Atrium Wine Bar

Photo: Martha Williams

Movie theaters and wine bars go together like Rick Bayless and Twitter. So while Fox & Obel’s quick-serve café down the block from the AMC 21 has always been reliable for soup or a sandwich, the boutique grocery store’s new sit-down wine bar adds a much-needed option to the area. The Atrium Wine Bar—located where extra café seating used to be, near the registers—features small plates (charcuterie, grilled tofu) and large ones (pistachio-crusted sole, pumpkin-duck risotto) from the store’s new executive chef, Corey Grupe. Each dish is listed next to three recommended wines, all of which are available in six-ounce or three-ounce pours. And if the wine list, curated by Fox & Obel’s wine director, John Marangelli, isn’t to your fancy, you can pick any bottle from the store’s wine selection and bring it into the café. Or to the movies. Fox & Obel, 401 E Illinois St (312-379-0112).

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