Fondue Stube Swan Song

Haven't seen any posts on this relic in a couple years, but wanted to mention that we visited owner Carol Hiyami Martorelli and her sons at Fondue Stube last night with a group of friends for my wife's birthday.

This dinner was especially poignant for a couple reasons: one, we had heard through the grapevine, verified on their website, that they will be closing their doors after 32 years on February 15 of this year. Also, we hadn't been to the Stube since last spring, and thus found out last night that their erstwhile pony-tailed frontroom waiter Bob had passed away from cancer last August. He was as much a stalwart of the venue as Ms. Martorelli, certainly adding to the funky charm at this Peterson St. gem from its inception.

The dinner was much as I had expected from my semi-annual visits over the last 20 years. GREAT martinis. Yummy garlic bread. A dressing lazy susan with an incomparable Roquefort and white french. Cheddar and swiss cheese fondue with Kirschwasser. The meats, the fish, the vegetables. And 2 for 1 coupons (up to $18, even on Saturday night) to defray the costs.

Fondue Stube ain't chic. It's not a place to be seen. It's not loud--you can actually carry on a normal, one-on-one conversation with its low decibel level. But it's a 70's style oasis that's soon going off to fondue heaven if one exists. Check it out if you get a chance in the next few weeks.

Bravo Carol!

Fondue Stube
2717 W. Peterson
Chicago, IL
(773) 784-2200

http://www.fonduestube.com

Thanks for the heads up. I haven't visited the Stube in well over 25 years, but I drive by all the time and always make a mental note to go there. It's now taken on some urgency. BTW, I probably wouldn't have seen this announcement if it had been posted in the now defunct openings & closings thread, so thanks to the mods for locking that hard to follow, meandering stream-of-conscienceness thread.

My prom date and I went to the Stube back in 1994. It wasn't chic then, either. I think they had either a flamenco or classical guitarist. Good food, good times, although we smelt like cooking after we left. I guess that happens with fondue, although I haven't eaten in a fondue restaurant since!

It's so sad to see all of these classic restaurants closing. Don Roth's Blackhawk, Healthy Food, Standee's, Fondue Stube....

I first ate at the Stube in the mid-1980s, and it was shabby then, but with good fondue and great music. I always preferred it to Geja's and certainly over the plastic Melting Pot chain.

I expect we'll see many more closings, for one reason or another, before winter is over.

My first and last visit was easily 20+ years ago. I just don't get fondue. About 15 years ago there was a place on Sheridan, The Distant Mirror, near the old 400 theater that was fondue-esque but without the pot of oil. They had a heated stone at each table and you could toast their tomato bread and "grill" your proteins/vegetables on it. It was a pretty good meal. I'm just not a fan of fondue.

Sorry to say, I didn't get it either. My only visit was in that same 20+ years ago timeframe. All I remember is that after spending, what at the time seemed like a lot of money, I had to go across the street to Wolfy's after I left because I was still hungry.

Years ago, friends of mine came to visit Chicago, and they had some restaurant choices in mind, based on what the Fodor's Guide recommended. The Berghoff-- fine-- Gino's Pizza-- yeah, sure-- Ann Sather for Sunday breakfast-- no problem-- Fondue Stube--

Fondue what? Who? How did that get in there? (Proximity to Lincoln Avenue motels, maybe? The neighborhood makes no other sense as a destination for tourists.)

I don't remember where we ate-- Ooh La La, El Jardin, who knows-- but Fondue Stube was not one of them. I've wondered about it driving by on Peterson from time to time, and I'll be sorry that it's not there... but I don't know that I'll be sorry enough to finally check it out. I don't get fondue either...

Mike G wrote:I don't get fondue either...

Okay, I got that you didn't get Filipino food. I'm sure you're not alone. But fondue? Bread cut to maximize surface area so that when dunked in cheese you get it about as completely enveloped with the stuff as possible. Really, bro, what's not to get?!

Why you're sitting in a restaurant paying good money for that (it's like going to a restaurant to roast marshmallows), and even more inexplicably, why dunking your own bread in grease is considered the most romantic thing you could possibly do? In a restaurant, that is.

spinynorman99 wrote:My first and last visit was easily 20+ years ago. I just don't get fondue. About 15 years ago there was a place on Sheridan, The Distant Mirror, near the old 400 theater that was fondue-esque but without the pot of oil. They had a heated stone at each table and you could toast their tomato bread and "grill" your proteins/vegetables on it. It was a pretty good meal. I'm just not a fan of fondue.

Really. The only time I encountered the heated stone bit was in Paris. I prefer it because you don't stink of a grease pit after. I asked someone about the stone thing at Geja's once and the looked at me like I was nuts.

Have to say I'm a bit mystified about your mystification over dunking bread in grease Mike G. This site is an ode to strategically and magically cooked fat

I'm not likely to make it to Fondu Stube before it's demise but this thread did inspire me to host a fondue/games night on Saturday. This LTH thing is already paying off!

I definitely "get" fondue -- even own fondue forks. I love the whole melted cheese and bread idea.

As for romance -- the reason it was originally considered romantic -- even a little daring -- is that Swiss custom was that, if you were dining with a member of the opposite sex and one of you dropped your bread in the fondue, the other one had to kiss you. Racy stuff at one time. I remember appreciating that back in college in the '70s.

When I have a jones for melty cheese I go straight to queso fundido.

Cynthia wrote:As for romance -- the reason it was originally considered romantic -- even a little daring -- is that Swiss custom was that, if you were dining with a member of the opposite sex and one of you dropped your bread in the fondue, the other one had to kiss you. Racy stuff at one time. I remember appreciating that back in college in the '70s.

Fondue was definitely big in '70s. Nobody got married during that era without receiving at least one fondue pot as a wedding present.

As for why do it at a restaurant, you could ask the same thing about Korean barbecue.

As for why do it at a restaurant, you could ask the same thing about Korean barbecue.

Korean barbecue makes some evolutionary sense. A three-course fondue meal just seems gimmicky. Cheese fondue is a lovely thing, but it should end there (yes, sure, dipping stuff into melted chocolate is great, but an all-dip meal -- especially one starting with a couple thousand calories and umpteen grams of fat is overwhelming). The dipping meat into hot whatever exists merely to continue the theme, and it gets very old very fast.

Bread on a stick is to Korean barbecue as nachos at the movie theater are to Topolobampo.

Fondue is about good cheese, not bread on a stick or canned nacho sauce.

Fondue bourguignonne is fried meat with flavorful dipping sauces. If you don't get bearnaise sauce, well ... I'm sorry for you.

They have now changed the website to say they're closing "sometime in late 2010" rather than February 15.

I went there for dinner last night, and found it very enjoyable--to the point that I regret not having gone for the past 10 years. The place was packed on a Saturday night. I assume others were there--like me--because they heard it was closing.

When I dined at the Stube last week, there was talk of the sale of the building and also Ms. Martorelli needing knee surgery, which may or may not have affected the closing date. Whatever, nice to hear they're doing decent business on a Saturday night.

eelton wrote:The place was packed on a Saturday night. I assume others were there--like me--because they heard it was closing.

In which case it is expert marketing

David Hammond wrote:

Mike G wrote:I don't get fondue either...

Okay, I got that you didn't get Filipino food. I'm sure you're not alone. But fondue? Bread cut to maximize surface area so that when dunked in cheese you get it about as completely enveloped with the stuff as possible. Really, bro, what's not to get?!

And you forgot to mention that the cheese is melted in wine.. the pot is rubbed with garlic... Good wine, good cheese, garlic, good crusty bread -- I think a good cheese fondue is heaven.

But then I missed the whole 70s thing (I was living in central Ohio, maybe that's why) and first had fondue in Switzerland, where they definitely know how to make a fondue. Toured a magnificent but drafty castle (Chillon), went across the street to warm up with an incredible cheese fondue and a bottle of wine -- what could be better?

As for beef fondue, which I first ate just over the border in France, the key is the dipping sauces, which in a good restaurant provide a delightful array of flavors to enhance a tasty piece of meat, very hot and cooked to your personal specifications (by you) -- a terrific meal. I suspect any oil odors are a sign of some kind of problem (over or underheated oil) -- or maybe of a restaurant that primarily serves fondue, so the whole room is filled with hot oil. Not the case anywhere I have had beef fondue.

hey fellow l2h doodz:

i went to fondue stube last night. a of all: they will not be closing on the 15th as previously noted on this thread. i did get a bit of a scoop tho. the owner is keeping it open until she can find someone to purchase it and keep it operating.

as for the food. i took my lover and a few companions to this resto. i have to say, having spent a large part of my (admittedly recent [don't ask my age, fellas!]) childhood in switzerland, this fondue pales in comparison to what i've eaten over there. also, bizarrely the raclette here is like shrimp and cheese rather than the traditional boiled potatoes... tres gauche!

that said, it's all pretty good for american fondue (and altho the we racked up a bill, pretty affordable.) the swiss cheese fondue is the classic, with a nice kirsch-y taste. i think all that meat in boiling oil is a bit of b.s. and when your on the "continent" you never have to worry about going to get fondue and then having your clothes (and your body, and your smart iPhone or Palm Trio) smell awful. and, wtf... garlic bread? and don't forget the chocolate fondue... with reeses peanut butter. i think the chocolate is valharonna (but don't quote me, i'm such a chocoholic i could OD on hersheys.)

all said and done, this was a great meal, with wonderful friends, and i hope fondue stays open for a long time to come!

P.S.: HAS ANYONE HAD THE TOO HOT TO HANDEL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

all the best and with warm regards,
sailingfanblues

Wow, I had no idea how much this would bother me.
I worked there in the early 90s.

Mike G wrote:Bread on a stick is to Korean barbecue as nachos at the movie theater are to Topolobampo.

LOLOL

I ate at the Fondue Stube once a few years ago.

A wobbly table combined with a boiling pot of oil placed on the table was such a frightful experience that I could not enjoy the meal.

I have to agree that I don't get fondue either. It was an interesting experience ... once.