Weekday Planner: KOVAL Tasting Dinner at Uncommon Ground, Koreatown Dinner at Mott St, Smoky Prix Fixe at 312 Chicago, Vegan Dinner at Izakaya Mita
Whether you like local spirits, Korean food, smoky cocktails, or vegan cuisine, there's a tasting menu for everyone this week in Chicago:
KOVAL Tasting Dinner at Uncommon Ground
Uncommon Ground Edgewater is teaming up with local spirits producer KOVAL for a special tasting dinner on March 21. The event is a three-course prix fixe affair for $35 per person, which is a great value considering the caliber of food and drink. The menu begins with a trio of beets salad with lavender-scented Greek yogurt, beet greens, smoked peppercorn-thyme vinaigrette, candied lemon peel, and a cocktail called Garden on the Roof made with KOVAL vodka, St-Germaine, lavender and violet bitters, and lemon twist. Next up is organic corn sopes with carnitas, ancho chile sauce, roasted Mighty Vine tomatoes, and cilantro crema, paired with London Bridge to Havasu, featuring KOVAL gin, Liquor 43, lime, and soda. Brown seedling apple pie is up for dessert, served with honey caramel and Wisconsin cheddar crisps. To drink, the Oatanomous Collective contains KOVAL organic oat whiskey, Uncommon honey liqueur, heavy cream, and honeycomb candy. Dinner is served from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and tickets can be purchased here.
Koreatown Cooking Dinner at Mott St
On March 22, Mott St beckons a taste of Koreatown via a special dinner with the chef and author behind Koreatown: A Cookbook. It's a collaborative effort between the Mott St crew, chef Deuki Hong, and journalist Matt Rodbard, the latter of whom interviewed and wrote about Mott St's Edward Kim as part of their book. The multi-course dinner event is a showcase of their efforts, which took them across the country to various Koreatowns. The menu features items like shrimp and pork belly skewers, miso eggplant skewers, Brussels sprouts with lamb pancetta, kimchi stuffed with pork butt and sticky rice, and a dish called dakbokkeumtang, a sweet and spicy braised chicken. The cost for the dinner is $48 per guest and seats can be reserved here.
312 Chicago Served 18th Birthday Prix Fixe
312 Chicago is of legal age! The longstanding Loop restaurant turns 18 this month, and to celebrate, they're offering a smoky three-course prix fixe dinner from March 21 through March 31. Each heady course comes with an optional smoky cocktail. Think of the whole thing like one giant smoky birthday candle. Course one is smoked caprese salad with smoked mozzarella, tomato, and basil, followed by spruce-smoked pasta with spruce branches, amatriciana sauce, and toasted breadcrumbs. The third course is a smoked Italia torched chocolate sponge cake with meringue, and lemon gelato. The cost for the dinner is a mere $18 per person, and cocktails are an additional $7 per course.
Vegan Dinner at Izakaya Mita
Lastly, Izakaya Mita pays homage to vegan Buddhist traditional with their "Temple Food"-inspired tasting dinner on March 22. The sake-paired dinner consists of six izakaya-style courses for $45 per person and reservations can be made by calling the restaurant. First course is steamed broccoli in sweet black sesame sauce, followed by steamed cauliflower and onions topped with avocado in soy milk, kombu dashi, and black pepper broth. Then it's a teriyaki bamboo shoot skewer and a yuzu cherry tomato skewer for the third course. Up next is soy ginger marinated deep-fried tofu, with king trumpet and shiitake mushroom sliders as the fifth course. Finally, the menu rounds out with katsu-style deep-fried zucchini with tonkatsu sauce.
- Matt Kirouac