Any feedback on Henri?

I've seen Henri mentioned in passing in a few posts, but haven't found any full reports. I'm just wondering if anyone has any feedback. We have an upcoming reservation, and as long-time fans of The Gage, are hoping that we will enjoy Henri as well.

Thanks-
Tracey

I went last Friday night. It is really nothing like Gage except the relaxed atmosphere of the servers. We quizzed our poor guy (Brent) about everything since we didn't know anything about the menu. He answered everything perfectly and really went out of his way to ask the chef if he didn't know the answer (husband is allergic to walnuts and couldn't have it on the duck for instance) .

We had two cocktails to start, the real standout was the Jacques Rose, Calvados, Lemon, Simple, Grenadine, this was a very refreshing drink. Hubby had the Burnham Manhattan, Wild Turkey Rye, Vya Sweet Vermouth, Fee’s Aromatic Bitters, Michigan Cherry. We had a very nice french roll with butter while drinking our cocktail. They did not offer an amuse bouch.

We then ordered a bottle of Domaine Sauvete Touraine ‘Blanc de Blancs’, for our starter courses. I had the oysters and since they were so pristine, I didn't even need the sauces it came with, they were lovely. We had some artichoke flatbread, that was perfectly prepared, but we could have done with more artichokes. Hubby had the torchon of foie gras, he was hesitant to get it because it was a cold dish, but he enjoyed it all the same.
Next we each had a glass of red out of the magnum of the day, I don't remember what it was. Husband had the duck breast, they were able to prepare it without the walnuts, and he absolutely consumed every morsel of the breast and the confit. He likes his duck crispy and was worried because the menu described it as honey glazed. However, the breast was as crisp and perfectly cooked as can be.. I had the special of the Bouillabaisse which had fish of the day, lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, in a saffron broth. It was a different type of broth than I have had in the past, clear and a deep brown color. It was a complex broth, and maybe a little too star anise for me (or something like that in there). The fish was cooked to perfection.
We had an acceptable cheese course, nothing that really stood out, but we were glad we saved some of our artichoke flatbread for the toast points.
All in all it is a very nice restaurant and the atmosphere is quite lovely. The prices seem reasonable, but everything started adding up quickly, and there is no tasting menu or pairing.

Henri
http://www.henrichicago.com or
Open Table Reservations
18 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60603
312.578.0763

nicinchic wrote: I had the special of the Bouillabaisse which had fish of the day, lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, in a saffron broth. . . . .maybe a little too star anise for me (or something like that in there).

Sounds very traditional, which one doesn't see too much. The taste was likely the fennel and/or Pernod, that latter of which includes star anise. Again, traditional for Marseille fish soup. One of my faves. Will have to try it. I really like the Gage, so Henri sounds cool.

I had lunch there on Monday and sat in the sidewalk patio. I noticed that while the Gage's patio was full, only a few tables on Henri's patio were occupied.

I liked the baguette bread they served to start the meal. Nice and crisp exterior with a chewy interior.

We ordered a pissaladière with market tomatoes, raclette and Virginia ham to share. Everyone agreed that this was a great choice.

For an entree I chose the Napoleon Of Raw And Cooked Summer Vegetables with tomato and pepper jam. I was looking for something light, and this was perfect. The discs of squash, light fried potatoes, green tomatoes and zucchini were accompanied by cherry tomatoes, shallots and two mini spears of asparagus. When you have really beautiful fresh produce, you don't need to do much to let the dish shine, and I applaud the chefs for exercising restraint with this dish.

My friends, however, were not nearly as impressed with the stone oven chicken salad or the poached egg salad. The dressing was too acidic on both, perhaps too much vinegar?

I don't know if I would really crave coming back - the food was a little inconsistent and quite pricey - but it is definitely worth a try.

Dinner of a sort at Henri last night and I have to report a pretty mixed bag. On a whim, we stopped in about 6:30 for a pre-symphony "meal." Not surprisingly, our only option was outside (too noisy and dirty facing Michigan Avenue during rush hour) or at the very small bar (about eight seats, one of which is effectively not usable, given the design of the bar itself.

Everyone was nice and very friendly and, while the tables are nicely spaced, there's not enough room between the bar and the tables--at least not on an early Friday evening when it's packed. After the pace quiets down, maybe. During the week, maybe. But it was a crush last night and the place was only just barely full. It's a little noisy as well, but we didn't have a significant problem.

A bigger problem was getting the attention of the bartender: one guy and he was extremely busy. He was very affable, helpful, knowledgeable and all the other things he should be (though he did have a knack for intruding on conversations at the wrong time--never waiting for a lull). He knew the menu, knew the specials, knew his bar. But he was so busy mixing drinks that it took a while to get started.

Given our time constraints, we tried to maximize our choices: the Lovely Dining Companion went with the soup of the day--an asparagus soup (with mussels) that he made sound superb and a Lyon artichoke pissaladière with raclette cheese for her appetizer. I chose an entree and nothing else: pappardelle with lobster, mushrooms, peas, and cream. What's not to like?

The dishes were surprisingly uneven. LDC's soup was a bit thin and tasted, ultimately, like the bartender's initial description: they took asparagus and whipped it up in a blender. Not much besides asparagus on the flavor palette (someone seasons with an extremely light touch) and not much in the way of depth of flavor either. Pleasant but nothing special. The pissaladière was very good but the artichokes were nearly nonexistent. On a 12-inch "pizza," I think we would have been hard pressed to gather the pieces and reconstitute a single artichoke. I don't care if Dirk Flanigan hand carried artichokes all the way back from Lyon, if they barely appear on the dish that is named for them, we're going to be unhappy. And we were; quite disappointing, especially since the flavors and doneness of the pissaladière were otherwise excellent. The only other topping was very thinly sliced (and also relatively sparse) red onions--a traditional topping for pissaladière. Using raclette seemed--and still seems--an intriguing choice to me; no cheese is used traditionally. It made for a very unusual dish; the cheese is relatively strong and quite distinctive and while we very much enjoyed it, I can imagine that it would not please everyone.

My lobster was beautiful. In fact, presentation in general was a high note. Everything that came was gorgeous and I really was sorry not to have a camera with us. The pasta was a step or two beyond al dente, which was the more disappointing since it is trumpeted as "house-made." I have no trouble believing that; but if so, it behooves the kitchen to cook the pasta right, not overcook it. The plentiful peas were barely past raw: fresh, yes. Cooked, no. Not even close. If you are going to brag on your local suppliers (the bottom of the menu states that they "are proud to use the following farms and growers") , then treat their food right. I can't imagine what was going on in the kitchen but this between the overdone pasta and underdone peas, this bowl should not have gone out. The reduction that "dressed" it, on the other hand, was superb: I can't really imagine a richer, more velvety, delectable, sweet sauce. The lobster was wonderful, though I would have liked just a bit more of it. (Who wouldn't? I guess.)

We were served bread twice: piping hot, as they say. Excellent crust, plain unsalted butter. Service, under the circumstances, left little to be desired. Prices are a bit all over the place. The soup was $12 and the pissaladière $14, both perfectly reasonable. My lobster, however, was $38. Given the amount of lobster, and the portion size generally, the price is too high.

To everyone's credit, we were in and out in almost exactly an hour. I'd be very interested to return--but on a midweek night, not a Friday or Saturday. The location is just about perfect for a show or the symphony; together with Vettel's review on Thursday, the joint was jumpin'.

GB, I agree completely with the pissaladière. Mine was mostly onion. It was good, and if there were more artichokes, it would have been outstanding. I also agree with you on the pricing. It's all over the place.

I still haven't eaten at Henri, but I had some time before a movie downtown and stopped in for a drink. I ordered a Dutch 75, which is Bols Genever, Demerara syrup, lemon and blanc de blanc. It was enjoyable if slightly too heavy on the citrus and Champagne. I would have tried a second cocktail and some food except that I was on my way to see Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void, a nearly three-hour film with, I had heard, very nauseating camera work (turned out to be true; best not to consume anything but water before this movie).

I will say that I'm glad I made an evening stop at Henri. On an afternoon soon after they opened, I stopped in just to look at the dining room. It seemed excessively stuffy and dusty to me, something about all of the upholstery in the light of day being so overwhelmingly the color of that verdigris patina that so many highly oxidized Louis Sullivan façades have taken on. The room felt more mellow if still pretty formal in the evening dimness. Even on my short cocktail visit, it was clear that the staff here is very friendly and welcoming. I hope to make it in for a bite to eat next week.

I had dinner at Henri recently, which I found pretty up and down. For me, the cocktails were my favorite part of the meal. It wasn't that anything we ate was bad, it's just that with the exception of a couple dishes, nothing really had me thinking about it after the meal.

I started out with a Haynesworth Old Fashioned, which was luxurious and complex. It's made with Whistlepig 10-year rye, sweet potato syrup and Fee's Aztec chocolate bitters. The drink was garnished with a wide plank of orange zest that had been spiked with a whole clove. Later in the evening, I had an enjoyably spicy Burnham Manhattan, which is made with Wild Turkey rye, Vya sweet vermouth, Fee's aromatic bitters and Michigan cherries. I really liked the cocktails, the first round of which, I think, were sent out gratis because the friends with whom we were dining knew Clint, the bartender. Henri's bar is a sleeper. The house cocktails were interesting and well-executed, and the spirit selection was thoughtfully assembled.

A round of appetizers for our 4-top included smoked steak tartare, lobster and foie gras wellington, escargot bourgogne and torchon of foie gras. My favorite of this round was definitely the torchon, which delivered that signature foie gras richness and dense, buttery texture. The tartare, which was accompanied by a quail egg, potato chips and pickles, was a beautiful plate but flavors were fairly muted and I couldn't really taste any smoke. For me, the best part of the dish were the crispy and addictive potato chips. Flavors in the wellington were nice and well-combined but the pastry was soggy and a bit gummy. I wasn't crazy about the escargot, which just seemed to lack flavor. Curiously, our bread was removed after this course. I thought it was weird because we were nowhere being done with the savory phase of the meal and the bread would have come in handy with some of the courses that followed.

Between appetizers and our next course, we were served some warm, roasted nuts, which are (or are soon to be) a bar snack. They were delicious, with a nice hit of spice to them.

We then shared an order of the crisp veal sweetbreads, which were served with white sturgeon caviar, cabbage and a Banyuls vinaigrette. This was probably my favorite dish of the night. I thought the sweetbreads could not have been cooked any more perfectly. They were piping hot, crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. They were salted perfectly, too, bringing out the flavor without overwhelming its subtlety. I thought the accompanying elements were well-chosen and well-executed, with the brininess of the caviar foiling the richness of the sweetbreads very well. During this "round," we also shared a Stone Oven Pissaladiere, which was topped with house-cured bacon, caramelized onions, creme fraiche and leeks. It was fine and naturally, the flavors were a successful combination, but it was no better that what I can (and do) make for myself at home. I don't mean this to sound snarky. I just think that it was a very straightforward dish with nothing particularly distinctive about it.

Main courses (curiously called "entrees" at a French restaurant) were, as a group, a bit of a letdown. Truffle poached lobster (beet, woodland mushrooms, beurre monte) had a faint aroma of truffle but not much flavor beyond that. It was also pretty tough and stringy texturally. There was just nothing particularly special about it. The Friday special of Bouillabaisse (fish of the day [St. Pierre & Loup de mer], lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, saffron broth) was a very refined and stylized version in which a bowl of beautiful looking fish and seafood, all meticulously prepared, were "brothed" tableside. For my taste, I thought the anise notes of the broth were overwhelming and it's not my favorite flavor to begin with, so the dish didn't do it for me personally. Our friend who ordered it, though, seemed extremely happy with it. Fig glazed duck breast (goat cheese "tart" with fig and grape) delivered a nice crispy skin and an unctuous layer of fat below it but again, not much flavor. House-made pappardelle (roasted woodland mushrooms, watercress, shaved Perigord truffle, Madeira cream, Grana Padano) sounded so great but I don't think it came together well. For me, it ended up being less than the sum of its parts and the overall dish was very dry. I did love the mushrooms, though.

Next up was a cheese course, which was sent out for us gratis. I liked all 3 of the cheeses in the assortment and they were served at a nice temperature, which really allowed for the flavors and aromas to rise out of them. I don't remember the names of the cheeses but one was a goat cheese that had been wrapped in bourbon-soaked grape leaves and it was terrific. Another cheese was morbier-like, with a nice funk to it. There was a third cheese but I don't remember what exactly it was. Cheeses were served with fresh raspberries, a fruit compote and some spiced nuts (walnuts?), all of which were tasty.

We shared 2 desserts. The Paris brest was fantastic, with an intense set of flavors and varied textures. The choux was light and tasty. The filling was rich and intense. Even the decorative 'cotton candy' atop it delivered a satisfying layer of flavor. A dark chocolate tart just kind of sat there on the plate and went mostly unfinished. We each had one bite of it and that was enough. It just didn't deliver any of the rich flavors that the words "double chocolate tart" promise.

So, it was a mixed bag. I think Henri has a lot of potential but for me many of the dishes missed their marks. Ingredient quality is high. Not only is the luxury category well-represented but so too are a bevy of local farmers, who are listed at the bottom of the menu. To me (and I've only been to France once, so I'm certainly no expert), Henri felt more French-esque than French. Don't get me wrong, I don't think these dishes needed to be more French to be successful. I'm perfectly willing to judge a dish on its own merits, regardless of its name or declared provenance. I just think that the flavors in many of the dishes we had were really muted. Service, provided by Meghan, was professional, helpful and friendly but I'm sorry to say that this felt exactly how I'd expect a typical Michigan Avenue restaurant to feel. I went in with high expectations but came away feeling somewhat disappointed; almost like I'd eaten somewhere that was mainly geared towards well-to-do visitors, who are equally concerned with staying in the geographical area as they are with what they're eating.

=R=

I would echo some of Ronnie's comments about Henri.

I love steak tartare, so it makes it even more disappointing when I get a sub-par version. I had read a lot of great things about Henri's version so I was really looking forward to the dish. It did fall flat. Maybe the kitchen forgot to add some seasoning or spice? I don't know, just very disappointing.

The torchon was, in fact, delicious. The Wellington was definitely tasty, and the gummy pastry actually didn't bug me that much (even though it would have been better crispier). Sweetbreads were definitely a highlight. I like the bouillabaisse quite a bit. Each individual seafood element had been cooked perfect and it was all extremely fresh. The paris brest was an excellent dessert, light and not cloyingly sweet.

I actually found Henri a bit refreshing given the current trend towards "gastropubs" and farm-to-table this and that. This was a bit more refined and leaned towards (although not entirely reaching) the classics. I don't see myself becoming a regular, but I'd definitely go back.

Has anybody been here recently? I'm going to choose between Henri, NoMi, or my old favorite Naha.

Last time I was there was... end of August I believe. Everything was wonderful... wish I remembered a lot of details. I remember I had the game of the day which was pheasant I think.

Drinks were well made. Service was excellent as always. Kitchen made us pommes aligot as a side dish even though it isn't on the menu anymore. We mentioned it was my parents 30th anniversary when we made the reservation and Billy Lawless brought us a bottle of champagne, comped us two desserts, and paid for both our valet tickets.

We walked by twice in the past two weeks (Thursday and Friday night) and they had private parties both nights. Posting this is making me realize it's been too long since we've been there.

Having lunch at Henri tomorrow. How could it be that the Nicoise Salad is MP?

Their lunch menu: http://henrichicago.com/images/henri_lunch.pdf

The fish.

That foie torchon has to be the best (and sadly maybe only?) in town and it is my go-to lunch entree. (A full order as an main course is borderline overindulgent, but as a lunch app would be a napp..)

Thus, Henri is my first choice for a nice lunch in the loop.

Chico

misterchico wrote:That foie torchon has to be the best (and sadly maybe only?) in town and it is my go-to lunch entree. (A full order as an main course is borderline overindulgent, but as a lunch app would be a napp..)

Thus, Henri is my first choice for a nice lunch in the loop.

Chico

It's settled then. Torchon app and Nicoise Salad entree. Thank you, LTH>

We're planning on dinner at Henri in a few weeks and I'm curious to know if anyone has tried the "Chef's Indulgence" tasting menu yet.

The foie on the menu is cold or seared and warm?

Come mid-June, Billy Lawless will bid adieu to his upscale French restaurant, Henri. In July, Mr. Lawless will open Italian spot 10/6 in the same location, 18 S. Michigan Ave., in the historic Gage Building.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... restaurant

Italian is the new cupcake shop.

PopcornMegaphone wrote:Italian is the new cupcake shop.

What about Italian hamburgers?