The first annual Windy City Wine Festival, featuring tastings of more than 200 wines, demos by local chefs, and seminars on pairing wines with food, takes place at Daley Bicentennial Plaza (Columbus and Monroe) this Saturday and Sunday. For more information see windycitywinefestival.com. Below are three of our critics’ favorite places to bring their own bottles.
773-989-4511
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Adria Mare sounds Italian, but it’s owned by a Croatian couple, Denis and Nadia Bajramovic, whose aim is to bridge the small distance between the northern extremes of Italy and Croatia. On the menu “coastal Adriatic” translates to a variety of aquatic edibles and the usual pasta suspects: penne, spaghetti, and four different risottos. The meal my girlfriend and I shared was superb, and lovingly prepared from scratch. We began with a tart, smoky, garlicky black-olive pate served on lightly fried pieces of wheat bread. Then came cheese tartlets, innovative little bread packages filled with feta, boiled egg, and tomato and drizzled with a preparation of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and mustard. An enormous portion of seafood risotto teemed with practically everything that swims, scuttles, or glides through the sea. The dish was creamy, with a bite, and tasted of the ocean without being fishy. The tuna steak wasn’t quite as good: an unlovely piece of gray fish that tasted fine, but only due to the creamy sambuca sauce it was served with. We ended with the dolce du jour, a mountainous piece of carrot cake. The only problem with this otherwise pleasant Edgewater spot is the decor, strongly reminiscent of Red Lobster circa 1975, before that chain went the family-dining route. Fishnets cover the ceiling, buoys hang on the walls, and the bar is festooned with little models of ships. It seems like a small thing, but I suspect this may be the main reason Adria Mare is not packed to the gills. The food deserves an audience. –Chip Dudley
312-338-0600
2301 W. Foster
