The bistros of Chicago and vicinity include very traditional and very modern styles. Tribune staffers visited a number of bistros in the city and suburbs, and here’s what they found:
– Amourette French Cafe, 2275 Rand Rd., Palatine, 708-359-6220. Speed along Rand Road in Palatine, past the car dealerships and gardening centers. If one didn’t take the time to investigate, Amourette French Cafe might be dismissed as just another steak-and-martini roadhouse from the ’50s.
That would be sad indeed, for Amourette is one of the suburbs’ most delightful French restaurants. It is a place where garlicky escargots perfume the wood-paneled dining room, the staff chatters in French, German, Spanish and English, and friendly casualness takes precedence over starched haughtiness.
Here, owner Christian Zeiger has brightened the small dining room with an eclectic mix of paintings and put chef Michel Coatrieux in charge of the kitchen. White-tableclothed tables backdrop Coatrieux’s classic and contemporary preparations, ranging from salmon tucked with spinach inside a flaky filo package on through pot au feu.
The $15 prix fixe menu offers several choices in the hors d’oeuvres category (maybe a crabmeat tart with fresh asparagus or a creamy, herbed boursin wrapped in filo), a salad, entree (roast duck breast with green peppercorns, perhaps) and dessert. The brioche filled with fresh fruit and a creamy zabayon seemed to be the hands-down favorite, judging by the number of these desserts which paraded out of the kitchen recently.
Judy Hevrdejs
– Betise, 1515 N. Sheridan Rd. in Plaza del Lago, Wilmette, 708-853-1711. Betise may be the only area restaurant with a subtitle: “A Bistro On The Lake.” Actually, it’s in a shopping center across the road from Lake Michigan, but who’s quibbling?
The year-old restaurant (which replaced the popular Melange restaurant after a fire) is airy and bright. Colorful modern artwork fills almost every wall. The space is divided into three rooms, one resembling a porch-like setting complete with a striped awning for a ceiling.
The wait staff is friendly and professional, willing to help find the right wine or suggest an entree.
The menu could be called updated bistro. Presentations go beyond the traditional simple plates: Delicious snails come, not in their shells, but wrapped in a flaky strudel pastry; stew of venison is delivered to the table in a hollowed out loaf of bread; and a roast half chicken is dwarfed by a towering mound of pommes frites.
The skin of the duck confit becomes too soggy, as if it had been held covered too long. The french fries and gratin of macaroni with grated nutmeg are two sensational side dishes.
Dinner for two is about $50 without wine. Betise serves breakfast Monday through Friday and brunch on Sunday as well as lunch and dinner.
Carol Haddix
– Bistro Banlieue, 44 Yorktown Convenience Center, Lombard, 708-629-6560. Find it once, trust it once and this snappy bistro in a silly location-the corner of a convenience shopping center, just down from a scuba supply store-wins you over.
The details are serious. Edith Piaf’s cabaret-style French warbling sets the tone for a scene filled with butcher paper-covered white linen tables, original modern art and fresh flowers.
The French and California wine list runs deeper than one might expect for a small restaurant. And the menu takes risks.
In addition to traditional bistro fare such as escargot, onion soup, cassoulet and steak with pomme frites (skinny, skinny, crisp french fries that cover a tender steak), the kitchen spreads ratatouille (a Mediterranean-style vegetable mixture heavy on eggplant and sweet peppers) on light pastry, tops it with cheese and bakes it into a pizza-like appetizer.
And even more creative is a new fondue appetizer, a three-plate affair that includes a hot crock of melted, fresh rosemary-tinged brie cheese, an arrangement of thinly sliced smoked ham, brine olives and imported cornichons and a side of boiled potato.
No-snub service, generous portions and-this isn’t silly at all-free child care on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings make this a worthy suburban version of a bistro. Which is just what its French name says.
Patricia Tennison
– Bistro 110, 110 E. Pearson St., 312-266-3110. Bistro 110 is a very good, very successful restaurant. It’s not really a bistro, being far too large, too noisy and, frankly, too polished an operation. But this is probably to be expected of a bistro just steps west of Michigan Avenue; the client demographics pretty much insist on a more upscale approach and setting.
Prices are a bit on the high side, too; though justifiable based on the quality of the food, service and creature comforts. This is not classic bistro dining, though the people here certainly manage to make it a pleasant compromise.
But you can sample bistro fare-the menu trumpets its classic bistro offerings-and probably won’t be disappointed. The onion soup, a huge crock loaded with bread and smothered with thick gruyere cheese, is absolutely delicous. Escargots, served in their little garlic-oil dunk tanks under a pastry blanket, are tender and decent enough. Roasted chicken and cassoulet are available in solid versions.
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Phil Vettel
– Brasserie Bellevue, in the Le Meridien Hotel, 21 E. Bellevue Pl., 312-266-2100. Here’s a rarity, a restaurant that provides an agreeable setting for someone dining alone. The tables along the floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors allow a solitary diner to sit with his or her back to the room and watch the passing show in the busy carrefour created by the intersecting of Rush and State with Bellevue. In the outdoor dining season, there are additional tables on the sidewalk itself.
The term “brasserie” must have been chosen for its alliterative value because the place bears no resemblance to a French beer hall/cafe, nor is it a bistro. Instead, the prototypes for this pleasantly chic (check the sleek tableware), art deco-accented spot are the enclosed sidewalk terraces of such Paris restaurants as Lipp and La Coupole.
The menu here-it offers five pasta dishes plus Caesar and Cobb salads (the Cobb is quite nice once you send it back to have the ingredients chopped)-leads one to question the Brasserie’s ethnic purity. More important, the presumably tri-lingual kitchen is guilty of uneven execution. On the plus side are an exemplary frisee salad and tricolor vegetable terrine. Veal stew Norman is a triumph; scallops “Grenobloise,” overcooked and buried under an avalanche of capers, are a disaster. Whitefish a la Dijonnaise is tender; the crust of a lemon tarte is tough.
Flip a coin and take your chances. Flip several more coins onto the table to pay for the generously marked up wines or-in the brasserie tradition-consider one of a quartet of beers from France.
William Rice
– Cafe Bernard, 2100 N. Halsted St., 312-871-2100. Cafe Bernard must be near landmark status when it comes to bistros in Chicago. It has been a stalwart presence on North Halsted since 1972, outliving many trendy restaurants in the area.
Although it has undergone some changes in decor, Cafe Bernard is essentially the same as it was then: an unpretentious storefront bistro, complete with chalkboard menu, low lighting and waiters in aprons who serve up hearty fare.
Appetizers are good. Garlicky snails with a covering of pastry, creamy zucchini soup, and smoked salmon stand out. Traditional bistro entrees such as bouillabaisse, steak au poivre, and cassoulet are interspersed with more unusual dishes: Wellington of buffalo, fricasse of rabbit and ragout of venison with linguini. The cassoulet is too close in texture to overcooked baked beans but, overall, flavors are fine.
Dinner for two runs about $50 without wine. The wine list features some bargain French bottles for less than $20.
Service is attentive, especially on weeknights when you may find yourself alone, which can be romantic-or uncomfortable, depending on circumstances.
Carol Haddix
– Cafe du Midi, 2118 N. Damen Ave., 312-235-6434. On a corner in Bucktown just north of Armitage Avenue is unpretentious Cafe du Midi where chef/owner Francis Leroux uses fresh herbs, olive oil and garlic for many of the dishes found on the menu, which focuses on the Mediterranean-style cuisine of southern France.
One entree not likely to appear on other menus around town is bourride du Midi, a white potato and cream fish stew with saffron and aioli ($13). Fish ingredients change, and a recent visit found the dish made with salmon and sea scallops. Delicious and a hearty enough serving for a doggie bag.
Other menu choices: Provencal beef stew with herbs, olives and tomatoes ($14); grilled sea scallops and shrimp with sun-dried tomato-basil pesto ($15); roast duck with raspberry vinegar glaze and roasted shallots ($14); braised lamb shank with thyme, red wine and vegetables ($13); chicken with lemon, garlic and olives ($11).
Good bet among starters is the pate maison, a coarse chicken liver pate made with cognac and served with cornichons, olives, vegetables and toast ($4.50).
Also worth noting are several vegetarian choices-vegetable couscous ($10) or sauteed vegetables with potatoes ($7).
For dessert, the gateau au chocolate (flourless bittersweet chocolate cake) with Sabayon sauce ($3.50) is outstanding, as is the raspberry-basil sorbet ($3.50).
To complement good food at good prices, Cafe du Midi offers a reasonably priced wine list with selections (strictly French) ranging from $14-$30, with most under $20. Wines by the glass, too. There’s also a nice selection of cognacs, eau-de-vie, calvados and other liqueurs.
Service is attentive even when just about all of its 15 or so tables are full. Decor is simple-white walls with red doors and trim and a black-and-white tile floor.
Average dinner for two-starter, entree, dessert and coffee or tea-about $50.
Carolyn McGuire
– Cafe Pyrenees, River Tree Shopping Center, Ill. Highways 60 and 21, Vernon Hills, 708-918-8850. As you maneuver into the parking lot at Cafe Pyrenees, suspend any romantic notions about what a French bistro should look like-at least from the outside. Set smack in the middle of a strip mall in Vernon Hills, the facade has all the charm of a fast-food outlet.
Park the car anyway.
Inside, soft mauve walls, white linen cloths, gentle music and tuxedoed waiters transform this spot, leaving the mall madness far behind.
Owner/chef Jean-Marc Loustaunau commanded the kitchen at the well-regarded Le Titi de Paris for 12 years before opening Pyrenees about two years ago. Here, he deftly practices the more casual bistro-style cooking but always with solid underpinnings of his classical French training. Bistro classics such as confit of duck leg, onion soup gratinee and homemade pates share the menu with more upscale offerings such as sauteed salmon with sesame seeds and chives, lobster and crab galette and scallops and shrimp Provencale.
At $18.50, the four-course prix-fixe meal is a fine option with nary a hint of “bargain” coming out of the kitchen. A choice of appetizer, salad, main course and dessert are included; the selections are lavish and portions generous. On a recent visit, main courses on the prix-fixe menu included roasted venison paired with duck breast and a duo of marinated grilled marlin and opha with ginger lemongrass sauce.
Wines are interesting and moderately priced with several selections available by the glass.
Pat Dailey
– Cafe 36, 36 S. La Grange Rd., La Grange, 708-354-5722. Cafe 36 in La Grange has a split personality: half bistro, half trattoria.
Italian dishes share equal billing with French fare and there’s even flavored olive oil on the tables. But no matter: The small storefront retains a bistro feeling with its white tablecloth-topped tables tucked in every nook and cranny. And there’s enough garlic, including fresh roasted bulbs served with bread, to make its mark.
A rich baked onion soup beats its appetizer competition, including goat cheese-topped crostini. The menu does have ravioli and fettucine primavera, but it also features duck breast and pork nicoise. Roasted chicken has tough competition in the delicious chicken saltimboca, with sliced pieces of chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto and fontina cheese. Steak lovers will have a hard time choosing between the New York steak, with green peppercorn sauce, and beef boursin, a tenderloin stuffed with cheese.
Cafe 36 does tend to take the relaxed bistro atmosphere to an extreme: Dinners can be long and service slow.
Linda Bergstrom
– Espial, 948 W. Armitage, 312-871-8123. Espial is a serendipitous find with enough quirky charm that it matters little if the food is more Italian than French bistro. What counts is that the attitude here is one of bistro at its best-casual, idiosyncratic and pleasantly conducive to conversation.
Tucked directly under the Armitage elevated train tracks, the small spot is a world away from the noise and chaos of a commuter station. Faux frescos, gilt-framed pictures and architectural artifacts make this a comfortable, good-looking room. The corner of the dark wood bar is anchored by a huge, (we’d say life-size but don’t know how big angels really are) torch-bearing angel.
Espial bills itself as a bistro and a bar; equal attention is paid to both agendas. The wine list is brief but well thought out. All wines, mostly in the $20-$30 range, also are available by the glass. They offer four martinis, all made with different gins, including one with Old Raj. A list of cognacs, grappa, Armagnac and port makes an after-dinner cordial sound so appealing it’s almost de riqueur.
Appetizers make tentative forays into French fare with such items as pate, French onion soup, baked brie cheese and goat cheese in tomato sauce. The entrees, all under $10, are almost entirely devoted to Italian pasta and thin-crusted designer pizzas, making the meal a multi-cultural affair. The food sometimes misses a bit in terms of seasoning, but ingredients are fresh and interesting.
On weekends, cabaret-style entertainment is offered in a cozy back room.
Pat Dailey
– French Kitchen, 3437 W. 63rd St., 312-776-6715. When you step into the French Kitchen, in its unlikely location in the heart of the Marquette Park neighborhood, it’s really stepping back in time. Not only is the small restaurant reminiscent of a French country inn, but the menu retains the favorite French bistro dishes of more than two decades ago.
Diners are asked to sign a guestbook as they enter a clean, neat room with photos and paintings on the walls, oilcloth-covered tables and live green plants of all descriptions hanging from ceiling rafters. It is a welcome respite from the furor of the fast food joints, neon-lit stores and taverns that dot the rest of the street and from the constantly changing culinary creations that mark many trendy North Side eateries.
Here you find coq au vin, coquille St. Jacques, beef Wellington, various crepes, pates, escargot, boullibaisse and even a couliabac of salmon. It is obvious that no flashy designer has left his mark on the decor and no cholesterol-conscious nutritionist has been messing with the recipes.
Diners can expect a quiet, candle-lit evening that brings back memories of ’70’s dining, which is about the time this small restaurant came into being: It will be 20 years old in June.
Unfortunately, the prices have kept pace with modern times, with entrees running from $11 to $16 and appetizers in the $4 to $8 range. The soup, however, is a bargain at $1 per cup. Don’t expect an extensive wine list and bring your wallet or checkbook. The French Kitchen does not accept credit cards.
Steven Pratt
– Kiki’s Bistro, 900 N. Franklin St., 312-335-5454. There are a lot of reasons to like this charming out-of-the-way spot in the far reaches of River North. A top-notch, dependable menu from chef John Hogan (Everest Room, Bistro Banlieue). A country auberge setting with soft lighting, exposed beams and brick walls from owner Georges Cuisance (Le Bordeaux). Friendly and efficient service. And a reasonably priced dinner tab for two-starter, entree, dessert and tea or coffee-runs about $60.
What has to be one of the city’s tastiest roasted chicken dishes is just one of the reasons for returning. Hogan marinates the bird in olive oil, garlic and herbs de Provence and serves it on a bed of red cabbage with its natural juices and with-surprise!-mashed potatoes instead of the expected and traditional pommes frites. If you crave a mound of his matchstick frites, you’ll have to order the French-style steak, a wise choice, too.
With a core of French dishes that is supplemented by creative, ever-changing daily specials, the menu roams beyond France, starting with pizza and pasta offerings.
Other daily specials are fish entrees, recent choices being pan-seared salmon with mashed potatoes and red wine butter sauce and sauteed Baffin Island turbot with wild mushroom and watercress coulis. Rounding out specials may be choucroute garni, medallions of venison or braised lamb shank with couscous.
Outstanding starters are escargots de Bourgogne (snails with Pernod garlic butter) and a ragout of wild and domestic mushrooms with shallots and garlic in a Madeira wine sauce.
Desserts choices usually include creme brulee, mousse au chocolate and lemon tarte.
About 45 wines priced from $16 to $40 with a good selection in the $20 range as well as six reds and whites by the glass for $4.25.
Carolyn McGuire
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– La Meme Chose, 5819 W. Dempster, Morton Grove, 708-965-1645. It’s no wonder that La Meme Chose has been satisfying customers for more than 11 years. Carefully prepared food at reasonable prices is served in a charming, romantic atmosphere by a friendly staff.
Most would agree the cozy booths are the premier tables in this small storefront restaurant with simple decor. Softly lit lamps hang low over the tables, shedding a warm glow that spotlights chef/owner Chong Kim’s artistically garnished plates.
To see a maximum of those attractive plates, most patrons select the specially priced five-course dinner. For $19.50, diners are treated to unusual appetizers such as home-cured gravlax with potato pancake and ravioli filled with spinach and gorgonzola. Soup, such as chicken consomme, is followed by a crisp salad of mixed greens.
The menu, which changes monthly, offers a wide range of entrees including six or more seafood selections as well as beef, veal, lamb and game. Roast duck is one of the most popular entrees.
A tip: Ask to be put on the mailing list-you’ll be treated to the next month’s menu.
JeanMarie Brownson
– North Island Bistro, 8 E. Galena, Aurora, 708-844-3033. This one could get hot. With the refurbished Paramount Theatre across the street and the gambling boats coming to the Fox River this summer in sight of the North Island Bistro, this new restaurant will become an obvious destination.
Whether that turns to repeat business will depend on how quickly Jean True, a well-respected Glen Ellyn caterer, makes the transition to restaurant owner.
The sleek bistro with ceiling stage lights that echo the Paramount marquee opened in January. The menu is wisely small with dishes such as stuffed veal and blackened salmon and includes a welcome assortment of wines by the glass.
An early star is the salad-a family-style bowl of tender mixed greens plus a couple of daily items such as almond slivers and fresh raspberries tossed in an addictive, sweet balsamic vinaigrette that’s available for sale by the bottle.
Patricia Tennison
– Oo-La-La, 3335 N. Halsted St., 312-935-7708. If you sit at a table close to the large front window, you can watch the action on Halsted Street and be watched in turn. And watching’s a lot of what it`s about at Oo La La, a hip New York-style bistro.
Niched in a simple corner storefront, mismatched chandeliers and a tin ceiling painted dark give this restaurant a theatrical atmosphere. Masks and festoons painted on the walls and the raised sections of the floor for some tables also lend a little low-key drama. Whether there are thespians among the clientel-often dressed in dark and severe clothing-is something to ponder while you check out the ala carte menu printed on a single sheet of paper and featuring a half-dozen appetizers, six or seven pasta and an equal number of entrees.
There’s a bistro variety of vegetable, meat and chicken main dishes with a fish usually on the daily “specials” menu, all priced from $10 to $15. The appetizers are interesting, two featuring squid (grilled with black olive relish and deep fried with brandy marinara), a carpaccio, brushetta and a vegetable medley, from $4 to $6 each.
The pasta ranges from the simple spaghetti with vealballs or mussels in red or white sauce, to fettuccine with chicken tenders and artichoke hearts in cream and Parmesan or with raisins, pinenuts, garlic and olives, about $9 to $11.
With wine from a fairly bright list, two persons easily can spend $60 to $80 in a pleasant, with-it atmosphere.
Steven Pratt
– Rue St. Clair, 640 N. St. Clair St., 312-787-6907. Located in a cozy streetside room off the lobby of the Richmont Hotel, Rue St. Clair has some heady competition for the bistro crowd from nearby Bistro 110.
Rue St. Clair fights back with a quiet elegance and relaxed atmosphere. Done in pale shades of blue and yellow, the room uses French posters to convey a continental flair, even though Rue St. Clair calls itself an American bistro.
The mood is relaxed, the service attentive. The menu sticks to the bistro basics, including a flavorful brie en croute, escargot, pate, French onion soup, Caesar salad and rack of lamb. Grilled Delmonico steak is a classic bistro selection; the steak is highlighted by nicely seasoned garlic roasted potatoes. Veal piccata is another winner, with tender veal infused with lemon. Pasta can show up in the daily specials. Desserts include a decadent chocolate torte cake.
And in the summer months, a sidewalk cafe makes this as close to a Paris cafe as you can get in Chicago.
Linda Bergstrom
– Saint Germain Restaurant, 1210 N. State Parkway, 312-266-9900. Long for the good food and exquisite food shops of Paris? Then make tracks to Saint Germain Restaurant.
Stepping into this charming storefront is like arriving at a condensed Parisian intersection. Here, bistro, wine bar, sidewalk cafe, pastisserie and gourmet takeout are all housed under one roof.
The aroma of baking bread and a stunning array of salads, pates and desserts in pristine display cases gets the appetite flowing immediately.
Cane-backed chairs and round tables imported from France are at the front of the restaurant which is open-air when weather permits. For a romantic rendezvous, choose a comfortable booth on the elevated level. French music, a hand-painted mural and posters of Paris add to the joie de vivre.
On Friday nights the darkly lit bar is packed with French natives and francophiles alike indulging in the 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. soiree francophone en ville. Wine is only $2 per glass during this time and the $10 prix fixe includes a cup of soup (try the excellent French onion) or salad, and a quiche of the day or a main-dish salad and a fresh fruit puff pastry tart.
The “romantic Saturday” prix fixe is likewise a bargain. Accompanied by live piano music, $22.50 per person includes a champagne cocktail, appetizer, entree and dessert such as the Valrhona-a stunning layered torte of dark and light chocolate mousse named after France’s finest chocolate.
St. Germain’s classic steak ($14.50), accompanied by a mound of frites is worth indulging in at anytime.
JeanMarie Brownson
– Taylor Street Bistro, 1400 W. Taylor St., 312-829-2828. Ironically, the Chicago restaurant that most closely fits the classic bistro profile is located in the heart of Little Italy. Like a true bistro, this is a neighborhood place with mom-and-pop ownership (chef Joe Doppes and his wife, Annie) and a warm ambiance.
A bistro should have a bar and Taylor Street does, though it’s not covered in zinc. (From it flows an appealing selection of wines by the glass plus nearly three dozen bargain-priced bottles.) The restaurant also has typical bistro accouterments, including bentwood chairs, casual tableware and glassware and patterned tablecloths with paper laid over them. Each table sports a pair of small blue pots, one containing mustard, the other those miniture pickles the French call cornichons.
But the real reason to come here is the food. Chef Doppes, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and in the kitchen of Jean Banchet’s Le Francais, is a first-rate technician who not only can produce moist and tender venison but provide an accompaniment of four separate vegetables, each one perfectly cooked. You can’t go wrong with his pates, escargot, French onion soup or roasted chicken with french fries. There’s more elaborate fare too, involving seafood, duck, veal and some very satisfying sauces, that brings more sophisticated taste rewards than one would expect in this setting.
In a bow to the neighborhood, Doppes uses French techniques (including a brioche-dough crust) to produce a pair of pizzas (one featuring shrimp, the other smoked chicken) that are the equal of any in the city.
William Rice
– Un Grand Cafe, 2300 N. Lincoln Park West, 312-348-8886. A colleague suggests that Un Grand Cafe can’t be a bistro until it puts some beaujolais on the wine list. Perhaps Un Grand Cafe is indeed too grand to be considered a true bistro; regardless, it’s still an excellent restaurant whose bistro dishes are often superb.
The dining room is comfortably crowded, done in dark woods, tiled floors and bright but not too bright lighting. An outdoor garden is a popular spot for summer diners. Can’t-miss options include escargots stuffed into hollowed new potatoes, duck sausage with frisee, classic steak frites and the signature steak Grand Cafe (tenderloin with peppers, shallots, mushrooms and onions). Desserts include excellent fruit tarts and a rich but light-textured chocolate souffle cake.
Phil Vettel
– Yvette, 1206 N. State Pkwy., 312-280-1700. For the best bistro experience at Yvette, you want to sit in the front area, where a handful of tables, topped with tablecloth and white paper, adjoin a copper-trimmed bar. Large windows overlook State Parkway at street level, and the effect of dining gracefully while barely removed from the urban bustle is pleasant indeed.
The menu offers augmented bistro fare, some of it classic, some not; plates in either case are simply constructed. Among entrees you’ll find a duet of grilled fish afloat in dual sauces, or perhaps roasted lamb, sliced off the bone and served with ratatouille and a crisp potato galette. There’s a daily pate, generally country style, that goes well with the bite-size pieces of baguette already on your table.
There’s almost always live music playing-a pleasant break with tradition-and the restaurant keeps late hours, making it popular with the post-theater crowd.
Phil Vettel