South Side Chefs + Black-Owned Wine Brand Team Up for Communal Dinner Event: South Side + Friends on May 15

Pitmaster and Chef Dominique Leach of Pullman’s Lexington Betty Smokehouse brings back her South Side + Friends dinner series on Friday, May 15 for an one-night-only collaboration spotlighting some of the area's culinary voices.

This upcoming edition features Chef Rah of Hyde Park’s Mahari Restaurant. Known for blending Creole, African, Latin, and Caribbean influences, Rah’s cooking draws from Louisiana, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, offering a deeply personal take on diaspora cuisine.

The evening will also feature curated pairings from Chrishon Lampley, founder of Love Cork Screw, the Black-owned, woman-owned wine label. Her selections—including pours from The Lampley collection, which honors her late father—will be matched to each course.

Hosted at Bridgeport’s House of GAZ creative studios where guests dine together at a communal table, the dinner offers a front-row seat to a culture-driven dining experience and shines a spotlight on the food and drinks coming out of the South Side. 

Tickets are available via Eventbrite.