Aug. 27--Less than two months old, The Blanchard is becoming a destination. Saturday nights are booming, and it's just a matter of time before the rest of the week follows suit.
Chef/owner Jason Paskewitz is well-known in this part of Lincoln Park, having won a lot of fans with his stellar work as opening chef (and onetime partner) at nearby Gemini Bistro, and he remains one of the city's very best bistro chefs. French food does not dominate the dining landscape as it once did, but a meal at The Blanchard will remind you just how wonderful that cuisine can be.
The restaurant is a smidge tricky to find. Exterior signage has yet to arrive (though a small awning confirms that you've come to the right place), and the restaurant abuts a cul-de-sac portion of Lincoln Park West just south of Armitage Avenue. Soon-to-come valet parking along Clark Street will help somewhat, though I've had good luck finding metered spaces along Clark, and there's a small parking garage 100 yards to the north that won't soak you too badly.
Other chefs have been finding the place; every Sunday, it seems, another chef or two stops by (Sunday nights are great for celebrity-chef spotting); in recent weeks, Paskewitz has played host to Jean Joho, Martial Noguier, Curtis Duffy, Riccardo Michi and Michael Kornick. "It means so much to have people like that coming in," Paskewitz says. "Though (the after-hours celebrating) makes for a rough Monday, I'll tell you that."
The Blanchard is closed Mondays, which is probably just as well.
The menu is straightforward, appetizers listed under a "Pour Commencer" heading and entrees listed under "Plat Principal" (probably should be "plats," as there are nine of them, but c'est la vie). Look closely, and you'll see that Paskewitz is having fun with some menu descriptions; one of the components of the steak frites is "love," the cod Provencal includes cockles, basil and "care" and a foie gras dish is made, apparently, with magic.
"Just lightening the mood a little," the chef says.
Speaking of foie gras, Paskewitz, a big fan, offers it in four preparations, including a cured-and-poached torchon with cherry and blueberry preserves, and seared foie gras with strawberries and brioche French toast. Another seared version presents the liver crusted in black truffle and draped with candied lavender, and the ganache -- a spreadable version served in a jar with a top layer of apricot gelee -- is the most easily shared. For a time, the menu offered a whole roasted lobe, which proved impractical (you'd need a table of at least six to consider taking on that much richness), but it remains available on request.
Among starters, the chef-y dish is the oeuf Outhier, a re-creation of the caviar-egg dish by famed chef Louis Outhier. Paskewitz's version presents the dish as a deconstruction of caviar service: Within a hollowed eggshell are softly whipped eggs, creme fraiche with lemon and vodka accents, and caviar. Not a cheap nibble at $16, but sublime.
Other, less-complex appetizers include a faultless dish of mussels in herbed white-wine broth, and creamy rillettes made with rabbit, duck and pork. The gazpacho, not really French (but who can resist late-summer tomatoes?), bolstered by sweet pieces of compressed watermelon and a vivid-green dollop of basil pistou in the center, is just about perfect; get it while you can, because peak tomato season is all too brief.
My favorite entree, by contrast, can stay on the menu as long as the chef wishes. Blanquette de veau, typically a peasant dish, is royalty in Paskewitz's hands. The braised and poached veal breast is remarkably tender, served with king trumpet mushrooms, fried sweetbreads and market vegetables for firm, crispy and crunchy textures. Pulling the dish together is a creamy, truffled veloute sauce. The dish is blissful.
Duck a l'orange is another star dish, Grand Marnier-glazed duck breast with brittle skin and a thick reduced duck jus underneath; some braised turnips and glazed carrots help balance all that richness.
Olive-oil-poached cod sits over an array of finely diced ratatouille vegetables; steak frites feature perfectly thin fries and a marrow-enriched bordelaise sauce. Even the salmon a la Greque, an everybody-loves-salmon menu inclusion, is beautifully handled, accompanied by artichoke barigoule (braised in a seasoned broth) and fingerling potatoes.
Pastry chef Marjorie Easley is one to watch; her desserts at The Blanchard couple classic technique with contemporary imagination. She adds toasted marshmallow to a gianduja pot de creme, giving the dessert a s'mores effect, and dresses up a pistachio-mousse bombe with dehydrated raspberry powder and raspberry pate de fruit.
Her berry napoleon layers fresh berries and caramel creme with maple-flavored phyllo squares, topped with brittle nougatine; mousse a l'orange, a semifreddo by any other name, arrives on a disk of tonka cake with a cardamom-infused anglaise sauce. Best of the bunch may be the coconut financier, a delicious cake topped with a coconut croquant decorated with kisses of passion fruit curd.
The front of the house features a smoothly professional, veteran service staff that makes the dining experience an absolute pleasure. They are reliable guides through the menu and defer to the sommelier regarding Blanchard's well-constructed, budget-aware wine list, which offers a nice selection of wines by the glass as well.
The dining room holds about 100 at linen-draped, generously spaced tables; neutral walls are hung with colorful abstract paintings; windows have louvered shutters and cafe curtains. Ceiling-mounted light fixtures are fitted with bare, filament-style bulbs.
A marble-topped, raised-height communal counter offers a few lucky diners (no reservations accepted) a kitchen view and chef-to-table service. Arrive a few minutes early, and check out the lounge, a separate space (which helps hold down the dining-room sound level) with comfortable seating and well-made cocktails.
Paskewitz has had an impressively long career in Chicago, from his early days at Wave and Gabriel's to JP, Gemini Bistro and Rustic House. The Blanchard is clearly his best restaurant yet.
pvettel@tribune.com
The Blanchard
1935 N. Lincoln Park West
872-829-3971
www.theblanchardchicago.com
Tribune rating: Three stars
Open: Dinner Tuesday to Sunday
Prices: Entrees $16-$42
Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V
Reservations: Strongly recommended weekends
Noise: Conversation-friendly
Other: Wheelchair accessible
Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
