Jacky's Bistro Reborn

Sad to report the economic downturn has claimed another victim. Jackie's Bistro has long been a north suburban favorite for French food. There is now a sign in the window that says "For sale or lease" followed by a phone number.

Don't want to be accused of piling on, but...

Upon a recommendation we went with another couple about three years ago on a Friday night, early-like, around 6PM. Waited 30 minutes past reservation time to be seated. Service was extremely slow, food unremarkable (I only remember the duck, which was pretty good), wine decent but high priced.

What I DO remember was as soon as we finished our entrees and dessert, there was non-verbal communication to pay & leave first by the waiter, then by the manager. I've been to enough restaurants to know when I'm being rushed out. Heck, it was them that took so long to serve us! We were utterly disgusted & haven't been back since, which I suppose is a moot point now.

Karma's a b*tch, I guess...

While I realize that Jacky Pluton no longer owned his eponymous restaurant, having sold it to his sous chef to open Pluton back in the day, it got me thinking: how many places has he burned through over the years? My count, since 1992, when I first became aware of him:

Provence, in Winnetka (closed after a fire; now Michael)

Jacky's Bistro

Pluton (closed for 'remodeling'; never reopened)

That Eurosteak place in the Hotel Orrington in Evanston (closed roughly a year after it opened)

Haussmann Brasserie, Northfield (closed after a disastrously short run)

Retail store, Wilmette, next to Carson's (closed abruptly)

Retail store/caterers, Evanston (ditto; I still have some very nice red French tongs that I bought there, but the next time I went back, it had vanished)

That's quite a track record for a time period of less than 17 years. How does he keep getting financial backing? And I wonder what he's cooking up now? (BTW, I left out his preculiarly entertaining PBS cooking/golf series, "The Fairway Gourmet," and no, I'm not joking about this!)

My impresseion was that Provence, his first place, was successful until the fire.
Jacky's Bistro had a very good run by restaurants standards.
You are right, however, that since those first two places, he's had a string of failures.
The pity is that, in my view, he's an excellent chef. I've liked the food at all of his places where I've had it. I hope he finds the right business partner who can channel his talents in the right direction.

Jonah

Fairway Gourmet was one of the weirdest cooking shows I've ever seen. Golf and cooking? Can you say self-indulgent?

Jacky's Bistro had a very good run by restaurants standards.

. . . .probably because he's had nothing to do with it for several years!

I knew it was in trouble as soon as I saw it listed as offering airline miles for United and American. Generally, the only restaurants that offer miles are really new places trying to get noticed, ethnic restaurants trying to build a steady customer base, or places that have hit on hard times economically. Lots of favorite places, especially high-end places, have ended up on the mileage lists this year.

I tried the "new" Jacky's today: they were giving out BOGO coupons at Blind Faith (if you look around the neighborhood, you're bound to find one on the ground.) All I can say is that I was very glad we didn't pay full-price for our meal, I'd have been really ticked if we did. Prices are high for lunch ($25 for bouillabaise, $17 for steak frites, the steak looked to be flatiron or somesuch) and food quality is medium - bouillabaise had a still-closed clam (one of three or four, plus three mussels, I was surprised it had been overlooked) was somewhat overcooked and arrived searingly hot, almost boiling - the aioli was nice, the rest of it was pretty bad. Steak frites were OK, frites nothing special except for the sea salt, steak itself not very flavorful but with a flavorful garnish of shallot and rosemary. They did have a very nice tapenade with the breadbasket.

The service and interior are clearly carryovers from the original owner; very nice, somewhat flashy but not annoying service, and a very nice ambience, still somewhat casual but nice and not cramped. I can't compare to the old restaurant, we never made it - but I was somewhat shocked by the prices on the lunch menu, especially in response to the food quality.

Mhays wrote:I tried the "new" Jacky's today: they were giving out BOGO coupons at Blind Faith...

I think the owner of Blind Faith is the new owner of Jacky's. The last time we were at Blind Faith, I vaguely remember hearing/seeing something about that. I soon forgot it, but M's post reminds me.

Mhays wrote:Prices are high for lunch ($25 for bouillabaise, $17 for steak frites, the steak looked to be flatiron or somesuch)

Like many places (such as Miramar and Casa de Isaac in the recent Highland Park discussion), Jacky's Bistro serves a lunch menu which includes sandwiches and salads at moderate prices, and entrees from their dinner menu with prices and portion sizes the same or similar to those at dinner. At such places, those who are looking for a moderately-priced lunch should stick to the sandwich and salad items.

Frankly, the portion sizes were not so large as to be excessive for lunch - certainly for the bouillabaise and to some degree for the steak frites - and what I had was insanely overpriced for what it was even if it was dinner. I'm glad I didn't order from the sandwich menu - it's not any less overpriced, sandwiches start at $10. I expect a lot from a $10 sandwich, (considering what can be had in Evanston for half that or less) and the meal I had didn't give me faith that Jacky's was prepared to deliver. The menu is online at their website here.

Sandwich and salad prices of $10-12 are pretty typical for a nice sit-down "white tablecloth" restaurant, and are no different from those places under discussion in Highwood/Highland Park (Cafe Central's lunch menu is here and they were almost full at lunchtime one day last week) as well as similar places in Evanston (Jilly's Cafe, near Jacky's, has their lunch menu here). That's not overpriced for that kind of place.

I've been to Jacky's for lunch under the previous ownership and the portion size of the short rib entree (which is still on the menu) was exactly the same as at dinner (and was huge). That item is still on the menu, still with the same prices at lunch and dinner.

My point being that if the food isn't good, it isn't worth the price tag for the white tablecloth alone. Otherwise I'd bring a white tablecloth to McDonald's.

Mhays wrote:My point being that if the food isn't good, it isn't worth the price tag for the white tablecloth alone.

Of course.

I liked my short ribs entree...

Today wife #1 had lunch at Jacky's which she quite enjoyed. She ordered the Trout with fennel - pear stuffing and thought it delicious - moist and flavorful. She also said the accompanying green beans (with pine nuts) tasted as if they had just been picked from the garden.

Hi George,

You may want to amend the subject title to "Jacky's Bistro - born again!" or anything you prefer which does not state RIP.

Regards,

Good idea Cathy.

Thanks,

George

We had our Thanksgiving meal at Jacky's ... for a prixe fixe $39 it wasn't bad. My Trout Meunière over haricot verts was perfectly cooked, crispy, and how could trout be bad with so much butter? The turkey and steak others had also received raves. My braised raddichio appetizer was interesting ... I guess I expected some bitterness, but not quite as much as I got. My companions' turkey and Slagel Family steak were reportedly very tasty. Desserts - creme brulee and chocolate tart were pretty good - the creme brulee was good enough - and not too sweet - that my diabetic mother polished off the whole thing.

The joint was busy, so it must remain pretty popular even though mercurial chef Jacy Pluton hasn't had anything to do with it in years (current ownership is the sames Evanston's Blind Faith (vegetarian) Cafe).

Overall, I'd give it a B or a B+ ... not a destination, but if you're in the area and feeling like French Bistro food, it might be worth checking out.

Places that don't put salt and pepper on the table are definitely making a statement, but sometimes it amounts to overconfidence. I might notice (and be irritated) that Lula doesn't have salt and pepper on the table, but then when their food arrives, it turns out they were right--it is perfectly seasoned and could not be improved. Such was not the case at Jacky's on our evening there recently. Ironically, salt was the very thing needed to make the butternut squash soup taste more like itself. Our friend who also ordered the soup agreed. Once salt was brought to the table, it brought out the flavor of the soup.

I guess the moral is, if you're going to send the signal that your food is so gosh-darned perfect that salt and pepper on the table are superfluous, you'd better make sure that salt and pepper aren't the very things it needs.

I found my cassoulet underseasoned as well, although undersalting wasn't the issue with this.

The highlight of my meal--and it really was a highlight, not just by default--was my dessert, poached prunes with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, coated in pecans. If the rest of the meal had been up to the standard of the dessert, I'd have high praise for Jacky's.

Add another chapter to the Jacky's saga....

From the 8/10/11 Dish:
"Now several overhauls away from the original Jacky [Pluton, who opened the place as the French-focused Jacky’s Bistro], Jacky’s on Prairie (2545 Prairie Ave., Evanston; 847-733-0899) has new owners—Jonadab Silva and Erin Silva Winston, also known as the current chef and the pastry chef. The cuisine will stay contemporary and eclectic, including menu items such as chilpachole (a Mexican seafood stew) and Moroccan lamb shank.
“I just want to focus on a smaller menu,” Silva says. At lunch, about three appetizers and three entrées will be available, as well as a three-course prix fixe. The dinner menu will shrink from its current size by about 20 percent but will focus on the four-course prix fixe.
The couple plan to take over on Monday. Since Pluton founded Jacky’s, it’s got different food, a different chef, different owners, and a slightly different name. Is it still the same restaurant? We’ll be adding this to the manuscript for our upcoming book, Restaurant Philosophy Puzzles."