Chicago - July 11, 2007

800 Bottles of Wine on the Wall

Sepia Opens

L.A. ranks restaurant healthcodes from A to D and smacks the result on the front window. 

Such obvious marks are not necessary in Chicago. (Midwesterners know their shite don’t stink.)

But for the record, Emmanuel Nony’s new Fulton Market spot Sepia makes the grade. Executive chef Kendal Duque (Tru, NoMi) is a wizard in the kitchen, focusing on unfussy, ingredient-driven cuisine like Berkshire pork chop with wild onions and cassis vinegar (yum) and roasted sea scallops with endive, oranges, and pine nuts (double yum). For dessert, indulge in the sweet cherry sorbet or fallen chocolate souffle.

The restaurant is flooded with rustic touches — an antique hutch filled with flowers and baskets of produce, a comfy lounge for aperitifs, bathrooms stocked with French soaps.

And then there’s the wine selection: a floor-to-ceiling showcase of biodynamic, artisanal, and affordable bottles.
 
Which (after a few glasses) ensures the night passes with flying colors.

Sepia, 123 North Jefferson Street, between Randolph Street and Washington Boulevard (312-441-1920 or sepiachicago.com).