El Che Launches RW52: A Year Round Restaurant Week Style Menu

Due to the success of Restaurant Week, Executive Chef John Manion has decided to make the initiative a regular part of business at El Che Bar, his Argentine-inspired resto-bar specializing in beef, wine and live fire. El Che has launched RW52: a weekly 3-course prix fixe menu for $36, available every Tuesday evening, 52 weeks a year. The menu will change monthly to feature seasonal ingredients and give returning guests something new to experience.

Over this year’s Restaurant Week timeframe, El Che’s offerings translated into unprecedented numbers of items sold: 965 empanadas, 952 steaks, 711 head-on prawns, 1161 orders of tres leeches cake. However, the bottom line isn’t the only reason why restaurant week worked in a changing restaurant landscape.

“We welcomed guests from all over the Chicagoland area who might not have otherwise made the trip from the suburbs to dine at a neighborhood spot in the West Loop on a week day," says John Manion, Executive Chef of El Che Bar. "It allowed us to reach a new audience of people who will tell someone else about the great food, wine and experience they had here, even if they themselves never return."

February's 3-course menu is as follows: 

CHOOSE ONE FROM EACH COURSE

First Course:
Arugula, manchego, honey crispy apples, sunflower seeds, creole mustard vinaigrette

French Onion Empanada, chimichurri aioli

Second Course:
Grilled chorizo. white bean locro, charred lemon

Gulf shrimp mojo de ajo, charred lemon

Third Course:
Salmon filet, horseradish cream, caper salsa verde
10oz grilled 'bricklayer' ribeye, chimichurri