Three Thursdays this November, three cooks who usually work behind someone else’s pass get one night each to cook the dinner they have been carrying around in their heads. The Lineup Chicago, the chef-driven dinner series founded by Chicago native Elena Besser after nine sold-out seasons in New York, sets its tables at the Ravenswood Event Center, 4021 N. Ravenswood Ave., on November 5, 12 and 19, 2026.
Derek Serrano of Mi Tocaya Antojería opens the series, Colin McHugh of two-Michelin-star Oriole cooks the middle night, and Luis Diaz of Giant closes it. Every seat for all three dinners has sold, and each night has a waitlist on its Resy event page, linked from The Lineup’s ticket page.
One night, one cook, one restaurant that exists for a single evening
Each Lineup dinner is a pop-up restaurant built around one cook’s story, with a five-course menu, room decor and music designed around the chef. Guests arrive to a welcome bite and a cocktail, then sit down to five courses with a wine pairing poured for each one. A nonalcoholic pairing is available for anyone who asks when booking, and each night runs two seatings.
Seating is communal and cozy, with assigned places, so expect to finish dessert on a first-name basis with your neighbors. Besser, a line cook turned private chef and television host, built the series as a stage for working cooks, and its New York alumni have gone on to their own kitchens. Season 3 chef India Doris, who trained under James Kent at Crown Shy and Saga, is opening Markette in Chelsea.
November 5: Derek Serrano cooks his grandmother’s Mexico
Serrano is chef de cuisine at Mi Tocaya Antojería, Diana Dávila’s Logan Square restaurant, which holds a Bib Gourmand in the 2025 Michelin Guide Chicago and sits at No. 1 on Time Out Chicago’s list of the 22 best Mexican restaurants in the city, updated in September 2026. His Lineup menu is a love letter to his grandmother’s kitchen. “I cook simple food, straightforward, to the heart, just the way my grandmother did,” he says. He previewed the series on ABC7 Chicago on Sunday, October 18.
The night starts with El Trago, Nayarit-style camarón in salsa negra with cucumber and onion. A potato and cheese tortita follows with tuna mayo, radish pico and salsa roja, then Repollo: charred cabbage with Kilgus Farm pork belly, umami dressing, citrus onions, egg, cilantro and corn crunchies. Pollito brings grilled chicken with tinga blanca, a seeded crunch, chicken chicharrón and Closed Loops greens, and Bistec pairs Kilgus Farm beef with salsa pasilla, Three Sisters Garden beans, shaved onion, a Mexican-style ranch and a yeasted tortilla. Dessert, called Xoco, is an Abuelita chocolate brownie with coconut horchata, chocolate mousse, candied peanuts and cactus.
November 12: Colin McHugh brings Oriole’s polish to a communal table
McHugh is chef de cuisine at Oriole, Noah Sandoval’s West Loop tasting room, which holds two stars in the 2025 Michelin Guide Chicago. Born in Richmond, Virginia, he cooked at Canlis in Seattle and at Smyth in Chicago before joining Oriole in early 2024. He applied to The Lineup late one night from bed, after his girlfriend, Maddie, urged him to go for it.
His menu is all precision and contrast. A PEI mussel opens with mussel gel, mussel cheeks, shiso and Thai basil, followed by Mustard Bouquets of endive, radish and bronzed fennel with beef fat aioli. Butter-poached Maine lobster arrives in a squash bouillabaisse with fried pumpkin seeds and puffed wild rice, and a black cod roulade comes with sunchoke beurre, crispy sunchoke skins, nori and black lime. Venison strip with mustard greens, pickled enoki and red wine venison jus is the last savory course. Dessert turns Délice de Bourgogne, the rich triple-cream cheese, into ice cream with berry compote and a Parmesan madeleine.
November 19: Luis Diaz closes with duck barbacoa and masa gnudi
Diaz is sous chef at Giant, Jason Vincent’s Logan Square restaurant, which also holds a Bib Gourmand in the 2025 Michelin Guide Chicago. His path ran from Ciudad Juárez through Alaska to Giant’s test kitchen. Giant regulars have tasted his ideas already: in recent weeks the restaurant has served his tomatillo kosho over charcoal grilled sweetbreads with Jimmy Nardello peppers, and a ricotta and masa gnudi with sungold tomato and sunflower seed.
The Lineup menu starts with a Chilindrina of chicharrón, crème fraîche, cueritos and smoked roe. Hamachi follows with tomatillo milpero kosho, leche de tigre and shiso, then masa gnudi with Hatch green chile, sunflower seed, toasted milk and ricotta salata. The fourth course is a burrito: a flour tortilla wrapped around duck barbacoa with salsa negra, cilantro and onion. Pollo asado with puerco beans, pasilla chicken sausage, labneh and xnipec is the last savory plate, and hoja santa ice cream with brown butter cornbread and salted caramel ends the season.
How to get a seat at The Lineup Chicago
Join the waitlist. All three dinners are sold out, and each night’s Resy event page holds its own list: Derek Serrano on November 5, Colin McHugh on November 12 and Luis Diaz on November 19. Tickets first went on sale October 1, 2026, and subscribers to The Lineup’s newsletter got a 24-hour head start.
A few house rules matter before you go. Guests must be 21 or older. The menus are fixed, with no substitutions or accommodations for allergies or dietary restrictions, and each menu lists its allergens: Serrano’s includes soy, shellfish, gluten, allium, dairy, tree nuts, eggs and peanuts; McHugh’s includes shellfish, dairy, fish, allium and eggs; Diaz’s includes fish, dairy, gluten, nightshades, legumes and tree nuts. If friends in your party book separately, list everyone’s names when you buy so the team can seat you together.
Getting to the Ravenswood Event Center
The Ravenswood Event Center sits on Ravenswood Avenue just north of Irving Park Road, a three-minute walk from the Irving Park stop on the Brown Line. There is a parking lot at the venue, and rideshares can drop you at the door. The time on your ticket is the earliest you can arrive, and there is no early entry.
Can’t get a seat? Eat their cooking now
All three cooks have day jobs you can book. Mi Tocaya Antojería, at 2800 W. Logan Blvd., and Giant, at 3209 W. Armitage Ave., are a short drive apart in Logan Square and both take reservations on Resy, so a dinner at either gives you a preview of the cooking behind the November menus. Make it a neighborhood night with Christian Hunter’s Hooligan nearby on California Avenue. Oriole, at 661 W. Walnut St., books its tasting menu on Tock, and Noah Sandoval’s more casual All Well is a few blocks away in the West Loop.
If one-night chef dinners are your thing, the Meals on Wheels Celebrity Chef Ball gathers more than 50 Chicago chefs at The Geraghty on Friday, October 23, 2026.
Plan your night at The Lineup Chicago
- What: The Lineup Chicago, a one-night-only chef dinner series founded by Elena Besser
- Dates: Thursday, November 5, 2026 (Derek Serrano, Mi Tocaya Antojería); Thursday, November 12, 2026 (Colin McHugh, Oriole); Thursday, November 19, 2026 (Luis Diaz, Giant)
- Where: Ravenswood Event Center, 4021 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60613
- The meal: welcome bite and cocktail, five courses and a wine pairing, with a nonalcoholic pairing on request; two seatings a night; communal tables
- Tickets: sold out; waitlists on each dinner’s Resy event page
- Good to know: 21 and over; no substitutions or allergy accommodations; arrive at your ticket time, not before
- Getting there: three-minute walk from the Irving Park Brown Line stop; parking lot on site
The Lineup Chicago FAQ
What is The Lineup dinner in Chicago?
The Lineup Chicago is a one-night-only dinner series where a rising cook from a top Chicago restaurant cooks a five-course menu of their own. Founder Elena Besser, a Chicago native, ran nine sold-out seasons in New York before bringing three dinners to the Ravenswood Event Center in November 2026.
When and where are The Lineup Chicago dinners in 2026?
The Lineup Chicago dinners take place at the Ravenswood Event Center, 4021 N. Ravenswood Ave., on three Thursdays: Derek Serrano of Mi Tocaya Antojería on November 5, Colin McHugh of Oriole on November 12 and Luis Diaz of Giant on November 19, 2026. Each night has two seatings.
Are The Lineup Chicago tickets sold out?
Yes. All three The Lineup Chicago dinners for November 2026 are sold out. Each dinner has its own waitlist on its Resy event page, linked from thelineupdinner.com/tickets. Newsletter subscribers got 24-hour early access when tickets first went on sale on October 1, 2026.
What is included in a ticket to The Lineup Chicago?
A ticket to The Lineup Chicago includes a welcome bite and a cocktail, a five-course tasting menu and a wine pairing with every course. A nonalcoholic pairing is available if you request it when booking. Seating at the Ravenswood Event Center is communal and assigned, and guests must be 21 or older.
Can The Lineup Chicago accommodate allergies or dietary restrictions?
No. The Lineup Chicago serves fixed, plated menus and does not make substitutions or accommodations for allergies, dietary preferences or restrictions. Each chef’s menu lists its allergens on thelineupdinner.com/tickets, so check Derek Serrano’s, Colin McHugh’s and Luis Diaz’s menus before you book a November 2026 seat.
Further reading
- The Lineup Chicago: official page
- The Lineup: Chicago menus, tickets and event FAQ
- Resy: An Evening with Derek Serrano, November 5, 2026
- Resy: An Evening with Colin McHugh, November 12, 2026
- Resy: An Evening with Luis Diaz, November 19, 2026
- The Lineup on Instagram (@thelineupdinner)
- Ravenswood Event Center
- Mi Tocaya Antojería
- Oriole
- Giant
- MICHELIN Guide: All the Stars in the MICHELIN Guide Chicago 2025
- Time Out Chicago: This hit dinner club series is expanding to Chicago after nine sold-out seasons in NYC
- ABC7 Chicago: Chef-driven dining platform The Lineup expands to Chicago
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