French wine and cheap cow meat edition
Wines from the Rhône Valley in France are a good entry point for new wine drinkers—fruity and light, often ready to drink fairly young, they go down just as easy as grape juice. So if you've been scarred by a childhood of being forced to drink stale red wine from the probably-not-sanitary communion cup of an equally stale priest, give it another go at the Alliance Francaise (810 N. Dearborn St., 312-337-1070) Thursday night March 25. The wine tasting hits five different wines as speaker Megan Wiig discusses what makes the region unique. For a less educational but more ecological excuse to drink, try heading to one of a number of bars and restaurants in the city observing Earth Hour on March 27, during which the World Wildlife Fund asks us all to turn off the lights for an hour. Businesses are cashing in, promising candlelight, common experience, and gimmickry (looking at you, Nacional 27, with the glow-in-the-dark cocktails). Options include Brasserie Jo (59 W. Hubbard St., 312-595-0800), Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba (2024 N. Halsted St., 773-935-5000), or a free dessert party at Whole Foods in Evanston (1111 Chicago Ave., 847-475-9492). Finally, the suburbs bring us another good deal this week, though it's not quite free. Gibson's in Rosemont (5464 N. River Rd., 847-928-9900) is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a 10-ounce steak for $10. That's not a lot for cow meat, so they're limiting it to one per customer. So head out of the city to eat for cheap.
Fatsometer: 5. Empty calories and steak.
