D'Amico's Bottomless Glass of Wine: 100 Favorite Dishes

As a countdown to the Best of the Twin Cities 2010, coming this spring, The Hot Dish is serving up a hundred of our favorite local dishes. Send your own nominations to hotdish@citypages.com.

No. 55: D'Amico's Bottomless Glass of Wine

One of those days? Yeah, we know how you feel. And don't give us any crap for considering a drink to be a "dish"--in some cultures, Guinness is considered a meal, remember?

D'Amico's bottomless glass of wine is a Twin Cities institution, and a far classier way to unwind than the three-for-ones across the street at Liquor Lyle's. For $6.49, you'll receive a glass of white or red, and the offer to refill it from the staffers who circulates the room with a bottle in each hand. The other day, we happened across a Chianti that, unlike other discount wines, had no sour, harsh, or offputting notes. Sure, it wasn't the most complex thing we've ever drunk, but it went down easy--perhaps a little too much so.

Wedge yourself in the corner banquette of the Hennepin Avenue shop and you and your pals can cackle and coo to your heart's content over three-salad-sampler plates and chocolate cake. The genius of drinking at D'Amico is that the place has a date-worthy respectability to it, but it's also a big-time family haunt. So as long as you're no more obnoxious than the tots at the neighboring table, you're not going to get any eye rolls. One tip: We don't recommend participating in the top-off service method--finish each glass before you start in on another so you can keep track on how much you've been drinking. Otherwise, you'll be as wobbily as a toddler when you head to the restroom.

Hungry for more? The dishes in our countdown thus far are linked below:

No. 100: Volcano Salad at Tiger Sushi
No. 99: Eclair at Butter
No. 98: Moussaka at Gardens of Salonica
No. 97: "Flappers" at Colossal Cafe
No. 96: Bento Box at Obento-Ya
No. 95: Sausage, salami, onion, and green olive pizza at Black Sheep
No. 94: Crab Cake at the Kitchen
No. 93: Passion fruit cake at Pardon My French
No. 92: Kafé 421 Signature Dips
No. 91: Lutefisk at Landmarc Grill
No. 90: May Day Cafe Croissant
No. 89: Dowjic at Babani's
No. 88: Osso Bucco at the Modern Cafe
No. 87: Chef Shack Hot Dog
No. 86: Adult Mac & Cheese at Good Day Cafe
No. 85: Ropa Vieja at Victor's
No. 84: French Toast of the Dead at Chino Latino
No. 83: Uni at Origami
No. 82: Bagel at Common Roots
No. 81: Jasmine Deli's bánh mì
No. 80: Pho 79's bò cuốn lá nho
No. 79: Sweets Bakeshop's Kettlecorn Cupcake
No. 78: D'Amico Kitchen's Chicory Salad
No. 77: Be'wiched Deli pastrami sandwich
No. 76: La Grassa's lima bean appetizer
No. 75: Bulldog NE Tater Tots
No. 74: Pop's Swedish Meatballs
No. 73: Hot Plate's Caramel Apple French Toast
No. 72: Grand Cafe's Ham and Cheese
No. 71: Galactic Pizza's Thailander
No. 70: Jackson's milk chocolate gelato
No. 69: Patrick's Bakery and Cafe's tiramisu
No. 68: Punch's Chopped Italian Salad
No. 67: Red Stag's Smelt Fries
No. 66: Mancini's Grilled Garllic Bread
No. 65: Uptown Bulldog's Chicago Dog
No. 64: Crema Cafe's Sorbet Spritzer
No. 63: Matt's Bar Jucy Lucy
No. 62: Baker's Wife Doughnut
No. 61: Bar Abilene Guacamole
No. 60: St. Paul Cheese Shop Cheesemonger
No. 59: Fasika Vegi Sampler
No. 58: Sen Yai Sen Lek Lettuce Wrap
No. 57: Saffron Mini Lamb BLT
No. 56: Dominguez Family Restaurant Green Salsa