A BOSNIAN FEAST WITH STRONG CUPS OF COFFEE IN AVONDALE AND MORE CHICAGO POP-UPS

May will bring Chicago several events celebrating AAPI Heritage Month. The city is just starting to see food crawls and more. Regardless, there are plenty of other pop-ups to keep diners and chefs from descending into dreariness. Follow along for a sampling of the best the city has to offer in Eater Chicago’s pop-up round-up.

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May

Bucktown/Wicker Park: Chicago will host its first AAPI Neighborhood Crawl throughout May with heavy hitters down Ashland Avenue. Participants include Mott St, Phodega, Mano Modern Cafe, Sugoi Sweets, and Sando Street. Customers can collect stamps for a special food map available at the restaurants. They can also enter a raffle for gift cards, merchandise, and more. Maps should be dropped off at Mott St, 1401 N. Ashland Avenue.

Lakeview: 2d, the charming mochi doughnut and cafe in Lakeview, will offer limited-edition doughnuts throughout AAPI Heritage Month. The lineup consists of Flipino Ube, Kyoto Matcha, Bangkok Thai Tea, Vietnamese Coffee, Pan Asian Lychee, and Taiwanese Brown Sugar. At their stall at XMarket, they’ll offer a special vegan mochi doughnut collection. Owners are giving 5 percent of proceeds from doughnut sales to earthquake relief efforts in Taiwan, according to a news release. 2d Restuarant’s AAPI Mochi Dougnut Collection, available throughout May.

Bridgeport: Chef and owner Won Kim of raucous Korean restaurant Kimski has spent months gearing up for his restaurant’s eighth-anniversary party on Saturday, May 11, announcing a “stacked” lineup of food vendors and DJs around two months ago. Attendees can expect food from Seoul Taco, Pizza Friendly Pizza, Pretty Cool Ice Cream, Omarcitos, and more (plus a few surprise entries), as well as drinks from Bronzeville Winery, Maria’s, and Standard Meadery. “Come eat, drink, celebrate and help kick summer off the proper Bridgeport way!” Kim writes on Instagram. Kimski Eight Year Anniversary Party, 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 11 at Kimski.

Logan Square: Thrift store mavens accustomed to picking through the aisles at Goodwill can find a much more comfortable experience at Hopewell Brewing’s pop-up with vintage retailer Goody Vault and Motorshucker, which transports fresh oysters by motorbike, on Saturday, May 11. Organizers promise a selection of classic beer tees, other retro goods, and freshly shucked oysters. Ice Cold!: Vintage Beer Tees and Fresh Oysters with Goody Vault & Motorshucker at Hopewell Brewing Co., 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 11, 2760 N. Milwaukee Avenue.

Around Town: Chef Sarah Stegner of suburban restaurant Prarie Grass Cafe and Bob Benenson, founder of the Local Food Forum on Substack, will host a free webinar discussion Food Education and Its Impact: How Schools Inspire and Feed Our Youngest Eaters on Monday, May 13 via Zoom. The duo plan to discuss the impact of food education on young students and farm-to-school programs with local nonprofit executive directors Alexandra DeSorbo-Quinn of Pilot Light and Sebastian White of The Evolved Network, as well as Spence Medford and Christy Sherding of the Detroit-area The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. Registration is available online. Food Education and Its Impact: How Schools Inspire and Feed Our Youngest Eaters, 7 p.m. Monday, May 13.

Logan Square: Chef Bo Fowler and the team at Bixi Beer will celebrate AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders) Heritage Month with a collaborative five-course prix fixe meal with cocktail pairings on Tuesday, May 14. Chicago chefs Thai Dang (HaiSous), Won Kim (Kimski), Margaret Pak (Thattu), and Sherrie Tan will join Fowler in the kitchen. A portion of proceeds will go to local nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago. Tickets ($175) are available via Resy. Advancing Justice Chicago Dinner at Bixi Beer, 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, 2515 N. Milwaukee Avenue.

Near West Side: Utility, a hospitality trade show, promises a bustling schedule of restaurant-related events on Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20 including a restaurant pitch competition with a $20,000 cash prize, panel discussions with industry leaders (moderators will include Eater Chicago editor Ashok Selvam), cook-offs featuring Chicago-style hot dogs and tavern-style pizzas, and retail vendors hawking cookware, packaged goods, tech tools, and more. Tickets ($30 for one day; $50 for two days) and more details are available online. Utility, Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20, 339 N. Bell Avenue.

Avondale: Newish pop-up series Ommi Foods, which hosts culinary events highlighting various immigrant groups in Chicago, will return on Sunday, May 19 with a Bosnian Sijelo, or “sitting party” where family and friends gather over food and cups of coffee. The event will feature a selection of shareable Bosnian dishes including sataraš (vegetable stew), ćevapi, and kaymak (farmers cheese), as well as tufahije (syrup-poached apple with walnut marzipan) and Bosnian-style coffee service. Tickets ($75) and more details are available via Tock. A Bosnian Sijelo with Ommi Foods at Guild Row, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 19, 3130 N. Rockwell Street.

Logan Square: Los Angeles restaurant Kismet, an all-day vegetable-focused Mediterranean spot, will pop up with a four-course dinner on Sunday, May 19 at 2024 James Beard Award finalist Lula Cafe, according to a rep. Kismet chefs and owners Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson worked with lauded Lula owner Jason Hammel to create a menu of smokey freekah fritters (Kismet labneh, green zhoug), branzino (preserved lemon, green garlic, mustard greens). It’s all to celebrate the debut of Kramer and Hymanson’s new cookbook, Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes, which will be available to purchase at the event. Tickets ($95) are available via Resy. LA’s Kismet at Lula Cafe, 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 19, 2537 N. Kedzie Boulevard.

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