Les Nomades

Has anyone been here recently?
We used to love this place. Unfortunately, our last two visits (about a year ago) did not meet expectations (particularly in service).
Did we go on bad nights, or has it fallen in quality?

We were there on a Saturday in October. The service was very attentive. The upstairs room was only half full by the time we were done, which was probably 8:30 or 9pm.

It definitely wasn't the most memorable meal I've had in the last year, but it was quite excellent for a birthday celebration!

I'd like to bring this thread back up to the top of the list b/c my boyfriend and I have reservations for dinner at Les Nomades tomorrow night.

My first choice was originally North Pond, which I have not been to, but they were all booked and we were put on the waitlist.

I did a search on here for Les Nomades but didn't really come across much information....a few recommendations here and there or some people saying it's past its heydays, but no detailed posts about a specific dining experience, particularly since the new chef took over.

Would anyone care to share more?

I haven't been there since the kitchen change, but I'm pretty sure the decor hasn't, so you want to be sure you're seated upstairs for the more romantic setting.

Yep, I managed to glean that much out of the few posts I found :). Part of the reason why we decided to go tomorrow instead of Saturday was b/c they had a private party booked for the entire upstairs Saturday night.

I haven't been in a few years [dinner for the eve of the millenium was one of the best meals ever, but in later trips it was good but not outstanding, but with very high prices].

I was thinking of going back. Any thoughts?

Other contenders for the night are Naha, NoMi, and Kevin. I would like to stay in Streeterville for the evening.

DML wrote:I haven't been in a few years [dinner for the eve of the millenium was one of the best meals ever, but in later trips it was good but not outstanding, but with very high prices].

I was thinking of going back. Any thoughts?

Other contenders for the night are Naha, NoMi, and Kevin. I would like to stay in Streeterville for the evening.

Of this group, strictly on a food basis, I would choose NoMi. For additional suggestions, for casual fine dining, I would choose Aigre Doux (it's a few blocks west of Streeterville, I know). For a bit more of a splurge, Avenues (I know it's expensive, but if you can manage to stick to the three-course a la carte selections for $90 rather than the $160 ten-course tasting menu, you can still have a wonderful meal without breaking the bank).

I was thinking about Aigre Doux, but a lot of the comments here turned me off.

Avenues is one of my absolute favorite places. However, we were there relatively recently (December) so I wanted to try someplace else.

Naha is always a favorite, but I think my wife and I go there too often.

I found NoMI slightly disappointing last time I was there, but want to try it again sinfce it seems that most people like it much more than I do.

I haven't been to either Kevin or Les Nomades in a long time and was considering them.

I might also try Le Lan again. I haven't been there since the new chef took over.

This will be our first night out since our kids were born, so I wanted someplace very nice to celebrate their arrival but at the same time, I wanted to stay close to home [Streeterville] and I don't want a three hour meal.

Spiaggia?

eatchicago wrote:Spiaggia?

That's the great thing about living in Streeterville. We were there in about October/November of last year.

On that note, I seem to recall hearing a rumor that Tony Mantuano is leaving again. Anybody know anything about that?

Kevin. It's not "flavor of the month" (pardon the pun), which I think is a good thing. We went for the first time a couple months ago, and went back again last month (we rarely do that). We plan on hitting it regularly, or at least until we see if the quality changes when his new place gets going.

BTW, my favorite wine list in the city.

Following up on this (when I first posted it, we ended up at Kevin -- had an amazing meal).

My night out with my wife for this month (when you have infant twins, you are lucky to get one night out) will be Avenues. I am trying to plan June's night out.

Les Nomades was a great place under the former chef. The prices are still about the same as before, which may be hard to justify.

Has anyone gone recently? Is it worth the money and the time?

Les Nomades was a great place under the former chef. The prices are still about the same as before, which may be hard to justify.

Has anyone gone recently? Is it worth the money and the time?

I've never been, but I'm close friends with a couple, and Les Nomades used to be their "special" place. I think they've gone twice since the change and have been very disappointed. For their last special date night, I recommended Sweets and Savories, and they were ecstatic.

Glad to hear you enjoyed Kevin. I don't think that restaurant gets the attention it deserves.

jesteinf wrote:Glad to hear you enjoyed Kevin. I don't think that restaurant gets the attention it deserves.

I think I posted something here about that meal (if not, I know I referenced it in a post commenting on Zealous). Kevin was absolutely incredible. They had a "liver" appetizer that ranks with some of the best I've ever had. Great food, great service. We definitely will be returning in the next few months.

Thursday evening (today actually) my wife and I dined at Les Nomades. In order to explain our reaction to Les Nomades, I need to discuss another recent dining experience.

My wife and I this past week returned from a trip to Maui. There, we dined at a place called Capische?. Capische? is an Italian restaurant that violates one of the main rules for fine dining: Never dine at a place with great views. Capische? has incredible views of the sunset over the Pacific. That alone would be reason to go. (In contrast, the question mark in the name of the restaurant is a reason not to go.) We have since learned that there is another reason, beyond the views, to dine at Capische?. The food is interesting and the service is actively engaged with the meal.

At Capische?, our first contact with the wait staff was when a waiter brought us water. The water was brought by a young assistant waiter. He was about 22. As he was bringing the water, we asked him what he liked about the menu. He raved about the white truffle risotto and the pumpkin gnocchi. His enthusiasm for the two starters was incredible. He explained that we could each order one, and they would split the portions so that we could share them. A few minutes later our main server arrived and we discussed those two starters along with a few other items on the menu. That server again was genuinely enthusiastic about the food. This wasn't your fake "our food is outstanding." This was two people who had tried the food and thought it kicked butt. So we ordered the recommended starters along with a salad (which they were happy to split) and two Hawaiian fish main courses.

Of course, the two starters did knock it out of the ballpark. The risotto rivaled dishes that I have had a Spiaggia, and the gnocchi was a revelation. It was amazingly light, with incredible flavors. The younger waiter who had initially made the recommendation seemed genuinely pleased that we liked the dishes as much as he did.

When it came to wine, the main server made the point of asking us what we typically drank. I let her know, but also let her know that we trusted her knowledge of the food and would be happy to drink whatever she recommended. Her choices were interesting, and paired very well with the food. That being said, I liked the idea of asking me what kind of wine I typically consume. It showed she cared about my taste and that she was interested in seeing that I had a great experience at Capsische?.

Overall, the food at Capische? was excellent, but the overall experience was made more so by waiters who really cared about the food. They WANTED us to like the food as much as they did. This was not the occasionally annoying "Hi, I'm Fred and I look forward to serving you tonight" sort of over-friendly service you see in a lot of American places. This was service by people who liked the food.

Our meal at Les Nomades provided a stark contrast. We were warmly greeted by Mary Beth. She has been one of our favorite people on the Chicago food scene for a long time. We genuinely like her. It is unfortunate that her staff did not live up to her example.

Overall, the meal had the feeling of aiming for competence, rather than aiming for spectacular. Our main waiter was "Chris." I know his name only because I heard people at the next table (a loud and obnoxious couple who filled the room with their wit and intelligence -- or at least they seemed to think they did) repeatedly refer to him by name. Chris seemed to have certain views of the food, but also did not seem inclined to share those views or the basis for any of his views. His recommendations rarely went beyond "This is very good." I got the impression that he either just didn't care about the food, or he just didn't care to share his knowledge with us. He brought to mind a lyric from a horrible song -- "The Piano Man." We had the distinct impression that there was someplace that he'd rather be. He seemed to have a sound understanding of food and wine, but he also just didn't seem to care about it.

In any case, the meal started with an interesting amuse, and unfortunately, declined course by course. The amuse featured three dishes. One was unmemorable. Writing less than two hours after consuming it, I can't tell you what it was. However, the second and third (a filled cheese pastry and a chestnut soup) were exceptional.

For a first course, I had scallops. Very nice. My wife had a selection of pates, which was interesting and also very good. For the second course, I had a cauliflower soup, while my wife had a salad. Good, but not exceptional. The soup was a bit thin for my taste, but nonetheless, there was flavor. For the third course, I went with a Loup De Mare, while my wife went with salmon. My fish seemed to lack taste. It was a nice piece of fish, but not all that interesting. My wife's salmon had a very nice sauce, but was cooked longer that I would have cooked it.

For the main course, my wife went with venison. Good, but nothing special. I went with a rack of lamb. Again, nothing special.

For dessert, we both had soufflés. I went with a passion fruit, while my wife went with a Grand Mariner. Again, both were nice but we've had better.

Overall, the impression of Les Nomades was of competence. This seemed to be crew that wanted a "B" grade, and did not want to make any sacrifice that may cause the B to slip to a C. I was looking for food and service that was enthusiastic, interesting, and at least slightly creative, but got "competent." It was a wonderful meal, but not memorable.

Although nothing was screwed up, nothing was exceptional. The server did not seem to particularly care about the food (he was technically proficient but completely unenthusiastic and uninspired) and the kitchen turned out very nice food. Not a single dish caused me to say "I must return for this."

Finally, a note on the clientele: Admittedly, we went out on an extremely cold night, so the place was relatively empty. However, the crowd in the place skewed slightly older (nothing wrong with that) but did so in a way that the crowd seemed to share the staff's view. They were nicely dressed and spoke too loud and wore fur. This was not the creative set. I felt like I was dining with a bunch of slightly trashed senior accountants.

The room is still beautiful, and the owner, Mary Beth, remains charming. However, Les Nomades seemingly has little else to offer. It may be a nice choice for people unfamilar with high end cuisine. At that price point, I want something that will wow me. I want genuine enthusiasm about the food. Any day of the week, I will take the young, apparently less trained but very enthusiastic staff of a place like Capische over the very well trained but dull staff of Les Nomades.

I have dined once at Les Nomades and was similarly underwhelmed. I certainly can't think of any good reason to return. But I found your title choice a little curious. Did the other guests' clothing choices have that much of an effect on your dining experience?

YoYoPedro wrote:I have dined once at Les Nomades and was similarly underwhelmed. I certainly can't think of any good reason to return. But I found your title choice a little curious. Did the other guests' clothing choices have that much of an effect on your dining experience?

It did not seem to be a crowd that particularly cared about food. It was a crowd of loud people who seemed to be more into the idea of going for an "expensive" meal than a crowd looking for a high quality meal.

It didn't detract from the experience as much to confirm that the regulars don't seem to mind the present arrangement.

DML wrote:It did not seem to be a crowd that particularly cared about food. It was a crowd of loud people who seemed to be more into the idea of going for an "expensive" meal than a crowd looking for a high quality meal.

It didn't detract from the experience as much to confirm that the regulars don't seem to mind the present arrangement.

Although I understand the type of people who you are talking about, I'm not sure how you could make such a judgment. This is a really a sweeping generalization based on (presumably) a limited number of people at the restaurant on one particular night. Maybe they were similarly disappointed in the restaurant.

I'm not disagreeing that this may be the crowd Les Nomads attracts. But I think adding this bit to your review (and including it in the title) detracts from an otherwise excellent review.

DML wrote:

YoYoPedro wrote:I have dined once at Les Nomades and was similarly underwhelmed. I certainly can't think of any good reason to return. But I found your title choice a little curious. Did the other guests' clothing choices have that much of an effect on your dining experience?

It did not seem to be a crowd that particularly cared about food. It was a crowd of loud people who seemed to be more into the idea of going for an "expensive" meal than a crowd looking for a high quality meal.

It didn't detract from the experience as much to confirm that the regulars don't seem to mind the present arrangement.

Makes sense, I guess the fur part still throws me off. The parallel with expensive, I suppose?

Darren72 wrote:

DML wrote:It did not seem to be a crowd that particularly cared about food. It was a crowd of loud people who seemed to be more into the idea of going for an "expensive" meal than a crowd looking for a high quality meal.

It didn't detract from the experience as much to confirm that the regulars don't seem to mind the present arrangement.

Although I understand the type of people who you are talking about, I'm not sure how you could make such a judgment? This is a really a sweeping generalization based on (presumably) a limited number of people at the restaurant on one particular night. Maybe they were similarly disappointed in the restaurant.

I'm not disagreeing that this may be the crowd Les Nomads attracts. But I think adding this bit to your review (and including it in the title) detracts from an otherwise excellent review.

I disagree. In addition to the information about food and service, these are the type of honest impressions that I look for in any LTH review. In fact, it comports with my understanding of the clientele at that place and what others have told me about it. Yes, it's a generalization, but so what? I think we all understand that it's just a generalization and take it for what it is.

aschie30 wrote:I disagree. In addition to the information about food and service, these are the type of honest impressions that I look for in any LTH review. In fact, it comports with my understanding of the clientele at that place and what others have told me about it. Yes, it's a generalization, but so what? I think we all understand that it's just a generalization and take it for what it is.

I wasn't complaining that it was a generalization per se. That's obviously a big part of what we do here. I was complaining that this particular generalization seems to be based on little very little evidence.

DML's original post reads:

DML wrote:Finally, a note on the clientele: Admittedly, we went out on an extremely cold night, so the place was relatively empty. However, the crowd in the place skewed slightly older (nothing wrong with that) but did so in a way that the crowd seemed to share the staff's view. They were nicely dressed and spoke too loud and wore fur. This was not the creative set. I felt like I was dining with a bunch of slightly trashed senior accountants.

(Italics are mine.) I have no idea how one could infer anything about whether the other guests shared the staff's view, especially from their age, dress, or voice level. While the guests' age, dress, and voice level may matter for some things, I have no idea how it sheds light on their perceptions of the food or service. Maybe they weren't impressed either.

The follow-up post reads:

DML wrote:It did not seem to be a crowd that particularly cared about food. It was a crowd of loud people who seemed to be more into the idea of going for an "expensive" meal than a crowd looking for a high quality meal.

Again, this may be an accurate description of the guests, but I have no idea how the OP could credibly infer this. I have many relatives who are loud, older, and wear fur. But they know good food. When they dislike the food or service at a particular restaurant, they don't become any less old or less loud (and they certainly don't pick their outwear based on the quality of the service).

The place is relatively small. You cannot help but overhear part of the conversation, and when they speak loudly, it becomes easy. I didn't hear much talk about the food or wine that night.

For what its worth -- Is there really a massive group of fur-wearing foodies out there? Is this a group I need to worry about offending?

The remark (and title) added color to the review, and I would do it again if the circumstances called for it. It helped to explain the overall restaurant experience.

Answering further:

Darren chose to emphasize part of what I wrote, and in doing so, missed the next line: "This was not the creative set."

DML wrote:Answering further:

Darren chose to emphasize part of what I wrote, and in doing so, missed the next line: "This was not the creative set."

I didn't miss that line. That makes sense to me. I know what you are saying.

You seem to be offended by my comments. I am sorry and that certainly isn't my intent. Just to be clear: I thought your review was great. There was just one small part that didn't click with me.

I wasn't implying you were offending anyone, such as people who wear fur. I was implying that wearing fur and not appreciating food don't go hand-in-hand.

Anyways, this really isn't that big of a deal and didn't mean to make so much of it.

DML wrote:For what its worth -- Is there really a massive group of fur-wearing foodies out there? Is this a group I need to worry about offending?

In my view one should always strive not to offend, regardless the size of the group.
Unless they presauce BBQ

Specifically to Les Nomades, I am not much of a fan. We encountered two serious service fumbles that totally took our meal off track. I should note this was prior to the current changes in management/chef complection.

Enjoy,
Gary

DML wrote:The place is relatively small. You cannot help but overhear part of the conversation, and when they speak loudly, it becomes easy. I didn't hear much talk about the food or wine that night.

For what its worth -- Is there really a massive group of fur-wearing foodies out there? Is this a group I need to worry about offending?

The remark (and title) added color to the review, and I would do it again if the circumstances called for it. It helped to explain the overall restaurant experience.

For me, the title made it sound anti-fur instead of pro-food. Turns out that wasn't exactly so, or was maybe just a wee bit so. But it also seems that a person can only post his OPINION of his experience, and that is what this board is all about, sharing opinions. So it seems a bit harsh for someone else to insist that the original poster formed his opinion based on minimal evidence. One needn't present evidence to have an opinion, and since the OP was present at the occasion that formed his/her opinion and someone else was not, well...

Why are everyones undies so tight around here lately. First the whole "Offensive terms" thing now this.

Can't we please focus on the food and establishments?

JLenart wrote:Why are everyones undies so tight around here lately. First the whole "Offensive terms" thing now this.

Can't we please focus on the food and establishments?

Agreed. What is this? Antioch in the early-90's?


This BS PC virus rampaging thru the forum will hopefully run it's course. I prescribe Absinthe(now! fresh! legal! hip!) and foie.

oy veh

Not to digress, but if anyone had the opportunity to go to Maui in the near future, I was serious about Capische (in Wailea). What a place. If there is anyplace in the world that gets as high marks both on food and setting, I am not aware of it. Both were spectacular.