Tasting menu/wine pairing opinions for 21st birthday

So I'm turning 21 in a few weeks, and I have a friend flying in to celebrate with me. Unlike the rest of my ilk, I don't plan on getting totally plastered. Rather, I'm looking for a good tasting menu/wine pairing combo. I want to keep it below Alinea's general price range, and I obviously know very little about wine (save my preference for reds). In terms of the cuisine, I'll try anything once. I'm in the South Loop, but I'm willing to go anywhere.

Potential problem: my birthday's on Monday the 25th, which happens to be Memorial Day. I know there are several places closed on Mondays, and probably even more closed for the holiday, but another day isn't really an option.

Thoughts appreciated.

We absolutely love the degustation menu with the wine pairings at Salpicon. We were just there for my husband's birthday and the pairings were perfect. I just checked on their website and they are open on the 25th. We let them know when we made the reservations that we wanted the degustation menu/pairings. We took my 22 year old daughter, and while she didn't have the pairings, she loved the food. She had a couple of glasses of a Malbec that she really liked that was suggested by the new sommelier. We really miss Henry Bishop, who passed away a couple of months ago, but the wine list, food and pairings are still great.

http://www.salpicon.com/

Bin 36 is also a good choice, and a lot less pricey than the Alineas of the world.

Bin 36
339 North Dearborn

One suggestion: A lot of people don't like multi-course wine pairings because they get palate fatigue. If you're not an experienced wine drinker, you probably have no idea whether you're likely to experience palate fatigue. Although a dinner with wine pairings sounds like a cool thing to do for your 21st birthday, you might ultimately be happier with a nice appertif, followed by a great dinner with a well-matched bottle of wine, and a dessert wine to cap off the evening.

chgoeditor wrote:One suggestion: A lot of people don't like multi-course wine pairings because they get palate fatigue. If you're not an experienced wine drinker, you probably have no idea whether you're likely to experience palate fatigue. Although a dinner with wine pairings sounds like a cool thing to do for your 21st birthday, you might ultimately be happier with a nice appertif, followed by a great dinner with a well-matched bottle of wine, and a dessert wine to cap off the evening.

I see where you're coming from, but I completely disagree.

cccpr wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:One suggestion: A lot of people don't like multi-course wine pairings because they get palate fatigue. If you're not an experienced wine drinker, you probably have no idea whether you're likely to experience palate fatigue. Although a dinner with wine pairings sounds like a cool thing to do for your 21st birthday, you might ultimately be happier with a nice appertif, followed by a great dinner with a well-matched bottle of wine, and a dessert wine to cap off the evening.

I see where you're coming from, but I completely disagree.

What about one of the shorter Moto menus or even Otom where they'll pair for you. Both with great service and folks who know their wine so well that you'll learn a lot.

I would heartily second the Moto recommendation. A friend and I celebrated there a few years ago with a five (I think) course menu with wine pairings and it was just perfect. The big catch, as you mention, is that your birthday is on Memorial Day and it is likely that many places won't be open. I wonder if restaurants connected to hotels might be a better possibility. Bin 36 is connected to the Hotel Sax. I would imagine Avenues at the Peninsula would also be open.

Love Moto. Also, did you see Ronnie's recent shots of Gaetano's in Forest Park? He has excellent wine pairings for all of his tasting menus, including some rare or off-the-beaten-path vintages from near his ancestral home in Sicily, and tiny producers on the Amalfi Coast (he has connections at the Relais Oasi Olimpia near Sorrento among other places). He has some amazing spicy whites that do wonders with the tapas tasting. Not expensive and unique, though not everyone is a fan of Southern Italian wines.

Sweets & Savories could do wine pairings. I believe their tasting menu is $10 off or something on Mondays. Calling to confirm they'll be open is recommended.

One of many links

Sweet & Savories
1534 W. Fullerton Ave.
773-281-6778

Another direction entirely is Stained Glass in Evanston. The "wine sampler," a tasting flight, is a gentle way to be introduced to the world of wine, and it's a classy joint. I'm guessing they could accomodate you and offer flights that pair with their menu. One caveat - I last ate there over eight years ago, so I'd look around for more recent reviews.

Scratch that - they're closed Mondays. Sorry.

Moto is closed on Sunday/Monday. IIRC, however, Otom should be open.

Just a quick bump.

I made a reservation at Gaetano's about 10 days beforehand, as they had assured me that they would be open on Memorial Day. Got a voicemail from them three days before the reservation (which means they had taken a full WEEK to realize this...probably a good thing I wasn't available when they called) informing me that they would, in fact, be closed on the 25th.

Afterwards, I decided that, rather than wade through the myriad of tasting menu options to discover which would be available, we'd be better off at a steakhouse. Here again, though, I had major problems finding one that would be open (is it always like this? You'd swear it were Christmas Eve/Day we're talking about here). We ended up at Gibson's, and it was a good meal, but it was the result of a most unnecessary detour.