Bin 36, located right next door to Chicago's "House of Blues", was a rather modest wine shop, with a short (but carefully selected) list of unusual (i.e. no big names or standard Wine Spectator fare) items, but it was also a wine bar. Alone for the evening and in need of dinner, I figured I could grab a seat at the bar, have some dinner and try some unusual wines - now that's a Friday night!
While this sounds like place you would need wild horses to drag me out of, I was hesitant at first, as the "too-hip" atmosphere combined and no-name wine list was surely a recipe for disaster? Wrong.
My appetizer was an asparagus salad with honey goat cheese and a pink grapefruit dressing. Jimmy, the head of the wine bar, was an excellent host, and encouraged me to pair this with a gruner vetliner. The 2005 Laurenz V. "Sophie" Gruner Veltliner was an excellent choice for this dish - on the nose were toasty scents of apricot, banana and pineapple, followed by some white flowers. Almost white burgundy in style, with a crisp, minerally structure, this was a more full-bodied gruner vs. all my previous experiences with the grape. Nicely done at this price - great value!
Score: 16.5/20
Price: US$15 (Bin 36)
The main course was arctic char, and once again it was Jimmy to the rescue. In this case he even allowed me to sample a few of his wares before making my final selection. Now that's service! We decided on California for some new world chardonnay. The 2005 Foxglove Chardonnay was a rather simple affair, with classic buttered toast aromas but not much else going on. Rather one-dimensional, but very well balanced and a nice pairing for the meal.
Score: 15.5/20
Price: US$16 (Bin 36)
Other wines sampled this evening included an Austrian red, the 2004 Zantho Zweigelt, a modern styled red with aromas of fresh crushed blueberries. Rather uncomplex, but a very nice quaffer and cheap ($10.95). The 2005 Earth, Zin and Fire "Front Row Zin" was a terrific take on this grape. Pink cava, South African chard, and a strong finish with the 2005 Kracher Beerenauslese.
If you are ever in Chicago, stop by Bin 36 and tell Jimmy I sent you.
Cheers!
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2 comments:
OMG! I was there for dinner Sunday May 20! Had the 6-cheese flight (fave was the bandaged cheddar), the Syrah flight (2002 Syrah, Hahn Estate, San Luis Obispo County was the winner), and the Skirt steak for main...
Very cool - it's like we almost met! I was the lucky recipient of the "Jimmy Flight", which was pretty much everything behind the bar. I'd be lying if I could discern a great wine in that never-ending flight, especially after pulling an all nighter for work the day before. Cheers!
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