City Winery: The Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano

In Chicago, Food & Beverages, Music April 6, 2015

City Winery hosts a series of simulated dinner parties with rotating artists, speakers, celebrities and chefs. The guests gather around a dinner table and the show is interactive by asking the audience to tweet questions to the guests.

Hosted by Elysabeth Alfono, the dinner panel included:

Chaz Ebert – Wife of Roger Ebert and film producer
George LePauw – Classical pianist
Ryan McCaskey – Owner and chef of Acadia
Sandro Miller – Photographer and director.

Acadia served Slagel Farm pork belly with faro, kohlrabi, banana puree and Slagel Farm beef with celery root gratin, turnips, oxtail prune consommé. Snacks, desserts and beverages were by Nellcote, Lifeway Kefir and Chicago Cupcake, Voss Artesian Water and Lagunitas.

I particularly enjoyed hearing Sandro Miller talk about his muse, John Malkovich because I am a fan of his Malkovich Sessions project as well as Malkovich’s acting. Sandro talked about their compatible intensity when they both work and that Malkovich is like a white canvas that allows him to be painted. He then played a video clip he made of Malvovich.

My favorite gem of the night was when Chaz Ebert said upon falling in love with Roger, it caused her “molecules to rearrange.”

That’s exactly what happens when you fall in love. Before that moment, your life was skipping (or trudging) along the only way you knew it to be. You might feel fulfilled with hobbies, friends and family, traveling, or work but because of love, you transform, evolve, bend, stretch, compromise and sacrifice for another person. Your molecules rearrange.

For $45 a ticket including the food and drinks, if you’re looking for something a little different, this is one of the best values and forms of dinner and entertainment that Chicago has to offer.