Creative cheese and wine pairings are infinite at Beautiful Rind, the Logan Square restaurant and specialty retail shop. Owner Randall Felts has over 17 years of experience working with cheese- beginning as a pastry chef at a James Beard award-winning restaurant in Birmingham. He grew to love the stories of cheese and went on to spend ten years managing Whole Foods’ wine and cheese program. During his time there, he became one of the first American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professionals and Official Conference Cheesemonger for the annual conference. In Chicago, he led operations for Pastoral (now closed), Chicago’s artisan cheese supplier.

Felts went on to open Beautiful Rind in 2020 and host frequent interactive wine and cheese classes in addition to their dine-in experience and retail selection.

His team sources wines that are cheese-pairing friendly, meaning wines that are lighter in tannin, high acid, and aromatic flavor profiles. He makes an effort to source wines from socially responsible producers, distributors, and importers. Often, naturally-made wines pair well with his cheeses and their impact aligns well with his goals, though they also offer beautiful wines from smaller old-school French and American producers. He applies the same mentality to cheese and sources more American-made cheeses during the summer and European cheeses during the winter. One of Felt’s favorite domestic cheesemakers is Blakesville Creamery in Wisconsin- they make goat and sheepsmilk cheese in a style similar to the Loire Valley in flavor.

See the dine-in menu here, with a section of six curated cheese and charcuterie boards and flights, thirteen stand-alone cheese, eight different cured meats, and a variety of conservas (tinned seafood served with crackers). There are pickles, toasted nuts, cheese dips, and snacks like flaming bread cheese, Bavarian-style pretzels with whole grain mustard, and fried cheese curds. There are creative sandwiches and salads made with their quality meats and cheeses, including the Prosciutto and Taleggio with arugula on a baguette. Guests can order a glass of wine or beer from their list, or pick a bottle from the retail section to enjoy with a $5 corkage fee. Guests can ask their team to pair cheeses and meats in a classic style like goat cheese with Suavingon Blanc, or a more playful pairing like Cabernet Franc, one of Felts’ favorites. There is an extensive after-dinner coffee and drinks section, as well as a new happy hour offered Tuesday through Friday from 3-5:30pm (dine-in only) with drinks and snacks ranging from $4-15. Guests can also sign up for their cheese club through Table 22 which starts at $28 per month.

Classes are listed online through Tock with events like ‘Intro Into Cheese’ for $35, a guided tasting of Sheep’s Milk Cheese, and Rinds and Wines, a pairing of five skin-contact or French wines and cheeses. Felts is excited for ‘White Wines After Labor Day’ which will highlight deeper white wines that are great year-round like Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay. In October, he’ll host a ‘Where in the Wine World’ class featuring lesser-known appellations from countries like Croatia, Germany, and The Republic of Georgia.