Aug. 03--Restaurant Michael, the classically French Winnetka restaurant that turns 10 this year, will convert its private dining room to a tasting-menu-only concept called George Trois. The restaurant-within-a-restaurant is scheduled to open Oct. 1.
Restaurant Michael is one of the last Chicago-area links to the old guard of high French gastronomy. Its owner/chef is Michael Lachowicz, the Culinary Institue of America-graduate best known for his three-year stint at Le Francais.
At 20-seat George Trois, the menu will consist of seven-course and 10-course offerings ($140 and $160, respectively) of classic French cuisine. The restaurant is named for Lachowicz's grandfather and uncle, both named George, who encouraged Lachowicz to become a chef. It's a rather ambitious concept, given the price point, but Lachowicz said the restaurant is as much for his staff as it is for the North Shore.
Lachowicz said he's barely stepped foot in the kitchen for the last four years, because, as he said, "I was busy rectifying all the wreckage I made in my personal life. I've been clean for five years. I'm happily married. Who would've thought that would happen? This will be an homage for my staff, for the guys who stuck with me through some bad times. I owe them this respect."
He also owes it to himself: Lachowicz plans on cooking at George Trois every night.
kpang@tribpub.com
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