Wine Inspired Cuisine

I built this restaurant around a single, slightly obsessive idea: that food and wine are not separate things. Every dish on this menu was conceived the way I would approach a wine list — with obsessive attention to balance, texture, acidity, and flavor harmony. I work with ingredients that are umami-rich and layered, spices that add intrigue without overpowering, textures that surprise you, and pops of acidity and sweetness that make everything taste more alive. The goal is always the same: a dish that makes the wine in your glass taste better, and a wine that makes the food on your plate taste better. When it works — and it works — you genuinely cannot tell where one ends and the other begins. That is what wine-inspired cuisine means to me. Not wine as an afterthought. Not a food menu with a wine list attached. Wine and food as one thing, inseparable, each making the other more of itself.

I grew up in Monterey, California, in a South Asian family that owned a grocery store. My parents hoped I would become a doctor. I found a different way to combine science and pleasure — through wine. I entered the trade at 19. By 23, I was the sommelier at Everest, one of Chicago's most celebrated restaurants. At 26, I became the youngest woman in history — and the only South Asian — to pass the Master Sommelier exam, which has a pass rate of around three percent. That credential taught me everything I know about tasting, about patience, and about what it means to truly pay attention to what is in your glass. But the thing I am most proud of is not a title. It is this restaurant. Alpana is my fourth concept and my most personal. It is named after me — which felt terrifying until it felt exactly right. Everything here is an expression of how I think about food and wine, hospitality and pleasure, the Gold Coast neighborhood I live in and love. The botanical wallpaper. The pink feather chandelier. The gallery wall of iconic women. The wine list built around the same principles I use to taste a great Burgundy. It is all connected.

I also spent twelve seasons hosting Check, Please! on Chicago's PBS station — which taught me that the most important thing about a restaurant is not the food or the wine. It is how you feel when you leave. That is what we are chasing here every single night. Great hospitality is built on the sharing of knowledge, generosity, and genuine care. A core part of what we do at Alpana is investing in the next generation of wine and hospitality talent. Our floor team is trained with the same rigor and curiosity I brought to my own education. When you sit down here, you are in good hands. Thank you for being here — whether you have been coming since we opened in 2022 or you are walking through our doors for the first time tonight.

Your table is ready.

— Alpana