Cafe des Architectes (now with Chef Martial Noguier)

Husband and I were big fans of one sixtyblue under Chef Martial Noguier. If it was in the budget, we would have been frequent diners. However, it was definitely a "go-to" for special occasions. We've both celebrated birthdays there as well as an anniversary. So for my birthday this year (yesterday,) I decided to check out Chef Noguier's new gig at the Sofitel. I had never been in the hotel before, much less dined at Cafe des Architectes, so I can't offer comparisons to their restaurant pre-Noguier. I thought I went in with a completely open mind, but found I couldn't stop myself from drawing comparisons to one sixtyblue. I do realize that's not enitrely fair as they are completely different properties. A few thoughts and humble opinions:

Room: I find one sixtyblue's more comfortable and easier on the eyes. The Cafe is full of chrome, white leather, and red and black accents. It definitely has a "look," it's just not one I was completely enamored with. There was no linen on the tables (except for napkins.) I did like the fact that it is street-level with lots of windows for watching the world go by.

Service: Service at one sixtyblue has, in our experience, always been professional, efficient, and informed. On a couple of occasions I had minor issues with what I found to be overly pushy servers trying hard to "up-sell" me on a cheese course I didn't want or a pricier bottle of wine. I have not a single complaint about last night's service at the Cafe. It was a tad more reserved, but everyone was quick with a smile and easily engaged when I asked questions. Over the course of our meal we both had two glasses of four different wines. I really liked that our server brought the glasses and bottles to the table each time and gave us a taste before pouring them. The manager stopped by twice and sent the Chef over after I told him that we were from Chicago and fans of his. I was a little surprised that the Chef was working the Monday after Christmas right before New Year's Eve, but there he was. He spent several minutes chatting with us and specifically asked what we thought of the room. I should have been more honest...Maybe he's thinking of making some changes?

Food: I've never had anything at one sixtyblue that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. I've alsways thought that there was nothing on the plates there that didn't belong - that the flavors complimented each other while letting the main ingredients shine. In my mind, there was a simple elegance to Chef Noguier's food there. Things were a little less solid last night. First the "Highs" - Bread service was outstanding. A generous basket of assorted rolls and bread was brought to the table right away with a small dish of soft butter and another of green olive tapenade. The two rolls I tried were very fresh with a nice chewy texture and I loved the tapenade. We opted for the Chef's Seasonal Tasting Menu - choose 1 appetizer, 1 entree, and 1 dessert for $47. I chose the cold poached shrimp appetizer. It was one large shrimp, 2 pieces of octopus, dressed shaved fennel, and a bit of frisee with a few dollops of a savory, creamy caramel sauce. The combo realy worked for me and I enjoyed this a lot. Husband's entree was a perfectly cooked medium-rare beef tenderloin with a mixture of chestnuts and raisins on a potato puree. He practically licked the plate!
The "good, but not outstanding" - My entree of two giant seared diver scallops. The scallops were perfectly cooked and the accompanying cauliflower puree was excellent, but another "caramel-y" sauce just wasn't anything special and there were, oddly, two pieces of chicken wings on the plate (not mentioned on the menu.) As someone who does not eat poultry, I found that a little disturbing (that it wasn't called out on the menu.) Husband's first course, a mushroom veloute with black truffles, was good but not transcendent.
The "huh?" - Amuse Bouche was a shot glass of asparagus soup. I am a salt lover, but this was insanely salty. I was also surprised it's base was meat stock (I'm pretty sure beef,) as the "meaty" flavor pretty much obliterated the asparagus. Desserts were a bit of a disappointment. Husband went with the apple floating island and I had the panna cotta with key lime sorbet. The only apple flavor I detected in the floating island was from the two thin apple chip slices used as garnish. Other than that it was just the traditional quenelle of sweet meringue in a bowl of sweet anglaise and caramel sauce. There were a lot of elements to my dessert - dried pineapple chip, the super-tart sorbet, some sort of biscuit/cake under the panna cotta, passion fruit...but it just didn't all come together to make something delicious. They did bring a plate with a piece of chocolate with "Happy Birthday" written on it along with two housemade chocolates and two pieces of intensely flavored strawberry gelee. It was nice of them and the candies were quite good.

Of note, the Chef has brought his passion for good cheese with him here. There were several interesting cheese courses on the menu that made me think it would be an excellent place to stop by for a couple of glasses of wine and some cheese.

Overall, it was a very nice birthday dinner. I do think the transition is still in progress, so we'll give it a couple of months and go back in the Spring.

Cafe des Architectes
Sofitel Hotel
10 East Chestnut

LynnB,

Thanks for the excellent report. Any restaurant that serves asparagus soup in December is off my list. It's one thing if it's just stuck on your regular year-round menu because it's some kind of crowd pleaser, but to go out of your way to serve it as an amuse shows culinary judgment that I don't care to pay for.

Kennyz

LynnB,

Thanks for your report! I adored one sixtyblue under Chef Noguier, every bit as much as you did. I have not yet been to Cafe des Architectes, nor have I been back to one sixtyblue under Chef Michael McDonald, but both are on my list for 2009. Thanks to you, I have a better understanding of what to expect at the former.

Ate there last night.

We were big fans of Noguier's at onesixtyblue, and the food last night did not disappoint. My wife had suckling pig and veal tenderloin, both perfectly cooked (and the pork prep was outstanding). I had mushroom soup and beef au poivre, and the steak was fantastic, with blanched garlic and fingerling potatoes. The menu seems to have a bit more of a North African element than onesixtyblue's did, which was very enjoyable.

The room is gorgeous.

However, the service was absolutely awful. When sat, we were given a four-course prix fixe menu, without being told that they were out of a la carte menus, which showed up five minutes later. We had two separate servers approach us to ask us if we had been taken care of. Our server was very nice, but didn't know the menu at all, and didn't explain the dishes when they were brought (he also had visible trouble handling our hot plates, to the point where I thought he was going to pull my wife's into her lap). He never once refilled our wine, and we had to ask twice for water refills (from servers passing by). A sous chef poured my soup, but I had no spoon. I had ordered from the seasonal prix fixe menu, but forgot when dessert time came, and he didn't bother to remind us that one was included in my meal.

Some of these things can be attributed to a new restaurant finding its rhythm, but this was almost embarrassing, and they didn't seem to notice how bad things were. However, we will be back; the food was great. Hopefully the front of the house will have things together by then.

I had dinner with a couple of friends at Cafe Des Architectes to take advantage of their Restaurant Week menu and check things out. As mentioned above, the space is gorgeous. I did find the shelving full of repeating bottles of fancy water behind me a little odd, and the fact that the glass shelving slowly pulsated with light to be even more bizarre, but overall I really liked the space.

As to the service, our waitress was very nice (a tad informal for this type of restaurant - doesn't bother me at all, but worth noting), though she didn't have a tremendous amount of knowledge of the menu and even less of the wine list (I generally need a bit of assistance with wine menus and she was only able to point out what was popular, not actually tell me anything about the wines or fine one that matched my description of what I was looking for - perhaps there's a sommelier somewhere, but she never brought him over).

The bread basket and associated butter and green olive tapanade were quite good - though one of the rolls in the basket was a raisin bread which was good, but seemed a bit out of place.

For my appetizer I had the duck confit which was served with braised then browned endive, orange supremes, and frisse. This was really good, but something in the spice blend that the duck was cured with didn't quite add up for me. My only complaint here was that it was served deep down in a Staub cast iron pot - cute, sure, but with 4-5" vertical lip it was a bit hard to get down in there with a fork and knife and separate the duck meat from the bones.

As my main, I had the beef dish, which was a small onglet cooked perfectly medium rare and a boneless braised shortrib, served over a shallot puree. Both cuts were extremely beefy, delicious, and generous serving-wise.

Desert was a pistachio and milk chocolate mouse dome, covered in a dark chocolate ganache, served with a sour cherry foam (somewhere between a foam and a mouse, I suppose) and a few macerated tart cherries. Mignardises of coconut marshmallows and chocolate/hazelnut/almond squares. Great way to end the meal.

Overall I thought the food was very good and given the Restaurant Week pricetag, a bargain. I'm not sure it'll hit the regular rotation any time soon, but I would definitely go back and will keep it in mind when giving recommendations for that neighborhood.

-Dan

Disappointing dinner at Cafe des Architectes, although it's hard to complain given the prices they're charging.

I started with tuna tartare with avocado and crispy mini-bagels from the "seasonal menu". The avocado turned out to be a sort of guacamole-like concoction that was layered on top of the tuna, throwing the whole dish out of balance and leaving me unable to taste the tuna. The "crispy mini-bagels" were actually bagel chips. I don't know if they're making them in house or they just opened up a bag. Either way, they served as a nice vehicle for my guacamole.

My main course was house made gnocchi with shrimp, asparagus and parmesan. Those were the ingredients listed on the menu. What the menu failed to mention was that the dish would also be filled with mushrooms. Actually, it had more mushrooms than gnocchi. I'm really not a fan of mushrooms and wouldn't have ordered this dish had mushrooms been listed as a component. But, I was with a large party, so I ate around them and didn't send the dish back. The gnocchi themselves were good. The shrimp were those teeny tiny shrimp that sometimes get turned into shrimp salad.

Dessert was a passion fruit souffle which was quite good.

I only went to One Sixtyblue once when Noguier was the chef there. I thought it was good, but I never felt too motivated to go back. I was encouraged by early reports of his work at Cafe des Architectes, but my one visit there certainly didn't wow me or motivate me to make a return visit anytime soon.

My family and I had an enjoyable dinner at Café des Architectes yesterday. Often, I don't want to like hotel restaurants and dismiss them prematurely as offering more style than substance in both décor and food. But I was pretty psyched to eat at Café des Architectes. I believe it's the first Pierre-Yves Rochon space I've visited (I stayed at the Hotel Sacher in Vienna before he worked on Restaurant Anna Sacher) though I've admired from pictures many of his restaurant projects. Rochon has many imitators among restaurant and bar designers. Café des Architectes is the real deal.

The space is at once intimately cavernous and open, mostly warm with cool accents. I liked the sight lines I was able to steal, and the acoustics were excellent. The restaurant was full at our 6:15 seating, with a steady buzz of conversation spiked by holiday cheer, but the volume remained relatively quiet the entire time we were there. Overall, I was really impressed by how relaxed Café des Architectes felt. I don't usually associate that type of comfort with such refined spaces.

On to food. Our meal started with an amuse-bouche of foie gras with red onion purée and star anise.



Both Mama happy_stomach and I love foie gras, so for us it's basically always an excellent way to start a meal. And it was here. I thought it might be a drier bite with the coarse dusting of star anise, but the red onion provided welcome sweetness and textural contrast. As much as we liked the amuse-bouche, it also foreshadowed two of the weaker aspects of our meal overall, which were the excessive use of (albeit fresh and often beautiful) greens and, to a lesser extent, plates that made certain foods challenging to eat.

The microgreens with the foie gras provided color and, by hiding the red onion, made the sweetness something of a surprise. I wasn't crazy though about the feeling in my mouth of the stems against the smoothness of the foie. Also, I've grown tired of hors d’œuvres served in what I call wonton spoons*. The plating choice struck me as particularly gimmicky in this case. By including a fork, the kitchen acknowledged the fact that the amuse-bouche was more food than one could consume in just one spoonful. The dish would have been stronger if it were truly a one-bite teaser.

First Course:

Roasted Sunchoke Velouté: Brown Butter / Glazed Quince / Salad of Microgreens



I've had sunchokes on the brain since recently re-reading Kennyz's post on sunchoke gratin. This velouté was an excellent use of the vegetable--very smooth ("velvety," indeed) and nutty with a subtle sweetness. Also, it was served at an ideal temperature--still very warm at my first taste despite the soup being photographed after all of the other starters at our table.

Peekytoe Crab Salad: Piquillo Pepper Purée / Local Radish / Seedling Farm Apple Gelée





I wanted to like this dish, but I couldn't get past the cover-up: a criminal amount of parsley concealed by an apple screen-façade. The crab by itself was fresh and bright--a profile particularly pleasant after the velouté--and the inclusion of piquillo was promising, but the greens seemed to wash out all of the flavors in this dish. Also, the plate was too narrow for that many greens, once toppled.

Homemade Potato Gnocchi: Rock Shrimp / Glazed Salsify / Lobster Tarragon Emulsion



I didn't try this dish, but my sister's boyfriend was "eh" about it. He liked the novelty of seafood with gnocchi and didn't seem bothered by the greens.

Prime Short Rib: Caramelized Turnip / Hillside Orchards Glazed Chestnut / Daikon Radish Salad



This was another excellent dish--very tender and not too sweet. I loved the daikon. Also, the portion was generous. A few more ounces and, my sister said, she would have gladly had it as her entrée.

Second Course:

Nichols Farm Beet Salad: Capriole Goat Cheese / Truffle Oil / Hazelnut Vinaigrette



This salad was one of the less satisfying dishes of the evening. Typically, I prefer beets either thinly sliced or pureed because I find it difficult to eat chunks of beet and taste anything else in a dish. That was the case here with the goat cheese. I could taste the truffle oil only because there was too much of it. Though I suppose I could have cut the beets into smaller pieces, eventually, I found myself abandoning the vegetables and eating just the goat cheese. I liked the textural contrast provided by the beet chip, but I wished it were placed differently. It had a patina to it that detracted from the vibrant colors underneath.

Artichoke Salad: Blood Orange / Tempura / Pleasant Ridge Cow's Cheese Shavings



I don't know if Mama happy_stomach ate all of the artichokes before letting me taste her salad or if they were just covered up by the pyramid of greens. I forgave the cover-up in this case because the dish looked like a Christmas tree, and I was able to taste the Pleasant Ridge shavings, a cheese I like very much but have never used in salad.

Third Course:

Walleye Pike: Confit of Cabbage / Andouille Sausage / Rhubarb Emulsion



I only had a small bite of this dish since I had fish for breakfast and lunch yesterday (another story for another time). The pike seemed dry, but the accompaniments were interesting and tasty.

Roasted Venison: Persimmon / Celery Root Purée / Black Peppercorn Sauce





This was my favorite dish of the evening. Despite its deconstructed appearance, all of the components worked together beautifully. The venison was gorgeous and silky. The dried fruit here was used more as a partition than a screen, I thought, to visually-arresting effect. And they went easy on the frisée.

Swan Creek Guinea Hen: Mushroom Stuffing / Brussels Sprouts / Verjus Reduction



This was a solid, comforting dish. The bird was moist, and the other components, while more conventional than other dishes that evening, were well-prepared.

Beef Tenderloin: Parsnip Purée / Braised Oxtail / Shallot Reduction



The tenderloin was cooked to the requested medium rare--one of the waiters helping us checked with me twice to make sure I was happy with the doneness--but it was surprisingly tough. Our waiter had brought us a steak knife for the venison but not the beef, though it was only the latter that needed the sharper implement. The oxtail redeemed this dish for me. I love meat on meat, especially oxtail on almost anything, and once I got the hang of cutting the tenderloin--the plate here seemed too big since the beef slid as I tried to cut it--the dish overall was quite enjoyable.

Not having seen photos of the food at Café des Architectes before our visit, I was hopeful that there might be something uniquely architectural about Chef Noguier's food. Unless Chef and his team are picking up on the increasing interest in urban vertical gardens, there was no new architecture here. The desserts were pièces montées in the vein that desserts in so many restaurants are these days--Hot Chocolate/Mindy Segal, Takashi/my friend & former pastry chef Catherine Miller, the pastry chefs with the Boka Restaurant Group...sometimes elegant but rarely anything new.

Desserts:

Coconut Panna Cotta: Marcona Almond Financier / Glazed Pineapple / Kaffir Lime Sorbet



I felt bad for this dessert because the waiter who brought it to our table handled it rather clumsily, and all of the parts slid half way across the plate before it actually touched the table. Then it remained more or less neglected; no one at my table took to it. I only tasted the sorbet, which I wanted to be much more tart. Architecturally, it brought to mind two structures:

1. The oculus of Mario Botta's Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto



2. The Brazilian from a recent visit to Perennial



Not a fan of coffee-soaked cake, I only had a bite last night of the Opera Cake: Espresso Soaked Almond Cake / Vanille Royal Sabayon / Chocolate Ganache, too.



Pear Ginger Crème Brulée: Poached Pears / Valrhona Caraibe Cremeux / Almond Phyllo



I suppose this was the most architectural dish of our meal, either in the Laugierian sense of columns and lintel or as modernist pile dwelling. I liked the crème brûlée liberated from the ramekin, though the crème, probably for structural soundness, was stiffer than I usually prefer. I would have liked it silkier for greater contrast with the crunchy components. Overall, this was yummy though.

Buche de Noël: White Chocolate-Rum Ice Cream / Amarena Cherry Parfait / Bittersweet Chocolate Cake



This was my favorite dessert of the night. I wasn't sure at first what I thought of the alien appearance, but then it brought to mind one of my favorite structures of recent years:

Renzo Piano's California Academy of Sciences



The Buche de Noël had a lot going on, but it was all delicious. I didn't want to share it.

Café des Architectes is expensive, but I liked it a lot for a special occasion meal. The service was friendly and more or less attentive but scattered. By the end of the night, it still wasn't clear who our waiter was as we had 3-4 different people helping us, none of whom offered much information about the food or drink. I was in the mood for wine last night but was underwhelmed by the list. My drinking started and ended with a single Dark and Stormy because I didn't want my annoyance with the gendered cocktail list (gendered palates are one of my hot buttons) to taint my otherwise very positive experience of the restaurant. I hope I have occasion to visit Café des Architectes again.

*As a kid, I'd only eat wonton soup my mom made at home if I had the same kind of spoon I got to use in Chinese restaurants.

{Edited to correct typo}

Fascinating, thoughtful, and exceptionally well-photographed post (hey, ronnie...watch out!). I'll confess that this has not been very high on my radar but your post may have changed that.

One question: I'm not quite certain what you mean by a "gendered cocktail list"--surely not a boys' side and a girls' side?

Gypsy Boy wrote:Fascinating, thoughtful, and exceptionally well-photographed post (hey, ronnie...watch out!). I'll confess that this has not been very high on my radar but your post may have changed that.

One question: I'm not quite certain what you mean by a "gendered cocktail list"--surely not a boys' side and a girls' side?

Thank you. And, yes! Worse than "girls & boys"--"his & hers"! I can't figure out how directly to link to the cocktail list, so here it is, preamble and all. Guess which cocktail name is my favorite.

HIS & HER COCKTAILS

Sophisticated Suggestions
Le Bar at the Sofitel Chicago is dedicated to the precise rendering of both vintage and modern cocktails alike. Uniquely, we enjoy offering libations crafted specifically with both men’s and women’s individual palates in mind. Of course, we encourage you to be less than shy about joining the other team if something catches your eye. Enjoy!

Hers/Downright Gorgeous Cocktails demonstrating both Elegance and Complexity

Angel Fresh
Hand pressed English cucumber and fresh organic mint bathe in an ocean of silver tequila, freshly squeezed lime juice with a touch of simple syrup to balance

Le Sidecar
Courvosier VS gently kissed by notes of Cointreau, freshly squeezed lemon and orange juices

Backyard Blackberry Margarita
As featured in Bon Appetit; a captivating marriage of hand pressed blackberries, fresh thyme, El Tesoro Platinum Tequila, and fresh citrus lengthened with champagne

Lady Sage
Hand ground sage leaves gently interwined with notes of Plymouth Gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice and a dollop of pasteurized egg white

The Luxury Southside Royale'
Belvedere Cytrus, freshly squeezed lemon juice and organic mint comfortably stretched with a burst of champagne rosé.

The French 75
Chai Tea infused Hennessy VS Cognac lengthened with vanilla kissed almond milk, clover honey, and cream.

Mango Bella
Pureed Mango harmonized with strokes of Vanilla infused rum, freshly squeezed lime juice, Angostura Bitters, and freshly grated nutmeg

Raspberry WOMANhattan
"Yes, the women are smarter", Jerrry Garcia circa 1969. Basil Hayden Kentucky Straight Bourbon stirred counterclockwise for exactly 20 seconds with Fraser River Raspberry Vodka, Sweet Vermouth, and dashes of Angostura and Regan's No. 6 Orange Bitters

18% gratuity will be added to parties of 6 and more

All house specialties are made with juice squeezed fresh daily, fresh local herbs and veggies, and are carefully measured to insure optimum flavor harmony.

-All Signature Cocktails 12-

His/Willful Beverages both Handsome and Refined

Sazerac
The definitive cocktail of the early 19th century. Sazerac 6 yr. Rye Whiskey stirred with healthy dashes of Angostura Bitters and Peychaud Bitters. Served in a chilled Ricard rinsed tumbler.

Mint Julep
One of the new world’s first and most polished libations. Basil Hayden Kentucky Straight Bourbon refreshed with copious amounts of fresh mint and a suggestion of sugar to balance.

Dark and Stormy
Spicy Ginger shaken with Gosling’s Bermuda Rum freshly squeezed lime juice and served long with a splash of soda.

Caipirinha
The Brazilian Countryside Classic Cachaca Leblon and hand pressed lime wedges crafted with a touch of simple syrup to balance.

Corleone
Hand pressed white grapes drowned in Plymouth Gin, Grappa, Freshly squeezed lemon juice and Regan’s No. 6 Orange Bitters

The Authentic PIsco Sour
Chilean Pisco straightened out with freshly squeezed lemon juice, pasteurized egg white and Angostura Bitters

The Aviation
From the former Hotel Wallich in New York City circa 1916; Plymouth Gin dressed up in Maraschino liqueur and freshly squeezed lemon juice

Anejo MANhattan
A smart balance of aged tequila, sweet vermouth, Licor 43, Angostura and Regan’s No.6 Orange Bitters Served ice cold with essence of orange peel.

Before we get to favorite names, I have to ask, how was the Dark and Stormy? The description begs the question: ginger beer or ginger ale? If it's the former (as it should be in my estimation) and it's good, ya don't need no lime juice. And soda? What on earth is that about? Ginger beer and rum. Period. End of sentence, paragraph, and discussion.


I suppose I should add that this gendered list concept strikes me as one (very unfortunate) step beyond silly. Reading the list only reinforces that conclusion.

nsxtasy wrote:I adored one sixtyblue under Chef Noguier, every bit as much as you did. I have not yet been to Cafe des Architectes, nor have I been back to one sixtyblue under Chef Michael McDonald, but both are on my list for 2009. Thanks to you, I have a better understanding of what to expect at the former.

I ate at Cafe des Architectes twice in 2009, and both dinners were superb in every way. Of particular note were the fantastic desserts; Chef Noguier was smart to bring pastry chef Suzanne Imaz along with him last year. Some of the best dishes were the Saffron Fish Veloute, the Lake Superior Whitefish, the Duo of Beef (Hanger steak and braised short ribs), the Chocolate Pistachio Dome, and the Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake. (I also tried McDonald's one sixtyblue and was disappointed; the food was okay, but nothing "wowed" me.)

It's also worth noting that both restaurants have reduced prices and are remarkably affordable. Cafe des Architectes was featured on the cover of Chicago Magazine's November article, "Best Restaurants - 30 Under $30", for its 3-course $29 "neighborhood friends" menu offered Sundays through Tuesdays. And all week long, half of the menu consists of a 3-course $42 prix fixe, with the other half their a la carte selections. Cafe des Architectes is one of the best bargains in casual fine dining anywhere in the Chicago area.

Gypsy Boy wrote:Before we get to favorite names, I have to ask, how was the Dark and Stormy?

Watery.

Gypsy Boy wrote:I suppose I should add that this gendered list concept strikes me as one (very unfortunate) step beyond silly.

Yes, that's how I've decided to think about it. I'm glad at least that I realized the organization of the menu before getting all huffy and puffy with our waiter. As he handed me the menu, open to the cocktail pages, he said, "Feel free to order from any part of the menu." My first thought was that it was a condescending, gender-inspired comment, but then I actually looked down to see that one page was "His" and the other "Hers." Having witnessed at running and biking events sponsored by Luna, "the whole nutrition bar for women," male participants asking if it was safe for them to eat Luna bars, I know that people need assurance around gendered foods (which is why such labeling of food is stupid).

The gendered cocktail list offends me. Who the hell came up with that idea? It's not entirely uncommon to group drinks by flavor profile, base spirit, family, but drinks for one gender or the other? Wow.

BryanZ wrote:Who the hell came up with that idea?

The same people that think Mad Men is a lifestyle to be longed for and emulated, rather than a show to watch in bemused horror.

Santander wrote:

BryanZ wrote:Who the hell came up with that idea?

The same people that think Mad Men is a lifestyle to be longed for and emulated, rather than a show to watch in bemused horror.

Don't you mean Sex and the City?

happy_stomach wrote:

Santander wrote:

BryanZ wrote:Who the hell came up with that idea?

The same people that think Mad Men is a lifestyle to be longed for and emulated, rather than a show to watch in bemused horror.

Don't you mean Sex and the City?

Those are different shows?

We took advantage of Restaurant Week to finally visit Cafe Des Architectes, with interesting results. I cannot remember 15 years ago that we had so many good restaurants in hotels - in fact, I recall the general rule was to avoid hotel restaurants at all costs.

First, we really loved the room - really great art on the walls, cool look, with lots of open space, and opening into a stunning hotel lobby. And service was excellent, as good as we have ever received at any restaurant, any price point. Our waiter, who did NOT tell us his name, was outstanding. When we polished off the bread basket, another one appeared in an instant, which will earn any restaurant my praise. He handled special menu requests as skillfully as possible, described the menu and drinks accurately, and with a sense of humor, and every water glass was filled without disruption. We wish we could tell management just how good he was! (Side note - Topolobampo should hire this guy to train their waiters! )

Drink service was classic hotel pricing. The wine list had glasses of mass market wine at full bottle prices, (Ravenswood Zin for $14 - come on!) and 300+ percent markups on bottles. I'm sorry, but I won't pay $42.00 for Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc when I can buy it on sale for $12.99! But blackberry margaritas that were finished with champagne were very nice indeed, and almost worth $13.00 each.

As for the food, there were several hits, and a few misses. Three of the party had a roasted quail appetizer, stuffed with brioche and a bit of foie gras. It was very good, and not a speck remained on anyone's plate. I had the bouillabaisse, which had plenty of razor clams, mussels, and lobster in it, although the broth, in spa fashion, was not thickened with cream, and had a bit of a mealy finish to it. Still, it was very good.

We tried three of the four entrees. The six ounce filet, served with bearnaise/peppercorn sauce, satisfied our carnivore, and earned high marks. Likewise, the veal tenderloin served with truffle jus and sauteed red onions, was well flavored, and satisfying. The monkfish, served over bulger with a lobster sauce, was a disappointment - although the fish was clearly fresh and properly prepared, the sauce was almost non-existent, and the flavors just didn't have any punch at all.

The hit of the evening was one of the desserts - the pineapple soup(!) had chunks of fresh pineapple and kiwi, a scoop of coconut ice cream, and the soup itself was a light syrup, enhanced with fruit juice - and was probably the best dessert I tasted of six different desserts over the week. The chocolate pear dessert was just so-so; although plated beautifully, it just lacked intensity of chocolate flavor, and the pear was not cooked through.

So overall, we'd give the room and service an A+, and the food a B.

They did earn a repeat visit, though.

It's probaby worth noting -- based on the title of this thread -- that Martial Noguier is no longer at CdA. He's at recently-opened Bistronomico on N. Wabash in the former Eve space. The current executive chef at CdA is Greg Biggers, who signed on in January of this year.

=R=

Im interested to know how (if) the food changed under Biggers.......anyone?
THANKS

And if you ate at CdA and loved it, definitely head to Bistronomic because it's pretty much the same type of stuff. I had a fantastic meal there in early July.