Travelle, in the Langham

Yesterday the two of us went to Travelle for lunch, and OH. MY. GOD. It was absolutely terrific!!!

Prior to this lunch, I had heard very little about Travelle, other than seeing it recently given four diamonds by the AAA. I selected it after viewing its lunch menu for Restaurant Week (RW), which sounded enticing (more so than their regular menus). So off we went.

Travelle is in the Langham Hotel, which is just across the river from the Loop, in the building technically named AMA Plaza but which ten Chicagoans out of ten know as the IBM Building. The restaurant, and hotel registration, are located on the second floor. We had called up in advance to ask about parking arrangements, and their valet parking offers a reasonable (for the neighborhood) charge of $14 for up to four hours. We rolled up and received a friendly, helpful greeting from the valet, who directed us to the restaurant.

The restaurant itself is gorgeous. The décor is contemporary and elegant. It features two freestanding divider glass walls displaying many bottles of wine, windows along one side allowing ample daylight in, modern minimalist direct lighting and subtle indirect lighting, and comfy leather furniture. At the end of the dining room is a freestanding kitchen glassed in on three sides, so you could watch everything and hear nothing. The room is conversation-friendly, not terribly loud.

We were seated and immediately greeted by our server. The service was exquisite throughout our meal, by the entire team, including the hostess, the waitstaff, and the GM-type gentleman who came by most of the tables to ensure all were enjoying themselves. Observing that the tables were about 80 percent occupied, I asked him how this compares to their usual lunch crowd, and he noted that it was about double, thanks to Restaurant Week.

We were presented with the RW menu, which was identical with the one on the RW website. We asked to see the regular (a la carte) lunch menu as well, and then decided to stick with the RW menu. We were served mini ciabatta rolls with cracked sea salt on them, along with a molded (i.e. semi-solid) spreadable olive oil which was also sprinkled with sea salt.

The Restaurant Week lunch menu consists of three courses, each with 2-4 choices available. Here's what we had:

APPETIZER
- Chestnut Soup, Sherried Pears, Peeky-Toe Crab Rouille
- Grilled Octopus, Sauce Bravas, Sofrito Potato

The chestnut soup was absolutely outstanding - velvety smooth and full of flavor, with bits of pear and crab in it. The grilled octopus was equally outstanding. The octopus portion was one large leg, nicely sized, very tender and moist with a slight char to the outer skin, one of the best octopus dishes you'll find anywhere. The sauce with the octopus was nice and reminded me of a romesco sauce.

ENTRÉE
- Braised Short Ribs, Green Faro, Caramelized Pearl Onion
- Chile Poached Cod, Brussel Sprouts, Pine Nut Cream

The short ribs were another terrific dish. The portion of short ribs was quite generous, what many restaurants serve for dinner. It was very tender and moist. On top was a tiny sliver of hot/spicy pepper french-fried, and it was a great touch. The faro was okay and I loved the pearl onions. The cod dish was thoroughly excellent too, particularly the baby brussel sprouts and sauce as well as the delicious fish.

DESSERT
- Sour Cherry Pistachio Tart
- Nutella Baklava

The tart was outstanding and made me want to try more desserts by this pastry chef. I enjoy desserts that taste good AND show creativity and uniqueness, and this one definitely qualified. I'm not sure I would call it a tart, though, as I think of it as a cake. It consisted of a round pistachio-flavored cake sitting on top of a shortbread-like bottom crust, topped with sour cherries and whipped cream, with more cherries and crumbles alongside it. Excellent. The baklava was very good but not all that unusual; the plating was interesting, with little dabs and drops of nutella and lemon and what was apparently a vinegar emulsion.

This lunch was an absolute delight, with wonderful food and exquisite service in a lovely setting. It would have been just as impressive if it had cost twice as much, which it probably would if it were not for Restaurant Week; at $22 it was a great bargain as well. (They normally offer a three-course prix fixe lunch menu for $29.) We loved it so much that we look forward to returning for dinner, hopefully sooner rather than later. And after all, that's Restaurant Week at its best - exposing us to a restaurant that is "flying under the radar" and overshadowed by other places that receive far more media attention, and finding a "hidden gem" that is serving terrific food in a gorgeous setting, one that impressed us and made us want to return. Restaurant Week goes on for one more week, and if you're looking for a place to lunch next week, Travelle is a great choice!

Travelle
330 North Wabash Avenue (Langham Hotel)
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 923-7705
travellechicago.com

Tim Graham exiting Travelle, opening new restaurant

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct ... story.html

Mrs Willie & I went with my parents to Travelle on Saturday night for a Mother's Day dinner.

As we had a theatre event scheduled for 7:30pm, we were there at 5pm when they opened.

Highly suggest having a drink in the bar area, pre or post dinner. The 2nd floor bar area overlooking the river with floor to ceiling windows, one gets a view of the buildings as well. Unfortunately we arrived just before 5 & didn't have time.

Bread & butter - bread are dinner rolls, the pillowy dinner rolls that are served at a good diner. Butter is whipped with honey & a bit of dijon mustard, sprinkled with sea salt. Enjoyable.

We started with:
Crispy Octopus w/pork belly, salsa verde, harissa, sugar snap peas
Gnocchi w/rabbit sausage, fava beans, pea vines, cipollini onions
Tortellini w/lemon mascarpone, asparagus, parmesan butter, frico
Hamachi Crudo w/avocado, tomatillo, cilantro

The crudo and gnocchi were outstanding. Tortellini was good. Crispy octopus was not crispy at all, in fact the octopus was mushy.

Entrees:
Pork & Clams - Berkshire pork chop, manila clams, morels, ramps
Pistachio Lamb Loin - spring vegetable fricassée, citrus jus
The Fish Guy's Whole Fish for two

Pork & Clams was very good, cooked perfectly, LOTS of morels, I was very pleased. Using those pillowy dinner rolls to soak up the broth was my favorite part.

The fish was sea bass, pan sauteed with thyme/herbs. Expertly executed, cooked perfect. Served with white asparagus & shaved parmesan cheese.

Lamb was well executed but just didn't pop with flavor.

Service was very good, some small mishaps when our primary server wasn't around but we were very pleased overall.

Travelle was very nice & provided a complimentary dessert in honor of Mother's day, while the Banana & Peanut Butter Pot de Creme (nutella, malted milk ice cream) was calling out to me, we all decided on the Spring Verrine of blackberry sorbet,
lemon black pepper ice cream, w/toasted meringue top. The lemon black pepper ice cream was amazing.

Valet parking is still $14, make sure the restaurant validates your valet ticket w/a stamp.

For anyone interested in trying Travelle, Travelzoo is offering a Four-Course, Farm-to-Table Dinner for $45

Details: http://www.travelzoo.com/entertainment/ ... 5-2320655/
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