The new black

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Besides being a good deal, the lunch menu also has a wide variety of options, from Mahi tacos with mango salsa to shrimp po'boys with Cajun remoulade. I tried a thick juicy "Vino burger" with bacon and mild fontina, a perfectly spiced jerk chicken sandwich (also juicy), and a gigantic tuna nicoise. The latter was heaped with fat cherry tomatoes, spindly haricots verts, black olives, boiled potatoes, and slightly dry tuna that tasted canned. The champagne vinaigrette was so mild that the salad needed salt and pepper, but the generous size and gorgeous presentation made up for the dish's minor faults.

Vinology's emphasis on local seems to be all on the food side. Not a single wine recommended on the dinner menu comes from less than a thousand miles away (although servers can recommend a Michigan wine if you prefer, and owner John Jonna says there will be more Michigan wines featured during April, "Michigan wine month"). Nonetheless, Vinology's effort to buy local food ingredients is commendable and pays off in small ways. On the dessert menu, an unassuming berry crisp made the chocolate cake, with its splashy red-wine "ganache," taste downright dull in comparison. Like the squash blossoms and butternut squash ravioli, the crisp showed off local ingredients without touting its trendiness.

Vinology Restaurant & Wine Bar
110 S. Main, 222-9841

Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Snacks $5, entrees $8, soups and salads $3-$6, shared plates $10-$15