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ALL BOTTLED UP: Miss Asia
The spot: If you went searching for Lincoln Park’s Tie Me Up Noodles in the past few weeks, you may have been surprised to find Miss Asia (click for hours, maps, etc.) in its place. Open less than two months, the renovated space has been spruced up with warm orange hues and modern accents throughout. Lunch and dinner crowds still buzz on the weekends, when the place fills with large groups and couples on romantic dates. The pan-Asian eatery is mostly Thai-focused (one of the partners is also behind Northern Thai-focused Sticky Rice), but also offers cuisine from 12 other Asian countries: Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. There are more than 200 items on the menu. Though that might seem like a lot of ground to cover, manager Pomme Wongpradu explains that chefs from each country trained Miss Asia’s cooks in their respective culinary traditions.
The bottle: The Market Place Food Store (521 W. Diversey Pkwy. 773-348-5721) is a bit more expensive than most grocery stores in the area, but the wine selection is vast and reasonably priced. Plus, it’s right across the street, so it’s a no-brainer. With all of the spicy options on Miss Asia’s menu, we like the idea of a sweet riesling to temper the heat of dishes such as duck curry with lychee ($9.95), cooked with tomato, pineapple, bell pepper and basil in a red curry sauce. Try the 2006 Blue Fish Riesling in the bright blue bottle for $9.99. It also comes in a cute 187-milliliter size for $2.99 if you just can’t commit to the full bottle. Miss Asia does not charge a corkage fee.
[ Emily Hiser Lobdell is a Metromix special contributor. ] metromix@tribune.com
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