To know what to order at Bin 36, it is first necessary to know where you’re sitting.
Bin 36 comprises several distinct dining elements. There is the Tavern, which has an appetizer-heavy menu, raw bar, excellent crispy-crusted pizzas and a few entrees, including one of the best burgers in town. There is a coffee bar, which serves a light breakfast in the mornings and muffins and scones all day — though soon the space will become a champagne bar in the evenings, offering small-plate tapas and salads at about $5 each.
The main dining room is called the Cellar, and here you’ll find the full measure of Bin 36’s menu, self-described as American bistro but likely to incorporate all sorts of Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences. In addition to the menu, there is also a chef’s tasting option, a five-course dinner of original dishes (not found on the menu) for about $50-$60, with a $25-$30 supplement for matching wines.
And unless your heart is set on one or more menu items (which would be understandable), the tasting option is the way to go. It’s the best way to appreciate the sublime synergy between chef John Caputo, recently imported from San Francisco, and wine director and partner Brian Duncan, who is blessed with an extraordinary palette.
And when Duncan’s wines combine with Caputo’s food, it’s an inspired duet.
A recent tasting began with three oysters, each matched to a sparkling wine. The mix included a briny oyster mellowed with dices of champagne gelee, matched to a bone-dry Spanish cava; a Malpeque oyster coddled in a gratineed thickish sauce best described as a truffle hollandaise, paired with a yeasty Domaine Carneros; and a delicate West Coast oyster in a bath of blood-orange juice and cracked pepper, complimented by a moscato d’Asti.
An opening act like that is tough to follow, but Caputo did so with quail stuffed with armagnac-soaked prunes and nuggets of foie gras, accompanied by a peppery pinot noir; then sea scallops seared to a golden crisp over homemade pasta and braised artichokes, fortified by a stupendous zinfandel; and a terrific roquefort-crusted creamy goat cheese with a sip of 20-year tawny port. For dessert — well, actually I didn’t care for the runny and insufficiently broiled creme brulee. But a new pastry chef, Adrian Vasquez, is now on board.
On the regular menu, inventive starters include a surf ‘n’ turf tartare, featuring steak tartare piled high over dried cranberry chutney, alongside a spicy-dressed ahi tartare. There’s also a pair of mini brioche sandwiches, one filled with foie gras mousse and fig jam, the other mimolette cheese and truffles, a delightful combination of rich, heady flavors.
Faultless risotto is packed with flavorful wild mushrooms and garlic confit, topped with flakes of tangy asiago cheese; and excellent mussels float in a just-right Thai curry broth, with lemongrass and coconut accents.
My favorite entree is a composition of rabbit, matching lightly grilled pieces of loin meat with a braised leg-thigh portion, both enveloped in a large, cumin-scented chickpea crepe that gives the dish a pleasant Middle Eastern accent. Soft and silky soy-braised black cod sits on a bed of spicy black bean sauce, alongside two crunchy spring rolls. And a pristine piece of pepper-crusted Pacific swordfish functions rather like a meatless steak au poivre, served with sauce bordelaise.
Matching food to wines is simplicity itself; alongside each menu item are one or two bin numbers, which correspond to Duncan’s ever-changing assortment of 50 or so wines available by the bottle, glass or half-glass. Should you wish to delve deeper into Bin 36’s cellar, there is a more formal wine list as well, and Duncan is always available for consultation (the waiters, however, seem to know the list — particularly the “bin” wines — very well). And should you fall in love with a particular bottle, chances are it’s available in Bin 36’s retail area, which also stocks stemware and other foodie paraphernalia.
Vasquez’s desserts venture way beyond the routine. The obligatory chocolate cake arrives as a chocolate-macadamia cake with a coconut-rum marquise and coconut-jalapeno sauce. Roasted pear comes with a marzipan-stuffed crepe and spiced-pear consomme. A terrific composition stacks banana financier cake with a brittle caramelized-sugar disk and gianduja panna cotta, with banana sorbet and hazelnut-flavored caramel sauce. And although there might be one or two larger cheese selections in the city, none provides the detailed descriptions of Bin 36’s list, which offers a dozen cheeses — with suggested beverage pairings, of course.
Bin 36 was pretty impressive when it opened in late 1999, but it has matured nicely in the last two-plus years. I’d say the time to appreciate it best is right about now.
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Bin 36
(star)(star)(star)
339 N. Dearborn St. 312-755-9463
Open: Breakfast, lunch, dinner Mon.-Sun.
Entree prices: $16-$24
Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V
Reservations: Recommended
Noise: Conversation-challenged
Other: Valet parking; wheelchair accessible
OUTSTANDING (star)(star)(star)(star)
EXCELLENT (star)(star)(star)
VERY GOOD (star)(star)
GOOD (star)
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
