MM_071416

26 | July 14, 2016 | The Mokena Messenger dining out
mokenamessenger.com
The Dish
Bonefish Grill tries to keep customers on the hook with summer specials
Bill Jones, Managing Editor
It would not be fair to
use the old adage of “the
only thing that is constant is
change” to describe Bonefish
Grill.
After all, it is a consistent
level of quality, creativity
and service that has kept
area residents circling back
through the establishment’s
revolving door in Orland
Park for nearly three years.
“We’ve been blessed with
how many people come to
eat here on a daily basis,”
managing partner Nicholas
Kapellas said. “It really is a
testament to how great our
food is.”
But change always plays
a big role for a business that
deals in fresh seafood, as
the catches transform with
the seasons, and the specials
menu evolves to accommodate
the latest bounty.
Just weeks ago, Bonefish
introduced a summer menu
expected to stick around
through the beginning of
September. But even within
the next few months, those
specials will see change.
“We’re all about freshness,
when you think summer,”
Kapellas said. “It’s
nice and warm outside.”
To match that atmosphere,
Bonefish recently introduced
a fresh watermelon martini
($9.40) to get diners started. It
features hand-muddled watermelon,
house-infused English
cucumber and Fris vodka infusion,
and fresh sour, garnished
with frozen watermelon cubes.
It is the latest in a line of handcrafted
martini offerings Kapellas
said have done plenty on
their own of drawing attention
to the restaurant, with in-house
infusion and the “big city bar
feel.”
“We like to differentiate
ourselves so people remember
us,” he said. “The watermelon
martini is a favorite.”
Fresh day boat scallops ($22.90) — sushi-grade scallops on a bed of creamy corn risotto,
topped with crispy bacon and lemon butter drizzle, served alongside green beans — are a
specialty only available during the summer season at Bonefish Grill in Orland Park.
Bill Jones/22nd Century Media
But for seafood lovers,
the wild salmon offerings
are where the summer specials
get really interesting.
In early July, the menu featured
wild sockeye salmon
with spinach, bacon and blue
($24.50), showcasing woodgrilled
salmon, topped with
sautéed spinach, bacon and
blue cheese crumbles, then
finished with lemon butter.
“It’s the most flavorful of
any wild salmon,” Kapellas
said, crediting that flavor to
a high oil content.
But the plan is to change
the wild salmon special
throughout the summer,
first to the king variety, then
coho.
“When the different species
become available, we’ll
bring in different types
of salmon,” Kapellas explained.
Throughout the summer,
though, Bonefish intends to
feature fresh day boat scallops
($22.90). The scallops
are advertised as “sushigrade”
and come served on
a bed of creamy corn risotto,
topped with bacon and lemon
butter drizzle, alongside
green beans.
“They call them day boat
because they have to be back
within 24 hours,” Kapellas
explained.
That means they are
handpicked based on size,
shucked on-site and shipped
within a day. Kapellas said
like the other summer specials,
Bonefish has featured
them in the past, and some
customers tapped into culinary
culture come back just
for those.
“We tweak a little bit, but
with market fresh food you
don’t need to do a lot,” Kapellas
said. “We try to get
those fresh ingredients. ...
The food speaks for itself.”
Except, sometimes for the
less savvy customers, servers
have to speak a little for
the food, as well, educating
diners on the always developing
menu. That is where
constant — and in this case,
“constant” means staff with
years of experience in dealing
with seafood — is important.
“We pride ourselves on
having really knowledgeable
servers and chefs in the back
who know how to handle
these things,” Kapellas said.
Bonefish Grill
15537 S. LaGrange
Road in Orland Park
Hours
• 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Monday-Thursday
• 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m.
Friday and Saturday
• 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
For more information ...
Web: www.bonefishgrill.
com
Phone: (708) 873-5170
But customers drawn to
the fresh summer tastes of
wild salmon and day boat
scallops do not have time on
their sides. Because like the
tides, Bonefish’s specials are
bound to change.
Get that watermelon out of
my martini!
It is crazy to think, but
there are actually people in
this world who simply do
not like watermelon.
We call them weirdos, of
course, but they exist nonetheless,
and they have as
much right as anyone to a
martini.
Fresh watermelon
martini recipe
Orland Park’s Bonefish
Grill features on its
summer specials menu a
fresh watermelon martini,
made with hand-muddled
watermelon, house-infused
English cucumber and Fris
vodka infusion, and fresh
sour, garnished with frozen
watermelon cubes. Here is
how to make it at home.
Ingredients
• 2 cubes fresh
watermelon
• 2 cucumber slices
• .25 ounces simple
syrup
• 1.5 ounces vodka
• .5 ounces fresh sour mix
Steps
• Combine the
watermelon cubes,
cucumber slices and
simple syrup in a glass,
and muddle well.
• Add vodka and fresh
sour mix.
• Shake and strain into a
chilled martini glass.
So for those not as keen on
the fresh watermelon martini,
Bonefish’s summer menu
also features a fresh strawberry
rosé martini ($9.10),
featuring hand-muddled
raspberry, blackberry and
strawberry, with Belleruche
Rosé and St. Germain elderflower.
The martini is
finished with fresh berries,
to boot.
Best paired with ...
For those looking to pair
the wild salmon or day boat
scallops with something other
than a martini, a sommelier
might use plenty of words
to describe the flavor profiles
that would mingle well with
the fresh fish. Kapellas only
Bill Jones/22nd Century
Media
• Garnish with frozen
watermelon cubes or a
fresh cucumber slice.
Secrets of the shake
• To make a refreshing
cucumber vodka, simply
slice a cucumber and
place in vodka. Allow to
infuse for 24-48 hours.
• For cocktails on the
sweeter side, add a bit
more simple syrup.
• Substitute tequila for
vodka, and increase the
sour mix to 1.5 ounces,
shake and strain over ice
into a glass with a salt rim
for a margarita spin on
the recipe.
needs two: pinot noir.
It might sound unconventional,
but it was the go-to
among staff when they taste
tested the dishes, and Kapellas
said it is largely owed to
the swine topping each dish.
“That was the favorite,”
he said. “It really complements
the bold flavor of the
bacon.”
It’s not summer inside
To round out the summer
theme, Bonefish Grill’s 40-
seat patio has been open for
the past couple of months,
and Kapellas is not going to
shut it down until he must.
“We’ll have it open as
long as we can,” he said.