Rack House (Arlington Heights) Rolls Out New Menu in Celebration of Two Years

Rack House Kitchen & Tavern is celebrating two successful years in a delicious way this May. The Arlington Heights-based barbecue venue is adding a unique variety of American favorites to its existing smokehouse selections, along with a new line of handcrafted cocktails, regionally distilled whiskeys and local craft beers. To mark the milestone, the restaurant will also host a complimentary anniversary celebration on Thursday, May 21, to honor and thank their loyal customer base.

Named after the time-honored “rickhouse” tradition, the area where whiskey and bourbon barrels are stored and aged, Rack House’s revamped menu draws influences from the nation’s most distinguished barbecue regions: Memphis, Kansas City, Texas and the Carolinas. In addition to serving up its crowd-pleasing smokehouse favorites, the team has developed a “Chicago-style barbecue,” a unique style of barbeque that incorporates hints of the restaurant’s signature whiskey-based flavors. The succulent Beer Can Chicken, a roasted half chicken au jus served alongside creamy garlic mashed potatoes and crisp asparagus, as well as the Bacon Wrapped Cajun Shrimp, topped with a sweet pineapple relish and zesty chipotle aioli, are also notable additions to the venue’s down home fare.

To complement the restaurant’s rustic smokehouse fare, the newly designed beverage menu features a selection of proprietary flavored moonshine, as well as a line of handcrafted moonshine-based cocktails. Local brewers are the highlight among Rack House’s 22 draft beer offerings, including seasonal brews from Church Street Brewing (Itasca, Ill.), Moody Tongue (Chicago) and BuckleDown Brewing (Lyons, Ill.). A house-curated list of regionally distilled whiskey and bourbon rounds out the venue’s extensive beverage offerings.

In celebration of Rack House’s second year in business, the restaurant will host an anniversary event that is open to the public on Thursday, May 21, on their expansive outdoor patio. From 4 to 7 p.m., guests are invited to sample the latest offerings from a number of local craft beer vendors, including tastes from Revolution Brewing and New Belgium Brewing. To thank the local community for their continued support, Rack House will also offer a variety of giveaways throughout the evening, with one lucky winner walking away with two tickets to a Cubs home game.