April 24, 2008
Just Grapes: Just Great.
There's a fantastic wine store in the West Loop called Just Grapes with employees who know so much about wine, you'll go as much for the education as you will for a great pour. The wines are arranged by their flavor profile and line the walls of this beautifully designed store. This excellent wine shop has a private room in which we attended their most recent food and wine pairing seminar last night and were impressed not only with the wealth of knowledge about wines offered by corporate sommelier Don Sritong, but also with the incredible food provided by no less than Executive Chef of Sepia, Kendall Duque himself. Eight different fantastic wines were served alongside some of the best food Chicago has to offer and at an incredibly reasonable price of $50.
How about an excellent grilled sturgeon served with a ragout of potato and root vegetables to go with your glass of Pinot Noir? We were also spoiled with a braised short rib that paired perfectly with a Brunello from Tuscany... along with no less than twelve other courses. This is Just Grape's second event with Sepia and you should not miss the next one. Also, check out their website for additional information on their upcoming events under the link to Wine School. At $35, these wine courses are an excellent value.
Just Grapes is located at 560 W. Washington.
Sepia is located at 123 N. Jefferson.
Pictures of the event room and more food follow!
Two last food dishes to tempt you, if not to their next food and wine pairing, then to try Sepia - but make your weekend reservations well in advance. 
(See? We're working on our food pictures here at Chicagoist!) 
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Mmmm, food porn. * drool *
Thennnnnnnnnkew, frp. Could you tell I was feeling needy for compliments on my food pictures?
And with the cost she told me the camera was, I thought, it's long overdue for an upgrade.
Although I want an SLR digital.
No, I couldn't tell at all. * wink *
As for D-SLRs, I want a Nikon D300 body so badly (so I can use all of the lenses I have accumulated over the years). But, methinks I'm going to buy a flash, and possibly a simple lighting setup (couple of strobes and couple of umbrellas, all with radio slave) to use with my existing film (I know, caveman, right?). THEN, we can photograph all kinds of porn, not just food porn.
Uh, did I just say that out loud? What? Prank call!
Oh, and L, the food looks amazing! I've been wanting to go to Sepia, but never found an opportunity (nor a SECOND DATE, what?) to do so. I can only imagine how good the food was merely by seeing the images you've posted. Looks decadent, delightful, delish!
frp
Oops...meant to say frp is WAY jealous. Damn HTML tags!
Ditto on the food picture. Looks good. Makes me want some.
frp - OMG, you're a mess. :)
The Meteorologist - Thank you!
Somebody liked their free food & wine tasting a little too much. You can back down on the adjectives and excitement, it's ok. Every time I walk by that store, they always look bored and snotty. But maybe that's just me.
Anyway, the food pictures are in focus (not a Chicagoist trademark), but they look like almost the same dish, and who wants to see a short pour on the wine? And, is it $35 or $50?
Reading Comprehension, Joe Blow. $50 for the wine w/dinner; $35 for the wine school.
Although I get the sense you wouldn't pay for either.
I don't know -- I heard it's EXCELLENT! The store is BEAUTIFUL! The food was INCREDIBLE! The wines were FANTASTIC! And more food was EXCELLENT! Did I mention this store sounds EXCELLENT? It sounds like a lot of fun when you get to go for free..
Hey there, Joe Blow -
I gotta say, I can appreciate cynicism so I'm not taking it personally. Dude, I got to a lot of events (paid AND otherwise - I've paid at every restaurant I've eaten at and reviewed) and not many ever impress me but this one did. The two people sitting on either side of me gushed about the place. The gentleman to my left said that he went because Don always made excellent suggestions based upon the menu and even suggested minor recipe tweaks to perfect the dish. The guy said he'd been coming for a couple of years now. The woman to my right was with 3 friends and they all sang the praises of the place, too. It's not just me who really dug the place and the event. Both of them commented on the cheap price. They kept pouring wine and the food, it seriously was awesome.
Like I said, I can totally appreciate cynicism. But I wouldn't blow smoke up yer ass for the hell of it. It was great. If you want some places I really would NOT recommend...let me know! Because hell, I've got a lot of those, too.
Thanks for the input, Joe.
-L.
I would like to know the places you don't recommend. That's honestly (usually) more helpful than the "good" ones..
Joe Blow - Oh man, I'll give you a few right off the top of my head:
1. Cyrano's Bistrot - the food was good but the service was really bad. I was there just last Tuesday night. The server was nice but really, it was a mess. He gave people the wrong entrees, the wrong drinks, etc.
2. Su-Ra. Korean place in Wicker Park. Their Bi-bim-Bop was short on bulgogi and did not have nearly enough pickled vegetables. It was like eating pot roast on rice. It had red bell peppers in it. Hated it.
3. Dragonfly Mandarin on Randolph - The food is always tasty but the service is so bad, I can hardly take it. Probably the worst service I've ever had in a restaurant - at least in the top 10.
4. Red Light on Randolph. I should, honestly, give this place another shot - but I remember being wholly unimpressed with the food and thinking that the prices were ridiculous for the quality. And that the chef put corn in the bibimbop and the sweetness wiped out the already perfect balance of flavors in the dish.
Hope some of those were helpful.
-L.