The Lettuce Guide to Beating the Winter Blues

Cold weather got you down? Boost your mood with fun deals, specials & more

From freezing temps and 4:00 PM sunsets, to gray skies, cabin fever and the tease of false Spring, this time of year can seem truly endless. Never fear, Lettuce is here with a survival guide to help you beat the winter blues! Check out a few deals, specials and fun ideas that will get you out of your seasonal funk, and may even help you enjoy the cold-weather countdown to sunnier days.

Indulge in Dining Deals

Winter weather often = special seasonal dining deals for diners across the country! Here’s a few current offers at Lettuce restaurants.

Dine Nashville, Visit Music City’s annual culinary celebration, is going on now through Wednesday, February 28. Swing by Aba, Wedgewood-Houston’s new hotspot (recently named one of Robb Report‘s 21 Most Beautiful New Restaurants in America!) to enjoy the White Cheddar Labneh with honey crisp apple, lemon zest, almond granola and cinnamon phyllo. Learn more about Dine Nashville at Aba.
Make a reservation at Aba – Nashville

Now through Sunday, March 1, Mon Ami Gabi on Bethesda Row is participating in Savor Bethesda Restaurant Week with a three-course Express Lunch Menu available for $35 per person, plus tax (gratuity not included), so you can create a quintessential French feast!
Make a reservation for Savor Bethesda Restaurant Week at Mon Ami Gabi – Bethesda 

Dine out at Lettuce’s Northwest suburban Chicago restaurants during Chicago Northwest Restaurant Week! From Friday, February 27 – Sunday, March 8, enjoy special menus for lunch and dinner at Big Bowl – Schaumburg, Shaw’s Crab House – Schaumburg, Tokio Pub and Wildfire – Schaumburg.

March is North Shore Restaurant Month! From Sunday, March 1 – Tuesday, March 31, enjoy dining deals at Di Pescara, Ema – Glenview, and Saranello’s.

Get Soup-ed Up

Baby, it’s cold outside, but Lettuce has some soup-er specials that will warm you from the inside out.

Take An Hours-long Staycation

Dining experiences at Lettuce restaurants always feel like a break from the everyday, but during winter, these spots work even harder.

Hidden beneath the bustling streets of Chicago’s River North lies the perfect tropical retreat of Three Dots and a Dash. Take respite from the cold in this cocktail haven, where the rum-forward menu, cold-pressed juices, inventive drinks served in custom mugs, and warm island hospitality invoke a feeling of relaxing on the beach. Even a two-hour visit will feel like a well-deserved mini vacation on a chilly evening. View the Three Dots and a Dash menu
Make a reservation at Three Dots and a Dash

It’s important to soak up as much vitamin D as possible during winter’s darker days, so snag a seat on one Lettuce’s many all-season patios, such as Pizzeria Portofino‘s enclosed, all-weather, temperature-controlled riverfront patio. A $2.50 per person reservation fee will be applied. View Pizzeria Portofino’s menu
Make a reservation at Pizzeria Portofino

Lunch at Ema – Glenview feels as close to a summer day on the Mediterranean coast as you can get in Chicago’s North Shore, and we are here for it! Every Monday – Friday, enjoy the Lunch Kebab Special including your choice of Classic or Spicy Hummus, Chicken Kefta or Grilled Chicken Kebab, cucumber and tomato salad, lemon dill basmati rice and choice of house bread or crudite for $18.95, plus tax. Available for dine-in, carry-out and delivery! View Ema – Glenview’s menu
Make a lunch reservation at Ema – Glenview

Discover A New Happy Hour

We consider Happy Hour a year-round essential for survival, but there’s some new ones around Lettuce that you might find especially comforting as March comes in like a lion!

The new and improved Happy Hour at il Porcellino, offered Monday – Friday from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM exclusively at the bar, is the answer to all your winter woes. Think hearty bites ranging from $3 – $6 each, plus tax, like Wild Mushroom Arancini and Focaccia Pepperoni Pizza, plus Short Rib Sliders for $9 each, plus tax. Those, plus $8 House Negronis, the Featured Negroni of the Month (February is the Chocolate Negroni), and $8 select glasses of wine, are an easy post-work pick-me-up!
Check out il Porcellino’s new Happy Hour menu

Learn A New Skill

Come out of your winter slumber with some brand new skills to entertain and impress friends and family in the warmer months! Check out Lettuce’s calendar of Things to Do to find all kinds of fun, from wine tastings and cocktail classes, to tutorials in flower arranging, cooking techniques, and more.

For example, on Tuesday, March 10 at 6:00 PM, get hands-on experience in Maki-Rolling 101 with Sushi-san Master Chef Kaze Chan using all the tools and ingredients needed to craft classic rolls. Along with learning a new culinary skill, all participants will have the chance to win prizes and everyone will go home with their very own makisu (bamboo rolling mat) to keep practicing like a pro! 
Purchase tickets to the Maki-Rolling 101 Class at Sushi-san – Lincoln Park

Sip Comfort in a Cup

Coffee and cocoa (and sometimes wine!): You can’t go wrong with these ultimate winter warm-ups.

Beatrix’s S’Mores Mocha is like being wrapped in a blanket fireside. Go ahead and break off a piece of the S’Mores Cookie to dip in this warming cup of chocolate, graham cracker and marshmallow-inspired goodness to whisk your taste buds away to summer camp. View the Beatrix menu
Make a reservation at the Beatrix location nearest you

If you’ve braved the cold to have some winter fun like taking a spin down the Maggie Daly Park Ice Skating Ribbon, make your next stop Pizzeria Portofino to indulge in Hot Chocolate Service for Two, which comes with marshmallows, cookies, candy and more. View the Pizzeria Portofino menu
Make a reservation at Pizzeria Portofino

Sometimes an afternoon wine date with your besties is just what you need to cure what ails you. Why not do some good while you sip the day away? Celebrate Women’s History Month on Saturday, March 7, from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM, at Mon Ami Gabi’s Wine Passport Series: Women in Wine, benefiting The BeyoU Fund. 
Purchase tickets to the Wine Passport Series: Women in Wine at Mon Ami Gabi – Lincoln Park

Get Cooking

Did you know that Lettuce.com features a whole library of Recipes direct from our chefs that you can make from your favorite restaurants? When leaving the house isn’t an option, try your hand at recreating some our signature dishes at home. (You can also shop like a chef and have restaurant-quality steaks and chops delivered right to your door by ordering from Prime Meats by Lettuce!)

Mon Ami Gabi has some of the most soul-satisfying dishes around, from French Onion Soup, to Duck Leg Confit and the Le Cheeseburger. Perhaps the most comforting of all is Classic Boeuf Bourguignon, a stew that’s perfect for long winter nights.
Make a reservation at the Mon Ami Gabi location nearest you | Order carryout and delivery from the Mon Ami Gabi location nearest you

Plan A Getaway

There’s Lettuce locations in more cities than ever before (hello, Nashville!). Winter’s the perfect time to take your Lettuce Frequent Diner points on the road to sunnier locations!

With the openings of Aba – Nashville and Sushi-san – Nashville last fall, and Austin recently welcoming the newest location of Ema, joining its longstanding sister restaurant Aba, Midwestern and Southern hospitality unite. Bask in warmer temps while feasting on Mediterranean mezze and sushi favorites you know and love, but also dig into some exclusives, like Sushi-san – Nashville‘s super cute soft-serve window!
Make a reservation at Aba – Nashville | Make a reservation at Sushi-san – Nashville | Make a reservation at Aba – Austin | Make a reservation at Ema – Austin

Lettuce has seven restaurants on and off The Strip, so a long weekend in Vegas might be just the cure for your winter blues! Even if you don’t gamble a penny at the tables, between people-watching on the patio at Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas, seeing a residency show at the world-famous Las Vegas Sphere and other venues, spas, shopping and brunching, you’ll have the time of your life.
Plan your Lettuce Las Vegas getaway

Calling all Disney Adults: When you need a break from the snow, sleet, and freezing rain, treat yourself to a weekend at the Magic Kingdom and stop into Summer House on the Lake at Disney Springs® West Side for West Coast-inspired salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, and more. At The Cookie Bar at Summer House on the Lake, you can even take your Summer House Rosé to-go!
Make a reservation at Summer House on the Lake Disney Springs® West Side

Having an end-of-winter trip to look forward to can be a salve for your soul, so buy tickets now for Lone Star Smokeout! The country music and barbeque festival from the team behind Windy City Smokeout returns to Arlington, Texas, April 24-26 for three days of food, fun and music outside of AT&T Stadium. This year’s lineup features Riley Green, Koe Wetzel, and Shaboozey, plus world-famous pitmasters from Texas and across the country.
Purchase tickets to Lone Star Smokeout

Order In From A New Fave

If ultimately, your couch is calling, bring up your LettuceEats® App and order carryout or delivery from your go-to, or discover a new favorite!

Crying Tiger, our Southeast Asian hotspot in River North from James Beard-nominated Chef Thai Dang, has just launched carryout and delivery. Order up some of the most buzzed-about dishes in town, such as the Prawn Toast, Grilled Wagyu Nam Tok Salad, Crispy H.K. Pork Belly, Clay Pot Lobster Pad Thai, and Rolled Rice Noodles. Sometimes, there’s nothing better to cure the winter blues than some Netflix and chill.
Make a reservation at Crying Tiger | Order carryout and delivery from Crying Tiger

Explore more of our newest options for carryout and delivery!