Jason Vincent Makes His Triumphant Return (Sorta)

After amassing national acclaim from the likes of Food & Wine and Cochon 555, Jason Vincent was at the top of his career game when he decided to step down from his chef de cuisine post at Nightwood. His departure was met with a collective jaw drop from Chicago’s culinary community, leaving anxious curiosity in his wake as to where he would end up next and what he would pursue. With a couple notable events and appearances this month, Vincent serves to fill that eager void. At least for now.

Vincent is the current featured chef as part of Mercadito’s Taco for Strength program, wherein a different guest chef designs a special taco for a month, with proceeds going to Share Our Strength. Vincent’s featured taco for October is a lamb carnitas creation flecked with sunflower seed yogurt sauce, grapes, cucumber, and harissa. With lamb shoulder being his favorite autumn protein, the chef braises the meat in chicken stock with chile de arbor, garlic, and onion until pull-apart tender. The fact that five percent of sales from the taco goes to ending childhood hunger is just icing on the cake. Or rather, yogurt sauce on the taco.

But that’s not all. Vincent is also teaming up with Boka’s chef Lee Wolen to host a vegetable-focused dinner on October 21. The special event marks the beginning of a veggie dinner series for Boka, wherein Wolen partners with different chefs to showcase veggies. For the inaugural dinner, the chef duo cook up a five-course dinner spotlighting produce from Genesis Growers. The menu includes tomato confit with matsutake, shell beans, and lobster oil; BBQ beets with rye, garlic, and Bohemian blue cheese; farfalle with chili, anchovy, celery root, and breadcrumbs; roasted carrots with grains, morcilla, and vadouvan; and caramelized fall squash with white chocolate and pineapple.

Mercadito
108 W. Kinzie Street, Chicago
(312) 329-9555
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Boka
1729 N. Halsted Street, Chicago
(312) 337-6070
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