Chicago and suburbs

[David_K_o_l_i_n]

@Mel Hill

@jamie mccormick

Kent,

Pretty sure the Bristol is all BYO all the time, and I think there’s no charge for corkage at all. If any, it’s nominal. I hear they have excellent stemware too. Manlin knows the scoop for sure, you might PM him if you want the inside track. Or you could just call the place.

I thought that it was Mado that was BYO not The Bristol?

Mado certainly is

[Dan.Gord0n]

@Mel Hill

@jamie mccormick

Kent,

Pretty sure the Bristol is all BYO all the time, and I think there’s no charge for corkage at all. If any, it’s nominal. I hear they have excellent stemware too. Manlin knows the scoop for sure, you might PM him if you want the inside track. Or you could just call the place.

I thought that it was Mado that was BYO not The Bristol?

Really enjoyed going to the Bristol a couple months ago and need to go back…they do have a wine list and do charge some corkage (I think something like $10 or $15 per bottle) but they ended up only charging for a few bottles and not all 10+/- bottles we brought. I think we ended up ordering 1-2 of virtually everything on the menu - well worth going as everything was good to excellent.

[Scott_Manlin]

@Mel Hill

@jamie mccormick

Kent,

Pretty sure the Bristol is all BYO all the time, and I think there’s no charge for corkage at all. If any, it’s nominal. I hear they have excellent stemware too. Manlin knows the scoop for sure, you might PM him if you want the inside track. Or you could just call the place.

I thought that it was Mado that was BYO not The Bristol?

Mado is BYOB as they do not have a license. The Bristol has a full bar and extensive wine and beer list, the wine list is designed to have a lower mark up and to keep everything below $100, though there are a few exceptions to that goal. They do, happily, allow corkage, it is $15 per bottle, however, it is a small restaurant and if you show up and take over, for the evening, a 4 top on a friday or saturday night with 8 bottles of your own wine, it won’t go over very well as they usually have 100 plus people waiting for seats those nights and need to turn their tables.

If you have questions, let me know, the principals are very good friends of mine…

[Ken_Kailin]

Les Nomades
No Corkage Thursdays
Fine Stemware
French cuisine
Sportcoat required

222 East Ontario Street
Chicago, IL 60611-3258
(312) 649-9010
http://www.lesnomades.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ken_Kailin]

Vinci

No Corkage on vintages wine 10 yrs and older
Fair stems

Italian Cusine

1732 North Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60614-5533
(312) 266-1199
http://www.vincichicago.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ken_Kailin]

Caro Mio

No Corkage
Poor Stems, bring your own

Good casual Italian fare

1825 West Wilson Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640-5203
(773) 275-5000
http://www.caromiochicago.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ken_Kailin]

Dave’s Italian Kitchen

No Corkage Fee
No Stems

Cheap good Italian fare, very low key

1635 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201-4504
(847) 475-6044
http://www.davesik.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[B_Stucker]

@Ken Kailin

Les Nomades
No Corkage Thursdays
Fine Stemware
French cuisine
Sportcoat required

222 East Ontario Street
Chicago, IL 60611-3258
(312) 649-9010
http://www.lesnomades.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My understanding is that this is limited to one bottle per 2 people. Just want to clarify to help people avoid sticky situations.

[David_K_o_l_i_n]

BALSAN RESTAURANT
Elysian Hotel
11 East Walton
Chicago, Illinois 60611

312.646.1400

http://balsanrestaurant.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

$30.00 corkage/bottle. (Waived the second last night)
Excellent stems and decanters

Terrific meal on 7/11/10

[John_Danza]

This is a negative recommendation. I recommend staying away from Cotes du Rhone on Broadway. We had a horrible experience there last night for the Rhone offline. The place was hot and uncomfortable. The appetizers were good (pate, foie gras, french onion soup), but then it took the kitchen over 90 minutes to produce our main courses. When they did arrive, everyone who ordered lamb (rare and medium rare) got served meat that was medium well to fully well done. That’s unacceptable for a place that had no more than 30 people in it, including the 11 of us.

[Robert_Pollard-Smith]

@John Danza

This is a negative recommendation. I recommend staying away from Cotes du Rhone on Broadway. We had a horrible experience there last night for the Rhone offline. The place was hot and uncomfortable. The appetizers were good (pate, foie gras, french onion soup), but then it took the kitchen over 90 minutes to produce our main courses. When they did arrive, everyone who ordered lamb (rare and medium rare) got served meat that was medium well to fully well done. That’s unacceptable for a place that had no more than 30 people in it, including the 11 of us.

What John said, cubed. Two courses, three hours and fifteen minutes. The place did not smell good, and appeared extremely tired. The chairs of kindling were so uncomfortable and rickety, I am surprised only one of the eleven was destroyed. My pork tenderloin, also ordered MR, came out well done— and presented in a shallow bowl, full of a thin, burning hot sauce that almost landed in my lap.

Does Victor own this place? It’s his old neighborhood, ya know.

[Robert_Pollard-Smith]

Tonight, went with friends to Han202, at 601 W 31rd Street. BYOB, with decent stemless Pinot bowls. Five course prix-fixe for $25… very nice environs and excellent service. The food was not exciting, but there were some highlights (beef and green apple salad, salt and pepper squid, mango-tomato sorbet, and my pal’s duck entree), and no real duds.

Sun-Wah it ain’t.

[Jeff_Kay]

@Ken Kailin

Dave’s Italian Kitchen

No Corkage Fee
No Stems

Cheap good Italian fare, very low key

1635 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201-4504
(847) 475-6044
http://www.davesik.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Last time I was there they had 1995 Chateau LaGrange on the wine list for $55.00. With Dave’s pricing, I never thought to BYOB there.

[John_Danza]

I just added Ruxbin Kitchen to the list. This is a fairly new BYOB that opened in the Wicker Park/West Town area on Ashland. I was there on Thursday and the food was excellent. It’s a small place and they don’t take reservations, so if you don’t get there early you are likely to wait. They put some kind of herbed popcorn on the table as a munchie, which is kinda cool.

[S_L_Clayton]

http://vincentchicago.com/themenu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Has anyone been to Vincent yet? Thoughts on pairing with this food? I’m thinking Bubbles for the early dishes and perhaps a Rhone Blend or Pinot for the later…

[Chae_Yi]

@Ken Kailin

Dave’s Italian Kitchen

No Corkage Fee
No Stems

Cheap good Italian fare, very low key

1635 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201-4504
(847) 475-6044
http://www.davesik.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Seriously, is this place any good? Is it like “Italian/American” or “ITALIAN”?

[Mark_Pecken]

No corkage at Vie in Western Springs on Tuesdays. I put Chef Virant on the short list of really talented cooks in Chicagoland. Surprised this has not been added as of yet.

Vie
4471 Lawn avenue
Western Springs, Il.
60558
1-708-246-2082

[Mel_Hill]

@Mark Pecken

No corkage at Vie in Western Springs on Tuesdays. I put Chef Virant on the short list of really talented cooks in Chicagoland. Surprised this has not been added as of yet.

Vie
4471 Lawn avenue
Western Springs, Il.
60558
1-708-246-2082

I think they also have the “10 years or older” is corkage free policy too!
At least they did…

[Mark_Pecken]

Just saw Craig B. had mentioned Vie previously. My bad.

[Megan_Mergener]

Mythos Greek Taverna
Corkage Fee: $5
Stemware: Ok
Details:
2030 W Montrose Ave
(773) 334-2000

Additional info:
The pastichio is wonderful! Two sisters run the restaurant. One works the front of the house and the other is the chef. They fight sometimes, which adds to the experience (in my opinion).