Diners often search for perfect food and wine pairings. Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants remove the guesswork by listing bin numbers of suggested wines for everything from appetizers to desserts.

“We definitely think part of the full experience is wine,” said Ed Hammer, general manager of the New Lenox location.

Here is the dish on this local establishment, which opened in October:

On the menu: Matt McMillin, vice president of culinary and beverage innovation, leads the menu for Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants while Matt Porter, of Naperville, is executive kitchen manager at the New Lenox restaurant.

“It is a true, scratch-made kitchen. It’s a very eclectic menu. We have something for everybody,” said Hammer, of New Lenox.

Dishes include sweet and crunchy shrimp, chopped deviled eggs and toast, crispy Asian pork, crispy Maui shrimp, Dana’s Parmesan-crusted chicken, the Leonard burger, the Prime sandwich, blackened bleu skirt steak chopped salad, lemon ice wine cheesecake, and salted caramel creme brulee.

Create Your Own options are available for flatbread and salad or soup and salad combinations or surf and turf. A Life Balance menu of dishes that are 600 calories or less includes ahi tuna tacos, grilled Atlantic salmon, and Mediterranean with shrimp chopped salad.

About the company:Tim McEnery, founder and CEO of Countryside-based Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants, opened the first location in 2005 at 15690 Harlem Ave., Orland Park.

Cooper’s Hawk has 35 locations in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin including 4830 W. 111th St., Oak Lawn, and 2120 Southlake Mall, Merrillville, Indiana.

A mission statement: “We want to offer that place to go to enjoy a glass of wine and quick appetizers or to celebrate life-changing events. We run the whole gamut,” said Hammer, who previously was restaurant manager at Cooper’s Hawk in Burr Ridge, Orland Park and Wheeling.

Decor: “It is definitely vibrant. It’s an open-style restaurant. There are no big dividers. You can see from one end of the restaurant to the other. We also have big picture windows that highlight our kitchen in the main dining room to let all our guests see chefs prepare meals,” Hammer said.

“We also have ample seating outside. It’s great for summertime.”

Specialties:“We added an entire risotto section to our menu in May. We have everything from chicken risotto dishes all the way up to vegetarian options,” Hammer said.

“We also have gnocchi-based dishes that are prepared exclusively for us. They’re not mass-produced gnocchi. They’re handmade.”

We’re different because: “We have a Napa-style tasting room up front. We also offer complimentary samples to try different things and branch out beyond what people know wine to be,” said Hammer about selections from the Cooper’s Hawk winery in Woodridge.

“We have everything from beginning wines to really bold, delicious wines that have driven us to some great awards.”

Cooper’s Hawk Wine Club offers a newly released wine monthly and benefits including members-only events.

Prices: Start at $4.99 for soup; $5.99 for appetizer salads; $7.99 for house-made desserts; $8.99 for appetizers; $9.99 for flatbread; $12.99 for burgers and sandwiches; $13.99 for lunch-sized entrees available from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; $14.99 for specialties or chopped salads; $17.99 for seafood entrees; $18.99 for chicken or pasta entrees; $19.99 for handcrafted risotto; and $23.99 for beef and pork entrees.

Logistics: Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant is at 2307 E. Lincoln Highway, New Lenox. Restaurant and tasting room is open 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays and 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays. Bar is open one hour later. Call 815-320-7500 or go to www.chwinery.com/locations/illinois/new-lenox.

Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer for the Daily Southtown.