Let me first start by saying I have 1/4 Chicago in my blood - my mother’s side of the family has been in the area since the late 1800’s when my great-great grandfather subdivided a neighborhood eight blocks north of Wrigley Field (Rascher Avenue is named after him). Maybe it’s this history that makes me biased when I say that Chicago is perhaps only behind New York when it comes to the most world-class city in America. But I doubt that is really the case because it has become common knowledge, in the last five years especially, that Chicago is not only a great sports town and hub for the arts, but a great place for top shelf eating. The best night of eating and drinking was dinner at Avec, where recent Food & Wine Best New Chef Koren Grieveson serves Mediterranean-style eats. Joining me were my friends Mark & Naomi who live in Chicago, my father, and my friend and business colleague, Lloyd.

The wine list is solid - French, Spanish, and Portugese focused. We started the night off with a 2006 LuisPato Maria Gomes from Portugal. It was aromatic and perfectly atypical of most whites we were used to drinking. Food wise we began with chorizo-stuffed madjool dates with smoked bacon and piquillo pepper-tomato sauce. This small plate received rave reviews around the table. 

Wine number two was a 2004 Chryseia Post Scriptum, also from Portugal. This red was deep garnet in color with a vivid violet rim (reminded me of Chianti’s ability to purple the lips). The aroma showed ripe fruit character with hints of raspberries as well as tobacco and a discreet touch of oak. The palate is full and rich, with a flavorful plumy character. The structure is well balanced, clearly held together by ripe tannins. The wine is excellent for current drinking with savory dishes (red meats and game) - so we did just that. Without any hesitation Lloyd ordered the wood oven-roasted pork shoulder with dried apricots, prunes, slab bacon and apricot mustard for the table. This might of been the dish of the night. Amazing flavor. This led Lloyd to simply state, “This chef is awesome. She knows what she’s doing. A good cab would go well with this.” Maybe so, but the night was about exploration and trying wines that most will never see in their local wine shop. So I decided to expand my buddy’s mind a bit by ordering a bottle of 2005 Finca Omblancas “Denuno” Jumilla, a Spanish blend of petit verdot, monastrell and syrah. The wine was full bodied, with lively aromas of

black cherries, ground pepper and toasted oak. It had good concentration, with savory tastes of sweet spices and plum. The moral of the story for you and my buddy Lloyd: forget the “good cab” and go with an equally strong varietal like syrah or monastell if your thinking Spanish wines.

With a theater district second only to Broadway, classic sports teams, too many museums and parks to name, and burgeoning dining scene, Chicago is a must visit in my book. Here are a few more places that are on my list to hit up when I head back in October: Sepia, Boka (home of another 2008 Food & Wine Best New Chef), and Avec’s sister restaurant, Blackbird. Until then, cheers!