BYOB Chicago: Your Guide to Bring-Your-Own-Bottle Restaurants and Wine & Spirits Stores in Chicagoland (BYOB Guides) [Paperback]

Jean Iversen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2006 | Series: BYOB Guides

This purse-sized guidebook to Chicago’s BYOB (Bring-Your-Own-Bottle) restaurants has been newly updated and expanded to include BYOBs in the Chicago suburbs, restaurants with a liquor license that allow customers to BYOB for a corkage fee of $15 or less, and off-the-beaten path BYOB options such as local theaters. Anchored by comprehensive listings of BYOB restaurants and wine stores as well as lively information on food-pairing guidelines and BYOB etiquette, this edition reflects the growth of the BYOB trend in Chicago, as more people are learning to appreciate the savings and personal enjoyment of bringing their own bottles of wine, beer, or spirits to dinner.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"We can't think of a more useful guidebook to Chicago."  —Time Out Chicago

"For the budget-minded diner, as well as the wine enthusiast and the brew lover."  —Chicago magazine

"A key resource to have in this town."  —Eatchicago.net

About the Author

Jean Iversen is a freelance writer and an editor who has developed more than 100 books for publishers such as Dearborn Trade and the American Bar Association. She lives in Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: BYOB Chicago, Inc; Second edition edition (November 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976413116
• ISBN-13: 978-0976413110
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 4.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,305,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes Dining in Chicago Even Better, November 6, 2007

By 

Ann Wiens (Chicago, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: BYOB Chicago: Your Guide to Bring-Your-Own-Bottle Restaurants and Wine & Spirits Stores in Chicagoland (BYOB Guides) (Paperback)

American liquor laws are intricate, confounding, and disparate, varying widely from state to state, county to county and even block to block. As Jean Iverson notes in this update to her 2005 guide to bring-your-own-bottle restaurants, the southeast corner of State and Division was voted dry in the 1980s, and no new restaurant within 100 feet of a school, church, or library stands a chance of snagging a liquor license. Chicago's own colorful history regarding the sale and consumption of alcohol continues on, with the granting of liquor licenses inextricably intertwined with ward politics, zoning, and other delights of life in the Windy City.

Chicago is also a city of world-class restaurants, of course, and many of them are surprisingly affordable--all the more so if you can buy your booze at the neighborhood liquor store. Iverson's book--slim enough to slip in a purse or a jacket pocket--is an indispensable resource for budget-conscious diners, as well as for those who want, say, a J & G Baumann vin de pays des Côtes de Gascogne 2006 as they peruse the menu, and nothing else will do.

Iverson has researched scores of restaurants, from family-run storefront cafes to upscale hot spots, and compiled her findings in this easy-to-use guide. A comprehensive list of BYOB restaurants from A to Z is complemented by tidbits of history, etiquette tips, help with choosing the right wine for the evening's cuisine, a guide to wine shops and liquor stores, and listings organized by type of fare and neighborhood. Found yourself in Albany Park with a taste for Scandinavian food and a bottle of Grenache in your bag? Iversen has the dining destination for you!

This second edition updates information from the original, and has been expanded to include BYOBs in the 'burbs, nontraditional BYOB dining spots such as local theaters, and restaurants with liquor licenses that still allow you to bring your own.