Octopus party, chocolate dinner.
Octopusparty. That party? and Octopusother special events are coming up at restaurants during our last full month of summer and into September.
Festival de Pulpa
On Aug. 13 in Walker’s Point, Hotel Madrid (home of Bodegón restaurant and Vermutería 600 bar) will throw its own octopus festival, inspired by one in Spain, and other restaurants will be taking part, too.
Goodkind, Wolf Peach and Black Sheep will join Hotel Madrid and its sister restaurants, Movida and Yokohama, in cooking up tapas for the patio party, which runs from noon to 7 p.m.
Expect dishes with octopus and “moctopus,” for non-octopus-eaters. Music will be by Evan Christian.
Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 at the door; they include four tokens for small plates (diners can buy more tokens at the event). Reserve tickets at
Amilinda guest chef
On Aug. 7, chef Eve Aronoff from Ann Arbor, Mich., will cook six courses with chef Gregory León at Amilinda for a dinner that combines Aronoff’s Cuban and Caribbean style with León’s Spanish- and Portuguese-influenced fare.
Aronoff’s restaurant, Frita Batidos, serves a menu inspired by Cuban street food; she also had a fine-dining restaurant, Eve, in Ann Arbor. Some might remember her as a contestant on Season 6 of “Top Chef,” back in 2009.
A reception at 6 p.m. with passed appetizers will include Gulf shrimp ceviche, Peruvian avocado puree and crisped plantain, and Galician tuna empanadas.
Dinner at 6:30 includes conch fritter with corn salad; roasted bass with fried clams; braised chicken, goat cheese polenta and heirloom tomato salad; and roasted goat.
The cost, $90, includes wine pairings. Call the restaurant, 315 E. Wisconsin Ave., at (414) 369-3683 to reserve seats, or go to Events at
Chocolate and wine dinner
Award-winning pastry chef Joshua Johnson of Guittard Chocolate Co. will collaborate with the staff at Le Rêve Patisserie & Cafe for a dinner Sept. 5 that incorporates chocolate from beginning to end.
Johnson, who was head pastry chef at Destination Kohler until recently, was on the team that won the National Pastry Championship in 2011, the silver medal in the World Pastry Championship in 2012 and the bronze medal in 2015 at the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie in Lyon, France.
Two of the dishes that night will be vanilla panna cotta with fresh strawberries, elderflower and sour cream cake that’s topped with lemon basil and white chocolate whipped cream, and Madagascar chocolate crémeux with cassis gelée, chocolate pound cake, pecan praline and cassis stracciatella ice cream.
A reception with small bites will start at 5:30 p.m., and the six-course dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. at Le Rêve, 7610 Harwood Ave., Wauwatosa. The event is $85. For reservations, call the restaurant at (414) 778-3333.
On the Way Cafe
On the Way Cafe in Mequon, usually a counter-service restaurant, will serve a wine dinner Aug. 18 to celebrate its grand opening.
The restaurant with a healthful focus, at 6005 W. Mequon Road, opened about six months ago and recently hired a new chef, Steve Perlstein.
Hors d’oeuvres including mushroom tartine will be followed by four courses: grilled Caesar salad with manchego crouton: skate wing with lemon risotto; seared duck breast and sous vide duck leg, Malbec cherry sauce, polenta and chard; and vegan Key Lime pie.
The dinner with wine pairings is $60, and profits from the dinner and a silent auction at the event will go to Hunger Task Force.
Dinner will be at 6 p.m. Reserve seats by calling the restaurant at (262) 3024492.