BYOB for anniversary dinner

Looking for suggestions for a nice place to have dinner that will let me bring a special bottle of champagne given to us at our wedding 10 years ago.

Goosefoot, which is BYOB. Check out the Goosefoot topic about how to go about making reservations. It's a tough one to snag.

Another option is that many nice restaurants that are not BYOB will still let you bring your own bottle, as long as they don't have the same wine on their own list. They may charge you corkage, with some corkage fees as high as $25-35. You'll probably want to phone ahead to ask about this option.

Food-wise, I think the top three BYOB places right now are Schwa, El Ideas, and Goosefoot, each of which serves tasting menus. All book months in advance, but sometimes have cancellations, so you might have a chance depending on your date. Schwa has been known to cancel on guests same-day (not every day but often enough I wouldn't count on them for a special occasion). El Ideas is a fun, casual, and interactive environment, with delicious and creative food. If you are looking for quiet and romantic, this isn't the spot, but I would encourage you to go on another occasion. Goosefoot is a delightful balance of outstanding food, a pretty space, and warm and professional front of the house service, helmed by the team of Chef Chris Nugent and his wife, Nina. (Given that nxstasy entered his response while I was previewing mine, sounds like we agree this would be our top choice if available.)

Goosefoot
http://www.goosefoot.net
2656 W Lawrence Ave. Chicago, IL 60625
773-942-7547

El Ideas
http://www.elideas.com
2419 W. 14th Street Chicago, IL 60618
reservations@elideas.com

Schwa
http://www.schwarestaurant.com
1466 N. Ashland Ave. Chicago, IL 60622
773-252-1466

Smassey wrote:(Given that nxstasy entered his response while I was previewing mine, sounds like we agree this would be our top choice if available.)

Yup. And while you were posting yours, I was going back and editing mine with the same thought you expressed about non-BYOB restaurants accepting customer bottles (but may have removed when you saw mine?). We're obviously both on the same wavelength this morning. Who you got in the game tonight?

And while you were posting yours, I was going back and editing mine with the same thought you expressed about non-BYOB restaurants accepting customer bottles (but may have removed when you saw mine?). We're obviously both on the same wavelength this morning. Who you got in the game tonight?

Yes, indeed, I re-edited since you covered that option.

Regarding football: We do an annual NYE sealed list of predictions (politics, world events, celebrity deaths, Oscars, sports...) and I said Broncos, so I'm not a good one to ask. I tend to think the 49ers are a better all-around team but the Ravens are on a mission, so I'll predict Ravens. Since this is a culinary board, however, I'll throw out this question: Which city is a better seafood town? (We know San Fran has a top dining/restaurant scene, hence the niche question.)

Smassey wrote:Since this is a culinary board, however, I'll throw out this question: Which city is a better seafood town? (We know San Fran has a top dining/restaurant scene, hence the niche question.)

They both do seafood well. I've enjoyed great crab at the original Obrycki's in Baltimore (which closed a year ago ) and great seafood at Spenger's in Berkeley. I'm a frequent visitor to the SF Bay area, not so much to the Chesapeake Bay area, so I'm not all that familiar with Baltimore's dining scene. But I know that just about every large city in the country has some great, creative restaurants, and if you haven't been there in a while (as I haven't to Baltimore), there are probably new places that are fantastic, in addition to the longtime stalwarts that are still doing a great job. We need only think about how many of Chicago's own best, greatest, most interesting restaurants have opened in the past five years, to understand how that might apply elsewhere.

Many fine dining restaurants allow BYO for a corkage fee. I had a spectacular dinner last night at The Lobby in the Peninsula Hotel and we brought several wines.

mrefjl wrote:Looking for suggestions for a nice place to have dinner that will let me bring a special bottle of champagne given to us at our wedding 10 years ago.

Given that you only want to bring one bottle that's special, for a special occasion, I believe most anyplace you want to go will accomodate you for this. Is there anywhere specific you would prefer to go? Let's start there and then some of us can probably help with the place's feelings toward you bringing the bottle.

BTW, what champagne is it?

mrefjl wrote:Looking for suggestions for a nice place to have dinner that will let me bring a special bottle of champagne given to us at our wedding 10 years ago.

Obviously you know your own preferences better than I do, but I prefer to drink really special bottles at home, where I can concentrate more on the wine.

As others have said, most places will let you bring your own bottle of wine. Some charge a corkage, others don't. Personally, aim for a place that (a) is a restaurant that you really like. Champagne pairs well with a lot of different things. There are so many options here. It's hard to be helpful without knowing more about what you are looking for. (b) A place that serves good Champagne. You want to make sure they have good stemware (or bring your own) and their service won't detract from the wine.

John Danza wrote:
BTW, what champagne is it?

Nothing spectacular, a 1996 Beaumet. A gift, which when given was recommended to me to be laid down and consumed on our 10th anniversary, a date which happens to fall right between my wifes and my 40th birthdays. I was thinking Schwa, as I have an in, but don't really want to share this bottle with strangers. Thanks for all the comments. I'll report back when the time comes.

Update - We wound up at Nightwood, and the champagne had gone bad Nice meal though.

mrefjl wrote:Update - We wound up at Nightwood, and the champagne had gone bad Nice meal though.

Bummer about the champagne. A 1996 should have still been fine, but with flavors of an aged chardonnay. Perhaps storage was an issue.