Weekday Planner: Boozy Dinners at Ampersand Wine Bar and Elixir Lounge

This week, it's all about the boozy dinners. Between two different wine dinners and a bourbon dinner held in honor of National Bourbon Heritage Month, it's gonna be real easy to stay pleasantly buzzed all week long. Read on: 

After-Hours Wine Dinner at Ampersand

Ravenswood's coolest new spot, Ampersand wine bar, is hosting its first ever "after-hours" wine dinner on September 28. Don't worry, it's not too late; it is a school night after all. It all goes down at 7:30 p.m., featuring a first taste of the new fall menu, along with wine pairings and desserts. Robert Houde, former head sommelier at Charlie Trotter's, will be on hand to tell guests about selections from the wine list. Just good wine, good food, and good times. The price is $65 per person and tickets can be snagged on Ampersand's website.

 

Bourbon Dinner at Elixir Lounge

Wine isn't the only thing taking the spotlight this week. In honor of National Bourbon Heritage Month, which comes to a conclusion at the end of September, Andersonville's newly opened Elixir Lounge is raising a glass to the spirit with a spirited dinner on September 30. A four-course bourbon dinner with cocktail pairings featuring Angel's Envy bourbon will take place from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. The menu for the evening by chefs Bernardo Ibarra and Steve Farbstein includes crispy pork belly with soy miso glaze, fresh peach and grape chutney, scallions, and togarashi; heirloom tomato gazpacho with watermelon, mint herb oil, heirloom cherry tomatoes, and feta; Skuna Bay salmon with squash succotash, corn nage, and shoestring potatoes; and goat's milk cheesecake with graham crust, bourbon peaches, and brown butter caramel. The cost to attend is $45 per person and tickets can be purchased here. 

- Matt Kirouac