A salute: Robert Mondavi
Charlie Trotter has an elegant tribute to the late Robert Mondavi, who died May 16 at the age of 94. In the reception area of Trotter’s eponymous restaurant, a framed color photograph of Trotter and Mondavi is flanked by imperials (the equivalent of eight standard bottles) of Mondavi’s 1981 and 1996 cabernet sauvingon reserve. What makes the tribute even more poignant is the presence, across the room at the bar, of two bottles of the just-released 2005 Continuum, a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot. This is a wine Mondavi developed with two of his children, Tim and Marcia, after the highly-publicized sale of the Robert Mondavi Winery to Constellation Brands in 2004. The eye-catching label is a shadow drawing of a cabernet franc vine in Napa’s Oakville district executed by Mondavi’s granddaughter, Chiara Mondavi. Trotter will take part next month in a benefit dinner celebrating the legendary winemaker’s life at Copia, The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa. The dinner, to be cooked by Trotter, Alice Waters, Julian Serrano, Gary Danko and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, is a lot in the famed Auction Napa Valley.
— Bill Daley
Buh-bye BB’s, bonjour Madame Tartine
The gastropub BB’s (22 E. Hubbard St.; 312-755-0007) quietly closed, but already they’re answering the phone, “Madame Tartine.” That’s what the place will be, once BB’s owners Donnie Kruse and Jack Binyon and new partner Jonathan Segal (P.J. Clarke’s, Minnie’s, etc.) finish installing the new French doors and replacing the outdoor furniture with bistro-style pieces imported from France.
“Jack and I were looking around for a place to put a casual French restaurant,” Donnie Kruse says, “and then we thought — where else are we going to find a space like this, with room for 110 outdoor seats along Hubbard Street and a nice kitchen?”
Look for Madame Tartine (a tartine is a small, open-faced sandwich) to debut in late June, with brasserie-style food and baked-on-premises breads and baguettes. Kruse says that eventually he’d like Madame Tartine to serve breakfast pastries. “But that’s after we make sure we have everything else right,” he says.
— Phil Vettel
Up for sale: Schaefer’s
Schaefer’s Wines, Foods & Spirits, the 72-year-old family-owned shop in Skokie, is for sale. It marks the second time in 12 months that a venerable Chicago area wine retail family has put the business on the sale block; Sam’s Wines & Spirits was sold last May. Owners George Schaefer and Gene Schaefer Flynn have announced the move on the company site ( www.schaefers.com), saying it’s time to move on and that they want “to go out on top,” but few other details. They do, however, share some history and photos that are worth a look.
— Joe Gray
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