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After ten years in business, Meritage Cafe and Wine Bar is closing January 1, but not with a whimper. On his last night chef Troy Graves will offer a seasonal five-course prix fixe dinner for $85 from 5:30 to 10:30 PM. At press time the menu wasn’t 100 percent set, but there will be curried suckling pig with charred pineapple coulis and seared foie gras (let the authorities close him down for serving the banned delicacy, Graves says); lobster ceviche with blood orange emulsion; oysters on the half shell with passion fruit sorbet; goat cheese soup with balsamic-grilled red onions; and wine-braised pheasant with chorizo grits and braised greens. A cocktail party (with cash bar) follows the dinner and goes till 2 AM; no reservations required for the party. Owner Christopher Peckat is quick to move on: his new barbecue place, Risque Cafe (3419 N. Clark, 773-525-7711), is slated to open in late December.
Also closing the first of the year: John Manion’s Mas and the Grotto on State .
