I've never done this before, so bear with me please. We were visiting from out of town and came across bin wine cafe from City Search and thought we'd give it a try. We wanted to get out of the Downtown area and try other neighborhoods in Chicago, bin wine cafe is in Bucktown, which is super easy to get to by train from Downtown. We made a reservation by phone for a Friday night at 7pm, they had a table, which I thought was strange for a prime time on a Friday, but maybe we were just lucky. We're glad we did, the place was packed. The server was terrific, she explained the specials, the menu and the food and wine pairings (they make this easy with a numbered system) She made it sound so good, we wanted to try everything, so we did. We started with cheese, they have a lot, we chose the Globetrotter Cheese Flight, 4 cheese from around the globe, then the Tempura Green Beans, our server suggested, oh my god, they were so good. We figured a salad would be a nice healthy touch so we tried the Spinach Salad, it had cherries and almonds and crispy ham. Then we ordered dinner (yes we were eating a lot) I had the Trout, my husband always orders chicken so naturally he went with the 1/2 Chicken, they were both excellent, my trout was crispy and light and fresh, the chicken was the perfect summer dish served with a green bean salad. Now the wine, they have over 30 by the glass and we had 2 flights each, (four 3oz tastings) thety did not disappoint and the descriptions were fun and informative. It was getting late when we finally left, but we didn't feel rushed at all, in fact the server chatted with us for a long time and was very friendly, offering tips on places to visit while in Chicago, she had a great sense of humor. This is getting long, so I'll finish up with this - Go to Bin Wine Cafe Now!
Pros: service, location, food, wine
Cons: a little loud
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