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Chicago Sun Times
Wine & Dining -September 22, 2006

Food Catches up to Drink in BIN 36’s Seafood-Laden Menu

The food and service at Bin 36 has come a long way since my last visit several years ago. On occasion I have dropped in for lunch or to check out the wine store, but it had been a while since I actually sat down for a couple of full meals. The front part of this restaurant/wine bar/store is still as hectic as ever. However, once you get into the dining room, which is past the low tables and the curving bar, sensibility reigns.

Indeed, I was bowled over by how good the food is now (better than it has ever been). And the waitstaff (knowing and nice) had their act so together they played the room with the efficiency of a symphony orchestra.
That's not an easy task in a restaurant with a wine list a mile long and a wine menu (as part of the regular menu) that lists no fewer than a dozen wine flights that range from "German Whites" to "Globetrotting Reds." The waiters I came across on my visits knew their stuff -- food and wine -- so it's like my jaw dropped (as you can tell, when I last had dinner here, some five years ago, it was a food and service disaster). I love this kind of surprise.

There's much ado about wine at Bin 36, but the food choices have their day in the sun as well. The main menu is a study in simplicity, listing seven appetizers, five soups and salads, and nine entrees. What is surprising is that both the appetizers and the entrees skew heavily toward seafood (six of seven appetizers, four of the nine entrees).
To enhance the seafood direction, the next page of the menu lists white wine flights (the reds are on the last page). It's not as if the restaurant is pushing higher-priced wine (the white wine flights are less expensive than the reds). Wine flights are sensibly priced and available in two sizes (2.5 ounces and 6 ounces).

If I have made this sound too intimidating, relax. Under each dish listed on the menu, there are two bin numbers that suggest the proper wine to pair with the dish you order. So believe in the adage on the front of the menu: "Drink Wine, Live Well, Have Fun."

Have the house smoked fish platter and split it as an appetizer, and you will get off to a good start. Salmon, trout and bluefish arrived on a tile square that was perched on a wire rack. The presentation was subtle and the eating grand. A shaped mound of bluefish, shards of trout floating among the leaves of watercress and frisee, and a silky slice of salmon painted with a slather of creme fraiche along with a fine dice of red onion. Thin and crispy slabs of toasted bread added to the enjoyment.

The oysters one night were Prince Edward Islands. To my way of eating, PEI oysters are some of the best oysters out there -- mildly salty, crisp, clean, slightly sweet finish. I went through a half dozen of these beauties, served with a mignonette sauce, savoring each one to the last bit of nectar in the shell.

Soup of the day one night was potato leek. Once again the kitchen hit the bull's-eye. It was served slightly warm, the potatoes done to a puree that gave the soup an elegant texture. A garnish of cream and a touch of chive oil put the soup into a class by itself.

(The menu at Bin 36 goes through seasonal changes, so some of the dishes mentioned here may not be always available -- but the way it looks to me, the quality and the good cooking are a constant.)

I loved the straightforward simplicity of the dishes here. Take the cod. The fillet, roasted to an impeccable turn, rode atop a lemon-zucchini risotto so flavorful and fine I would love it as a separate entree. Then in a fit of creativity, executive chef John Caputo took a zucchini flower (a k a squash blossom) and stuffed it with a lobster mousse. How good is that?

All is not seafood. Digest this menu description: "Pan-roasted organic heirloom pork loin, honey-truffle roasted peach, sweet corn polenta cake, natural jus." I'll say. Terrific. The pork was sliced (generous portion) and fanned out (cooked perfectly medium, the natural juices a glaze on each slice) and bite after bite was absolutely delicious. Plated with a half peach and a puck of sweet corn polenta (niblets of corn also were tucked away under the pork). I ate the whole thing.

One dessert sampled, a coupe dish filled with a mascarpone panna cotta and droplets of strawberry gelee, was quite refreshing and enjoyed with pleasure. On another night, a serving of brin d'Amour cheese was the final course for the evening. I am a pushover for brin d'amour, a sheep milk cheese that sports a natural rind of aromatic herbs (rosemary, thyme). Provenance Corsica, the name translates (loosely) as "a little bit of love," and I do love this cheese.

The full range of the kitchen extends beyond the regular menu. One night it was all about the "Chef"s Organic Tasting Menu." Four courses, and all were enjoyed. I would have wanted the breast of guinea hen cooked a bit more, but that's about it. A salad of baby lettuce mixed it up with fresh herbs and toasted hazelnuts. The dressing honor had to do with a pleasing hazelnut vinaigrette. Next up was sauteed Atlantic tilefish arranged with peekytoe crab, a medley of mushrooms and haricots verts, with sweet corn cream (the chef is big on corn). Pan-roasted breast of guinea hen with leg confit was the next course. Here the accompaniments included artichoke hearts, rapini and oven-dried tomato. The finish was a flavor-busting passion fruit curd plated with a blackberry compote, meringue and a high-flying pistachio tuile. All of that for $58, and it was one fine dinner. Paired with selected wines for each course, add $21, and the bargain still holds water.

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