AKA Bistro Reopens Tonight; Future of Junk Food

INTERNET / NYC — Tonight is the glitzy 2014 James Beard Awards ceremony, and a live broadcast will be shown online, beginning at 6 p.m. Eater NY shares some predictions for how it'll all go down, and Boston's Barbara Lynch is the frontrunner in Outstanding Restaurateur category, where she's up against Phil Suarez (ABC Kitchen, Jean Georges, etc. in New York), Donnie Madia (Chicago's One Off Hospitality Group), Cindy Pawlcyn (Mustards Grill and Cindy's Back Street Kitchen in Napa Valley), and Caroline Styne (Lucques and A.O.C. in Los Angeles). [Official Site/ENY]

INMAN SQUARE — Only a few tickets remain for The Future of Junk Food: Part II, the second installment in a series of six Kitchensurfing dinners by chefs Samuel Monsour and Mark O'Leary, popping up at a variety of restaurants in the coming months. This one takes place at East by Northeast next Monday, May 12, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $125 and include seven courses with beverage pairings. Dishes include "flamin' hot Cheetos" (pig ears, uni, lardo), a fried chicken TV dinner (favas, black truffle, marjoram), and a Chipwich (foie gras, black garlic, cocoa nibs). See the full menu and buy one of the last tickets (quick!) here. [Eventbrite]

LINCOLN — Out in Lincoln, the popular AKA Bistro was forced to close back in December thanks to major flooding. Tonight, it reopens after extensive renovations. Chef/co-owner Chris Chung, an Uni alum, will be in charge of both the Japanese food and the French food while previously there were separate chefs working on each. [Press Release]
[Photo: East by Northeast/Cal Bingham]