The city’s current fascination with maps manifests itself yet again at a three-course Antique Map and Wine Dinner tonight at 6:30 at Jilly’s Cafe. After dinner, attendees will take a trip to the nearby George Ritzlin Antique Maps and Prints to look at antique maps of wine regions. $49.
Bruce Kraig, president of the Culinary Historians of Chicago and a founding member of the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance, will give a talk Saturday at 10 AM at Kendall College titled Changes in Food Consumption Patterns After the Civil War. He’ll cover how food production and transportation systems for feeding the troops were organized during the war, what civilians ate, and how developments at that time—among them the popularization of tinned meat—affected food as we know it today. Presented by the Chicago Foodways Roundtable; refreshments will include hardtack. $3.
The Dill Pickle Food Co-op‘s benefit concert, originally scheduled for November 17 but canceled at the last minute, has been rescheduled for Saturday from 8 PM to 1 AM. It’ll be at the AV-aerie and feature performances by Detholz, Pit er Pat, and Reds and Blue. $15 suggested donation.
Chef Vincent Colombet of local catering company Cook au Vin is having a grand opening for his new store of the same name, which specializes in French produce, cheeses, candies, mustards, preserves, and other imports, Tuesday at 6 PM. He’ll be making country-style pork paté, crepes with caramel and fudge, and pastries for the occasion; there’ll also be French wines and cheeses. It’s at 2256 N. Elston (773-489-3141), and is free.
The Food Network’s Ellie Krieger, author of The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, will attend a book signing and luncheon from noon to 2 PM on Tuesday at Corner Cooks in Winnetka. The meal, hosted by ChicaGourmets, features recipes from Krieger’s cookbook and costs $25. She’ll also sign her book at 7 PM at the Borders on Michigan.
The Signature Room at the 95th‘s Table of Twelve reception Wednesday from 7 to 10 PM is a benefit for 12 nonprofits, including Green City Market, AIDSCare, Kids Fight Cancer, and the Better Boys Foundation. It’s buffet style, with hors d’oeuvres, a raw bar, a “Local Vege-Table,” and other stations. The “Ring of Fire” offers chipotle guacamole, short ribs in red curry sauce, and jerk chicken; “Breakfast for Dinner” features pork-belly pain perdu, slow-poached eggs, and a variant on the Salty Dog—a Patron tequila-ruby red grapefruit Jell-O shot with sea salt and microcilantro. $80.
Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro and ChicaGourmets host An Irish Dinner in Winter (PDF) Wednesday at 7:15 (reception starts at 6:30). The four-course meal features potato cakes, Irish cheeses, and shepherd’s pie. $55.