sundays dinner was spectacular! from the altar to honor the dia de los muertos, to the gorgeous music by diva kai! this was definitely one for the record!

the evening started with fantastic chinese pork quesadillas with oaxacan cheese. the welcome drink was tito's vodka infused with mexican vanilla and clove with a bit of star anise served atop ice and dashed with klug farms apple cider and cava for some effervescence! it was like drinking fall in a glass! er, with vodka....

the dinner started with a surprise course from brian, who was inclined to share his oferenda with the table. it was in memory of his grandpa who would always serve hush puppies during the elections, and since his grandpa was the person he was paying tribute to at the dia de los muertos altar, it was fitting. (see pics in photo section)

the dinner then swiftly moved to the course which i personally love! the mexican calabasa and pumpkin soup with chinese 5 spiced bacon! it was addictive! we gathered 20 small pumpkins, had our great friend / server xochilt carve them out, and then used them as serving bowls. i heard it was a very martha-stewrty thing to do, but it looked amazing! as soon as we set the pumpkin down in front of each guest you could hear the gasp and then see the flash! ** note: i want to see the pics, so people that were at the dinner, send me your telephone pictures so i can use them here! ** almost everyone was taking photos of that dish!

then to the main, the pork belly dish to end all pork belly dishes! we served the pork belly with root veggies that were tossed in a goji berry mole and then served rainbow swiss chard DAZZLED with raisins. yes, i said dazzled, and it was a funny at the dinner! it was my inner-front- of -the -house descriptive words / tourettes! 

lastly, we enjoyed the pan de muerto banana bread pudding with sesame seed ice cream! this was the perfect ending to tie in our theme of day of the dead, our concept of mexican meets chinese food, and to pay tribute to the season of fall! way to go team yo soy! many, many thanks to xochitl and doug for the assistance in this month's dinner!  muchas gracias!

and before everyone headed their own separate ways, diva kai sang some amazing tunes for all to enjoy! she was absolutely stunning, and i loved the stories she prefaced each song with!

it was also a treat because our regular yo soy diner/ friend jorge was celebrating a birthday in which he was serenaded "las mañanitas" by mi prima debbie! it was fan-freakin-tastic!

on another great note, thanks time out chicago! the article that features 'underground dinners' summed us up pretty well! we are quite good , friends that you have yet to meet, you will leave with a hug, and yes, even an undercover cop can come to dinner (especially if he is cute!)....

see article here!

we are officially sold out for our upcoming dinner this sunday! the menu is being solidified and the masks that we are supplying for every diner are being arranged! they are so creepily scary, but so awesome at the same time! (see above pic) 

we are also equally excited about the performance by diva kai sunday after dinner! also, about the stories that are going to be shared throughout the meal over everyones oferendas! 

til' then!

mikey +brian

after much debate, we decided on october.24th instead of october.31st for our next dinner! there are a couple of reasons behind this decision that really sealed the deal for us. one mainly being the fact that there is a annual halloween parade on our street, and it draws quite the crowd, which may make it difficult for diners to make their way here. we also did not want to compete with halloween tradition, as it would be hard to sit through 4 courses with a costume on and a wild street party knocking at our front door! the temptation to throw the pumpkin soup to the floor and hit the streets would be too much! even for us, and we are the hosts!

however,we will be providing face masks for our guests (such as the one pictured in the middle group of circles on our wonderful model named xochitl) that is sure to get everyone in the SPIRIT of the "dias de los muertos" dinner. we definitely want to pay respect to the seasonal food, as well as the days of importance of the month (halloween & dias de los muertos). dias de los muertos is celebrated by some on october.31st through nov.2nd, and we are going to get the party started one week in advance so that people new to the tradition can do it themselves on the following week! for those who have never heard of the holiday here is a brief wikipedia definition:

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and byMexican Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on October 31 in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day(November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. Due to occurring on the same day as Halloween, or the original celtic Samhain, the Day of the Dead is sometimes thought to be a similar holiday, and the two holidays have much in common. The Day of the Dead is a time of celebration, where partying and eating is common.

Plans for the day are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the three-day period, families usually clean and decorate graves;^[2] most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas ("offerings"), which often include orange mexican marigolds (Tagetes erecta) called cempasúchitl (originally namedcempoalxochitl, Nahuatl for "twenty flowers").

Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or "the little angels"), and bottles of tequila, mezcalor pulque or jars of atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin,pan de muerto ("bread of the dead"), and sugar skulls and beverages such as atole. The ofrendasare left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased.^[2] Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrendas food, so even though the celebrators eat the food after the festivities, they believe it lacks nutritional value. Pillows and blankets are left out so that the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives. In many places, people have picnics at the grave site as well.Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes;^[2] these usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, scores of candles and an ofrenda. 

i hope all of you read, in specific, "the day of the dead is a time of celebration, where partying and eating is common". so let's do the holiday justice and do just that! we would like for everyone coming to the dinner to bring an ofrenda, as we will have a makeshift shrine here, and we will go around the table and you can explain the ofrenda, as well as tell everyone about the person you wish it for! please, please bring the funny stories about the dearly departed, we don't want to add extra salt in our food by everyones tears! we will post the menu as the date gets closer, but trust us, it will be scarily good!

also, at the end of the meal we will have the lovely diva kai perform some amazing music for all souls to enjoy! this is sure to be a dinner that will wake the dead and make them smile knowing the living are doing just that, LIVING!

book your seats now!

october dinner is SOLD OUT! 

however, the dinner in november is going to be huge! we will have 3 performers for a holiday extravaganza / mikey's bday!!! stay tuned!

the dinner on sunday featured a dish that has made its place in our hearts (not for caloric reasons!) forever! it was the cajeta chicken cooked in chinese clay pots that wowed all! the carrot star anise soup is a quick 2nd all time favorite (which was also served). the menu, the guests (new and repeat) were all amazing. we had our all time faves like paola (now living in san fran), ken (who is always the first to reserve a seat for the past 5 dinners), niko (the greek god), and the newbies like noah (who hates all of the pics of him), david (who won all of the loteria money), stephen miranda (who actually is mexican - chinese!) and of course adam (my new neighbor) and our token straight joe dolan! 

the fun started with the concord grape + ginger margarita and passed chinese pork empanadas. the fun then moved to the table where we enjoyed the carrot star anise soup, and then the cajeta (mexican goat cheese caramel) with chinese long beans and mexican rice. we concluded the meal with homemade horchata ice cream that sat atop a chinese pear cobbler. most of our ingredients were sourced form the green city market in lincoln park, including garnishes! the meal was extraordinary! 

to put a twist of entertainment on the evening, the loteria cards were brought to the table! it was a blast! i definitely want to send a quick "i'm sorry" to the employers of our guests from that evening, because i am totally positive that not one of us were functional monday morning! a true sign of a great dinner party!

stay tuned for the date for october! 

xo,

mikey + brian

here we are yo soy diners! we are excited to share with you our fall inspirations. we are fine tuning the menu and doing some tastings at this point, and will email you the full menu the day of.  brian has recently taken a trip to klug farms, and has been completely inspired by their bounty! expect to see some amazingly fresh veggies and tart, sweet fruits! also, as per usual, we are giving the menu to kafka wines so that they may help with the pairings for you. when you go in there to purchase your wine for this dinner, ask for joe or michael (owners) and tell them yo soy sent you!!! also, you can kinda harass them to come to one of our dinners! those two are harder than a live fish covered in oil to pin down!