Tru

The elegant, modern, or (as the restaurant itself puts it) “progressive” French cuisine of executive chef Anthony Martin is the raison d’être at Chicago’s Tru. Dishes such as heirloom beet salad, Ossetra Caviar, Granny Smith apple; or halibut filet glazed in truffle jus, cauliflower, celery branch, have earned Martin an enviable reputation in Chicago and beyond. But the restaurant is also renowned for two other crucial elements of the experience that allow the food to shine: its James Beard Award-winning service—and its World’s Best Wine Lists three-star award-winning wine program.

Despite extending to some 1,500 labels, Tru’s is a wine list that has been selected with care and attention to detail. Burgundy, whose elegant reds and whites are the logical accompaniment to Martin’s food, takes central billing on a truly international list. But the range is full of intelligent selections, such as the trio of Central Otago Pinot Noirs from Rippon in New Zealand, or fine Alsace such as Rolly Gassmann Kappelweg de Rorschwihr 1996—guests are in good hands whatever their regions of choice.