Exchange provides ceremonial-grade matcha for drinks, and Spiced Apple Cider works in several drinks and features red hots.
Dogs are getting a chance to be part of Oktoberfest celebrations this weekend. Barktoberfest is from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at Look’s Marketplace. The family-friendly event will feature games, German food features, music and beer, including Doktor Barktober from Look’s Beer Co. Puptoberfest is Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at WoodGrain Brewing Co. The brewery will tap its last keg of Oktoberfest, and the new food truck Heavenly Food will be there. Shop vendors selling dog-focused merchandise, enter your dog in contests, and stop by the photo booth for a snapshot with your pup.
Changes in hours, service
- The West 41st Street B&G Milkyway location closed for the season Sept. 29.
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