After an eight-hour day filled with unproductive meetings and a desk salad for lunch, at 5pm you just need a glass of wine, some food, and to be left alone. Head to Joe’s, an easy-to-get-into wine bar in the West Loop. The pasta section of the menu is pretty limited, but the special of the day is good enough to make you forget about the morning’s brutal conference calls with corporate HQ.

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Joe Fiely, one of the partners and wine director for Francesca’s Restaurant Group, has brought a wine bar to Fulton Market. The expansive wine list features more than 250 bottles from around the globe and dozens by the glass. Brunch service pairs the alcohol with daytime dishes like fried parmesan cheese puffs, uni soft scramble, snow crab Benedict, and French pancakes.

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Wine bars are coming back in style in Chicago, with the latest being this Fulton Market spot from the local Italian restaurant group Francesca’s. Patrons come here for a wine selection mostly from the Mediterranean, other parts of Europe, and California. There’s also a tight selection of classic cocktails.

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What’s better than the perfect wine pairing? A wine pairing on an outdoor patio during a Chicago summer. What’s better than Artisan Salumi? The Ibérico coppa swallowed with the help of sparkling, red Lambrusco that refreshingly cuts into the fat of the meat board. We can keep playing this game, but the palatability of Joe’s Imports is no joke. Further standouts on the flavorful menu include summery Spring Peas divinely partnered with an Italian Pecorino, Snow Crab under a warm salmoriglio enhanced by a buttery Greek Viognier and Nonna’s Chicken smothered in neck bone jus and elevated with a light Oregon Pinot Noir. After our palates were thoroughly cleansed thanks to a South African Chevin Blanc, a dessert—so mouth-wateringly appetizing that we actually ogled it in silence—was placed in front of our hungry eyes. The second we spooned the Meringue Gelato into our overly-excited mouths, we decided we’d have a standing weekly date for this sugary delight and a magical glass of Moscato d’Asti.

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It’s 5pm and you just need a glass of wine, some food, and time to complain with your colleagues. But you’re competing with all the other overworked people in the neighborhood who want to vent about their day, too. Head to Joe’s, an easy-to-get-into wine bar with tasty small plates, and order dishes like ricotta with honey, meatballs, or the pasta of the day. As a bonus, after being trapped inside a too-cold cubicle all day, this place has a nice patio where you can enjoy some fresh air while discussing the source of that weird smell in the office stairwell.

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JOE’S IMPORTS After decades with beloved restaurant group Francesca’s, Joe Fiely was handed the reins to his own spot. He brought his passion with him, leading to what is likely the most exciting selection of glass pours in the city. 813 W. Fulton Market, joeswineimports.com

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Newish Fulton Market wine bar Joe’s Imports is celebrating ice cream via meringue gelato. Created by chef Elvia Granados, the marshmallow-ish dessert is built from house-made meringue gelato, Spanish peanuts, and covered with toasted meringue. Joe Fiely, Joe’s Imports’ wine director, suggests pairing it with a glass of sweet Vietti Moscato d’Asti.

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Whether a couple quick glasses and a bite or a full-on dinner, any session at Joe’s Imports, the Fulton Market wine bar, should start with the Parmesan puffs. Just put in your order right when you sit down, before you even pick a wine. The crispy nuggets will go with about any pour on Joe Fiely‘s carefully considered, Italian-focused (though not exclusively) list. The puffs will arrive soon after you’ve started in on a glass. Fried for a crust that yields with a satisfying crunch to a soft, rich, cheesy interior, the ping pong ball-size fritters satisfy in an elemental way. They come showered with finely grated Parmesan threads and a rather thick fondue for dipping, neither of which they need. But, hey, we like excess. The puffs make happy companions to rosés with decent acid and sparklers, and, best of all, with the bar’s Lambrusco — dry and refreshing and an almost purple dark red hue. if you’ve been resisting jumping in to the Lambrusco pool, let this be the summer you finally dive in. Ripples will run through your life, and you’ll know just what to eat with it. 813 W. Fulton Market, 312-736-1750, joeswineimports.com

— Joe Gray

Read Phil Vettel’s review of Bar Sotano and Joe’s Wine Imports »

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Joe’s Imports opened Feb. 15, which is appropriate, because the concept feels like a valentine tossed in the direction of Joe Fiely, the restaurant group’s operating partner and wine director — and one of the original partners at Mia Francesca back in 1992, when the vino was poured into juice tumblers. Francesca’s wine program has grown by leaps and bounds since then, and in a way, Joe’s Imports is Fiely’s reward, a 65-seat space where he can share his passion for wine with a presumably appreciative audience.

Fiely rhymes with smiley, an association you’ll never forget once you’ve met the man. Fiely’s smile is so omnipresent, it might have been tattooed in place, and it’s never so broad as when he’s talking about wine. He beams with unbridled joy, seemingly thrilled to engage with customers. Every bottle on his list has a story, and Fiely is happy to relate them all.

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From Goth food and artisan tacos to an intimate wine bar from a popular restaurant group and a rum hideaway within a tiki lounge, the new restaurants and bars that hit Chicago in last month are nothing if not diverse. Read on for the scoop, and keep scrolling for a comprehensive list of the best overall restaurants in Chicago, too.

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