Chicago :

Whine and Cheese

01.21.2009

Submitted by dsimmons on Wed, 01/21/2009 - 1:01am.
The Bite:
imageKvetching about pig-in-a-blanket-type party-food options? Quit your bellyachin' and fill it instead with sniff-worthy wines and cheeses from Pastoral. Pick up stuff like Carbondale's August Hill vino, Champaign's Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery's cheese (def do some sampling - you can try anything, cut to order), and Evanston's Bennison Bakery bread. Ask the in-store smarty-pants about pairings; chasing our hunk of slightly sharp Little Darling (cow's milk from Darlington, WI) with August Hill's Hieland Red (divine in a Pinot Noir-esque kinda way) was a success. And since these picks are all local, there's no yammerin' on about your eats traveling 1,500 miles to get to your plate.
Wanna Try: 
Pastoral, 2945 N. Broadway Ave. Map It (773-472-4781); and 53 E. Lake St. Map It (312-658-1251). August Hill Hieland Red, $20.
LIKE THIS TIP? TRY THIS: 

The Organic Wine and Cheese Party Tip
The Katherine Anne Truffles Tip

Cocktail Fact

In 1886, a NY dairy farmer sent President Andrew Jackson a 2-ton wedge of cheese as an inauguration gift. Jackson let it age in the White House entrance hall for 2 years before finally presenting it at a party.

Small Changes Add Up

If 10,000 Chicago Biters serve locally produced cheese at their next cocktail party, it'll have the same CO2-reducing and fuel-saving effect as taking 265 Hummers off the road for 1 year.

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