Chicken & Donut Sandwich Puts City Tavern's New Menu On Joliet's Map

JOLIET, IL — After being open the past five years at 1329 W. Jefferson St., City Tavern is generating a lot of buzz of late for Joliet's restaurant and bar scene. The owners just opened their kitchen, introduced their new menu, and some of their new selections are drawing a lot of praise from their customers, both old and new.

The biggest hit on the menu, so far, is something that's hard to find anywhere in Joliet. And for $14, Joliet Patch's editor had to buy it for lunch Tuesday: the Chicken & Donut sandwich.

It's a breaded chicken breast with pepper jack cheese, Sriracha and maple aioli, bacon, onion hay and two glazed donut buns. The sandwich comes with ribbon chips.

If you aren't familiar with City Tavern, you are probably familiar with the owners' long-standing track record of success at their other Joliet area establishments:

Constantino "Dino" Kollintzas and his sister, Christina Kollintzas-Paulis have had Metro Grill & Bar on Joliet's Essington Road since 2004 and George's Restaurant in Lockport since 1992. They also own Uptown Tap & Eatery in downtown Plainfield, acquiring it in 2019.

They opened City Tavern, which used to be known Larsen's Corner and long before that, Kookie's Jar, in 2018.

About three weeks ago, City Tavern opened its kitchen and introduced the new food menu. The menu was created by executive chef Amy Pryzbylo, who oversees all four of their Joliet-area restaurants and bars, according to Christina Kollintzas-Paulis.

During Tuesday's phone interview, Joliet Patch asked if she expected the City Tavern food menu would become such a big hit, this quickly.

"I'm very pleased," Christina said. "I'm extremely gratified. I wasn't expecting such a great response from the community, but everyone's been really supportive.

Patch asked Christina what feedback she's getting from customers who've tried the chicken and donut sandwich.

"That it tastes so good," she said. "Our bartenders have done such a fantastic job of convincing people, 'You must try it.'"

Most people are surprised to learn that it's not one donut sliced in half. It's actually two full donuts, along with the grilled chicken breast, Christina said.

"The chicken donut is phenomenal," City Tavern bartender Dawn told Patch. "I have not had any bad feedback. The only thing possibly would be that it's messy, but everyone's loving it."

Dawn often brings her customers a couple of hand wipes if they order the chicken & donut sandwich. To avoid making a mess, she encouraged me to cut the sandwich in half and use a fork.

"That makes it easier to manage," she suggested.

As for the rest of the new menu, Dawn said the double saganaki smash burger, at $14.50 and served with ribbon chips, has been another hit for the new food menu.

Dawn said she has worked as a City Tavern bartender since November 2018.

What does she recommend for appetizers?

"The Firecracker Cauliflower is awesome," she insisted. "I like the fact that it's simple. You have quality instead of quantity. It's not a huge menu, but everything is fantastic. Everything tastes wonderful."

City Tavern co-owner Christina said she's glad the double saganaki smash burger was included on the new menu. "It's surprising how many people love saganaki, so we thought, you have to put it on a burger," she said.

City Tavern kitchen is now open daily. From Sunday through Thursday, the kitchen serves food from noon to 9 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, the kitchen is open from noon to 11 p.m.

Moving forward with the new kitchen menu, Christina wants City Tavern known as "a casual, fun place. Good bar food. Friendly bartenders, fun atmosphere that's convenient for Joliet."

If you're in the mood for the chicken & donut sandwich, the saganaki double smash burger — or anything else, City Tavern also takes carry out orders.

City Tavern's phone number is 815-725-3839.

ONE MORE THING: Christina said that City Tavern has remodeled its second floor for people to book for private parties starting in April.

The new second-floor room can accommodate 85 guests.

"We can cater from City Tavern's kitchen or from Metro's kitchen," she added.