Wine seems to inspire equal levels of passion and determined ignorance.
There are oenophiles who will wax poetic on the merits of Chambolle-Musigny vs. Gevrey-Chambertin, and laypeople for whom the wine world’s exclusionary vibe makes them less, not more, curious about the intricacies of fermented grapes. And then there are those who seek to bring these two opposing camps together.
“We really want to take the stuffiness out of the idea of a ‘wine bar,’” says Michele Hunter, the executive chef at Familiar Creature, a new—yes—wine bar that’s set to open on Phila Street this holiday season. “It will be the type of place you can go to in ripped jeans after work. It will be walk-in only—no reservations. You can stay for dinner, or not. It’s also set up to be an after-dinner place. What we most want to do is welcome people, offer a communal setting and group seating, and be able to teach people about wine, if they want to learn.”
If Hunter seems like a familiar creature herself, tthat’s because she is: She was the executive chef at Hamlet & Ghost until 2021. Hamlet & Ghost owners Brendan Dillon and Dennis Kiingati are in on Familiar Creature too, but whereas Hamlet has evolved into a special occasion restaurant with a serious menu, Familiar Creature’s menu will skew seriously casual. (Think build-your-own locally sourced meat and cheese plates with add-ons of homemade sausage, pâté and seafood dumplings, and simple but decadent roast chicken with perfectly crisped skin served with seasonal sides and frites.) There will be local beer on tap, a full and imaginatively stocked bar, a menu of spritzes and wine that—for you oenephiles—ranges from precious hipster natty to no-nonsense granny global.
Hunter, who has also worked at The Adelphi Hotel, Yono’s, Chez Nous Bistro and many other top regional establishments, returns to Saratoga because she shares a vision for what the food business should be with Dillon and Kiingati.
“When they approached me with the concept, I couldn’t resist,” Hunter says. “We share the same values. We want a work-life balance, we want our staff to have a living wage, we want to welcome and educate people and meet them where they are. We all have a passion for food and hospitality, and we value happiness.”
Regardless of your wine knowledge (or lack thereof), if you share those same values, Familiar Creature is for you. As Shakespeare wrote in Othello: “Come, come, good wine is a good familiar creature, if it be well used: Exclaim no more against it.”