115913 Tue May 18 18:46:50 -0700 2004 7 7 Chicago Area 0 632861 It's been a little over a month since the last review of La Tache. Since that review was mostly "eh" (see link below), I will post mine since it is somewhat better. I went to La Tache on Saturday night with Mrs. Ro and her father. I called ahead to see if we would need a reservation for 6 and they informed me that they do not generally have a wait until 7. Since we were uncertain about our pre-dinner plans, I opted not to request a reservation. We arrived at 6:30 and were seated immediately. Our table was angled against a beautiful antique wardrobe that cramped my position somewhat (my left arm was against the wardrobe). I don't generally mind when tables are in close quarters (living in NYC cured me of that), but this arrangement left a little to be desired. The waiter was attentive, polite, and friendly. My father-in-law and I ordered a Manhattan on the rocks to start with, and my wife ordered a bottle of wine for the table to share. The Manhattans were good, but at $8, definitely on the high side for Chicago. SALADS To start, we each had a different salad. Mrs. Ro had the mixed greens, and she commented favorably on the dressing. Her father had the asparagus and bibb salad. He was perplexed with the asparagus preparation - the spears were sliced thinly on the diagonal so they could be flash cooked - but he enjoyed it otherwise. I had the other salad with a poached egg on top. I don't remember what it was called, but it was lovely. The egg was poached to perfection, so the yolk blended perfectly into the salad dressing. ENTREES Mrs. Ro had the Chicken Pistou. The waiter let us know that "pistou" was french for pesto. She thought it was good, but didn't find it to be outstanding. She found the mashed potatoes alongside to be excellently prepared - not too rich, not too smooth, and full of flavor. Mrs. Ro's dad had the flatiron steak frites. The waiter informed us that the flatiron is similar to the traditional NY strip steak, but it comes from the shoulder of the cow. At $17, it was four dollars cheaper than the traditional strip steak. He found the steak to be remarkably tender, the frites to be amazing ("how do they cook these so well?"), but he was not impressed with the bordelais (sp?) sauce. He didn't specify what he didn't like about it, but he definitely didn't like it. (but Mrs. Ro liked it a lot) I had the marengo. I have never had marengo before, so i was unsure what to expect. I ordered it on the strength of the lovely poached egg that topped my salad (I'm a sucker for the perfect poach). I thought it was very good. The tomatoes, mushrooms, chicken, and crayfish made for a lovely flavor combination, slightly bound together by the yolk of a perfectly poached egg. DESSERT Chocolate mousse with hazelnuts. DIVINE DIVINE DIVINE. Mrs. Ro's dad had claimed not to want dessert, but after he had his first bite, he liked it so much that I was afraid he was going to start scooping it up with his hands. Fortunately, he broke off chunks of the edible fried thingie that it was presented in (a very nice presentation, much nicer than my description makes it sound) and used those to scoop it up. We did everything but lick the plate. OVERALL For the three of us, the bill not including tip was around $130. With tip, it comes out to nearly $50 per person. The food was excellent, though not overwhelming. The service was excellent, nearly perfect in fact. And the ambience was satisfying, even though I was a little cramped. For a very nice neighborhood restaurant, I think La Tache sets a fine table. It reminds me of a lot of restaurants in New York. I will not go there regularly because I do not regularly spend fifty dollars a person for dinner, but I would not hesitate to recommend it. J. Ro La Tache 1475 W. Balmoral (773)334-7168 Link: http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards/chicago/messages/45640.html Tue May 18 18:46:50 -0700 2004 0 J. Ro 1 632862 thanks for the review--i have heard good things, but have not been yet. Tue May 18 18:53:39 -0700 2004 632861 0 Parker 2 632906 Ditto on the thanks. La Tache is just up the street a bit and I have been disappointed to read all the blah reviews...I have been waiting for them to hit their stride, which they may have done. pd Wed May 19 12:41:00 -0700 2004 632862 0 pdaane 3 633233 Check out their brunch for a low-risk way to test them out. I was there mid-April for an excellent brunch that was very reasonably priced. I can't remember the full menu of what we tried, but I had some sort of salt-cod hash that was quite good. Tue May 25 13:31:29 -0700 2004 632906 0 Hinman Guy 1 632883 I'm glad you enjoyed it. We didn't have dessert, it sounds like it would have been worth it. Like I said, it was pretty good, but not overwhelmingly so. Did you find it to be extremely loud, like I did? Wed May 19 08:53:14 -0700 2004 632861 0 messycook 2 632912 I didn't find La Tache to be extremely loud. By the time we were finished eating, all the tables were full and there were a few people lingering/waiting in the bar area. The volume increased by the end, but it never crossed the threshold into unacceptably loud. Everyone's threshold is different, though. If La Tache had two rather loud four-tops at the same time, I can see how it could become unacceptably loud as everyone else ratchets up their voices to compensate. It is a small restaurant, so it is susceptible to the din of the occupants. As for the differences between our reviews, I did not find the food to be AMAZING, but I did find it to be quite satisfying. J. Ro Wed May 19 13:33:16 -0700 2004 632883 0 J. Ro 1 632922 I live close by and jsut went for the first time Friday night. The salas with the poached egg is 'Lyonnaise, like in the style of Lyon'. My wife had it and and the chicken pistou. She tought is was one of the best chick dishes she'd had. I had quail in curry. While good, I think I made a bad wine choice for a dish flavored with curry. I also had the escargot. Eating it reminded me of having this in Beaune, France and it didn't seem like the same dish. It was acceptable, but I would not get it again. The guy next to me had the steak frites and what I touhgt when I saw them was how I prefer the very thin fries like you get at the Hopleaf with the same dish. No deserts, as it took forever to get our plates cleared and we got bored waiting. Given my luke warm experience, I'd say I felt I could have been a lot happeir elsewhere for the same price or less, but I don't think my wife agrees. -Scott Wed May 19 14:17:22 -0700 2004 632861 0 scott 2 632930 Lyonnaise - that was it! Sorry that you didn't have a great experience there. J. Ro PS Don't judge a frite by its cover! The fries at La Tache are mm-mm good. Wed May 19 15:37:52 -0700 2004 632922 0 J .Ro