—Deepest Virtue: In honor of Black History Month, renowned Hyde Park spot Virtue Restaurant and James Beard Award-winning Chef Erick Williams are presenting a month-long celebration highlighting the rich contributions of Black culinary and cocktail history.
Virtue will feature a cocktail menu inspired by Tom Bullock—the first African American to publish a cocktail book—as well as an exclusive evening with award-winning chef/author Alexander Smalls and Nina Oduro, co-founder of Dine Diaspora and Black Women in Food.
Featured cocktails will include concoctions such as the Blackthorne Cocktail (with sloe gin, vermouth, lemon and aromatic bitters); the Fannie Ward Cocktail (with rum, lime, pomegranate and egg white); Cohasset Punch (with rum, vermouth, peach and lemon) and the Stinger (containing brandy and crème de menthe). And on Saturday, Feb. 22, the Smalls/Oduro event will be a two-parter: a free intimate book discussion at The Silver Room Design Lab at 900 N. Michigan Ave. hosted by The Silver Room owner Eric Williams and Chef Erick Williams (12-2 p.m.; RSVP here) and a five-course dinner at Virtue (with reservations starting at 5 p.m.; RSVP here) with items from Smalls and Oduro’s cookbook, The Contemporary African Kitchen.
—The week and the strong: Chicago Black Restaurant Week is taking place Feb. 9-23.
Dozens of restaurants are taking part, including Bronzeville Soul, CheSa’s Bistro, Gaijin Chicago, Dock’s, The Black Vegan Restaurant, Peach’s Restaurant, Jus Sandwiches, SmallCakes Evergreen Park and Taste 222. In an effort to honor the legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who established “Negro History Week,” Lauran A. Smith launched Chicago BLACK Restaurant Week in February 2016.
And please remember that everyone is welcome to dine.
—“Top” dogs: Three Chicago contestants will appear on the next season of Bravo’s Top Chef, which will premiere March 13, per Eater Chicago.
The local competitors include Zubair Mohajir, of Coach House and Mirra; César Murillo, of North Pond; and Bailey Sullivan, of Monteverde. Top Chef: Destination Canada features various cities and provinces, such as Toronto, Montreal and Prince Edward Island.
Among other things, the winner receives $250,000, a $125,000 flight credit—and the chance to present at this year’s James Beard Awards on June 16 at Chicago’s Lyric Opera.
—Tea time: Pendry Chicago’s lobby-level cocktail lounge, Bar Pendry, has a new menu for boozy tea that pulls inspiration from Macau, the multicultural region on the south coast of China.
Served every Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., the Macanese menu starts with a complimentary welcome mimosa or bellini. For $65/per person, guests can enjoy a two-tier tower of sweet and savory bites, plus a choice of tea from Rare Tea Cellars. Bites include Portuguese salmon tartlets, Bacalhau croquettes, prawn-and-chorizo samosas, Portuguese egg tarts, mango yuzu sago and serradura (a layered dessert made with whipped cream and graham cracker crumbles). There are also tea-infused cocktails, like A Night in Macau, a fruity sipper with gin, Bénédictine liqueur and cherry liqueur; or the Orange Blossom, another gin-based concoction featuring sweet vermouth and orange juice.
—Here’s to your health: Streeterville’s Beatrix Market is teaming with Northwestern Medicine’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute in honor of its 20th anniversary.
Beatrix Market Chef/Partner Janet Kirker and Northwestern Medicine Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation Cardiologist Quentin R. Youmans, MD, have collaborated on an original heart-healthy recipe: turkey meatballs with fennel ragu and cauliflower rice. (The recipe is here.) The dish will be available for a limited time only at the Beatrix location, during Feb. 20-26. Guests are invited to pop into Beatrix Market to enjoy this featured dish in addition to other heart-healthy items, including the spicy chickpea stew, roasted Greek vegetables, broccoli detox salad, complete protein salad, lemon-dill tuna salad and more.
—Fire relief: At Next on Wed., Feb. 12, at 5:30 p.m., people will be able to join Chef’s Table director/producer Brian McGinn in conversation with Chef Grant Achatz for a one-night only event benefiting those affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles.
The evening includes a Q&A hosted by Brian McGinn and Chef Achatz, a cocktail reception at The Aviary and a seated dinner at Next showcasing its newest menu, Alinea Year One. Proceeds from the Chef’s Table Dinner Series for LA Fire Relief, presented by Resy, will be split between Chef’s Table restaurant partners and charities addressing various levels of the devastation suffered by the LA community from the recent fires. Charity partners include World Central Kitchen, Restaurants Care, and the Palisades Community Fund and Altadena Community Fund.
Tickets are $1.250 each; RSVP here.
—Fire relief, part two: The Godfrey Hotel Chicago will host its annual Charity Ball on Saturday, Feb, 22, at 8 p.m., offering an evening of elegance in support of Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts.
Guests will enjoy a sophisticated night under the stars featuring a champagne bar (8-9 p.m.); cuisine including stationed and passed hors d’oeuvres, seafood towers and a carving station; and live music and dancing. The event will benefit World Central Kitchen and Pasadena Humane—two organizations dedicated to providing critical support in wildfire-affected areas.
Ticket prices range from $75 to $1,050 each; RSVP at GodfreyBall.com.
—Mocktail hours: The four-course tasting menu at the Michelin-starred spot Sepia now has a zero-proof flight for $44 per person.
The flight includes Copenhagen Sparkling White Tea with Jasmine and Darjeeling, paired with smoked beef carpaccio or leek & popcorn velouté; Proxies N/A Rosé and Pinot Blanc, matched with BBQ’d sablefish or crispy cream cheese gnudi; N/A Amaro with shiitake mushroom, apple, lemon, soda, and egg white, garnished with dehydrated mushroom powder, paired with Rohan duck breast or black truffle & potato scarpinocc; and vanilla matcha latte with coconut milk, to accompany apple tarte tatin or toasted buckwheat namelaka.
—Pop life: Please don’t forget that I have another column called Pop-Eds. My latest article, “Movie kind of love,” covers mostly film-related items—and this one’s FREE. Check it all out at Andrew449.substack.com. And get ALL the restaurant news at SAVOR with Andrew at Future3733.substack.com.