Bin 36

1339 North Dearborn
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 755-WINE (9463)
comments@bin36.com

Type: Contemporary American
Atmosphere: Cool and Contemporary
Occasion: Dinner
Gotta Try: Brian’s Blend XIII Pinot Noir
Take or Leave: Friday nights when a Bachelorette Party is seated next to you.
Booze: Huge Emphasis on Quality Wine
Prices: Pricey but Not Unfair
Hours: Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Seven Days a Week.
Reservations: Good Idea
Snarky Says: Liked it, didn’t love it, need to go again. Stay tuned for the return review.

As life percolates, an opportunity has presented itself to relocate to the Chicago area. Recently, I went up to spend a week looking for a place to call home and hit the dining circuit.

Big, shiny and sophisticated, Chicago is the moneyed cousin of the Midwest. This cousin has a house of glass and steel, ours is stucco and has a cracked driveway. This cousin is educated by Northwestern and the University of Chicago, we went to Thug Tech and Felon High. …continue reading Bin 36-Chicago

I read a great article in Food & Wine about a new restaurant opening up in San Francisco called A16. The restaurant only stocks and serves Southern Italian wines. Borderline sacrilege with Napa only 45 minutes up the street. Evidently, Southern Italian wine has come a long way from what it used to be. Headaches and a big jug with a juice-like liquid containing twigs and bark was normally associated with the region.

After reading the article, I put the Southern Italians on my list to look into. Accidentally, I picked one out at Giant Eagle of all places. I was just looking for some inexpensive white to cook with when I grabbed a bottle that cost a whopping $7.99. It was called MandraRossa and the type is Fiano similar in my opinion to a Sauvignon Blanc. …continue reading MandraRossa Fiano

When posturing as an authority, self-criticism is about as palatable as a mouthful of psilocybin mushrooms. Newly anointed ‘food guy,’ I drew the preposterous conclusion that my own skills were far superior to most professionals. Well, I’m a jackass. I’m not sure from where the arrogance came. …continue reading Four Cheese Risotto

They came from culinary epicenters such as Manhattan, New Orleans, San Francisco and Los Angeles but when the blue ribbon was awarded, it was the Cleveland Westsider who trotted away victorious. Chef Michael Symon of Lola and Lolita (and inevitably soon to be more) beat Chef John Besh to become the next Iron Chef with Cat Cora, Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto and maybe or maybe not Mario Batali. …continue reading And His Cuisine Reigned Supreme