Lombard wine bar Bonton shares its karma, cred with Praga

The phrase "bon ton" literally means good tone, but in a more figurative way, it alludes to a sophisticated manner of being. What better name, then, to call a wine bar that is attached, both physically (common wall) and emotionally (food) to one of Lombard's most prized culinary assets - the restaurant Praga?

Motif and sounds: Longer than it is wide, Bonton employs mostly successful décor choices, such as the leather booths in tan, low-hanging single lights in blue and orange and a floor-to-ceiling wine collection gathered in the corner and encased by glass doors. Less thrilling were the spinning (good trick, though) black tables, which looked like granite from afar, but revealed themselves as plastic from up close, as well as the very curious music choices, ranging from Celine Dion to the theme music from "Ghost." At the stroke of 9:30 p.m., however, the reassuring vocals of Feist filled the room.

Crowd: The crowd seemed a touch younger than the Praga patronage, except for a brief and startling moment when a flock of giggling homecoming girls flew out of the restaurant's doors. The rest of the night saw a Bonton crowd mixing 20- and 30-somethings enthralled with their food and drink, but growing increasingly saddened over the inescapable truth glaring from the LCD monitors above the bar - the Cubs were on their way out.

Liquid consumption: The wine menu is about an inch and a half thick, so you might get lost in the variations. We couldn't resist several carafes of Red Square pinot noir, a carafe being the ideal halfway measure between by-the-glass and by-the-bottle. You can also bring your own for a corkage fee of $20, take home up to two bottles with you, or place even a larger order over the phone. The beer choices were impressive, too, such as the smooth Sampson dark Czech Ale. Cocktails ran aplenty as well, including the Euro Pass - Alize with red passion Van Gogh and orange - and the Key Lime martini with key lime Van Gogh, vanilla midori, fresh lime and pineapple juice and half-and-half.

Food: Appetizers and small plates are offered at the bar, but as an added bonus, you can order anything from the regular Praga menu, too. The Norwegian smoked salmon pinwheel, for example, was on the appetizers list - smoked salmon rolled in herbs and Brie with baby spinach, tossed in caper dill dressing and fresh cucumbers and surrounded by a couple of impossibly thin potato crisps. One of the featured small plates was a trio of scallops - seared scallops served in a long rectangular glass dish, each with its own individual sauce. One was a squash purée and wild mushroom carbonara, one was with prosciutto, and one had a fennel and orange salad.

Service: Apt and polite, the service was head and shoulders above any sort of regular bar expectations one may have. Any questions we had were competently answered, with a few jokes in between.

Bathrooms: Definitely kept the bon ton going, since they are the same nice bathrooms as the restaurant.

Parking: Easy downtown Lombard parking. As soon as you see the lit-up patio trees on St. Charles, you know you've arrived.