Autre Monde: What we've been waiting for

With very few exceptions, the Oak Park, Berwyn, Forest Park area has been bereft of decent places to eat. No longer. Autre Monde fills this void and does it very well. I stopped by last Friday(their first full day of service) about 5pm just to say hello, sit at the bar and have a little something. Actually their drink of the day, a Med Mojito drew me in. To start, I ordered the Fried Oysters with Watercress Salad. The oysters were lightly coated, plump and fried with a deft touch. Plus, there were seven or eight of these little beauties. Next, I had Cured Fresh Sardines. Served cold on a crostini, my brain fails me here and I can't recall what else was involved in this dish. I did think that it had a little too much olive oil but I really liked this and so can't complain too much.

Saturday, my wife and I arrived for dinner at 6pm. She had the Burrata Cheese, Greenhouse Gremolata. Not my thing but she liked it. I had the Fried Oysters, again. I can't think of the last time I went to a restaurant twice in two days and ordered the same thing. Simply that good.
Next, the wife got the Manchego Croquetas. Our server, Melissa, described these as fried cheese sticks, only better. Truer words never spoken. Devoured quickly. For me, the Clams, White Asparagus, Tarragon Broth. Ok, I'm sitting here trying to decide how to describe this tasty dish and guess I just did. I'd order this two days in a row also.

For entrees, she had the Wood Grilled Beef Entrecote, Crispy potatoes, Rapini and for me, the Wood Grilled Pork Porterhouse, Escarole, Gigante Beans. My wife is basically a carnivore and enjoys anything with the word beef in it and this was no exception but we both felt that I won this round in a knockout. As a rule, I don't order pork out. We eat enough of it at home and my Irish Grandmother always overcooked pork to the point you could throw it through a wall and I guess I just worry about some restaurant doing the same and me wasting my money. Not the case here. This was damn wonderful. The beans were a terriffic alternative to the usually standard garlic mashed most places seem to serve these days. We asked for a wine recommendation for the entrees and received nice pours of a 2007 Argyros Estate, "Atlantis", Santorini. I thought that this was an excellent match.

The wine list is small but almost all bottles are available by the glass. I'll let others speak to the wine list as I just don't know as much as I should. The bar was well stocked also with North Shore Gins and Vodka leading the way.

Dessert was a Pot de Creme for her which was more than a mousse but not overbearingly thick like some places serve. For me, Lavender Cheesecake drizzled with Honey. Though my wife would argue, I believe I won this round as well. A perfect way to end our first meal at Autre Monde.

Service really was flawless but then we ate early and it was 3/4 full when we left. So I can't speak as to how they would do with a full restaurant and a slammed kitchen but I would think that they could handle it.

John Aranza behind the bar and his wife Christine holding down the FOH and seemingly everywhere at once.. Patio opens later this summer.

We both regret not having enough room to add one of the pastas to the dinner we had. They all sounded delicious. Next time...if I can lay off the Oysters.

Five choices of hot and cold plates each, average cost of $9. Three pastas, $13, Homemade Flatbreads $12, Entrees around $22 and I think desserts were $8. Wines by the glass $8-12, most bottles $30-45. They also have a drink of the day and about six special cocktail options, plus whatever else you could want.

The restaurant interior is lightly appointed. The focus is on the food, not a bunch of cute tchotchkes. The only bad thing is the view of the CVS across the street but maybe some shear curtains and Berwyn stepping up and planting trees in front of the restaurant would help.

I highly recommend. Lets support this place and prove that the Oak Park area isn't the Black Hole of dining.

Thanks for the initial report. My favorite part of the ramp-up has been that Horrorbles is involved.

Autre Monde
http://www.autremondecafe.com/
6727 W. Roosevelt Road
Berwyn

opening hours: bar @ 4, dinner @5 - "late" (grr...), Tu-Sun

Pork cooked better than an Irish grandmother's? Now that's what I'VE been waiting for.

hoppy2468 wrote: Next, I had Cured Fresh Sardines.

Cured AND Fresh? They've got mad skillz!

Seriously, though, sounds like a nice addition to the area, thanks for the writeup.

Count me in as a fan. The food is great. Wife and I split three apps, a pasta, a pizza, and two desserts. Prices are fair. Cocktail list looks interesting. Wine list is interesting. It was empty at 6:00, but riotously loud by 7:30 (Friday night).

IMO the only downside is the decor, which is minimalist to say the least. The place still smells like paint and drywall. Large, unadorned windows give you a nice view of construction on Roosevelt, CVS, and curious passersby wandering down Roosevelt Road. Bar has a TV, which thankfully I could not see or hear.

One night when we were there, they were playing Psycho on the tv. I could just see the tv reflected in the mirror from where we were seated. Noticed it just as the shower scene was beginning and someone there has a sense of humor because the audio was turned up just a bit, just enough to hear the infamous slasher music and then turned back down. Funny stuff.

Made a reservation at AM for last Saturday at 5p. Then out came the Trib review. The place was almost empty when we arrived, and mobbed when we left.

Started with cocktails. Baie Rose and Blood Orange Gimlet were both pretty sweet. Sazerac was spot on. As for the rest of the drinks, we brought our own wine (04 Paso Robles Rhone blend which was really very nice in its surprising restraint), and then moved on to a few wines by the glass. Montepulciano Rose was properly crisp and enjoyable. Reds were too young and rowdy - we had both the Rioja and Veneto Pinot Noir.

Rillettes were decent, a pretty housemade pot of fat to spread on the toasts, but not memorable. Pickled cherries on the menu were substituted for - pickled peaches were surprisingly flavorless.

Cured Fresh Sardines were big, meaty, a sweet/salty taste of the sea with a nice herbal/vinegar note. Excellent ingredient allowed to shine.

Eggplant frites were similar to the Rillettes, nicely done, decent, not exciting. Again, the accompaniment, caper-arugula sauce, did not have the kick I expected.

The Roasted Pepper, Olive, Feta and Zatar flatbread was tasty. Good, crispiness, with a nice long, Zatar finish highlighting the roasted peppers. Pretty tasty.

We ordered all the pastas -

Tortellaci filled with goat cheese, and sauced with truffled brown butter was sinful. Nicely made and truffled with restraint, and delicious

Ravioli with a pork/spinach filling and salt pork marinara was surprisingly light (!) - I would have said veal if I did not know. Again, a nice light touch with the salt pork resulting in a tangy marinara with a salty note that I could not have identified without the menu description. This was my favorite dish between the confounding aspect of the filling and the nice bite of the sauce.

Tagliatelle with rock shrimp bay scallops and sweet pea sauce. Not sure about this one - shrimp and scallops were far from overwhelming, not a lot of them. The pasta was sort of coated with cream, so you almost (but not quite as the quality and quantity of the sauce was much more harmonious) ended up with a light alfredo with not enough seafood. But then there was the bright, green, vibrant pea puree that said spring, freshness, and was very nice even if it did visually recall Gerber's. I would not get it again, but suggest they try some brown butter/pea sauce variations instead.

We skipped the large plates, all meat, and instead ordered almost all of the deserts.

Chocolate pot de creme was the obligatory pot of creamy chocolate (as I expected and would have avoided, so you should not put much store in my opinion on that). Bunuelos were crisp, sweet squares of puffy dough over a small pool of honey. The third dessert was some sort of hazelnut tart, I think. Nothing special at all about desserts, and I would share a meat course and skip dessert if I had to do it again.

By the time we left, just after 630, the place was almost full, and very noisy. Service was generally prompt, knowledgeable and always pleasant. Total bill ended up around $50 pp, including drinks and corkage.

We all enjoyed our meal. Interesting food, nice amount of ambition and skill coupled with restraint resulting in a few excellent dishes and everything else was good. Not sure how they are going to deal with their new found fame though they seemed to be doing fine (if one neglects the noise level) last Saturday. I will not be going back at a peak time, if only because of the noise. I also think this is a place that will age well as they continue working together and keep trying different combinations, eventually building a menu of greatest hits - should keep improving over time.

I wish them luck.

Headed there tonight and really appreciate all the advance intel (even dicksond's militantly deadpan critique, ). Have my sights set on Pork Porterhouse which, concurring with the OP, I eat a lot at home but I've been hearing such wonderful things about this big slap o' pig that I can't resist.

A friend of mine is the sister of the owner of this place. It's fun to see it pop up here, as my friend was just telling me about her sister's new venture. The sister used to be assistant general manager at Spiaggia, and that's where she got her chefs -- which might have something to do with the food being really good. I was eager before to try out Autre Monde, just because of the friend connection (yes, and the Spiaggia connection, too) -- but now I've even more determined to get there sooner rather than later.

Food here was good, and I look forward to watching the menu evolve. Service was really friendly. Def. akin to Cafe Spiaggia in terms of fresh pasta and simple but tasty preparation, and big points for Bridgeport coffee. However, it may have been the single loudest dining experience I've ever had. Like, holiday party loud. Bar loud. Barely hear the person next to you loud. I guess I blame the, well, bar, but also the hard surfaces of the space. There's just nowhere for the sound to go, so instead it just bounces around like a racquetball court. Next time I'll be sure to hit it on a weeknight.

Vitesse98, we were there last night also (Friday). It was rammed; we ended up at the bar and it got pretty loud from 7 p.m. onward. Didn't bother us, though.

Luckily we got there early enough to get seats. There were probably 25+ people standing behind us waiting for anything to open when we left.

We had the pecorino croquettes, wood grilled rainbow trout (daily special), pappardelle with orvieto style wild boar sugo and the tagliatelle with rock shrimp, bay scallops and sweet pea sauce. Everything was very good and the food came out absolutely piping hot/fresh.

The pistachio encrusted chickpea crostada dessert was also really tasty. According to John, the sous chef prepared it during his interview and it's what landed him the job.

I can confirm that the pork porterhouse at Autre Monde is as good as the OP said; truly deserved of the title and a really massive, luscious chop with melt in your mouth texture.

We hit Polar Bear for old-fashioned custard twist cones on the way home this time. They taste exactly the same as they did 20, 30, 40 years ago.

Sometimes when I go to a restaurant I can't find anything on the menu that I'm excited to order. Other times I want everything on the menu. I went to Autre Monde on Friday and wanted to order everything. And except for the dessert, I would order it again next time I go.

The server introduced herself and explained that Autre Monde was a share plates restaurant serving dishes with mediterranean influences (Greece, France, Spain, Italy).

I started with the Burrata. It is served sprinkled with a gremolata (parsley, lemon, garlic & oil) and crostini. It was silky smooth. Ahh burrata.

Next, I had the grilled octopus. It was served with grilled tomatoes, capers and olive oil. It was very tender.

Then I had the sardine. The sardine was served filleted on a crostini with capers and a tempanade. Another winner.

We ordered the grilled veg dish. It contained grilled fennel, cauliflower, squash, eggplant and green onions. It was served with a romesco. I wish more restaurants showcased seasonal grilled vegetables. I didn't like all the vegetables on the dish, but I'd order it again. I tend not to like fall vegetables. They were cooked perfectly.

The last savory course was a pasta. The pappardelle was served with a wild boar sauce. My wife thought the sauce was too salty. I thought it was on the saltier side, but it didn't bother me. All three pastas looked good, so if you don't like too much salt I'd recommend ordering a different one.

The dessert was mediocre. I can't remember what it was called, but it was a flat beignet served with honey. There wasn't enough dough/fluff for my tastes.

We had several wines, which were all european and were good and well priced. The meal was a good value - about $150 with tip for the six dishes and six glasses of wine (for perspective, we usually spend $250 - $325 at Vie, which is in the same direction from our house)

It took us 90 minutes to get to the restaurant from our house. The trip should have taken about 45 minutes, but traffic was brutal. This delay could have easily ruined the evening for us, but our experience at the restaurant allowed us to quickly forget about the long trip. I'll be back soon with friends so I can order the entire menu.

We were there Friday night also. We sat out back with the weather being so nice and all.

They had some type of special $45 french prix-fixe menu going on—mussels, cassoulet, paired wines—but we opted to venture out on our own.

One of the specials of the night: salted cod stuffed peppers served on chickpea puree with olive oil. They were fantastic.

Autre Monde has been easier to get in for lately, and is really closing up (including the bar) around 10 PM Tu-Th and earlier on Sundays, capitulating to rather boring village norms. However, I've found this to be food and cocktails of a caliber superior to anything for miles around except for Gaetano's, so I hope you'll visit when they are open and enjoy.

The pork porterhouse is indeed a monument, and meets and surpasses a personal niche left by the (slowly rising againe) cinders of Skrine Chops. Very moist and excellently seasoned. But since everyone out here does a hunk o'meat, I'd even more recommend the very tastefully executed small bites and whatever appetizer specials are out. Rabbit rillettes with sour cherries, toast, and house pickles were a delight this week, as was the pork confit with fried egg and spinach, all very Vie wintry. They too have a serious and well-seasoned grill going for everything from the octopus to charring breads. The $6-10 cocktails are very generous and I think their Negroni (with Aperol) strikes a really nice balance for easy and savory drinking with food.

Stopped by this afternoon to enjoy their brunch offerings. This lovely dish is on the regular menu: Two eggs, poached in San Marzano tomatoes and onions with a side of white polenta. Once again, chefs Dan Pancake and Beth Patridge do not disappoint.




Autre Monde Cafe & Spirits
6727 W. Roosevelt Rd.
Berwyn, IL 60402

1 708.775.8122

http://www.autremondecafe.net

We were there for a third time this past Friday and had a really wonderful meal. The brick roasted chicken rivals Publican's except for the fries which really puts Publican over the top. Moroccan chicken wings had a wonderfully spiced breading accompanied by a mint/cucumber dipping sauce. Goat cheese toretellacci and taglietelle with pesto and zucchini were really fresh and I could have made a meal out of just those two dishes. The cocktails are really great too, but I'm just starting to get into the cocktail fad/scene so I can't comment that much on them since I don't really have much to compare it to...

My only complaint is the wait... and this is with reservations. This is the second time we went at 7:30 with reservations and weren't seated until 8:30. We were a party of 2 last time and a 3 this time. Half the restaurant emptied about 8:20 and the 15 or so of us at the bar were all seated then. By the time we left around 10:30, the place was only about a quarter full. Both times, were were told the reason was that the people "were just about to pay" or "they just won't get up" or whatever. Not sure if they should take less reservations or what, but hopefully the opening of the patio should relieve some of this as they continue to work out the kinks. While the hostess and owner couldn't have been nicer with this, a round of drinks or a dish on the house for an hour wait with a reservation would have been appreciated.

Regardless of that hiccup, it's a great place, and we'll be back soon.

A free drink after 15-20 minutes seems so obvious. What am I missing?

Sad news - Autre Monde damaged by fire today:

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... n-fire.php

...the restaurant will likely be closed for three to four weeks while necessary repairs are made.

magpie1140 wrote:Sad news - Autre Monde damaged by fire today:

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... n-fire.php

...the restaurant will likely be closed for three to four weeks while necessary repairs are made.

I was going to go for brunch Sunday and then my wife emailed me the news. bummer.

Dugan wrote:

magpie1140 wrote:Sad news - Autre Monde damaged by fire today:

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... n-fire.php

...the restaurant will likely be closed for three to four weeks while necessary repairs are made.

I was going to go for brunch Sunday and then my wife emailed me the news. bummer.

3-4 weeks has turned into over two months, and they're still a few weeks away, but Facebook updates indicate mid-to-late September for the fall reopen. I've missed them. At least Big Guys is keeping the Roosevelt Road excitement going in the interim.

They will be having a wine tasting event Oct. 10th.

Don't know if they will be open for dinner before that.

Via their Facebook Page...

Time for an update. We are in the last few weeks of the repair to the space. Stay tuned for more regular updates in the coming days. We miss you all and can't wait to get back to business.

<bump, is there another thread I'm missing?> Had dinner for the first time there last week, it was great! WInes were nice and varied, food was excellent. Had the burratta, Spanish Merluza, Chestnut Chitarra Pasta & the rib Steak - way too much food, I"ll know how to order next time. The Chitarra was the standout, complex and deep flavors with good acidity and the pasta had the right amount of chew. I'll be back and don't know why it took us long to get over there - definitely one of the better/best fine dining options in the near West Burbs IMHO.

Have been wanting to try this place for a while.

Has anyone been there for brunch recently? Thanks!

We went there for dinner tonight, the food was incredible. We had this gnocchi with duck sausage, rainbow trout, lamb, roasted vegetables and an incredible octopus dish. Can not get enough of this place and their incredible flavors.

@rehorn

We recently tried Autre Monde for a second time for brunch. The first time was Mother's Day of last year, and while that meal was really great, this time was even better. We were extremely impressed by the quality/execution of each dish, and brunch menu diversity. Definitely not your typical brunch menu.

We enjoyed the scrambled eggs with black truffle (always a great combination), bacon steak (thicker than average strips of lovely pork belly that are cooked both on the flat top and on the wood fired grill - hence the bacon steak name), partridge & pancake (riff on the chefs' names Dan Pancake and Beth Partridge - actually fried quail with some unique Moroccan spices and some great chestnut (flour) pancakes), last and certainly not least, a special of the day, the open faced BLT (lamb bacon, arugula, ssu egg, piquillo peppers and garlic aioli).

- duthow

Duthow - Thank you very much for this update on brunch. The eggs with black truffle sound divine. I definitely need to check out this place.

I had some of their house lamb bacon and merguez rolled in and around dates on special earlier this week, which was succulent and boldly flavored, and topped with a beautiful fresh cilantro salad.

The prosciutto and arugula flatbread was also very impressive, all high-heat bubbles and caramelization, with impeccable toppings (including hot honey). They mixed an excellent Negroni and seem to be back to full speed now after the reopening.

I went to Localicious last night, which is the dining event for the Good Food Festival. The chef from Autre Monde had some of the best food and he was really friendly and nice. He reminded me a lot of Paul Virant. Plus his name is Dan Pancake, which was awesome. A friend who works at Argonne told me this morning that he also works part time at there as a nuclear scientist, which is crazy! I mean being a chef is hard enough without also dealing with radioactive waste. Either way, have to make it out to Berwyn sometime. Is the train a feasible route?