Dear Chicagoans

M

Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis
Have any of you been to Telegraph, a wine bar/restaurant on N. Milwaukee Ave.? I was in town for the weekend and stopped in there with some old friends that know nothing about wine. The food was acceptably good, but the wine list was great. We had to leave after a 2010 Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling Gaisberg, a 2010 Michel Gahier Trousseau Grands Vergers, and a 2005 Overnoy Savagnin (with the cheese plate), but I could have kept going for hours. There are at least six orange wines on the list, and we didn't even break into those. Our waiter was extremely enthusiastic about the wines, too. Is this place still under the radar?

No affiliation, etc.
 
Jeremy Quinn (the wine director) has been getting a lot of notice for his lists there and at siblings Bluebird and Websters. Most weekend nights it's mobbed.

I think you're right about the staff - they hire good people and they train them well. The place just reeks with enthusiasm about great wine.
 
Was it ever under the radar? It's been pretty popular since it opened, and being right around the corner from Longman & Eagle hasn't hurt fill seats (of course, I've had nights where it's easier to get into L&E than Telegraph). Rumor has it they're expanding into the space next door, so business must be doing alright.

And yes- it's great. One of a small number of restaurants - if not the only one - in Chicago I'll go to for the wine list. And the food's getting better, which does not hurt.
 
Okay, okay. My apologies. I accept that it was never under the radar. I do not live there. But damn, what a disorderly wine list.
 
Had a fantastic dinner at this joint on Friday night: Four courses paired with sherry, the highlights being Tio Pepe Fino en rama with oysters and Gonzalez-Byass Palo Cortado paired with a coffee marinated filet of beef. They’re doing food really well presently.

For dessert were glasses of a meaty and poundable Abbatucci Rouge Frais and a charmingly aromatic 2007 Nusserhof Lagrein. The wine list there is a rare thing.
 
Jeremy is a great guy and the list is great over there. Too bad the neighborhood sucks though.
Webster wine bar where Jeremy also works has a pretty cool wine list as well.
 
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