Northbrook Celebrates National Mushroom Month

Mushroom enthusiasts look forward to this time of year. September brings us National Mushroom Month, a month-long celebration established in 1992 by the Mushroom Growers Council, which lives on today the Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook.

Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris, chef/partners at Prairie Grass 601 Skokie Blvd. have prepared a number of menu items showcasing various types of organic, local mushrooms. 

"We buy our Button, Portobello and Shitake mushrooms from farmer Eric Rose of River Valley Ranch in Burlington, Wisconsin, as they are a Certified Organic Farm and the oldest mushroom farm in the Midwest," Stegner said in a press release. "All crops are grown without pesticides or chemicals. We connected with them through the Green City Market."

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Prairie Grass Cafe has been a popular spot for mushroom dishes for years. They use more than 100 pounds of mushrooms a week. 

"Mushrooms provide rich earthy flavors that are intense and always so fresh. Out of all of the things that we use that are local, mushrooms impacted the flavors for which we are known the most; we use them in our stocks and sauces." Stegner added.

Prairie Grass Cafe is featuring a mushroom soup ($5.50) as a weekly special this month. The chefs also recommend the sautéed button mushrooms with red wine sauce to accompany steak dishes as a side ($6). 

Customer favorites include the Shitake mushrooms marinated with sesame soy sauce, that accompany the Ahi Tuna, seared rare with baby bok choy, shitake mushroom and spicy sesame soy sauce ($32), and Portobello mushrooms sautéed to accompany the Sautéed Lake Superior Whitefish ($21).

Prairie Grass Cafe's brunch menu features the popular Portobello Mushroom Benedict with two poached eggs over panko crusted Portobello mushrooms, sautéed spinach and lemon Hollandaise ($12.50) available Saturdays and Sundays only — 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Prairie Grass Cafe isn't alone in their use of mushrooms. Last year, more than 900 million pounds of mushrooms were grown in the United States, with sales exceeding $1 billion.

Stop by Prairie Grass Cafe this month and enjoy one of your favorites. Call (847) 205-4433 to make a reservation.