Winebar By Michael Pleasants It was a Friday night and a good friend of mine and I were in search of a new dining experience on North Halsted Street: a place that would fill us up with some good food and drink, and hopefully not drain our wallets. Well, we struck gold when we dined at winebar, a place with a sophisticated, upscale feel and a very affordable menu. winebar - the sister space of minibar ­ is under the culinary direction of Stu Zirin and basically features a selection of six different salads, ten panini sandwich offerings, and eleven types of bruschetta (you pick 4 types to make up your order). To help digest all of these tasty options, there is an offering of some two dozen wines by the glass: standard varietals presented with Old World and New World choices. On our recent visit, my dining companion and I started off with the cheese course, a huge platter with three different gourmet cheeses: Blue Cheese with a drizzle of honey, Chistou, and aged Gouda. The communal beginning to our meal was just perfect due to the pairing of the cheeses with the complementary toasted focaccia, grapes, and assorted dried fruits and nuts. There was obviously much care and thought put into the development and creation of this cheese course and it's a menu choice I highly recommend. Next we decided on paninis: the Ham & Cheese for my friend and the Chicken for me. While the ham and cheese version was fairly straight-forward, my chicken shared space with spinach, roasted red pepper, and artichoke hearts. Both sandwiches were quite good and quite filling. With its unique and delicious food offerings, Winebar is a welcomed addition to the North Halsted Street nightlife experience and bound to be a popular neighborhood destination for many. Winebar serves dinner nightly, 5pm ­ 11pm. Winebar 3341 N. Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60657 773. 871.6227