photo by Erica Gannett
“The time has come to follow us a little further down the rabbit hole…”
As we pass the three year milestone of Tuesday Night Dinner, I cannot help but look back with the utmost gratitude for your support of Chicago’s underground dining community. With the help of those who believed in our mission and believed in our food, we have been able to hone our craft and hopefully inspired others to do the same. Through your support we have been able to build connections in various Chicago communities, give back to the less fortunate, and draw inspiration from the city we hold so dear to our hearts. I have seen many faces come and go throughout my tenure at TND, but I believe that they have all connected with us through our commitment to community and social interaction through food.
It is with this reverence that I am proud to announce TND’s newest development: Border Oak, a seated dinner series committed to the exploration and celebration of the cuisine of the American Midlands. The American Midlands are a group of bioregions in and around the greater Midwest. At Border Oak, we will explore the diversity of food products and traditions from these regions. We will seek out products from the hills, streams, fields, lakes, and forests of the American heartland in order to celebrate our own regional terroir. We will showcase our discoveries through a nine-course tasting menu.
A major part of TND’s mission is to connect people to their food source. This is what we hope to achieve with Border Oak. We want our guests to connect with the land on which we reside in a deeply personal way. We hope to resurrect pride in the products coming from our corner of the Earth. We want to remind people that if they look past the surface, there are worlds of beauty and adventure just beyond the horizon.
The exact date/time/location/menu for the first dinner will be announced within the next week. Until then I ask you to go out and meet a farmer or a forager. Go for a walk in the woods. Take a road trip and get lost. Head north to the Lake Superior, or south to the Ozark Mountains. Build a raft and float down the Des Plaines River, or wander the Oak Savannas hunting for morels. There is a whole big world of food out there, just waiting to connect with you.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Leven, Chef & Founder
