Uno(R) Spices Up JazzFest With Special Limited-Time-Only Menu

Uno(R) Spices Up JazzFest With Special Limited-Time-Only Menu

BOSTON, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspired both by the music and culinary heritage of New Orleans and the greater Mississippi Delta, Uno Chicago Grill(R) will celebrate its New Orleans Jazz Festival of Flavors from April 14th through June 7th.

Uno(R) restaurants will be decked out to celebrate the fun and festive elements of the French Quarter and will feature the historic musical sounds associated with it. This special musical mix runs the gamut from Dixieland, blues, jazz, ragtime, swing and the many off-shoots that are the hallmark of our rich musical heritage. As John Phillips Sousa stated, "Jazz will endure just as long as people hear it through their feet instead of their brains."

The food is equally infused with jazz rhythms and is a wonderful improvisational flow of flavors from Spanish, French, and Native American traditions to Cajun and Creole cuisine.

For example, the menu features a Shrimp 'Po-boy' Sandwich with Cajun Remoulade Sauce.

"There's a variety of stories on just where the name 'Po-Boy' sandwich came from. One suggests that it's a contraction of the French phrase 'pour boire', which, among other things, means a 'tip', sometimes ironically given in the form of food. Another suggests that it was N'awlins slang for the free sandwiches fed to striking New Orleans street car workers in the twenties," notes Chris Gatto, executive chef, Uno Chicago Grill.

Whatever the etymology, it's a long hoagie roll filled to the brim with fried shrimp, diced tomatoes and shredded lettuce, liberally drizzled with a Cajun remoulade sauce.

There is also Cajun Blackened Mahi-Mahi inspired by Paul Prudhomme and other magicians of spice and cast-iron-skillet cooking. It's a firm, but flaky white fish dredged in a secret blackening spice mixture that includes thyme, cayenne pepper, paprika and onion. It's seared in a cast-iron skillet with a soupcon of olive oil, capped with sauteed peppers, onions and plum tomatoes.

Since Uno is known for its deep dish pizza, there is also a Jambalaya Deep Dish. Jambalaya comes from the Provencal word "jambalaia," meaning a mish-mash or mix up. It's also the Cajun/Creole version of Spanish Paella.

"Our deep dish is a 'mix up' of chicken, shrimp and Andouille sausage in a marvelous Creole red sauce with plum tomatoes, layered with cheese, and topped with a Cajun cayenne spice mixture," said Gatto.

An alternative to the deep dish can be found in the Chicken & Andouille Sausage Flatbread Pizza.

Uno starts with an all-natural-flatbread crust, layered with sliced grilled chicken and andouille sausage, sauteed peppers, onions and plum tomatoes, a spicy garlic red sauce, mozzarella, Cheddar and just a sprinkle of Cajun cayenne spice mixture.

Uno is also serving Chicken Sausage Gumbo, a thick soup filled with chunks of chicken and andouille sausage that originates from Louisiana. Its flavor is the product of many cultures: French, Spanish, West African and Native American, and includes a vegetable quartet of okra, bell pepper, celery and onion. Served with rice, gumbo actually means okra.

The Ragin' Pasta is a mix of fettuccine tossed with chicken, shrimp, andouille sausage and a fabulous Creole red sauce filled with plum tomatoes, then given that 'little bit o' Hades' with cayenne pepper, thyme, salt and a garlic spice mix.

The menu features a selection of recommended wines and, of course, a Hurricane cocktail -- in this case the Southern Mango Hurricane -- a rum and Southern Comfort concoction infused with mango, orange and pineapple juices.

Lastly, there are themed desserts such as Bananas Foster, the glorious dessert named after a friend of the man who created it in honor of their friendship. It's a four scoop mountain of vanilla ice cream covered with a soul-satisfying sauce of banana, rum and brown sugar.

Those who like chocolate may want to try the Chocolate Chocolate Malt Layer Cake. It's a moist, dense, chocolate, layer cake with a center layer of chocolate malt frosting and malt ball pieces finished with a warm chocolate sauce.

"What we play is life," Louis Armstrong said. What Uno plays is 'delicious.'"

Editorial Note: Photo of menu items available upon request.

About Uno Restaurants:

Based in Boston, Uno Restaurant Holdings Corporation includes more than 200 company-owned and franchised full-service Uno Chicago Grill units located in 29 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Honduras, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The company also operates a fast casual concept called Uno Due Go(R), a quick serve concept called Uno Express(R), and a consumer foods division which supplies airlines, movie theaters, hotels, airports, travel plazas, schools and supermarkets with both frozen and refrigerated private-label foods and branded Uno products. For more information, visit www.unos.com.

Contact: Elliott Subervi
Utopia Communications for UNO
(732) 493-8867 Ext. 111
Elliott@utopiacommunications.biz

Source: Uno Restaurant Holdings Corporation

CONTACT: Elliott Subervi, Utopia Communications for UNO,
+1-732-493-8867, Ext. 111, Elliott@utopiacommunications.biz

Web Site: http://www.unos.com/

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