112388 Fri Mar 14 19:01:31 -0800 2003 2 7 Chicago Area 0 610312 According to Morsels, "The neighborhood has discovered La Tache", the new upscale French bistro at 1475 W. Balmoral Ave (in the location of the old Dellwood Pickle). As a more clueless denizen of the neighborhood, I had no idea a new place had opened there! Anyone tried it yet? I tried searching on the board and there don't appear to be any postings yet. The place looks very nice; the dining room has a kind of classic bistro look and the bar is apparently open till 2AM. Entrees run in the $16-20 range. I'd love to hear a report before shelling out the big bucks (compared to our usual fare, anyway). As a kind of neighborhood point of comparison, we just tried Atlantique recently and were very pleased with it. How does La Tache compare? Fri Mar 14 19:01:31 -0800 2003 0 FJ Young 1 610348 That place has certainly kept under the radar, hasn't it? We tried it a couple of weeks ago, and I want to try it again before offering a long comment. The room is quite handsome, although a bit more self-consciously chic than you typically expect of a bistrot. The service was a little ragged - the young servers were pleasant, but not especially well-drilled in a number of the finer points of table service. Couple of examples: a used knife and fork were removed from the used plate that was being taken away and placed back down on the table before me - I had to specifically ask for a clean set of silverware with the next course, a request that seemed to puzzle our waitress slightly. Also, she did not offer a sample of the first bottle of wine we ordered - she just uncorked it and poured away (luckily it tasted fine). The food was interesting. A high point was the Lyonnaise salad, which in addition to the traditional lardons and egg was served atop a small pile of quite delicious french fries. Now that's a salad! It really did taste quite good, the vinaigrette dressing seeping down and flavoring the fries a la malt vinegar on fish and chips. My companion also enjoyed her salad featuring beets and brie. There was also a bit of whimsy in the menu - one of the starters was a croque monsier sandwich. I ordered it expecting it to be some fanciful variation on the theme, but no, it was a simple hot ham and cheese sandwich - sauteed rather than baked, however, and a little too salty even for me. The other starter we tried, the brandade/salt cod puree, was marvellously light-textured, but had a very simple flavor. The main courses were a little less satisfying. My "rabbit and celery root ravioli in mustard jus" tasted solely of celery to me, with rabbit and mustard flavors not in evidence. Texturally, the thick, coarse ravioli came across much more like pierogies. My companion's salmon was marred by a too-sweet "mustard glaze;" the glaze, however, did wonders for the roasted fennel served as an accompaniment, which was the most adroitly handled, agreeable-tasting fennel I've ever tried. Desserts were a nice but unremarkable pear tart and a fine profiteroles, with the pastry in the latter somewhat less stale than usual. I have nothing but praise for the excellent wine list, short but judiciously chosen (no La Taches, however), with several little-seen but very food-friendly wines, quite reasonably priced (the majority under $50). The food prices at La Tache incline slightly toward the high end for a bistrot, but the wine prices help to compensate for that. Can I recommended La Tache? I'm still withholding judgment. I think I'll just cop out by saying it is "promising." Mon Mar 17 11:32:11 -0800 2003 610312 0 Harry V. 2 610371 P.S. La Tache has some work to do before it can stand comparison with the polish, assurance and overall excellence of Atlantique. We too dined at the latter recently and it has never been better. Mon Mar 17 17:48:32 -0800 2003 610348 0 Harry V.