Paul Young
Educator, Designer, Culinary Explorer
@cooking.with.paul
@cooking.with.paul.young
cooking-with-paul.blogspot.com
info@cooking-with-paul.com
Sunday, September 17, 2023 • 6–8pm
Prix Fixe: $75 per person (all-inclusive, tax and tip included)
In Greece, a meze dinner is a complete meal of small bites or appetizers without any main dishes. Like mezze in Lebanon, tapas in Spain, dim sum in Hong Kong, or izakaya in Japan, one can easily choose to have a great meal of just small plates instead of a traditional dinner — a wonderful way to explore another culture's cuisine and all the variety it offers. After all, more is more, right?
Since the recent closing of Chicago's legendary Santorini in Greektown, it's becoming even more challenging to experience authentic Greek food the way it's meant to enjoyed — random morsels of tasty bites served in no particular order along with some great Greek wines and a shot of Ouzo. Featuring lots of seafood, lamb, olives, lemons, garlic, and fresh herbs like oregano, authentic Greek food is a world-class Mediterranean cuisine that's hard to find but well worth seeking out.
Tonight's fantasy Greek meze dinner takes place on an imaginary terraced restaurant overlooking the village of Oia on Santorini, the most picturesque and most visited of all the Greek islands. Imagine a table full of small plates, an unobstructed view of the sunset, and a late summer sea breeze — right here in Urbana. Get ready to indulge in the ultimate Greek meze dinner featuring all these dishes plus some last minute surprises:
Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)
Bonus: Maximize your experience (optional) by watching the modern Greek tragedy and arthouse hit The Killing of a Sacred Deer before the dinner event (currently streaming for free on Kanopy via our public libraries). From "Greek Weird Wave" director Yorgos Lanthimos, this challenging film is a must-see for fans of thought-provoking cinema. Starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell, this dark absurdist gem from indie studio A24 is shocking and uncomfortable to watch, but will reward the viewer with new insights about the current state of the world.
Note: All of our pop-up events are all-inclusive prix fixe dinners. This means you get a multi-course dinner complete with wine and other beverage pairings all evening long for one fixed price. Unlike at restaurants, all taxes and tip are included as well.
Reservations: For more information, please join the popup_dinners_cu Facebook group, follow @popup_dinners_cu on Instagram, or subscribe to my email newsletter.
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