Welcome to Parallel
Parallel is the alchemizing of quality raw materials to form something unexpected and remarkable.
Our Sesame Butter
Parallel begins with the world’s best sesame seeds from Humera, Ethiopia. Humera’s climate and soil is ideal for producing the sweetest, highest-quality sesame seeds.
Produced on-site, with our ancient stone mill. From there, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy the purest form of sesame butter on its own, or add to dressings, soups, salads, dips, bowls and much more. Seed what is possible.
The Restaurant
Parallel is a place where we make and create, and our goal is to make use of Parallel’s creations in all the food at our restaurant. It all starts with the sesame butter we grind on-site. You’ll notice that it’s in almost every dish on the menu, used in ways you might not expect at first.
The Space
We worked hard to create a place that’s alive, new, and innovative. We invite you to come in and stay for as long as you like. Bring your friends for brunch, grab an espresso and halva on the go, enjoy our current video art, or visit our mezzanine. It’s our favourite place to take in the crowd, enjoy our organic rooftop garden, watch the sesame being milled in our 150 years old lava stone mill, and if you’re lucky, watch the freight train pass by. 
Endless Possibilities.
Making sesame butter is a simple but surprising process. You start out by adding fresh lemon juice and water, and begin to mix. At first, it thickens the paste, making it coarse and harder to mix. Then, as you continue mixing, something changes; the sesame butter begins to loosen, and gradually takes on a soft, silky texture.
News
PARALLEL INVITES ASPECT/RATIO GALLERY – CHICAGO
July and August 2019
The summer program at parallel provides a platform for the artists of Aspect/Ratio, a Chicago-based Gallery with a strong focus on video art. The artists on display arrive from different backgrounds and countries of origin and the work testify to this diversity. The six videos use written words and texts, refer to ancient myth and contemporary affairs, participate in DIY and punk culture, and address built- and natural- environment. The result is the most diverse video program at parallel to date, whose stylistic and thematic variety speaks to the wide range of issues with which video artists engage today.
LANDSCAPES – VIDEO ART SCREENING @ PARALLEL
May and June, 2019
Checks and Balances – Video Art Screening @ Parallel
March through April, 2019
