The Graceful Ordinary to preview new restaurant at Chicago pop-up event

The Graceful Ordinary’s owners are partnering with popular Wicker Park diner Dove’s Luncheonette for a pop-up preview of their new downtown Aurora restaurant, Vicolo.

According to a news release, The Graceful Ordinary’s chef Chris Curren and his wife Megan Curren are working with Vicolo’s Chef de Cuisine Claire Scheufler to bring their signature, rustic cooking style to the city’s iconic restaurant scene on Thursday, Feb. 20 from 5 to 9 p.m.

The Vicolo preview dinner will highlight an assortment of starters, handmade pastas, entrées and desserts from the restaurant’s upcoming menu, including seafood crudo dressed with blood orange, fennel and green Castelvetrano olives; fresh burrata with persimmon, fennel pollen, honeycomb and pistachio; and bone-in ribeye bistecca Fiorentina served with arugula and gorgonzola cream sauce.

Of note are Curren’s handmade pasta plates, like Maine peekytoe crab lumache tossed with lobster butter sauce, herb breadcrumbs and sea urchin espuma; earthy wild mushroom agnolotti with mushroom and leek ragout, crispy fried leeks and porcini jus; or busiate with spicy merguez sausage, sundried tomatoes, broccolini and plenty of shaved pecorino.

“Megan and I spent years in Chicago working in some of the best restaurants in the city. We set out to bring that same level of hospitality to the suburbs when we opened The Graceful Ordinary in 2021 in St Charles, and we’re continuing to make our mark in the Western Suburbs with Vicolo,” Chris Curren said in the news release.

Vicolo is expected to open later this year.

Dishes and drinks will be available for à la carte purchases and reservations are available with credit card hold via OpenTable here; each reservation deposit will be applied to the final check.

According to the news release, Dove’s Luncheonette is a tribute to the bygone neighborhood diners of Chicago’s past. Set to the sounds of 1960s and 70s Chicago soul and blues, the all-day neighborhood hangout features a comforting menu of Southern-inspired, Mexican-influenced diner food, which includes bold takes on pozole and chile relleños. The popular eatery’s acclaimed tequila and mezcal-focused cocktail program boasts a library of 120 agave-based spirits, and the 41-stool luncheonette offers daytime counter service and dinner on the weekends making it the perfect neighborhood gathering spot.

For more information, visit www.doveschicago.com. Dovei’s Luncheonette is located at 1545 N. Damen Ave., Chicago.