Chicago: Priceless

By now everyone is familiar with MasterCard’s “Priceless” commercials. Now they’ve turned it into more than just a slogan; Priceless Chicago invites you to create experiences. They’ve taken the city’s best and created unique events that you won’t want to miss. These include a family-style dinner for twelve at Logan Square’s Telegraph (sold out), a shopping and styling event for ten at Handle With Care, and David Burke’s Primehouse Meat 101 Class.

To give you an idea of the uniqueness of these events, I attended one of the Rock Your Palate pop-up dinners at Floating World Gallery. Normally focusing on Japanese art, for two nights it became a restaurant featuring renowned Chicago chefs. My good friend Cara Carriveau and I selected the evening that Chefs Dirk Flanagan (Henri, The Gage) and Sarah Grueneberg (Spiaggia) would be leading the charge. It was definitely more than just a dining experience! MasterCard wanted to indulge our senses of sight and sound as well as taste and smell. The entire evening was themed around music, and so the traditional art was replaced by a selection of photographs from Michael Weintrob, whose work has graced the pages of Rolling Stone and Jazz Times, and after dinner we were treated to live music.

The evening began with an Effen Cucumber Cup cocktail and passed appetizers. With items like veal tartar with truffles and pecorino by Chef Grueneberg and oysters with pickled plums, smoked shallots, sriracha and arare by Chef Flanigan we knew we were in for a treat. Once we were seated the courses alternated between the two chefs and were paired with cocktails by Mixologist Bobby Gleason. Because each course was inspired by music, Flanigan and Grueneberg would entertain us after each course with a description of what they created and why. One of the favorites was Chef Grueneberg’s Tie-Dye pasta, a funky mix of colored pastas stuffed with crescenza cheese and topped with baby beets, mint pesto, poppy seeds and pine nuts, and inspired by Jimi Hendrix.

After dinner Chef Grueneberg joined everyone on the dance floor, pulling Cara and me out from the sidelines. Then we chatted with Chef Flanigan about the fabulous Hen Of The Wood mushrooms he used in his venison loin entree.

Priceless.

For more experiences like this one, visit the Pricess Chicago website. They’ve got everything from culinary to sporting to fashion events. There are even family friendly events like a free Jellies upgrade if you purchase your Shedd Aquarium tickets with your MasterCard.