Froggy's French Cafe - Highwood

After a looong gap between visits, I made it to Froggy's last week for dinner. My interest was picqued via the restaurant recently being featured on Check, Please. The segment reminded me that I hadn't been there in years and that I'd like to try it again. I certainly had fond memories of the place -- my wife and I had our rehearsal dinner there sometime back in the last century.

Overall, our experience was just ok. Service was very good and wines, while selection was limited, were interesting and reasonably priced. The food, however, was pretty mixed. Here's a quick run down:

Amuse:
1) Endive with some sort of red pepper cream and 2) confit of smoked salmon.
I wasn't crazy about either of these. Red pepper was very tart with no discernable sweetness to balance it out. The smoked salmon was very fishy.

Appetizers, Round 1:
6 raw oysters
These were fresh-tasting but even with something as simple as raw oysters, there were a few problems. First, the oysters had not been loosened from their shells, which created a difficult task at the table. Secondly, the 6 oysters varied greatly in size. A couple were huge, a couple were tiny and a couple were in the middle. Shells were oddly shaped, which resulted in a couple of the oysters containing no liquor at all because they simply could not hold it. Based on experiences elsewhere, I feel these oysters should have been handled better. All 6 in our order should have been properly shucked. They should have been grouped for size and oyster shells that could not hold their liquor (hehe) should have been segregated for other use. Not very impressive.

Charcuterie Plate
Decent plate of 4 pates, served with some grainy mustard, pickled vegetables and grilled toast points. 3 of the pates were very good. One smelled "off" and tasted like it had, perhaps, seen better days.

Appetizers, Round 2:
Cream of Mushroom Soup
There was nothing wrong with this but compared to versions I've had recently at Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook and Noca in Phoenix, there was nothing special about it. It was runnier and less earthy than these other versions I've mentioned but it was decent.

Salmon Pastrami and Tuna Carpaccio
One of the better dishes of the night. Both fishes were fresh tasting and accented with flavorful, tart elements, which foiled the rich, fatty fish nicely.

Quenelle of Shrimp and Salmon with Lobster Sauce
Not so great. This dish also tasted very fishy and the plate was fairly unattractive. The sauce appeared that it had, perhaps, been sitting under the heat lamp a bit too long.

Escargot in Garlic Cream Sauce
Definitely the best dish in this round. The snails were tender and tasty. The sauce was flavorful but not over the top and the decorative puff pastry -- formed to look like a snail in its shell -- was buttery, flaky and delicious.

Bonus Dish - Acorn Squash and Smoked Chicken Soup
Without solicitation, our waiter brought this to the table because he wanted us to try it. I'm glad he did because it was delicious -- with explosive flavors and beautiful orange color. There was no chicken in the soup, so I'm assuming the smoked chicken was in the form of a stock from which the soup was made.

With the above courses, we drank Pol Roger Brut, 1996. It was delicious and at $95, a very good value, too.

Between appetizers and entrees, we were given a choice of salad or lemon sorbet. The salad was serviceable -- with bouncy leaf lettuce, raddicchio and slivered beets. The sorbet was tasty but the choice to serve it with tastebud-deadening vodka seemed ill-conceived to me.

Entrees:
Barramundi in Buerre Blanc Sauce
This piece of fish was all but obliterated by the sauce. Not only was there too much of the sauce but it was a pretty lackluster rendition. This dish was not very good. The plate was almost completely white -- white fish, white sauce, mashed potatoes. There was nothing wrong with it but it was nothing I'd order again.

Lobster in Vanilla Sauce
Lobster here was fresh (not frozen) but really chewy and the dish had way too much vanilla for my taste. No one else at the table really seemed to care for it.

Blanquette of Veal
Definitely the best of the entrees. Flavors were delicious throughout. Texture of the veal and veggies were tender without being mushy. The gratin in which the dish was served was rimmed by a band of puff pastry, which was somewhat difficult to remove but excellent when we could.

Wild Boar and Pheasant Wellington with Lamb Chops
Relatively disappointing special. The wellington was pretty much a miss. The wild boar -- which was ground -- was crumbly and dry. The pheasant (boneless breast) was also dry. This portion of the dish was covered with a cranberry puree-type sauce that had good flavor and countered the wellington effectively. The lamb chops were enigmatic. One had a rib bone and one did not. Both chops had small bones on the opposite side that had not been butchered. Since both chops were smothered in sauce, this was impossible to see until the meat was in my mouth. This plate looked like it had been assembled in a diner. Instead of the meats being showcased above the sauces, they were hidden below them. It was an odd choice that made me feel like there was something the kitchen was trying to hide.

Entrees came with vegetables which, across the board, were prepared very well. They were flavorful and cooked to tenderness without being mushy.

With the entrees we drank a Mueller Emily's Cuvee Pinot Noir, 1994, which was nicely balanced and went well enough with all the entrees (sort of). At $70, it wasn't as good a value as the Champagne but by restaurant standards, it was still very reasonably priced.

Because we were heading to a party after dinner, we skipped dessert. That was actually too bad because we like The Gourmet Frog, the bakery arm of Froggy's. It's situated next door to the restaurant and creates their desserts.

We had a fun night but the meal itself was not particularly good or interesting. Our waiter was excellent and friendly, as was the host but water service was sloppy and resulted in water being trickled onto our plates on more than one occasion (a major pet peeve of mine). I'm glad I satisfied my curiosity about Froggy's but I can't say that I'm in a hurry to return.

=R=

Froggy's French Cafe
306 Green Bay Rd
Highwood, IL 60040
(847) 433-7080

ronnie_suburban wrote:Bonus Dish - Acorn Squash and Smoked Chicken Soup
Without solicitation, our waiter brought this to the table because he wanted us to try it. I'm glad he did because it was delicious -- with explosive flavors and beautiful orange color. There was no chicken in the soup, so I'm assuming the smoked chicken was in the form of a stock from which the soup was made.
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we like The Gourmet Frog, the bakery arm of Froggy's. It's situated next door to the restaurant and creates their desserts.

We haven't been to Froggy's in quite a while, but we too like Gourmet Frog - A LOT. It's one of the very best bakeries and pastry shops in the entire Chicago area. In addition to their wonderful baked goods, they also have some of the savory items available for carry-out, usually including several soups and quiches.

Their soups are wonderful. Every one of them is smooth in consistency, no chunks of whatever ingredient is used. So while it's possible that the only chicken in the soup you mention is in the stock, it's also possible that they included chicken meat which just went into the blender with everything else.

They have a website for both the restaurant and Gourmet Frog: frenchrestaurantschicagocatering.com.

Stopped going to Froggy's years ago. They and places like Le Francais pioneered classic French cooking in the burb's.
Now we just go to Carlos, very consistant and the Chef/staff has been there for years.-Dick

Hi,

A few months ago, I did a talk for a local community group. I declined an honorarium, suggesting instead they make a donation to their local historical society. They agreed to my wishes, then surprised me with a $25 gift certificate to Gourmet Frog. This is the retail arm of Froggy's French Cafe in Highwood. I did what every retailer hopes you do: put it in a drawer and forget about it.

While looking for something else, I found the gift certificate recently. I knew I better use it or lose it in my pile of things to do and read someday.

I walked into Gourmet Frog to find the chef-owner working out a special occasion menu with a customer. It was interesting to hear how often she used the word caterer when all she intended to do was pick up food for her party. The chef politely explained when you pick up food to serve at home, it is not catering. If the food arrives with servers, bar tenders and food preparers, it is a catered event. I sensed she wanted more service than she really wanted to pay for.

While they chatted, I found time to study their offerings. I was delighted to find ribbon candy sold in tins for under $10. At Kendall College, they have a display of antique candy making equipment. One is an old brass hand turned contraption used for making ribbon candy. One of the few sources making it today use this very same device linked up to a small motor. It is not easy to find ribbon candy in retail stores. I avoid mail order, because I dislike shipping and handling fees.

Once the other customer freed up the chef and he could escape (my thoughts and maybe his, too). I had complete attention of the store clerk, sort of. In mid selection, the woman with the function at her home interrupted to ask some very important questions. "How do I heat ..." It wasn't the clerk's fault, this woman just could not imagine anyone was more important than herself.

For a Francophile lunch, you really have almost everything available to purchase except for a green salad.

For a starter, I selected one pint of Boston Clam Chowder. This was a cream soup I would be proud to call my own homemade with large pieces of clam, providing great evidence these were not canned clam bits.

For a main course, I selected two quiche slices: onion and goat cheese plus a spinach and mushroom. These were thin compared to the thick slices served during America's quiche hayday in the 1970's. Gourmet Frog's quiche had a winning crust to filling ratio allowing the the crust a featured role rather than a cameo. The custard filling could be a little more gently loose because it was no longer a super structure. It is a style I want to emulate at home.

For dining at home, I made a green salad with vinaigrette.

For dessert, I bought apricot, pineapple, pear almond and raspberry individual tarts. The apple and apricot were on puff pastry at $2.50 each. The pear almond and raspberry tarts had buttery cookie crusts at $2.00 each.

In a homage to my childhood lunch time habits, I had Julia Child's French Chef on the television.

Thank goodness for this gift certificate to get me back in the door. I saw some pate that just might make it into an impromptu picnic someday soon.

Gourmet Frog
316 Green Bay Road
Highwood, IL 60040
847/433-7038
Tuesday to Saturday: 9 am to 7 pm

Regards,

The Gourmet Frog made our wedding cake and even though it was like a million years ago, I do remember liking it.

=R=

Had lunch today with a friend at Froggy's. It's hard, on the basis of one lunch, to make any sweeping statements about a restaurant, but it was very nice.

Last time I ate at Froggy's -- at least a couple of years ago -- the soup was good, but the blanquette de veau was so salty as to be almost inedible. I commented to the server at the time, but never got back to try it again. So when I saw it on the menu today, I couldn't resist. It was lovely -- tender veal, smooth, flavorful, morel cream sauce, lots of mushrooms, elegantly presented. Really satisfying French comfort food.

My companion had the day's special, a crepe filled with chicken and mushrooms and glazed with a basil cream sauce. We exchanged tastes, so I can state that it was very tasty, though to my mind less interesting than my blanquette.

The salads served before the main course were crisp, fresh, and handsome, with shredded beet and a variety of lettuces (none of them iceberg). The dressing was a slightly sweet vinaigrette with seeds from a nice, grainy mustard in evidence. The bread served before the meal was noteworthy. Service was very good, too.

It's not the best French food I've ever eaten, but it was quite good -- and for the price point, it was excellent. It made for a very pleasant lunch. And I'd order that blanquette to veau again.

Following lunch, we hastened to the nearby Gourmet Frog, where my friend bought a loaf of the wonderful, seed-covered bread that was among the offerings in the restaurant's bread basket, and I picked up a 1/2 pound of truffled paté. Nice to leave a French restaurant knowing that you'll have a little more French cuisine waiting in the fridge for tomorrow.

In summary, I think Froggy's is definitely worth considering if you haven't been there in a while -- perhaps not as a destination restaurant, but if you're in the area. Hard to beat the prices ($14 for the blanquette de veau, with a salad included -- and for dinner, you can get three courses for $39).