BIN 36 - Chicago

Hey friends, I hope you have had a fantastic week because I certainly did. I have been on vacation visiting my family in Michigan and I had an amazing time. I was out with a friend last weekend in we decided to check out a restaurant in downtown Chicago he had been telling me about. The restaurant was BIN 36 a very upscale sophisticated wine and cheese bar next to the House Of Blues. This is a little different for this blog because it isn't a organic or farm to table kind of place, but I such a wonderful dining experience I thought I'd share it with you guys. I arrive about a half an hour or so ahead of my friend who was still working. I was greeted by two very nice hostess and I explained that i was waiting for a friend but he wouldn't be joining me for a bit and i wanted a little table out of the way to relax after a long train ride from Minneapolis, MN. There was some light jazzy house music in the background (which always reminds me of Chicago no matter where I am). She sat me next to a large window overlooking north Deerborn ave, which was buzzing with people coming home from work or going to a show at the House of Blues. I started with a glass of 2007 Four Vines "Naked" Chardonnay which was amazing so clean and crisp. The wine had hints of apple and white peach and finished with just a hint of citrus. Needless to say I finished that rather quickly and decided to order some of the fresh cheese that they had in a bar specifically for cheese, I ordered a 2006 BIN31 California Merlot and had it paired with Burrata a very mild cows milk cheese from Puglia, Italy and Calbral Vino, a sharp but very flavorful goats milk cheese from Murcia, Spain. The cheeses paired so perfectly with the wine and the buttery crispy thin slices of toasted baguette. The brought little pieces of paper with the description of every new wine my friend and I ordered. When he arrived we ordered a few more appetizers and shared them and talked about how amazing the wonderful city of Chicago is. We had a few more cheeses and a fig and apricot terrine as well as a bowl of assorted olives marinated in anise, orange zest, thyme, whole roasted garlic and a very lovely olive oil. We had such a wonderful time just talking and enjoying the experience that we decided to leave and take the train to the north Chicago Lincoln park neighborhood and have crepes and wine at the wonderful little French restaurant with maybe 25 seats, but I'll leave that story for another day. All i want to say is get off the beaten path and rediscover your city. You have to be willing to let go of the norm and open up your noise and smell the city and let it take you to something new and undiscovered. Food Of Love!