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1. BURGER RESTAURANT RUSH AND DIVISION, CHICAGO FULL
2. BURGER RESTAURANT RUSH AND DIVISION, CHICAGO PROFESSIONAL

It was very unusual in the early seventies to open such an opulent gastronomic restaurant in a distant and not really fancy suburb. Nobody could have guessed that so many diners would drive so far away from the city to eat.

BURGER RESTAURANT RUSH AND DIVISION, CHICAGO PROFESSIONAL

When Jean Banchet and Henri Coudrier, two authentic French chefs with already solid professional references in their resume, along with their respective wives Doris and Danielle, opened this marvelous place in March in an old German tavern at 269 South Milwaukee avenue in Wheeling, a few miles North of O’Hare airport, they probably had no idea that this place would rapidly become a Mecca for gastronomes from all over the United States. In fact he trained himself many young apprentices who are in 2011 well-recognized on the Chicago Restaurant scene, such as Bill Kim. And he had a knack to create inventive and delicately spiced sauces and use lesser known small vegetables as garnishes. He also used cream, mushrooms and Calvados in a very inspired and delicate way. Pollin who did stints in some of the best kitchens of Europe, including Lucas-Carton in Paris, had a very classical training and a great respect for the quality and integrity of good products. With the arrival in 1974 of Pierre Pollin, a very gifted and creative chef native of Normandy, who had a fantastic “tour de main” with sole and other types of seafood including scallops and lobster, the restaurant that was open for lunch and dinner, acquired rapidly a national reputation. His first chef, Jean-Pierre Pellet was very good but his cooking was quite traditional. This place became one of the most durable and successful French restaurant in the whole Chicago area. Zeiger was a great professional and a very friendly host and manager. Many in the trade had doubts about its success.

BURGER RESTAURANT RUSH AND DIVISION, CHICAGO FULL

It serves a full bistro menu with very moderate prices and has a nice wine list with inexpensive well-chosen French wines.Īlso in June Christian Zeiger, a former Maitre D’at Chez Paul, and his wife Agnès opened this small but really charming and nicely decorated restaurant at the improbable address of 2275 Rand Road in Palatine. Nowadays this bistro has expanded a bit, but is still very popular at the same address. Years later the place offered more complex traditional Bistro dishes such as Coq au Vin, or Boeuf Bourguignon, but remained BYOB.

In the early seventies you could have a complete dinner there for 8 dollars, or eat a couple of delicious crepes for 2 dollars.

The place which was very cozy and rustic, with a few antiques and posters on the wall became rapidly popular and attracted a crowd of young people who enjoyed the romantic feeling on dates, and regular patrons who loved the very attractive prices. The big specialty of course were crepes, thin and very well made both in traditional sweet wheat version with fruit, or preserves, chocolate, or flavored with Grand Marnier, and topped with whipped cream, and in savory buckwheat mode with filling of ham, cheese, spinach, and seafood or chicken. No wonder then that a young man from that area, a “ Breton”, named Germain Roignant, along with his Joliet-born wife Sara whom she met in Germany where he was waiting on tables, opened that intimate storefront bistro at 2845 N. I remember that around 1976 we were able to have great lunches with some house wine for$ 15.00 or $16.00Ĭrepes in France are often associated with the region of Brittany. The Beaujolais and young Bourgognes were always coming from good producers and decently priced. I will never forget the fantastic French fries served in paper cones, and the simple but well-sauced standard bistro dishes such as duck terrine, steak au poivre, rabbit stew, frog legs Provençale, or coq au vin. On Bastille Day Badonsky would organize very lively parties on a lot in front of the restaurant that lasted until the closing of the restaurant in the mid-eighties. It was always packed with regulars, including many French locals, as well as out- of- town visitors. The place became even more popular and attractive when George Badonsky (Tango, The Brewery, George) bought it in 1975. The Prix-fixe dinners at under 10 dollars were quite popular in 1972. This charming restaurant was comprised of 2 separate, attractive in their simple and almost rustic elegance, dining rooms, the first one with a very welcoming bar. Superior was Le Bastille, a delightful bistro that at the beginning was partially owned by Raymond Soubrier who had been very successful at La Chaumière until it closed, and René Martin, who had been involved in various French restaurants in Chicago.