A Wine Tour of Italy...on the Cheap at South Loop Wine Cellar

Amy Garman, owner of South Loop Wine Cellar at 1442 S. Michigan Ave., hosted a wine-tasting event last night: "Italian Value Wines." The selection included white and red wines, all under $20 per bottle.

Customers sample "value wines of Italy."

Weekly Wine-Tasting Events
Friday night's event isn't unique. The South Loop Wine Cellar hosts wine-tasting events every Friday from 7-9 p.m. Wine-tastings are $5 per person; however, if you're a wine club member, the tastings are free. Wine-tasting events generally have a theme, often focusing on a particular region (like next month's wines from Argentina and Chile) or price point.

Live "background music" by singer-guitarist Starr Peterson

Live Music
Another feature of these wine-tastings is musical entertainment by singer-guitarist Starr Peterson. The music is pleasant, but never overpowers the evening; it's main purpose is to provide live background music (for a sample of her performance, see video below). If Ms. Peterson looks familiar, perhaps you've seen her working at the Bongo Room on the corner of Wabash and Roosevelt. She's been working at the Bongo Room since they opened almost seven years ago.

For future wine-tasting events, check the South Loop Wine Cellar's Web site.

Wine-tasting makes you smile.

Wabash Ave. improvements continue

Stage II of the Wabash Ave. improvement project looks like its nearing completion. Walking north on Wabash this morning, we observed workers pouring hot asphalt near Roosevelt Rd. According to the CDOT website, construction should be completed by this fall.

Pedestrian traffic on the west side of Wabash is being routed around the construction, but none of the businesses are closed during these Streetscapes improvements. As reported earlier, popular South Loop restaurants Bongo Room, Eleven City Diner, and India Grill are open for business.

This current Streetscapes project is improving the roadway and sidewalks between Harrison St. and Roosevelt Rd.

Wabash businesses open during construction

Pardon our dust

Stage II of the Wabash Ave. improvement project is well under way. According the the CDOT website, construction should be completed by this fall. Some of the improvements are street and pedestrian lighting, sidewalk planters, and new trees in tree grates.

Open for business

It's hard to believe, and see through the dust, but all of the businesses on the west side of Wabash from Harrison to Roosevelt are open. These businesses include popular South Loop eateries Bongo Room, Eleven City Diner, and India Grill. All three are worth patronizing even during the construction. According to the CDOT press release, "We will take every step to keep disruption to a minimum. Access to buildings will be maintained at all times." I walked up to the Interdisciplinary Arts building of Columbia College at 619 Wabash Tuesday morning with no problems. Business and other locations on Wabash are unobstructed and easy to navigate, so don't avoid visiting your favorite restaurants or businesses.

For more information on the Wabash Construction, visit the CDOT website.