Learning with taste buds

A little taste of Bavaria will be available in Bloomington tonight.\nScholar's Inn Gourmet Café and Wine Bar will once more allow residents to experience authentic courses and wines based on a selected theme. In honor of Oktoberfest, the feature theme is Germany.\nOnce a month, Scholar's Inn holds a wine-tasting dinner based on varying themes. The entire staff decides the themes, and the chefs have the majority of the input. Past themes include America (in July), Scotland and Chile. The themes are not always nation-based though.\n"One time, we had a chocolate theme where every dish had chocolate in it," owner Lyle Feigenbaum said.\nThe chefs plan the main courses for weeks in advance and much time is spent on finding unique wines to accompany those courses.\n"This is not a money-making venture," Feigenbaum said. "We do it because it is a great way to offer guests a neat dinner."\nChris Spears has been the head chef at Scholar's Inn for two years. He said attending one of these monthly events is a unique way to learn more about cuisine and wines of the world.\n"You not only get the best food and wine, but also a great educational experience," Spears said. \nAfter each course is served, the chef who created it delivers a brief speech to the guests, explaining information such as the ingredients, how the dish is prepared and fun facts concerning an ingredient or the dish itself. Then the wine expert comes out to discuss the wine accompanying the course. \nThe diners themselves are quite diverse, ranging from students and regulars to wine connoisseurs. The dress is semi-formal, and the atmosphere is that of a social occasion.\n"You may only come with one person but end up sitting with six or seven others," Spears said. "So you meet new people as well."\nLyle and Kerry Feigenbaum originally purchased the Scholar's Inn Bed and Breakfast in 1996. They then bought the adjacent building in the fall of 1997, and opened the Scholar's Inn Café and Wine Bar in the spring of 1998. The wine bar contains over 150 wines, including wines from such local wineries as Butler Winery and Oliver Winery. Over 60 of those wines are available by the glass. For the last two years the wine bar has received an Award of Excellence from "Wine Spectator," a comprehensive wine magazine and Web site -- an honor bestowed on only six other restaurants in the state of Indiana, Feigenbaum said.\n"We're all about fun," he added. "I want people to come and have a great time."\nThe Scholar's Inn is located at 717 North College Avenue. The wine-tasting dinner starts at 7 p.m. and costs $50 per person, excluding tax and gratuity. Advanced reservations are recommended. For more information check out their Web site at http://www.scholarsinn.com.