Three months after closing the Michelin-starred 42 Grams, chef Jake Bickelhaupt has resurfaced. He's starting a series of pop-up dinners that he's calling Konro, which will set up shop at locations all around the city, for one night only—and diners won't know where they're headed in Chicago until 24 hours in advance.
The name comes from a style of Japanese grill, so expect some Japanese influences in the multicourse tasting menus. Your dining venue could be anywhere, from someone's apartment to a music hall. But Bickelhaupt, who started out doing pop-up dinners under the moniker Sous Rising before launching 42 Grams, isn't revealing much more about what'll be for dinner: "If anyone had my dishes at 42 Grams or Sous Rising, they'll know what to expect," he wrote in an email.
One thing to definitely expect? A high price tag. The next dinner is scheduled for September 23, and the going rate for the meal is $270 (tickets here). It's also BYOB.
"The whole point of Konro is to be free of the normal restraints of restaurants and pop-ups that are the same for a long period of time," he wrote. "I want to be artistically free from any glass ceiling."