Prix Fixe in Lincoln Square

Anyone have any intel on Prix Fixe on Western? Looks interesting (husband/wife Cordon Bleu instructors, set price 3-course meals, farm to table focus) and was wondering if anyone has eaten there. Considering it for a friend's bday dinner but, as always, finding mixed reviews in the webiverse...

Prix Fixe
4835 North Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 681-0651

Searching via their address, this was once the location of Klopa the home of the somewhat obscene looking 'Big Cevap.'

Photo by Rene G


Regards,

That pic is priceless Cathy I did see that someone who reviewed the new place mentioned that it was quite a "transformation" from the previous tenant. That sausage looks pretty tasty though...

Had an excellent dinner here a few nights ago. The concept is a three course menu for $35. It's a small place, about 32 seats, so the three chefs double as servers, back waiters, etc. There are three choices for starters, mains, and desserts with optional side dishes for an extra charge. We started with an excellent rendition of Tarte Flambe but with goat cheese instead of the traditional Munster. Great substitution. Next was a duck confit salad and a turnip, garlic and parley risotto. Our mains were a perfectly cooked sauteed white fish in a beurre blanc, and pork tenderloin with a mushroom ragout. We finished with an impromptu cheese course and since it was St. Patrick's Day, a special dessert called a Blarney Stone.

The dishes were all perfectly balanced and very wine friendly. Service was friendly and unpretentious. Prix Fixe is currently BYO. What a great addition to the neighborhood.

FrankP wrote:Had an excellent dinner here a few nights ago. The concept is a three course menu for $35. It's a small place, about 32 seats, so the three chefs double as servers, back waiters, etc. There are three choices for starters, mains, and desserts with optional side dishes for an extra charge. We started with an excellent rendition of Tarte Flambe but with goat cheese instead of the traditional Munster. Great substitution. Next was a duck confit salad and a turnip, garlic and parley risotto. Our mains were a perfectly cooked sauteed white fish in a beurre blanc, and pork tenderloin with a mushroom ragout. We finished with an impromptu cheese course and since it was St. Patrick's Day, a special dessert called a Blarney Stone.

The dishes were all perfectly balanced and very wine friendly. Service was friendly and unpretentious. Prix Fixe is currently BYO. What a great addition to the neighborhood.

Thanks FrankP--this sounds perfect for what we want to do. Will hopefully report back soon.

Lovely dinner last night at Prix Fixe. We were a group of five so we were able to try almost everything on the menu. As noted above, it's a very small selection but everything was cooked and presented well which I, frankly, prefer to the mega-menu.

Basically, it's a set $35 p/p with a selection of a starter, a main and a dessert. Only additional options are 2 "appetizers" for $5 (a duck rillette and a flatbread with potato, cream and garlic--we ordered the rillette so the flatbread was the one thing on the menu that we didn't order) and coffee ($1 a cup with no charge for refills--and it's good!). BYO w/no corkage for now (wish THAT was going to remain the case but looks like a liquor license is pending) keeps the total extremely reasonable.

And the food...basket of sliced pretzel baguettes with a sweet butter that tasted homemade arrived right after we sat down. We started with an order of the rillettes while we got caught up and figured out our order. The rilletes arrived served in a generous crock--nice but not overly thick layer of fat on the top, great texture (not grainy, duck meat still noticeable) and accompanied by a plate with a dollop of a really delicious, crunchy stone ground mustard, lightly pickled radishes and thin baguette slices. Only quibble--not enough baguette slices--five came with the order--each the size of maybe two fingers--we ended up using the pretzel bread which was fine but just puzzled as to why places do that.

On to the meal. I partnered up with one of my friends to "share" our choices--poor choice because he hogged all the things he liked but I did get to sample everything at least. Starter choices were a mushroom soup with sour cream and bacon and a traditional lyonnaise salad. I ordered the salad—perfectly poached egg and standout bacon were the highlights. Dressing was a bit bland but I added a bit of the mustard from the rillette plate and it perked right up. Dining buddy ordered the soup—I barely got a spoonful and considered myself lucky since anything more would have probably cost me a couple of fingers. Good stuff—I’m not always a fan of mushroom soup—I find that if often tastes like cream with a vague dirt flavor—but this was terrific and nicely set off by the touch of sour cream and especially the bacon (same nubs as in my salad).

Entrée choices were a risotto with turnips, parmesan, herb salad and basil pesto; bison butt steak with pea shoots in a vinaigrette and a fried potato fritter; and walleye with black quinoa, spring vegetables over a sweet potato puree. “We” ordered the steak and the walleye—good thing I liked my fish because, again, I looked up from my plate and the steak had magically disappeared. Had a taste of another friend’s risotto—texture was perfect with a fresh herb flavor. Both the steak and fish were delicious as well—of the three, the steak was my favorite—tender, melt-in-your-mouth but rich and meaty . Accompanied by my favorite sides of the night as well. Fish was also perfectly cooked—I’m not much of a sweet potato fan but the puree didn’t interfere with the dish and, if anything, kind of faded to the background.

For dessert, we ordered one of each option—a cheese plate and the dark chocolate crème brulee topped with a cookie. The crème brulee was wonderful—dark chocolate is my “sweet” weakness—even the carmelized top tasted of dark chocolate. Don’t recall anything about the cookie but that’s not a complaint. The cheese plate was also a beauty! A quenelle of tangy, creamy goat cheese covered in fresh chives, a scoop of a delicious blue cheese (provenance unknown) and 2 nice slices of hard cheese--unfortunately, I don't remember the names of any of them—but one had a pretty distinct “barnyard” flavor that I really enjoyed. Accompanied by homemade soft crackers with dried fruit and nuts baked in and some whole berry preserves (huckleberries?) .

Portions are small but I left feeling very satisfied. Attention to detail in both presentation and flavors on the plate was evident. The staff, comprised of husband/wife owners and their culinary school externs, genuinely seem to love what they’re doing and take pride in being part of the venture. And they had really nice stemware which isn’t as common as it should be--they actually offered a choice in wine glasses.

Prix Fixe reminds me of a bit more aesthetically focused Sweets and Savories. I look forward to returning to see what’s next since the menu changes at least twice a week.

Driving by at 8:00 on Friday night the lights appeared to be off and the signage taken down. I think Prix Fixe may be no more. This is unsubstantiated. Can anyone confirm or deny?

The web site is still up and Open Table shows openings Tuesday through Saturday evenings for the next couple of weeks.

I had a really lovely dinner there last night. They are open, and expecting a new sign very shortly. The old one blew down in the recent windstorm. I will definitely visit again.

Ahh that's good to hear. Thanks for the report. What did you have?