Urban Harvest-An Indulgent Food Store

Several months ago before I even worked for the Bureau, my girlfriends and I purchased Groupons for a wine and cheese pairing class at Urban Harvest-An Indulgent Food Store in downtown Arlington Heights. The Groupon offer was for either Wine and Cheese or Wine and Chocolate and so after several dozen heated e-mails back and forth in the course of a few hours it was decided that we women-of-a-certain-age ought not to have too much caffeine in the form of chocolate just before our bedtimes. And those of us who wanted chocolate anyway agreed to bring our Lactaid.

The battle then became, WHEN the six of us moms with busy schedules could come up with a time to meet. The night was agreed upon and then rescheduled and then rescheduled again and then finally we all came together on one icy Wednesday night in January. And ohhhh, it was worth the wait!

None of us had ever been in this store before. We are not residents of Arlington Heights but live close enough to have enjoyed many of the quaint boutiques and shops that line one of the most beautiful and dynamic downtowns in the Northwest Suburbs. And we were eager to explore the offerings of this establishment.

The tasting started with a Pio Cesare Moscato and a lemon stilton. The lemon stilton knocked my socks off. It had lemon rind in it and the combination tasted like summer! If only…… We then moved on to a Vinas Esmeralda and Le Roule soft cheese that was to die for. When our sommelier of the evening called the wine a “Porch Pounder” we were beside ourselves in love with it. This was no stuffy overwrought wine tasting after all. This was good wine and even better cheese. We moved on to a chardonnay and brie and then a pinot noir and raclette all the while learning about our palette and varietals and regions and vintages and aeration and lactating cows and bouquets and tannins and nice legs-well thank you sir, but I’m a married woman.

Then we tried everyones’ hands down favorite, the Matchbook Tinto Rey and Manchego cheese. After our first taste, I raised my hand and asked if I tasted pepper, and before the sommelier could answer, he was unceremoniously cut off by my bestest friend who said, “Oh ignore her, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” It’s good to have friends - but SNAP, I was right! The Petite Sirah mixed with the Tempranillo, Syrah and Cabernet offered us a spicy red berry flavor with cedar and tobacco notes pumped up with tannin. And maybe I did just learn a thing or two this evening!

The evening was rounded off by a wonderful desert of Pinto Ramos Port and English Stilton, both of which were purchased separately and came home with me.

This was an enjoyable way to spend time with my girlfriends that left no room for discussing our little ones’ temper tantrums or our husbands’ various shortcomings. You couldn’t ask for a better way to spend a Wednesday evening with good friends. I recommend it to anyone.

Urban Harvest-An Indulgent Food Store is located at 15 South Dunton Avenue in downtown Arlington Heights. www.myurbanharvest.com

- Heather L.