Les Deux Autres - Glen Ellyn

Hello all,

Has anyone been to Les Deux Autres in Glen Ellyn? I'm going LDA in a few weeks, and any thoughts and opinions you have would be great.

If you have any suggestions for comparable French restaurants, I'll take those too. Not looking for anything too, too pricey, but just good French cooking.

Thanks-
Katy

I went to Les Deux Autres (The Two Others) last night and while the food was excellent, the service was not. We arrived about 15 minutes early for our reservation and though the dining room was not completely full, the hostess hemmed and hawed about where to seat us. We were seated right next to the front door even though there were other 4 tops available.

From there, it was another 20 minutes before we saw a waiter, much less a wine list. We were nearly an hour into the evening before recieving our appetizers. However, once the food did start to come, the evening improved considerably. This restaurant bills itself as "modern French", whatever that means, and it does appear they borrow from Asian influenced food in terms of sauces and glazes. We were served an excellent maki roll with wasabi creme fraiche as an amuse. The menu has a heavy focus on game with three different preparations of venison being offered. I had sea scallops which were firm and flavorful, these were served a top a large lobster ravioli in a light cream sauce and did not disappoint.

Both the chef and the owner made rounds to the table, which was nice, but upon leaving nobody acknowledged us. It would seem if you knew it was someone's first time dining in a place, you'd leave them with the impression you'd like to see them return.

In a nutshell: terrible service, excellent food. My father summed it up best by saying, "The service blows, but I can't argue with the food."

KatyK wrote:In a nutshell: terrible service, excellent food. My father summed it up best by saying, "The service blows, but I can't argue with the food."

KatyK,

The Wife and I are going to Les Deux Autres tomorrow night, and I'm looking forward to it, though I have read elsewhere as well that the quality of the service is not quite up to the quality of the food.

It seems like strange French (wasabi!?), but I'm up for it.

Hammond

David,

I hope you enjoy your dinner at LDA. If you have a chance, please let us know about your experience there -- I'd be interested in hearing about it.

Thanks,
Ron

Ron, what do you like at LDA?

They don't seem to have a website, or I'd check the menu online. When I go to a place, I like to think about what I want to eat before I get there (maybe that's strange, but it works for me).

Hammond

I've actually never been there, which is one of the reasons I'm interested in your observations (it seems like there have been some mixed reviews, at least with regard to the service). I also found it strange that they don't have a website with their menu -- I looked for it earlier.

Ron A. wrote:I've actually never been there

Yes, I came across your post on Chowhound from Oct of 05 -- you really are a cautious diner! I'll let you know what I think.

Hammond

Just got back from LDA.

Some excellent dishes -- the Kobe ribs were the best renditions of this particular meat that I've had -- but the service, though friendly, was not entirely competent (our waiter misidentified items on some dishes, failed to have answers to relatively simple questions about ingredients...but he was friendly).

Hanging over this place, however, is a miasma of doom -- on a Friday night, there were not more than three tables full at any one point. The place is located at the end of a darkened strip mall. Just last August, Phil Vettel gave this place three forks (or stars, or whatever he awards), and whatever positive effect that might have had is worn off. And it ain't cheap.

Hammond

David,

I just reviewed my October '05 post, and, needless to say, I still haven't made it to LDA. While I like to try new places, I am somewhat of a creature of habit. And, for some reason, LDA just didn't really seem to be worth going out of the way for (based on the reviews that I'd read). Perhaps others have felt the same way, which could explain why it wasn't more bustling on a Friday night.

Ron

Hi~ I was reading all your posts and someone mentioned them not having a website. There is a website and here is the address: www.ldafrenchcuisine.com Hope this helps!!!

We are finally dining there tonight, though I am questioning my judgment. As far as I know the chef left recently, though I cannot find the reference. There is not bio for a chef on their web site at this time.

And the fact that I could call at 430p on Friday and get a reso for 7p is another sign... Hopefully the food will be delightful, as noted above, and the corkage at $15 seems reasonable enough.

This place seems to have roots that lead to Courtright's kitchen originally, it seems. I need to go to Courtright's one of these days, too, as it sounds like their cuisine has been getting more interesting the last couple of years.

Anyway, will post on LDA after dinner.

dicksond wrote:We are finally dining there tonight, though I am questioning my judgment. As far as I know the chef left recently, though I cannot find the reference. There is not bio for a chef on their web site at this time.

I vaguely recall some activity at this place last spring -- I thought it had closed for a little while.

Given the markup on wine here there and everywhere, if you bring your own, it's way worth the $15 corkage fee.

Looking forward to your report.

Hammond

Let's begin with disclosure - it turns out that the Bride, the professional stalker, knows the chef at LDA, sort of.

She was at his christening. Kinda makes me feel old. She has not seen him for over 20 years, though, so they aren't exactly close.

The celebrity chef, Lutes from Courtrights, is gone. He has been replaced by Chris Hagstrom who was his sous chef, both at LDA and at Courtrights. Louise Lima, the owner and pastry chef, also came from there.

The room seemed a little barren, like some wall decorations were missing, or perhaps it was because we were the only people in the back room for most of our dinner. The front room, which is about half the size, was pretty much full, but since we arrived at 7pm on a Friday this does not bode well.

Service was prompt and good, if not smooth and perfect. Really nothing to complain about. And I found the wine list interesting and fairly priced, though we brought our own.

We started with a crab and noodle amuse - earthy crab flavor, julienned vegetables, tiny noodles that looked a lot like the crab. Clean and enjoyable with a swoosh of chile puree on the side to add some heat when desired.

My appetizer was a walnut vichyssoise. Potato, salt, walnut, onion, swooshes of chile and oil. At first I found the texture a bit problematic - sort of like the congealed butter had clumped with the potatos, and that still might be the case. But I became accustomed to it and came to enjoy the flavors of spuds, nuts, butter and chile. Not as creamy and blended to a unity as it should be, though.

The Bride had the Caesar Salad with grilled asparagus and artichoke hearts. It was okay, baby romaine, decent dressing, bits of asparagus; she had to search for the artichoke. Not terribly interesting. (As an aside, I had eaten at Bistro Banlieue one last time the previous week, but after having eaten at Sal e Carvao for lunch, so I was not too hungry. Ordered the chicken breast salad, and though the greens were a bit better, it also was unexciting. Perhaps the easiest measure of the quality of ingredients being used at an upscale place is to order a salad, or is this unfair since a salad is supposed to be "light" anyway?)

She then moved on to the Salmon special, grilled Alaskan Sockeye with a light rub atop a bed of spinach and curried croquettes with a brown butter sauce, spiked with vinegar. The interest returned with this dish. There was some thought and effort expended and the Bride enjoyed it. The salmon sat upon the croquettes like a raft out on a summer lake, sitting on pontoons.

I went with the Soft Shell Crabs on a bed of seaweed salad. Both main courses were vertical presentations, and the little pile of baby crabs (I cried briefly before tucking in) reminded me of some scenes I have seen of crabs in a group, climbing up on top of each other to create a crabby pyramid. Tableau mort, and intentionally or not it did make me think of Moto and those witty presentations. The crabs were cooked perfectly, lightly breaded, not at all greasy or overwhelmingly buttery. Put to shame other preparations I have had recently.

They recommended the souffle to end, and we went with the optional white chocolate/mixed berry, as opposed to the featured triple chocolate. Probably the wrong choice, but it was good.

Question: How can they prepare a souffle for us in 10 minutes? I seem to recall usually having had to order souffles at the beginning of the meal - was that just theater, is there some new technology, or other trick, or???

We really enjoyed the souffle; with my critics hat on I would say it was a bit light in the berries and berry flavor, and was more than a bit too custardy at the bottom, perhaps reflecting the quick preparation.

A very enjoyable meal, certainly, but also quite pricey. Their competition at this price is Vie to the east, and Isabel's to the west, and both are much better, and possibly a touch less expensive.

The Bride was delighted to revisit this bit of her history (I was gracious or liquored enough to not dwell on the fact that we were reliving her previous marriage that evening), so she would like to go back. But the meal just was not as exquisite as I would like for that cost.

I suspect we will keep an eye out for Chris Hagstrom's progress. For his first couple of weeks as a head chef, the results were promising.

This place used to be Le Deux Gros and they moved to Wheeling or something. I'd always heard that the service was lacking with both places and I've not tried this one yet. Shame on me as I work right up the block, but pricing has also scared me off. I will get there before the summer is up and try to make a report as well.

rosie wrote:This place used to be Le Deux Gros and they moved to Wheeling or something. I'd always heard that the service was lacking with both places and I've not tried this one yet. Shame on me as I work right up the block, but pricing has also scared me off. I will get there before the summer is up and try to make a report as well.

The Lachowiczes went to Le Francais after they closed Les Deux Gros. I never heard anyone complain about the service at Les Deux Gros - it was a wonderful temple of haute cuisine.

I believe the chef brother (Michael??) has his own place somewhere in the north suburbs, but I cannot remember the name at the moment. It would be worth checking out, though I did go to Le Francais while he was there and found the food a bit less interesting than what he was doing at Les Deux Gros, but the comparison is not completely fair since we went to Le Francais for an Easter brunch. I am not sure where his brother, who managed the dining room, is, but I think he is no longer working with his brother.

If someone has real information on that, please share.

And rosie, check out Les Deux Autres, particularly if they have, and you like, soft shell crabs. Those were great. As to the service, it was fine the night we were there and it seemed like they have that under control. Unless you like a quick meal/fast service I suppose, because that is not what they are about.

dicksond wrote:I believe the chef brother (Michael??) has his own place somewhere in the north suburbs, but I cannot remember the name at the moment.

Your memory is better than you think.

Les Deux Autres is closing. Chicago Tribune article excerpt below.

Phil Vettel
Published February 8, 2007


It's lights out for Les Deux Autres (462 N. Park Blvd., Glen Ellyn). The writing was on the wall six months ago, when owner Louisa Lima's husband got a job in New York. "I dragged my feet selling the restaurant," Lima said, "because it has been a big part of my life. But especially in winter, when flights are delayed or canceled, and having an 8-year-old son, it was hard not seeing Dad all week." The restaurant has been sold to Michel Saragueta, chef at Cafe le Coq in Oak Park, who will reopen the space (hopefully in time for Valentine's Day) as Bistro Monet.

Here's a link - free registration may be required.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-0702080048feb08,1,1457554.story?coll=chi-leisure-utl