National Culinary Review

Usually an American disaster, the veggie burger deserves a gold medal with its tumble of vegetables, brown rice, quinoa, plus black beans, topped with avocado and tomato piled to skyscraper heights. And we wolfed down brick chicken and nicely caramelized Brussels sprouts, two dishes trending in American restaurants these days.

The woman at the next table kept fanning her face, thanks to the jalapeño on her “deluxe” BLT, re-envisioned with applewood bacon, Taleggio cheese and truffle paste. Meanwhile, we felt part of cafe society—as close to dining at Paris’ La Coupole as you can get in Chicago since Brasserie Ruhlmann closed—happy to engage in gossip and the people-watching postures of the French flâneur. BLT American Brasserie is comfy, classy and oh so good—with complimentary Gruyere popovers to enjoy—all pumped out of the kitchen by chef de cuisine Aksel Theilkuhl, who does French American just right.

Salads/Starters $8-$16 Sandwiches/Burgers $14-$16
Grilled items $24-$39 Sushi/Raw Bar $11-$96 (seafood
platter for 4-6) Pizzas $11-$15

NELLCôTE
833 W. Randolph St. | (312) 432-0500
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PHOTO CREDIT: Opposite, Jeff Kauck Photography; bottom left, interior, Potluck Creative; food, Jamco Creative

When darkness takes over the city, this is the place to be. You’ll feel like you’re inside a mini updated Versailles, with twinkling candles and glittering chandeliers, a magical space providing ordinary folks an aristocratic experience at a reasonable price point. Hey, the busboy propped our sparkling water in a wine bucket. And the friendly waitstaff treated us like mini royalty, including coming up with a delicious mock cocktail (fresh pineapple, cherries from Croatia, lemon and lime juice, and egg whites) designed, we were told, just for us, though our neighbors subsequently had the same thing. Every man a king. Every woman a queen.

As for the food, get ready for a comforting culinary alchemy unique to talented chef Jared Van Camp, with sumptuous tastes impossible to describe. While the Stones may have engaged in nefarious behavior in the stifling basement on the Cote d’Azur, the prime attraction in this basement is an innocent flour mill that grinds out 00 regionally grown whole-wheat flour responsible for stupendous pizzas and pastas, including radiatore with duck legs, hen of the woods mushrooms, crunchy Romano beans and duck cracklings. And if Mick Jagger “can’t get no satisfaction,” he never tried Van Camp’s sunny side up pizza with organic egg, fontina cheese and shaved Périgord black truffles. Unlike the drugs passed around on the Côte d’Azur, this puts smiles, not lines, on your face.

No, Chicago’s Nellcôte is a tender contender, featuring fresh-faced decadence full of French, Italian and Spanish influences with Midwest-sourced ingredients, allowing you to roll on happily with dishes such as shaved pumpkin with pickled persimmon, mint, Gouda and fried Marcona almonds with homemade pomegranate molasses. Succulent lamb with baby-skin-soft gnocchi strums your soul with manchego cheese, tomato and olive marmalade, guaranteeing more good vibes thanks to brioche/gremolata breadcrumbs. There’s skate wing, saffron risotto with fava beans, foie gras torchon, rabbit loin and much more. And don’t miss the chocolate parfait fabricated by talented pastry chef Nate Mead. Too, too decadent. Too, too good. Satisfaction times 12.

Don’t “Paint it Black,” paint it Nellcôte.

Prices range from $3 to $15

Will you go to Hades if you wish the Rolling Stones would “hang it up,” hate the Big Tongue and still adore Nellcôte, the new restaurant inspired by an actual villa on the Côte d’Azur where the Stones recorded “Exile on Main Street” in 1971?

Hope not.

OPPOSITE: Grilled Certified Angus Beef New York strip steak comes with roasted Yukon gold potatoes, roasted bone marrow, chimichurri and roasted garlic at BLT American Brasserie.