AAPI Month
Industry Collaborations
AAPI Month at Nisei is an annual series honoring Asian American and Pacific Islander voices through collaborative dinners and shared storytelling on the plate or in the glass. Each event brings together chefs and winemakers whose personal histories, cultural influences, and modern techniques create a thoughtful dialogue between heritage and contemporary cuisine.
The 2026 AAPI Month program is listed here. Please feel free to book directly from this page via Open Table.
As with past programs, AAPI Month at Nisei is designed not only as a celebration of food, but as a platform to uplift AAPI communities through collaboration, education, and giving. This year we are working with Bay Resistance.
5% of all income throughout the month of May will be donated to Bay Resistance to directly combat ICE and the degradation of our community. If you would like, you can donate directly with the link below.
Bakers & Makers Fair
Local Artists and Artisans · May 3rd, 2026
Join us at Nisei on May 3rd for our annual AAPI Bakers & Makers Fair, kicking off AAPI Month with a vibrant celebration of community, craft, and creativity. For one evening only, we are transforming the Nisei space into a lively marketplace featuring talented local bakers and artisans. Doors are open from 3–8 PM, and your $5 cover supports Bay Resistance and gives you access to shop handmade goods, discover unique gifts, and enjoy. To start the event, grab a beverage at Bar Iris to walk around with!
Naoko & Maya Dalla Valle, Dalla Valle Vineyards (Napa Valley)
Founder Naoko Dalla Valle · Winemaker Maya Dalla Valle · May 28th, 2026
Founded in 1986 by Naoko and her late husband Gustav Dalla Valle, Dalla Valle Vineyards is one of Napa Valley's preeminent multi-generation family-run wineries on the famed eastern hillsides of Oakville. Dalla Valle Vineyards has earned acclaim as one of world's most celebrated wine estates, yielding wines of extraordinary character and complexity, vintage after vintage.
2026 marks the 40th Anniversary of winegrowing at Dalla Valle Vineyards! Today, this iconic property, located in the eastern hills of Oakville, is guided by the mother-and-daughter team of Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle to ensure that the estate continues to thrive for generations to come.
Chef Dae Kim (New York)
Most Recently Nōksu · May 30th & 31st, 2026
Chef Dae Kim is celebrated for his deeply personal and contemporary approach to Korean cuisine, shaped by both classical technique and cultural nuance. You may have seen Chef Kim recently on the show "Chasing Stars" as he was formerly the chef behind Nōksu, the Michelin-starred tasting counter hidden beneath Manhattan's Herald Square. He has built a reputation for thoughtful, seafood-driven cooking rooted in precision, technique, and personal expression. Before leading Nōksu, Chef Dae trained at acclaimed kitchens including Per Se, where he developed the fine dining sensibility that continues to shape his work today.
Sip and Guzzle (New York)
West Village · June 1st, 2026
Sip and Guzzle is a dual concept bar and restaurant in the heart of the West Village. The talented team including Shingo Gokan, Steve Schneider formerly of EO New York, Mike Bagale former Executive Chef of Chicago's Alinea, and Ben Yabrow former head bartender at Double Chicken Please came together to open Sip and Guzzle in January of 2024.
Shingo Gokan's The SG Club in Tokyo imagined the kind of American bar that samurai would have opened upon returning to Tokyo from visiting New York. Sip and Guzzle represents the next chapter of this vision and imagines if the samurai did open that bar and took everything they learned, the best of New York and Tokyo, and came back to where it all started.
