Every once in awhile inside Ladro Enoteca, a pop-up restaurant called Alice’s Midnight Diner opens after the Downtown Champaign bottle shop closes. The menu is just one dish and only one wine. That’s it — and the dish is a mystery until they start serving it. I went to the April pop-up of Alice’s Midnight Diner, and the food was absolutely divine.
Last time, the pop-up served jjajang tteokboki. The delicious dish had fish cakes and rice cakes with onions, Humbleweed Farm young garlic, and grated cheese in an unctuous, glossy black bean sauce.
Alice’s Midnight Diner only pours one wine, just like there’s only one dish on the menu. The evening’s pet-nat (short for pétillant naturel, a French term that means naturally sparkling) wine was crisp, cold, and paired wonderfully with the warm meal.
Just like Ladro Enoteca, there are no reservations for the pop-up; just show up.
Alice’s Midnight Diner
inside Ladro Enoteca
1 E Main St
Champaign
Sa June 17th
10:30 p.m. to midnight
