“We’re going to re-create their wine-tasting experience here in Chicago,” Hanauer said. Guests can sample wine in the restaurant’s tasting room, which will feature a different California winery each month. There is value absolutely everywhere.”Īlong with hundreds of wines by the bottle, Hanauer expects to have around 20 wines by the glass available. “There are all these young, passionate people in places like Paso Robles and the Anderson Valley. ![]() “One of the joys of California is that you can get amazing wine sourced from lesser-known regions,” Hanauer said. “We’ll have five or six pages of cabernet producers.”īut he’s also excited to showcase different grape varietals in other parts of the state. “The list is anchored by Napa Valley,” Hanauer said. How can we meet in the middle?”Īs one would expect, California’s most prestigious wine region will be well represented. “I can’t just replicate the classics, but it’s not about keeping up with the trends. “It’s not modern cuisine, but it is contemporary,” Robbins said. “I want you to taste the quality and understand the flavor of each ingredient.” But the menu won’t be old-fashioned. “With wine, it’s all about tasting the terroir of the grape,” Robbins said. Robbins said he’s focused on celebrating the quality of the products he gets. But if you just want to stop by for lunch, there will be salads, a burger and a few kinds of pasta. If you want to go for a date night, the kitchen has a wood-fired grill, where you’ll find various kinds of meat, larger seafood options and seasonal produce. If you want to visit with a large group, there will be shareable items, including chilled and raw seafood. While the official menu hasn’t been finalized, Robbins said it will show a lot of versatility. But I look where I am now, and I want to cook the food I enjoy preparing for my family and friends.” As a chef, cooking this style is a big departure. ![]() “It’s not a chef-driven menu,” Robbins said. “I was obsessed with the quality of the product and how unpretentious it was.”Ĭhef Max Robbins, whose résumé included lauded stints helming Longman & Eagle, Soho House Chicago and Gilt Bar, wants to create a menu full of “simply prepared dishes with high-quality ingredients,” he said. “I started realizing that every time I was traveling for wine, the meals in the wine country were phenomenal,” Hanauer said. The restaurant was conceived to mimic the feeling of being on a wine tour, Hanauer said. Specifically, it will be a California wine concept, as wine director Richard Hanauer expects to have more than 750 wines exclusively from that state - “one of the rare places where you could do an entire wine program and have this much quality and diversity,” Hanauer said. Look for it to open in the spring at 163 N. Along with two upcoming high-profile concepts in the third-largest skyscraper in Chicago, the restaurant group is opening an ambitious multilevel wine-focused restaurant in Fulton Market called The Oakville Grill & Cellar. ![]() Already, 2023 is shaping up to be a huge year for Lettuce Entertain You.
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