AFRODISIAC IS BACK!

Another scorcher! AFRODISIAC returns Saturday, September 10 with Top Donn on the ones and twos and your host Aurelien PV. The longest running African party in Chicago! The weather is a bit cool.... perfect for dance floor heat!

EVERY SECOND SATURDAY. Check the promo video:

JEREMY BREWINGTON I DODO POP-UP CHEF FEATURED IN TIMEOUT

Jeremy Brewington

Photo: Kendall Karmanian

The Artisan | Jeremy Brewington

A pop-up artist brings Brazilian and South African foods to Chicago.

By Heather Shouse

If a want ad for an aspiring chef were honest, it would read, “Cook needed. Low pay, long hours, brutal conditions. Fame highly unlikely.” Now let’s say it read, “Cook needed. Decent pay, you set the hours, you create the conditions. Adoration commensurate with execution.” In that case, that’s an ad for a chef at a pop-up restaurant, and the job is already Jeremy Brewington’s.

“Pop-ups are the perfect combination of my experiences,” Brewington says. “From catering and private cheffing, I know how to make things happen in a place that’s not mine, and from travel and research I can be creative.” That’s precisely why Dodo’s Kim Dalton tapped him to bring pop-ups to her brunch spot. During Dodo’s Damen Avenue days, Brewington was brought in to launch dinner, but after that iteration of Dodo closed in 2007, the Minneapolis native took a job as the private chef for the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at the Illinois Institute of Technology (yes, IIT has frats). “I didn’t know much about fraternities when I started, but now I feel like family,” Brewington says. “I can’t imagine any chef disliking this job. Good pay, good hours and complete freedom in summer to pursue other projects.”

That includes pop-ups, which Brewington launched in early June at the new Dodo on Fulton Market with “Quincho & Botequim,” where he served Argentinian and Brazilian snacks (salt cod fritters; empanadas) alongside Quinones and Brana beer. He spent the following two weeks researching his latest incarnation, Potjiekos Café, named for a type of cast-iron pot common in South Africa. “There are Dutch, British, Indian, you-name-it influences [in South African food], and there’s really no representation in Chicago,” he says. Grilled meats (known as braai), jerkylike beef strips (biltong), spicy babotie custard casserole, umfino greens braised with ground peanuts and fresh ginger…as word of these dishes spread, the Wednesday-through-Saturday pop-up grew so popular that even a busted A/C—which gave Dodo Kalahari-like conditions—couldn’t keep diners­, particularly South African ones, away. And so Potjiekos has been extended through August 13th. After that, Brewington’s frat-chef gig starts. But he’s confident this won’t be the end of his pop-up career. “This is the perfect idea for a restless person,” he says. “Yes, it’s a flash in the pan, but that’s the point: Execute good food for a very precise moment, and then you move on.”

Dodo, 954 W Fulton Mkt (312-226-5300).

FROM TIMEOUT

DODO GOES TO AFRICA IN JULY

“Potjiekos Café”, a celebration of the unique cuisine of Africa. The “potjieko”, an old fashioned South African three legged cast iron pot, is an apt metaphor for Africa’s true “melting pot” cuisine. Chef Jeremy Brewington is back with an exciting menu that highlights the fascinating confluence of cultures in different the different regions of Africa: indigenous, European and South Asian.

Brewington’s menu will follow a small-plate format to encourage diners to share and sample. The first week will feature dishes typical of South Africa including babotie casserole, droewors sausages, chakalaka white beans, grilled meats from the “braai”, South Africa’s ubiquitous outdoor barbeque, and klappertert coconut pie.

Of course, Dodo will feature some delicious wines from South Africa’s Stellenbosch and Paarl regions in addition to our regular list of super classic cocktails.

Finally, D.J. Clark Quente will provide a feast for your ears with an exciting soundtrack selected from the vast musical treasures of Africa.

DODO - 954 W FULTON - RESERVATIONS: 312.226.5300

RECORDS WE WANT...

Leave it to Joe Breezy to send over pictures of African records we covet, but will probably never find. Really no idea what these sound like, but the art is waaaay groovy.

RARE AFRICAN RECORD COVERS

Here's another batch of great African records that we're wishing to run into sometime while crate diggin'. We've listened to them on-line and were blown away. But, for all of us record geeks; there's nothing like having the real thing. Enjoy the view.

VLISCO FABRICS!

Vlisco, the True Original
Since 1846 Vlisco has been designing and producing colourful fashion fabrics that form an essential part of the lively West and Central African culture. Vlisco has an innate sense of the expressive and creative strength of African consumers and, for generations, has succeeded in surprising and inspiring her passionate clientele with unique designs. As the sole authentic designer and manufacturer of such fabrics as ‘Wax Hollandais’, Vlisco is unparalleled when it comes to quality, professional skill and innovation.


The Vlisco strategy is aimed at enabling well-to-do African women to experience the brand in all her facets and to maintain the leading position, not only in the area of design, but also in terms of total brand orientation. Developments take place at neck-breaking speed in Africa and Vlisco aspires to inspire and gain the loyalty of younger generations as well. Innovation is therefore an essential element within the company. In keeping with this, a new collection is launched every quarter, featuring a specific theme in which international trends in a variety of areas are translated into distinctive Vlisco designs.


Furthermore, every quarter a new Vlisco fashion and accessories collection is launched in the four Vlisco Boutiques in Africa. The clothing lines serve largely as a source of inspiration for consumers, who often have their clothing made by a personal tailor. With a complete line of bags, shoes and jewellery, women can clothe themselves in Vlisco from head to toe.



VLISCO

Africa Fashion Week 2010

They weren't just playing soccer in South Africa. African Fashion Week went down June 30th through July 3rd, with more than 27 designers from across the continent:

Designers: Xuly Bet, Sakina Msa, Ituen Basi, Deola Sagoe, Soucha, Heni, Noir, Qumi Bespoke, David Tlale, Koketso Chiepe, Christie Brown,Laquan Smith, Bunmi Koko, Fabiani, Marianne Fassler, Errol Arendz, Abigail Betz, Mataano, Gloria Wavamunno, Suzaan Heyns, Sandra Muendane, Stoned Cherrie, Boudoir D’huitres, Thula Sindi, Carducci Man and Carducci Woman, Kluk Cgdt

Great pictorial of African Fashion Week 2010 on UZURI

DAVID LACHAPELLE photo lifted from AFRICA STYLE DAILY

ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO DE COTONOU LIVE 07/15/10

Benin-based Orchestra Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou played their Chicago debut at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion for the Music Without Borders series on Thursday, July 15. They headlined the show with Columbia's salsa-charged La 33. Their current two releases on Analog Africa (originally on Benin's No.1 label - Albarika Store) trace the development of the band and its seamless incorporation of Vodoun Rhythms to Funk, Salsa and Afro-beat.

VINTAGE FOOTAGE OF THE BAND PERFORMING IN THE 1970s - via
ANALOG AFRICA

TINARIWEN LIVE IN CHICAGO 06/17/10

Hailing from northern Mali, Tinariwen played their blistering blues-styled Arabic music on Thursday June 6 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion for the 'Music Without Borders' series. Showcasing their guitar-driven in the style known as assouf; Tinariwen set the mood for the upcoming Blues Festival in Chicago.






CHECK OUT THE PROMO VIDEO FOR THEIR NEW ALBUM.