Pop(-up) life: Chef Mariya Moore-Russell—who guided the local spot Kikko to a Michelin star, becoming the first Black woman to helm a kitchen with one of the food world's highest honors—is returning to Chicago to lead one of the city's trendiest pop-ups, per OpenTable.
Connie's Underground—a homecoming in partnership with OpenTable that brings Moore-Russell back to Chicago for a series of intimate dinners—will be held at RLM Studio, 4042 N. Pulaski Rd., starting at 6:30 p.m. The January dinner has passed but there are two remaining dates (Feb. 23 and March 30). The cost is $200/person; RSVP at OpenTable.
Change: Six employees of Skylark, 2149 S. Halsted St., have bought the Pilsen bar—and they're planning on keeping it the same, per Block Club Chicago.
The original Skylark owners put the bar up for sale last year. The sale price is not currently known, but the original asking price was $1.6 million.
The new owners are planning to celebrate with a "Grand Staying The Same" party at 7 p.m. on Feb. 2.
Coming to a close: The Indian restaurant Mango Pickle, 5842 N. Broadway, will close permanently after Chicago Restaurant Week (CRW) concludes on Feb. 4—at least, at this location.
CRW offerings include ragi flatbread with smoked eggplant; beef or vegetable nihari rasam (broth); pork vindaloo, vegetable vindaloo or Slagel Farm short-rib masala fry; and carrot halwa with kulfi ice cream and warm chocolate sauce. (NOTE: To find out why Mango Pickle is closing, visit SAVOR with Andrew at future3733.substack.com .)
RSVP for one of the few remaining seats at www.mangopicklechicago.com/ .
Collab: On Tuesday, Jan. 30, Ramen-san will team with Umamicue for a one-night dinner collaboration featuring Pitmaster Charles Wong.
Tickets are $65 per person, plus tax (gratuity not included) and the event will take place at Ramen-San's Lincoln Park location, 1962 N. Halsted St.; RSVP at OpenTable.
Talk about an "Evolution": For Black History Month, Windy City Ribs (a Black-owned business at Navy Pier) will host "The Evolution of Black Spirits"—a conversation and cocktail sampling—on Thursday, Feb. 1, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The free, 21-and-older event will be presented in collaboration with Brown and Balanced and feature mixologist Josh David for a discussion on the history of Black spirits.
Windy City Ribs will also host free "Whiskey Wednesdays" mixology classes at 5-7 p.m. throughout February in collaboration with Alexander James Whiskey. Reservations are required and guests must be 21 or older. The first 10 guests to register for each session will receive a complimentary branded glass.
Themes include "Supply and Demand" (Feb. 7), "Love Letter" (Feb. 14), "Rye Rita" (Feb. 21) and "Old Fashion" (Feb. 28). Visit navypier.org/location/windycityribs/ for more info.
Lunar or later: Sunda New Asian, 110 W. Illinois St., is marking the Lunar New Year throughout February.
Menu items will include cumin lamb dumplings with pickled mustard greens, ginger vinaigrette and chili crisp ($23); seafood lo mein, with crispy scallop and shrimp, pea pods, carrots, water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms and XO sauce ($32); pan-seared rainbow trout accompanied by mustard greens, salted black bean sauce, scallions and radish ($30); and "Luck and Wealth," consisting of a cookie assortment and oranges ($8.88, as the number eight represents victory and prosperity in parts of Asia).
See sundanewasian.com/chicago/ .
Take-out spot Bell Heir's BBQ, 704 W. 47th St., is gearing up to celebrate its first anniversary on Feb. 3.
Chef/owner Tyris Bell invites the community to join in the celebration with a special promotion: Buy One Get One for Half Off on all menu items, available all day on Feb. 3-4. To get an idea of the delightful items at this place, visit www.bellheirsbbq.com .
