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Penny Wine Is Still A Deal
Monday Dec 12, 2005.
By Erin Brereton
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But while it may not be as cheap to get drunk as it was a year ago, you can still get a good night out for roughly what you'd spend on a parking meter at Southport's Strega Nona. Last Tuesday night, poor and chilly, I called my friend John and his boyfriend, who just relocated to Chicago, and asked if they'd like to get out for some cheap drinks and a reasonable Italian dinner. That is usually an automatic yes with John, and though it was so cold I couldn't feel my face, he was in. They met me at Strega Nona just after 7:30. For three years, I lived in this neighborhood, just down the street from the restaurant. I walked these streets, I drank these drinks and ate at local eateries. So why it was I chose to return on the coldest night of the year, the kind of night that makes people instantaneously break into a run when walking, which I witnessed twice on the way to the restaurant? The price was right. You can't beat penny wine on a dull Tuesday. However, upon arriving I found that penny wine night had changed to 50-cent wine night, an odd increase because the restaurant surely still couldn't turn a profit off that. But whatever, I had two quarters and a liver, so I was set to go.
Our appetizer platter was wonderful, serving up sausages and peppers (which I didn't partake in) DIY bruschetta and calamari. My dinner, pasta and vegetables, was not inventive, but was tasty. And, of course, there is your future to consider. On Tuesdays, Strega Nona hosts a free psychic who will read your tarot cards and give you a detailed print out of your future for tips. The 15-minute session was a nice bonus. The tarot cards are always vague: Things are bad! But they will be good soon! But they're still enjoyable. I dropped $3 into a tip jar as I walked way. Nice to have confirmation on what I tell myself daily. But I also learned that I am about to enter an emperor stage. Look out, life! And look out, Wednesday morning hangover. Though the service was insincere and rushed, we ate above-average Italian and had no trouble putting down the 50-cent house wine. Part of me wanted to stay for another cheapo bottle; part of me wanted to go home and thaw. But as we had only ordered a total of three entrees, the bargain wasn't an option the second time around. But 50-cent wine night? I knew I'd be back again...with a party of four. Good wine, good food, good company: It's an unbeatable combination. Until, that is, I find penny beer night... Interested in thrifty wine? Check out Strega Nona, 3727 N. Southport, on Tuesday nights.
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It's a tough economy. Gas is expensive, interest rates are rising and penny wine night has gone to (gasp!) 50 cents. 
The deal is this: Buy two entrees, get a 50-cent bottle of wine of house Chardonnay, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. Buy two more, get another discounted bottle. Of course at tables likes ours, which ordered an appetizer, entrees and dessert, the price discount might not feel so intense, but normally, it's pretty cheap. 
Erin Brereton is our resident urban cowgirl on a bi-weekly search for life on the cheap.