The vegan filmmaker’s Mooby’s experience comes to the Windy City for a limited time!
After successes in L.A. and New Jersey, Kevin Smith’s golden-calf-inspired vegan pop-up will replace a local Chicago eatery for one week only, offering Chicagoans a unique slice of Jersey. The director of ‘Clerks’ and ‘Dogma’ turned vegan after suffering a heart attack in 2018. Following his recovery, he stuck to a medically advised single plant-based diet and has remained vegan ever since. His pop-up Mooby’s mocks fast-food companies like McDonald’s and Burger King and is based on characters from Smith’s Askewniverse that parody the likes of Barney the dinosaur and characters from Disney films.
Mooby’s name and design is a tribute to the character Mooby the Golden Calf – an anthropomorphic cow that features heavily in Kevin Smith’s films. The restaurant itself will offer options similarly inspired by elements from Smith’s films including ‘Cow Tipper burgers’, ‘Onion Rings To Rule Them All’, and ‘Hater Totz’. Both meat and vegan will be available with Mooby’s mainstays also coming in plant-based versions thanks to the innovative Beyond Meat.
Dates and location are set to be announced in the coming weeks of October but it’s certain to be a safe, properly socially distanced experience and will only offer take-away options using a timed reservation system. There will also be a dedicated retail store filled with items from Smith’s early and recent films. Be prepared for prices being somewhat above the average, Mooby’s in L.A. was known to charge $30 for a sandwich and a side dish.
For big Kevin Smith fans, head over to the McHenry Outdoor Theater on the 1st of November where Smith and partner-in-crime Mewes will host a live taping of their Jay and Silent Bob Get Old podcast!