As a recent Chicago transplant and non-stop lover of wine and food, I was ecstatic to discover the large number of great BYOB restaurants scattered around this city. I lived in New York City for several years before relocating to the Midwest and, while the restaurant scene in Manhattan is undeniably a food lover’s dream, [...]

You can drink your favorite blood-red bottle with your secret stash of dark chocolate M&M’s on Halloween. At the party, just tell them all it’s the NV Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz. They’ll never guess from the looks of this dark, frothy bubbly. Maybe you prefer something as evil as you. A swig of the 2007 Evil [...]

“Summer is finished,” says famed Chef Martial Noguier, matter-of-factly. “Bye-bye, summer.” And hello root vegetables, spices and venison at Cafe des Architectes in the Hotel Sofitel Chicago, where French Chef Noguier took over as executive chef when he left one sixtyblue in August. Green is gone, and turnips, rutabaga, cinnamon, cloves and other fall flavors now dominate Chef Noguier’s [...]