The Blanchard

I have not seen a topic on this and stopped in this past Sunday and figured I would provide an update.

Great experience. The restaurant is very nicely appointed, modern and relaxing, it has a separate bar detached if you arrive early. We had an earlier reservation and were able to sit at the 'chefs' counter which was a thin table right behind the pass line. There was seating for up to 6 guests, I believe, and was on a first come first serve basis. I would highly recommend parties of two try to get a seat as it was great to see the action and chat with the chef from time to time.

For dinner we had the rillettes which I found to be one of the highlights, foie mouse with apricot gelee, mussels, escargot and duck l'orange. This was more than enough for a party of two and all were very enjoyable. All classic French. We had a bottle of the Laurel Priorat which was expertly chosen by the sommelier who was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Everyone was super friendly, great space, very much looking forward to returning soon.



The Blanchard
1935 N Lincolin Pkwy
Chicago, IL 60614

I'll second this. I went last night and had one of my best meals of 2015. Everything was fantastic, in particular the foie gras. The waitress told me they plan on doing a cassoulet this winter...can't wait.

Try this place if you haven't yet!

Count me in as a fan as well; my wife and I greatly enjoyed our recent dinner here as well. Fantastic all around dinner, but the duck course was my favorite of the night. Looking forward to returning to try more of the menu; definitely want to try the cassoulet this winter!

Made my first trip last night and had a fantastic meal.

Easy to make reservations on short notice for a table of two and landed the Chef's counter. Which was awesome.

Restaurant was mostly full and seemed to have a nice energy.

Starters:

Ouef Othier - First time having this and it was fantastic. Great depth and richness without being overwhelming. Cannot wait to come back and order this again.

Salad de Crevettes - Not entirely sure how I feel about this. It was clean, well composed, and the prawns had excellent flavor. It was nice but nothing too in the face. It worked as a nice balance to the Oeuf I suppose.

Mains:

They were out of the cassoulet - which looked terrific. However, we managed to overhear the ladies next to us who were eating the bouillabaisse claim it was the "best they had ever had". In for one!

bouillabaisse fruits de mer / fennel / orange / saffron / rouille / pain grille - This is the best version of this I have ever had. Period. Incredible flavor throughout which made me want to just drink the whole thing. The broth was incredibly nice with great balance and complexity. Mussels, Monkfish, shrimp, mussels, maybe a chunk of salmon, etc... and all were cooked perfectly (including the monkfish). Couple slices of bread with this really nice mayo + some sort of roasted pepper blended in were perfect for dipping. If you go I would make this a must order.

boeuf bourguignon - The girlfriend and I were splitting entrees and she had a lean towards this when I was leaning the chicken. She won out and this ended up being a very nice rendition. I think if you are craving a dish like this you will be happy. Of note would be the carrots and beet which were cooked perfectly (thank you sous vide).

Things were going great at this point. Wine, starters, and entrees were all really playing the old fiddle. Then one of the perks of sitting court side managed to play out - a nice conversation with owner/chef - Jason. Fun guy with an incredible passion for french food. He is originally from Queens but has been rocking french food in Chicago for 17 years.

Anyway, I asked him what his favorite dish on the menu was and he dropped the bomb on me - the chicken! THE CHICKEN people! Obviously this weighed pretty heavy... In a "having an excellent meal but just learned I ordered slightly wrong at the last moment" kind of way. FOMO man.

Anyway, we ended up splitting a chicken with the two gals next to us. Which was awesome. Sous vide chicken with a whole lot of extra oomph. The chicken breast on its own stands up but then there was the little side parts which had been coated with some sort of mushroom action, gone through some extra cooking, and topped with a potently delicious butter. I am doing a horrible job of describing this but i think the main thing to take away here is - get the chicken.

We had the Coconut Financier for dessert and it was delicious as well.

A great experience interacting with the chef and the other staff (who all seemed to be really excited about the restaurant), delicious food which we felt was a good value, and a nice atmosphere.

I am already looking forward to going back for more of the Bouillabaisse and the Chicken. Probably that Egg too. And Cassoulet.

jpeac2 wrote:They were out of the cassoulet - which looked terrific.

I wasn't a huge fan of the cassoulet, but I thoroughly enjoyed both meals I've had a The Blanchard. The Chef's counter is great for parties of two.

Had a mixed experience last pm. The good was excellent, and the bad was annoying to bs. In all though, we had a wonderful time and would go back gladly.

First the good: Loved the room, the art, the bar, the drinks, the energy, the staff (our waitress was excellent, as was the support staff all around). A lot of the food was as well, standouts being the egg, escargot and the duck confit. Being part dinosaur and having come up through a traditional French kitchen, I was loving it.

The not so good: They were out of our 1st 2 wine selections and per their suggestions we settled on something that unfortunately was really not to our liking or as versatile as needed. Same w/the next bottle. Priced in the mid $80's ea X's 2... There's not really much of a lower price point (very little in the $40-50 dollar range) so if you make a mistake, it's a bit costly besides disappointing.

Our food throughout the meal was over salted and served warm, not hot. Everyone had @ least 1 dish that suffered in this manner. If I'm paying a $12-14 upcharge (it was a restaurant wk prix fixe menu) for foie gras (also overcooked) and dover sole (warm @ best and quite salty), it needs to be worth it. Neither were. Yes, they were busy, and it was restaurant wk, so we can take that into consideration. The steak that came w/the steak/frites also had quite a bit of fat, something I love, but my love doesn't, so she barely ate it. Of the 3 desserts offered, only 1 was finished (the chocolate pot au creme). They rallied with a selection of comped after dinner drinks, that we loved.

Now the bs: All in all we had a great time, but upon leaving we find that one of our coats that we checked w/the hostess is gone and that someone had apparently taken the recent xmas gift which was on the hanger under my checked coat. They even remembered the woman that did so and tried to contact her. So that's where it lies. Hopefully, they'll be successful and no harm no foul- except for one cold woman walking back to our car.

We ate there earlier this month for dinner. Most of the food dishes were very good indeed; the sauteed foie gras was a standout. I was a bit disappointed in the bouillabaise, in which the seafood was excellent but the broth was thin and not particularly tasty, similar to the broth of the steamed mussels. Nothing was overcooked/undercooked, and the seasoning levels were appropriate. The desserts were superb, particularly the bombe and the financier. We encountered two issues, though. One, it was rather pricy for what it was. (We spent $140/pp including tax/tip and moderate wine.) The second was the service. When the server was around, it was fine. But there were excessively long periods between courses when nothing was going on, and there were times (such as when we were ready for the check) when it took a long time to get our server's attention, much of which time she was seen hanging out chatting with the other staff at the end of the room. Our three-course dinner should have taken under two hours at a relaxed pace, and instead it took three. We'd go back for the food - classical non-bistro French fare is in short supply these days - but based on our experience, the service needs work.

Driving/parking tip: Don't bother driving all the way to their address on Lincoln Park West, which is the street with the cul de sac on which the restaurant entrance is. It's only a few steps from Clark Street, where their parking valet is located and where on-street meter parking is more plentiful. Look for the first building on Clark south of Armitage; that's their building, and you can just walk around the north side of the building to their entrance.

I went about three weeks after they opened and it was Gawd awful, both food and service. We spoke to the owner, who repeatedly told us he knew he had a problem and wanted to buy us dinner to have us come back. We told him that wasn't why we talked to him, but said we would contact him. Repeated outreaches went unanswered for a week or more at a time, with excuses. Then when the Phil Vettel review hit, he went silent on us.

Count me out. It's an integrity thing for me.

Then when the Phil Vettel review hit, he went silent on us.

Given the comments above, that's why I don't give any credence to his restaurant reviews.

My "working theory" on The Blanchard is that it's important to seek and heed the recommendations of the waiter. I base this on the fact that members of our party who have done so, on the two occasions I've been there, have been very pleased with their selections, while I, operating on my prior theory of "just because you, the waiter, like this, doesn't mean I will," have ordered without taking the waiter's recommendations into account, and have found the results merely OK. The next time we go (if there is a next time) I'm going straight down the line with whatever the waiter says is good that night.

Quite the diversity of opinions on this restaurant!

Chicago Magazine just posted Jeff Ruby's take on their website:
Reviews: The Blanchard and Boeufhaus

We had a 5:15pm reservation this past Saturday night, and I expected to enter an empty dining room, but it was 3/4 full. We were seated at a great table, a banquette all the way to the left of the entrance, and were able to sit next to each other.
So we waited...and after about 15 minutes we were given menus. I was disappointed to see that we were given an abbreviated menu, but anticipating a great meal nevertheless. Donna ordered a wonderful French Burgundy for us. Soft and luscious.
We had to ask for bread and butter. Neither of us really had eaten breakfast or lunch. Only a yogurt for myself. The busboy then removed the butter as well as our bread plates.
We also had to ask for water.
Finally, we received our menus. She ordered Escargot and I chose the truffle crusted foie gras. Escargot were lacking in garlic punch as well as seasoning. They were served with 3 thin toasted crisp diagonal baguette crisps. Assuming that the garlic butter was tasty, how does one enjoy it without a piece of good bread with which to sop it up? The garlic butter was very flat tasting to both of us. I enjoyed the flavor of the Foie and agree with Alan. Mine was also overcooked.
When the entrees arrived, she told me that her Dover sole was too salty and lukewarm as well. I like salt, and traded plates with her. The steak was cooked rare as requested, but here's a question to LTH members: What is the problem when you are served a steak that's topped with a slice of delicious compound butter, and the butter never even softens up, not to mention melts a little? Yes...cold! And the frites were extremely well done. I had one or two. I thought the sole was cooked nicely, but at the very top of my salt tolerance level.
Chocolate Pot de Crème was good, but neither of us wanted more than a single bite of the chestnut Bavarian thing. Our waiter never offered coffee either. We had to ask for cappuccinos.
We also found the valet situation very confusing. Updating a website would inform the customer what to expect.
So, with the upcharges and four glasses of wine, we had quite an unacceptable $240 meal and won't be returning. I'm glad that we got our coats back.
I do have to say that the kitchen nailed the demi glace based sauces for the foie and the steak.

I live right around the corner and was really looking forward to a bit of good old-fashioned French but these experiences are just plain bad ...think I'll pass until they get it sorted, if they do.

Thought I'd see how it played out before commenting again. A wk in on the case of the missing coat and they've said they contacted the women and she said if was hers. Kinda weird that they know who lifted my coat up and took it from underneath, even though we had the receipt for it and it was in their care. That was Sunday. Heard nothing until Weds, and was told they'd take care of it by Fri, which has come and gone. I really wanted to love this place in spite of a rocky (and expensive start), but it is not to be.

Based on all the favorable comments that started this thread, I was really revved up to try this place but the momentum has decidedly turned. Still, we're sticking to our plan and going this week (unless our companions want to call an audible) because I have to try it for myself. However, I'd be lying if I said I was as excited about it as I was 10 days ago.

And I guess I'd better not valet

=R=

Now I feel as though we were lucky to go on a Monday night. Perhaps the quiet night allowed them to pay more attention to our dishes.

A friend was taking me to a belated birthday dinner here at my request, I think I'll change my plans. Jazzfood, is there a way for you to report this to the police since they're not dealing with it and they have the other person's name?

I'm w/you but she wants to wait and see. She's found another and bought it again. I bring this up mainly to point out service gaffes, and how they affect overall experience- something that has been my nemesis throughout my career.

I'm with you, I think service problems bedevil restaurants more often than food does, but that's a conversation for another thread. Hope your better half gets her coat back.

Octarine wrote:Now I feel as though we were lucky to go on a Monday night. Perhaps the quiet night allowed them to pay more attention to our dishes.

FWIW, our dinner was on a Thursday night. And I thought the food was quite good overall; it was the service with which we had issues. I think anyone who enjoys traditional French food should try it and decide for themselves. Especially since there are so few such places left.

Jazzfood's issue is just plain weird. I mean, yeah, it was initially caused by a service gaffe by the restaurant, but compounded by another customer who is apparently an intentional thief. A restaurant hands a coat to a wrong customer, and 999 times out of 1000, they give it back on the spot and it's no big deal. I've never heard of anything like this happening. (I'm not doubting its veracity, though - you can't make stuff like this up!) And I don't blame you for holding this against them, either. Please keep us posted on further developments.

The restaurant didn't give the coat away. The restaurant did in fact, watch a customer of theirs, whom they know, remove it from underneath my coat and walk out with it- something they told us when it happened, as they called her while we were still there. But it was close to midnight and there was no answer. Now they're just not responding.

Apparently I got that aspect of the story wrong, sorry.

But that makes it even weirder. Intentional theft on the part of the other customer, observed with no action at the time (and thereby enabled) by the restaurant staff.

correct, for a coat we checked w/them and have a receipt for.

Apology offered and accepted, all is well. Nothing to see here. Back to the food.

nsxtasy wrote:I think anyone who enjoys traditional French food should try it and decide for themselves. Especially since there are so few such places left.

I was chatting with a friend, trying to come up with the names of Chicago-area restaurants that still serve traditional French fine/finer dining (aside from French bistros, which seem to fall into a separate genre). In addition to the Blanchard, our list included Everest, Brindille, Michael, Tallgrass, Les Nomades, and maybe Cafe Pyrenees. Any others we missed?

nsxtasy wrote:Quite the diversity of opinions on this restaurant!

Chicago Magazine just posted Jeff Ruby's take on their website:
Reviews: The Blanchard and Boeufhaus

All I can say is that Paskewitz must know what all the food reviewers in the city look like, because they all fall over themselves on this place while so far here the experiences have been OK at best and an overpriced awful at worst.

If you want French fine dining, I recommend you stick with Les Nomades or Michael's. IMHO, the best French bistro execution is Chez Simo Bistro on Lawrence, which is also BYOB to boot.

Went again last week, and the food was superb across the board. Stand outs to me were the bouillabaisse, which had that perfect amount of sourness to the broth and the mushroom soup, which (contrasting with the also excellent version at Elizabeth) is cream-based and intensely mushroom-y.

The only negative was not food related. This was my second time going and BOTH times we had to wait over 30 minutes for our table despite having made the reservation 2 weeks in advance. They need to clean up their front of house system.

The room is beautiful, service was good and I left with the same coat I went in with but the food was a mixed bag, at best. I just wasn't impressed by the overly fussified versions of most of the dishes we had. Nothing was horrible but nothing would have me planning a return visit.

Many of these are classic dishes that should simply be left alone. There's a reason they've endured for decades, and in many cases, even centuries. So, if one must tinker with them, they should be improved upon. But how does one improve upon a classic? Well, in most cases, one can't. That's part of the reason the dishes, in their classic form, have stood the test of time. And it's also a reason that new twists on these dishes often disappoint.

The Blanchard's takes on Frisee Aux Lardons, Cassoulet and Beef Bourguignon were nothing to write home about. The salad was a tiny, overly-dressed mess with muddy flavors and soggy frisee. The cassoulet was dry and pasty, and almost felt like a Swanson's version that had been baked in the oven for 30 minutes, had the foil peeled back and then cooked for 10 more minutes. The very soul of this hearty peasant-food was entirely missing. Ditto for the precious take on beef bourguignon, which had chunks of braised short rib meticulously arranged on the plate in a manner that was a world away from the dish's origins. It was an unfortunate departure.

The Dover Sole Meuniere was also a fancified composition (and a tiny one at that) but the flavors were there and the fish was cooked perfectly. Definitely the highlight of the main courses.

Starters of Oeuf Outhier and Escargots a la Bourguignonne were also enjoyable. The egg was delicious and beautifully composed. The snails were delectable in their herbaceous butter baths. A round of foie gras preparations were more mixed but that had more to do with my personal preferences than the conception or execution of the dishes. My favorite was the savory #2, which was encrusted with black truffle and seared. #1 and #3 were both too sweet for me.

Speaking of sweet, desserts were very nice. The tender and flavorful Coconut Financier was terrific, as was the dark and lovely Pot De Creme au Chocolat. I also enjoyed the flavors of the Pistachio Bombe but the exterior texture was a bit gummy. All in all, not a bad round, though.

I think that if one had never had these dishes before, The Blanchard might not be quite as disappointing but I went in with some expectations that were not met. I was hoping for traditional takes on classic dishes. Instead, we ended up with some fresh twists that had me shaking my head and asking "why?".

=R=

The majority owner of the fine-dining Lincoln Park French restaurant the Blanchard has filed suit against executive chef and minority partner Jason Paskewitz, alleging the chef diverted more than $548,000 for personal use.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... ole-548000

Hey all,

Has anyone been to The Blanchard recently (hopefully post-financial debacle)?

I'm thinking of visiting during Restaurant Week (they seem to be offering a decent value compared to their normal menu prices), but may pass if food or service has diminished even from the lackluster experiences people have shared here.