The Reader’s Choice: Mado
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When I asked my hard-core wine-aficionado friends what their favorite places to BYO were, their responses tended toward white-tablecloth joints with wine programs, where they could bring their small-production boutique wines or off-list stunners and happily pay steep corkage fees for the privilege of schmoozing with the sommelier. But for those of us who appreciate the joys of wine and food without worshipping at the feet of Robert Parker, the primary draw of a BYO is the opportunity to enhance an experience with wine in a budget-friendly way. There are scads of excellent mom-and-pop ethnic restaurants in Chicago that fit the bill, but for me there’s no more satisfying combination than wine paired with lovingly cured or beautifully braised and wood-roasted animal flesh, and Wicker Park’s Mado is the perfect place for this.
&Our readers’ choice: Tango Sur
