Everest: Alsatian food temple in the sky

Those who know me well know that I love Alsatian wine, and Everest has Chicago's largest Alsatian wine list (and, reputedly, the largest Alsatian wine list in America).  Chef Jean Joho is a native of France's Alsace region, and he brings his region's cuisine in one of Chicago's most venerable white tablecloth restaurants.It is a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant that has been around for 23 years atop One Financial Place on South Lasalle.    Getting up there is a bit confusing:  you first of all have to ask the security guard of the office building to let you inside, then he takes you to the thirty-ninth floor, and then you have to switch elevators to the fortieth floor.  The next thing you notice are the "JJ" logos on the carpet and china, ostensibly an homage to Chef Joho.

The maitre d' seated us at a table with a stunning west-facing view overlooking the West Loop, Sears Tower, and Eisenhower Expressway.  We were handed the wine list, something that took quite a bit of time to digest, and I decided upon a half bottle of 2004 Josmeyer Le Kottebe Riesling.   This showed very well, with a very aromatic bouquet, and possessing pear, orange peal, smoke, and caramel.   It may be one of the top two or three Alsatian Rieslings I have ever had.  Period.   And the Le Kottebe isn't their top appellation--it's Hengst, and I was disappointed in their '02 Hengst (though I have an '04 waiting for the right occasion.)

The amuse bouche consisted of a celery foam with dried chorizo, as well as a coco pea soup, and a crispy monkfish.  It was delicious, and the celery foam with chorizo was especially memorable.

My wife and I ordered a four course meal consisting of two starters, a main course, and dessert.  To start I had a smoked salmon choucroute galette and aigrelette,  which was served with dill, capers, and bits of hard-boiled eggs.  Eggs are really the only thing I can't eat, but if there is no sulfur smell, I can usually eat it, and luckily the egg had no scent.    The choucrute (basically French for sauerkraut) was nice, and its presentation was appealing, but I didn't feel there was anything extraordinary about it, though the salmon was of higher quality than grocery store smoked salmon.

The second course was sauteed foie gras atop pineapples and Gewurztramine, which was fantastic, though for some reason the foie gras was not evenly cooked or at least evenly warm.

Around this time the waiter, for about the third or fourth time, asked if we needed more wine.  I didn't know whether he was trying to be helpful or pushy, but I assumed the latter.  I ordered a glass of 2007 Albert Mann Pinot Gris, a nice off-dry, wine, though perhaps some more Josmeyer would have been a better choice. 

My main course was a baked Sea Bass (called"backaofa"), which was prepared atop a soup of vegetables.  The fish was light and flaky and melted off my fork.  Though very good, I must compare it to my neighborhood bistro and think that if I ordered fish there I would expect the same.  No complaints here, but it is one of Chicago's top restaurants (and the prices to boot).  My wife had a very interesting hazelnut-crusted skate wing with mashed potatoes.   The presentation was more snake than skate, and the texture of the hazelnuts made for an interesting dish.

For dessert, I ordered a chocolate and pear glace with vanilla coulis topped with what I would call candy-cane like poles of meringue.  It was very tasty, and I paired it with the recommended 2007 Brachetto-Moscato from Elio Perrone.  Basically it is a rose colored sparkling wine, and the first time they served it, the wine was flat.   The server noticed it before I said anything, apologized, and opened a new bottle.    My wife ordered a almond cake  lime "manger" with coconut basil caramel tapioca, which also was good.  It was paired with a 1976 Rivesaltes, which the server described as being like a Sauternes.  (It was good but not anything close to a Sauternes.  The wine, reddish-brown in color, had more of a manzanilla Sherry finish.)

The 1976 Rivesaltes goes for $20 a glass.    The name looked familiar, and it turns out I bought a bottle at Sam's for $20 a couple years ago.   The serving was decent size, but here's where I take issue:  everyone complains about the 250 percent markup on wine, but I work this dessert wine out to more than a 400 percent markup.   Even the bottle of Kronenbourg 1664 beer, at $10 is high (as a reference it's $4 at La Creperie), but I take issue with this specific wine and believe the person who priced the wine list snuck this one in to unsuspecting diners due to the year on the label.

Afterward, as is the case with some of  Chicago's top restaurants, they served an all-you-can-eat dessert sampler, consisting of delicious lemon macarons, a nice guava pate de fruit, and an assortment of chocolate truffles and other desserts.

Everest is a good restaurant and there was nothing horribly wrong with our experience.  Service was attentive but  not quite as polished as other restaurants in this price point--the food and wine knowledge was a bit spotty, but it overall lacked the "wow" factor that sets a lot of restaurants apart.  I would come back, but I would most likely wait for a special.

Everest
440 S. Lasalle
312-663-8920

Comments

[J]

This is what I've never gotten about Everest, amongst other things, why is their food stuck in the 80's? Even for Alsace, the food, much like the dining room itself is stuck years back. It's not bad, but it's simply not remarkably good, which is what I expect for a place at the price point of Moto, Avenues, Spiaggia, etc.