Four-star food at one-star prices. That’s the intriguing prospect raised by the opening of Brasserie Jo, which features the talents of Jean Joho, the world-renowned chef and proprietor of Everest.
Brasserie Jo offers Joho’s cooking at prices that don’t begin to scale Everest’s heights. Heck, they don’t even scale the heights of the brasserie’s vaulted ceiling. Most entrees are less than $15; a glass of the house red or white, both French, is $3.50 — as is the house beer, Hop La!, brewed for Brasserie Jo by Baderbrau.
No wonder the place is crowded.
And though the food at Brasserie Jo is not on the level of the culinary magic performed at Everest, the underlying principle is the same. Joho is a master when working with simple, rustic ingredients. At Everest, he combines them with exotic companions, transforming the parts into a star-quality whole. At Brasserie Jo, he places the humble staples of Alsace unapologetically into the spotlight. Not dressed in gold leaf, not paired with lobster, not upgraded by association with costlier and more aristocratic companions. Just the ingredients at their essence, as God and Alsace intended.
And the quality remains unassailable. Pates and rilettes, offered in a couple of assortments, are uniformly delicious, delicate in flavor and pleasing in texture. Escargots a l’Alsacienne presents a half-dozen snails (shipped frozen from France), perfumed with garlic and again, texturally superior. A half-dozen oysters are served with a smooth mignonette sauce, though the oysters are so pristine that they need no sauce at all.
Steak tartare is a pricey ($12.95) but enormous starter (sharable by two or three), an eggless version that begins with a huge mound of top-quality sirloin, seasoned with shallots, mustard, Tabasco and herbs. It’s served over a bowl of crushed ice; off to the side is a hefty order of good frites, jammed upright into a paper-lined metal tumbler.
The onion tart Uncle Hansi is indeed named after a late uncle of Joho’s. The Alsatian-style tart — we call it a quiche — is warm and wonderful in a perfect flaky crust.
The knockout entree is Joho’s choucroute, an assortment of pork cuts served with Alsatian sauerkraut in a large fondue crock. Included are hefty pieces of pork shoulder and smoked butt, a liver quenelle, a small bit of knockwurst and other sausages and large chunks of potato. It’s a formidable serving — most people won’t be able to finish it — but the tastes and textures are terrific.
Also good is the shrimp bag, an entree that has improved since it was introduced on Brasserie Jo’s inaugural menu. Now you’ll find larger shrimp within the golden phyllo-dough bag, along with wild mushrooms, shredded leek and diced red pepper in a gentle lobster sauce.
Lamb stew is featured on Mondays — billed originally as navarin of lamb, which proved too arcane a title to some diners. By any name, the chunks of lamb are tender and hearty, and the supporting broth, seasoned with rosemary and thyme, adds a hint of sweetness to the dish. Also on the plate are very buttery mashed potatoes, and coarse wedges of rutabaga.
Classic brasserie dishes include a delectable coq au vin, large pieces of chicken in a red-wine broth; a good-tasting, somewhat chewy steak frites, the steak topped with a smear of herb butter; and a very nice sauteed skate wing (featured on Fridays), served with a caper-butter sauce.
Kougelhof glace is a dessert we first encountered at Everest four years ago; it has made a smooth transition here. It’s a hefty dessert, beginning with kirsch-laced spongecake studded with macerated fruits, encased in a dome of homemade ice cream. It’s the most exotic-sounding dessert in a selection that includes very good bread pudding, with dried raisins and apricots and a dribble of caramel sauce; somewhat overeggy creme caramel; and profiteroles, made with exceptionally good pastry and presented dramatically, the chocolate sauce decanted tableside from a ceramic pitcher.
The restaurant has been crowded since its Sept. 1 opening. We pulled up one recent Friday night and were told that the wait was 1 1/2 hours. (On the positive side, it was the car valet who told us this, thoughtfully preserving our option to drive elsewhere.) Clearly, a reservation would have been a good idea, but we couldn’t get one; the restaurant reserves only about half the room, leaving the rest for walk-ins, and those scarce weekend reservations get snagged early.
There is one bit of authenticity we could live without: There is no coatroom. Instead, you place folded coats on a shelf behind each banquette. That will do, I suppose, but wet umbrellas are problematic, and there is the matter of those folks waiting in the bar, coats and all. Coathooks are being nailed to walls even as we write this; perhaps that will help.
While waiting for a table, coatless or otherwise, you can belly up to the zinc-topped bar, where, in addition to a snort or two, you can order hunger-staving nibbles off a small bar menu. If things aren’t too frantic, the bartenders may allow you to order off the main menu as well.
Once seated, you’ll quickly receive a demibaguette, the crusty bread protruding from its paper-bag sleeve, and a small pot of mustard, plus a little crudite — perhaps some crisp, marinated carrots with a little horseradish kick.
Remarkably, the 220-seat restaurant doesn’t seem to be terribly noisy. Sightlines are wide open; you can check out the entire brightly lit room in a long glance, though the eyes tend to linger on the colorful, oversized wall murals, or, if you’re near a window, on Courthouse Place across the street, which is very striking when illuminated at night.
The wine list is all-French and very reasonably priced; there are plenty of bottles at $20 or less, and nearly all are less than $30. True to its name, the brasserie offers a great many French beers.
The terrific popularity of Brasserie Jo comes on the heels of the success of Brasserie T, an accomplished suburban concept by former Trio-ites Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand. It appears that the whole world isn’t eating Italian food after all.
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People do love French food — especially when the price is right.
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(star) (star) (star) Brasserie Jo, 59 W. Hubbard St., 312-505-0800. Hours: 5 p.m.-midnight Mon.-Sat., 4 p.m.-midnight Sun. Price range: Appetizers $4.75-$7.50, soups/salads $3.50-$8.95, entrees $9.50-$16.95, desserts $3.50-$4.75; dinner for two of appetizer, soup/salad, entree, dessert, tax and tip: $68. Credit cards: American Express, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Other: Wheelchair accessible; valet parking available.
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Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.