Chicago Foodies

Escoffier, A Guide to Modern Cookery – Paris 1907

NEXT Restaurant goes from Paris 1906  to Bankok 2060... So try Paris 1906 at home with Escoffier's famed 1907 cookbook.

George Auguste Escoffier is roundly admired as one of the primary chefs to define what we understand as French cuisine as well as the brigade system in restaurants. While he shares many innovations with Antoine Careme who is the father of haute cuisine, it is Escoffier, above all others, who's name is synonymous with modern cooking.

This all boils down to his 1907 classic, "A Guide to Modern Cookery" from 1907. From fonds to roux, house lamb to chicken terrines, if you can manage the recipes in this book your stomach will get a glimpse of the past. There are no pictures, apart from the one posted here and I frankly haven't attempted a single dish. Here's a link to the PDF file...Download the cookbook.

Feel free to download it, cook from it, but be sure to share the results and opinions on the results! Since Next is switching from Paris 1906 to Bankok 2060, this might be the next closest thing to vintage cuisine. 

--Josh Brusin

Les Nomades

Les Nomades is one of those places that falls beneath the celebrity chef and media hype radar.   Owned by Mary Beth Liccioni since 1989, acquiring what was at the time Le Français, the restaurant is in some ways very established.  Its Streeterville location is very unassuming, tucked away on Ontario Street, hidden behind a garden, that one would miss if not paying attention to it.    Chef Chris Nugent also remains behind the scenes, despite a pedigreed resume of Zealous and Tru, as well as stellar reviews of his cooking at Les Nomades by Chicago Magazine, which gave 3-1/2 stars, four stars by Phil Vettel at the Tribune, and 2010 Restaurant of the Year by Pat Bruno at the Sun-Times.

The clientelle, when we were here, tended to be more senior, which is often the case for jacket-and-tie places, though perhaps a bit more at Les Nomades, whose long span sometimes receives unwarranted assumptions that it is long in the tooth.  Despite the undeserved assumptions of French food being stuffy, Les Nomades is anything but with its seamless fusion of contemporary with traditional.

Pierrot Gourmet – Macarons, Macarons... Everywhere!

I am not sure if it is my imagination, but macarons seem to be everywhere these days. Restaurant menus, cafes, even Starbucks has a variety pack of 12 macarons to go with your skinny latte.
I was lucky enough to eat 'real' French macarons while on vacation last year and have not tried any recently through fear of disappointment. That was until last weekend, when we ate at Pierrot Gourmet, the restaurant attached to the Peninsula hotel. 

Their macarons were good, and fresh (much more so than I would expect the Starbucks version to be). They were quite large, which I think took something away from the taste, and meant that I felt more guilty for having eaten 3 in under 5 minutes. As the classic flavors are often best with macarons, we steered clear of the 'PB&J' version and got some chocolate and raspberry to take home.  We will certainly be going back for more......

 
 

Tartiflette: Comfort food, French style

Tartiflette is a winter dish, designed to be eaten after many hours – or even days – of hiking and skiing in the Alps. It's a dish that warms both the body and the soul. I mean: bacon, potatoes, fried onions, rich French cheese. What's not to like? Unless you're vegetarian or lactose intolerant, it's hard to resist.

One evening around two weeks ago, we decided to make tartiflette and easily found all of the ingredients except the crucial cheese component, reblochon. There's an earlier post on this blog which mentions Whole Foods as a supplier, but even the gentleman at the cheese counter there told me he "didn't understand why there was no reblochon these days". Still, at Fox & Obel I managed to come up with a good substitute: L'Edel de Cleron.

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.

Best Bet $29 Prix-Fixe – Café Des Architectes

Due to the bad economy there is a surge of prix-fixe menu options at some of Chicago’s best restaurants.  For those that have extra cash to blow on food it is a great time to try some new places.  One such must try is Café Des Architectes in the Sofitel. Both Executive Chef Martial Nouguier and pastry Chef Suzanne Imaz were recently snatched from one sixtyblue to head up Café Des Architectes.  They’ve developed a family friendly menu using local ingredients from Chicago’s Green City Market.  The prix-fixe menu is offered Sunday and Monday night from 5PM to 11PM through April 27th.  The three-course offering is priced at $29.00. Children under 10 for $19.00 and children under five can enjoy a gourmet meal for free. 

Cyrano's Bistrot: Cozy French Restaurant

Cyrano's Bistro, a brightly colored restaurant in River North has an intimate feel to it.  When you walk in, you are greated with a "Bonjour", and the staff is predominantly French or attempting to speak French.  The wine list leans toward the Languedoc, the Southern region of France where much of its wine is produced.  (Languedoc is the highest-producing wine region in France, though most of its wine is consumed domestically.)   I ordered a delicious premier cru Burgundy off the wine list, and split a salad with spice walnuts, pears, blue cheese, haricots verts.  We were served by an American who called himself Marcel (and I'm betting that's his stage name).

Saucisson Sec – Cook au Vin

Wow. Now I've raved about the lovely landjager sausages from Bobby Nelson and they sure have that handheld bite-ablilty but after several Spotted Cows while watching the Cubs game I remembered I had a nice small saucisson sec from Cook au Vin on Elston.  It's not what I expected. It's definitely a sawing process  – that's one hard salami... but it might be one of the best things I have ever tasted.

Aigre Doux: Restaurant Week

Better late than never, right? My first trip to Aigre Doux and why not get a prix fixe. I'd say upfront that
it's not generally a good way to evaluate a place. That said I had a very good meal and even though we were a fairly large group up against the back kitchen-wall, I did find the place to be nice and comfy. Then again it could have been the girl drinks.

The other thing to note is that 3 cosmos has the tendency to make any night a remarkable night. The menu option of braised spare ribs made any decision a formality. I've been on a braised meat kick lately and was excited. The haricot vert was a great starter... what better to go with a cocktail. Technicolor.

Le Lan

For quite some time I have heard great things about Le Lan, a French-Asian restaurant in River North. It turned out to be a wonderful restaurant with personable and helpful staff, as well as an open plan atmosphere.  A gift certificate for Christmas made it easier to visit.

Bistrot Zinc: My Offal Meal This Past Weekend

One of my favorite haunts, Bistrot Zinc, changes its core menu once a month.  And with frequent $25 off coupons in the mail I come back quite often..and order the wine.  And appetizers.  And dessert.  And get a good meal for two for $60 after the discount, not including tip.

This month I'm pleased to announce the rognons on the menu, called Rognons de Veau à la Sauce Moutarde.  Not knowing much French I understood veau but had to ask what rognons were, and much to my delight they were...

Fondue: Home Cookin'

When you get fondue pots for gifts, it's a waste to watch them sit on the shelves.  And, of course, you can get fondue at a restaurant.   Geja's is quirky and interesting, but their decor and menu are stuck in 1975, and while I like the decor in a time warp, it's a challenge getting excited over tartar sauce and shrimp cocktail.  Melting Pot looks like it has an interesting menu, but it has too much of a shopping-mall chain feel to it.

So why not have a fondue party?   So for starters I went over to my favorite shop, Pastoral.  And no, they're not paying me to say this.  Seriously.

Sweets and Savories

For anyone dieting before the holidays who, like me, try to preserve some sanity in the process with one, big fat “cheating” meal a week to take the edge off - I’ve got the perfect one for you. You can find it at Sweets and Savories on Fullerton and you can find it for half price on Wednesday nights (10 dollars down from 20 dollars).

Le Bouchon: As close as it gets to the real thing

A bouchon is a cozy, often family-run unpretentious restaurant in Lyon, France, specializing in Lyonnaise dishes, such as tablier de sapuer (breaded, fried stomach) and boudin noir aux pommes (blood sausage with apples).  Not for the faint of heart, if you do like this type of thing you will not be disappointed.  Le Bouchon in Bucktown offers food for those really craving authentic French cooking, and the menu isn't entirely watered-down.   With items on the menu like "Rognons de Veau à la Moutarde", which is veal kidneys with mustard sauce, it certainly sets the tone for people like me who don't have hangups about baby animals or exotic organs.

Le Colonial: What were we thinking?

When my fiancee and I took her parents to Le Colonial, the "what were we thinking" had more to do with "Why haven't we come here more often?" not why would we ever come back.  In this Gold Coast restaurant prices are a bit higher than what you find in the north side neighborhoods, but reasonable for the immediate area and overall, good value for money.  The atmosphere is tropical, bright and airy with white woods and ceiling fans, purportedly to evoke the colonial era. 

Bistrot Zinc: Solid French Bistro

Located on State just south of Division in the Gold Coast Bistrot Zinc is a good, dependable French bistro (a bit more like French/Italian) that is never too crowded and exudes a classic bistro feel to it with antique-looking brass fixtures and tile floors. I tend to go there often for two reasons: first, it’s close to my fiancées place; and second, the menu changes monthly, which always makes it interesting. 

Rick's Cafe Casablanca

Rick's is a small restaurant next door to a wonderful Wrigleyville pizza place, Pizza Rustica. Walking in we met another couple and made a comment that we should get a quick appetizer and go next door for their wonderful potato/rosemary pizza. Maybe next time...

Avec

Right next to Blackbird, the big brother (or sugar daddy) of Avec, is a simple rectangular restaurant that seems to want to stress form over function. The 1-room has a row of tables running the length of one half of the restaurant and a bar/counter and kitchen along the other. It looks like something out of Dwell magazine. The irony is that the food is fairly complicated with a traditional grounding. While the food fattens your ass, the stool will flatten it.

And the food is good. The menu is an assortment of small plates, that aren't too small, and large plates that we didn't try. When you get knee-deep into the menu you might also have the desire for variety. Dishes like the crispy duck confit with blood oranges in a blood orange vinaigrette and crispy short ribs with red peppers, cilantro, red onion and harissa aioli were ones that, as I left, I wish I tried.

Froggy's

Froggy's in Highwood has been on my short list of North Shore restaurants for a while. On Green Bay Rd. just north of Highland Park, is a mini-restaurant row and Froggy's is right next to Gabriel's. I was expecting good French food at a reasonable price. In addition to that we had very little hassle for a Saturday night. It was, after all, the suburbs.

They offer a $32-$37 price fix with choice of entree, cold appetizer, hot appetizer and dessert. We were in a group of 8 and all of us but one went that route. They brought out a salad for that lone diner during one of the appetizer courses so there would be a plate in front of everyone. That's dining.

La Tache for Brunch

La Tache on Balmoral in Andersonville is a cute little French bistro that is priced out around Le Boucheon $15-$22 for entrees. I've been there once before for dinner and remember enjoying it, promising to return. Though it's been a while, I finally did go back... for brunch.