Tuesday, October 22, 7:00 P.M.
Members $100, guests $125

"There's a reason that Union Square Cafe in the nearly 14 years since it opened has become one of the city's most beloved dining spots," then rookie New York Times critic William Grimes wrote back in 1999. "It treats its guests very well." Since 1988, another reason is Michael Romano's cooking, described by John Mariani as "the epitome of comfort food: generously portioned, authoritatively seasoned, homey, yet done with consistent authority." Any lover of fine Bordeaux will tell you that simple, authoritative food is the perfect match for the region's heady wines. And that's all claret connoisseurs need to know, to know they should attend this event.

Of course, we could entice you with information about the wines. To find out about Château D'Issan was, of course, included, you can look at the notes on the wedding of Aliénor d'Aquitaine and Henri Plantagenet, for the happy medieval couple were supposed to have drunk this particular wine during the celebration. Issan was, of course, included in the 1855 Médoc Classification, as a third growth, and today, at least according to epicurious.com, it boasts some exemplary wines and one of the most beautiful estates in the region. That's largely because the estate's current director, Emmanuel Cruse, has been in charge since 1998. (The Cruse family has owned the vineyard since 1945.) Frank Prial of The New York Times described a recent tasting of the 1998 vintage as a "revelation."

Château Lagrange is no slouch, either. The estate has been around for more than 600 years, and it too was rated as a third growth in the 1855 Classification. An influx of money over the last 16 years from the estate's owner, Suntory of Japan, has brought about a renaissance in the wines made under the supervision of director Marcel Ducasse. The Wine Spectator described recent vintages with compelling words like "outstanding" and "a classic," and included 1988 and 1990 Lagrange on their Top 100 lists in 1991 and 1993.

Maintaining a spot among New York City's best restaurants for more than 17 years is akin to producing fine wines for centuries. Romano's cooking has kept the restaurant tied in first place for food in Zagat Survey six years running. Diversion called Union Square Cafe "America's favorite restaurant." Not incidentally, it was on James Beard's advice that Romano attended cooking school. His career took him to the kitchens of the Hôtel Bristol in Paris, the Pierre in New York, and Michel Guérard's three-star spa in Eugénie-les-Bains. He worked at Chez Max in Zurich, and at La Caravelle back in New York City. In 2001 he was chosen by the Beard Foundation as the best chef in New York.