Amorphic, Crops on Top Host Pairing Dinner
Five-course dinner with after-party will support Riverwest arts scene.
Crops on Top garden and outdoor dining space. Photo taken July 2022 by Sophie Bolich.
While most home gardeners are eagerly awaiting the first shoots to emerge, Joel Lichosik is already reaping his harvest.
Lichosik, who owns the urban garden Crops on Top with his brother, Jamie, started his growing season months ago, sowing the first batch of seeds under grow lights in his basement.
On June 9, Lichosik will incorporate freshly-picked and seasonal produce into a five-course meal served on the Crops on Top garden deck.
The long-time chef, most recently associated with Lowlands Group, left the industry amid the pandemic, but he hasn’t stepped away from the kitchen altogether. Rather, he found a new niche at Crops on Top, where he cultivates seasonal produce, herbs and flowers, then uses some of the bounty to create upscale dishes for private dinners.
At a previous event, Lichosik prepared a vegetable-focused first course that incorporated watermelon radish, cucumber, tromboncino, carrot, bibb lettuce, grilled scallion and whipped ricotta, which was followed by bacon lardon with bacon jam, tomatillo sauce, fresh tomatoes, arugula and grilled bread. Main courses included grilled pork and grilled eggplant. For dessert, guests enjoyed lemon pudding cake with beet ganache, vanilla whip and strawberry rosemary compote.
This year’s dinner falls earlier in the season, so the featured produce may be different, though, like last year, each of the five courses will be accompanied by new and rare releases from neighboring Amorphic Beer.
With diners enjoying food grown on-site and beer brewed just steps away, Amorphic owner Ron Hockersmith is apt in describing the event as “hyper-local at its best.”
The ticketed dinner, scheduled for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., will seat 16 guests for $175 each. Proceeds from the event will support Art Hop MKE, a combination gallery night and maker’s market experience that will take place the following weekend in the Riverwest neighborhood.
Tickets are available for purchase online. A vegetarian option for the meal is available upon request.
House of RAD Pre-Party
As an added perk, a ticket to the Crops on Top dinner comes with free admission to an Art Hop pre-party, held at the nearby House of RAD, 900 E. Keefe Ave.
The festivities, scheduled for 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on June 9, will include live music, food and beverages. Proceeds from beer and ticket sales ($10 at the door) will be donated to support community and arts events throughout the neighborhood.
House of RAD, a creative collective, is the home base for more than 20 local artists and has its own stop on the Art Hop route.
The Art Hop itself will take place on June 17 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The inaugural event, meant to give a boost to the Riverwest community and arts scene, will feature gallery-style exhibits and vendors at businesses throughout the 53212 ZIP code.
Attendees can walk or bike between locations on the Beerline Trail, or catch a ride from the Riverwest Brewery Syndicate shuttle, which makes stops at Lakefront Brewery, Company Brewing, Black Husky Brewing, Amorphic Beer and Gathering Place Brewing Company.
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