The Friday Buffet

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Sep 21, 2007 3:00PM

While the fish-taco revolution is swimming across the area, there are plenty of other events happening this week. Before we list them, however, we should let you know that the cockroaches are taking over our downtown restaurants. This week's victim of the ultimate survivor, Bice. Cockroaches were the least of their problems, however. A Health Department inspection also found no hot running water in a kitchen sink and fruit flies in the bar. If you have reservations there this weekend, call to see if these issues have been remedied.

• Head to West Lakeview Liquors this evening for a free beer and cheese tasting, pairing selections from Dogfish Head Brewery with cheeses from Chicagoist favorite The Cheese Stands Alone. The tasting runs from 6-9 p.m. West Lakeview Liquors will also host a wine tasting Saturday from 6-9 p.m. featuring selections from distributor Maverick Wine Company.
• Unibroue "culinary attaché" Jim Javenkoski continues to spread the word on La Fin du Monde, Maudite, Éphémère and the other selections from the brewery we consider the best in North America. Javenkoski is conducting a tasting from noon-3 p.m. tomorrow at Wine Discount Center on Elston. Thursday, he'll be at Le Lan hosting his final beer dinner of 2K7. The $65, six-course small plate dinner will pair a different Unibroue selection with Le Lan's signature French/Asian fusion cuisine. The dinner starts at 6:30 p.m.
• Café Matou celebrates its tenth anniversary this month. Throughout the month of September, the restaurant is offering a special birthday dessert and wine pairing for ten bucks: house-made buttermilk sorbet served with fresh berries, paired with a glass of 2004 Vouvray (Demi-Sec, Yves Breussin). Congratulations to Chef Charlie Socher for surviving this rat race for ten years.
• Sushisamba Rio celebrates its "sake week" Monday through Thursday. Guests have the option of a specially designed $69, five-course or $79, seven-course "Oma Sake" menu (viewable here in Adobe PDF) pairing Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian cuisine with different sakes.
• The Swissôtel Chicago, in conjunction with the Swissôtel Lima and the Consulate General of Peru, will be the site of the Peruvian Cuisine and Music Festival all next week. Proceeds from the $49 per-person event will benefit victims of last month's devastating earthquake in Peru's Ica region.