Food

Odd Couple

Hot List: Finger Food and Wine Pairings

You're an evolved creature. And yet, there's nothing quite as anthropologically satisfying as eating with your bare-knuckled digits—particularly when paired with a fine wine. Lest you undertake this endeavor casually, we have enlisted the expert opinion of the city's top sommeliers. Don't tell us we never classed up your act.

GIRLS ON FILM

Fried Chicken at Foreign Cinema

The food: The Five-Spice Fried Chicken, deboned half-bird that's pounded flat, spice-rubbed and fried à la chicken tenders.
The wine: The '06 Tokaji Sec from Hungary.
The reason: The chalky taste pierces through the chicken's kick to quell the burn. And you get to say "Hungarian wine" in the same sentence as "fried chicken."

DUCK DUCK GOOSE

Spruce's Duck Fat Fries

The food: Spruce's killer duck fat fries.
The wine: An '07 Jean Foillard 'Cuvee Corcelette' Morgon Beaujolais.
The reason: Because it's a time-tested truism—everything is better with duck fat. And that includes Beaujolais.

POP ROCKS

La Folie Lounge's Truffled Popcorn

The food: Some good puffs drizzled with white truffle oil.
The wine: Fizzy '02 Roederer Estate Ermitage.
The reason: You'll feel the bubbles cut the butter on your palate, like the culinarian you are. Besides, you always felt popcorn deserved a broader platform beyond the movie theater.

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL

Deviled Eggs at SPQR

The food: Spicy deviled eggs.
The wine: An '07 Marisa Cuomo 'Ravello' from Campania, recommended by owner Shelley Lindgren.
The reason: The spice calls for a wine with a high dose of granite and limestone minerality to accentuate the heat from the chiles (obviously).

GREEN FAIRY

Absinthe's Kobe-Beef Hot Dog

The food: A Kobe-beef dog nestled in a bacon fat-rubbed bun, which (almost) needs no other distraction.
The wine: Wine manager Ian Becker recommends a Grenache-based Rhone like a '06 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse.
The reason: Because it doesn't compete with the spices in the hot dog. And because—dammit—it's just fun to drink.