First there’s the egg. An oeuf Outhier headlines the menu at the Blanchard, a new French restaurant from chef Jason Paskewitz, who was last seen endeavoring with contemporary American dishes at Gemini Bistro and the late Rustic House. Fans of Next’s inaugural Paris 1906 dinner might at a glance mistake Paskewitz’s egg for the truffled oeuf Benedictine that kicked off that Escoffier-inspired menu. While it’s certainly a wee showstopper, arriving mounted on an egg cup, its crown neatly cut away to reveal a tuft of greenery and onyx pearls of domestic sturgeon caviar, it’s a more modern invention named for a French chef who cooked for the shah of Iran in the 70s. As your spoon swirls around egg curds and creme fraiche spiked with vodka, you might just feel a bit like a pampered and dissolute monarch.
But it isn’t all artful platings and sublime sauces. Paskewitz includes very good renderings of typical rustic bistro dishes: roast chicken and green beans that glisten with stock reduction; fall-apart rabbit leg and seared loin in an understated mustard sauce, perched atop a mountain of snappy pappardelle; rare tournedos of tender steak, crowned with shimmering cylinders of jiggling marrow and served alongside thick frites that soak up a bordelaise sauce. I wish the excellent rustic bread that appears at the beginning of the meal were served grilled, like the lighter loaf that provides a vehicle for triple-threat rillettes of confit rabbit, duck, and pork; the layer of white fat that sits on top is incorporated into the meaty paste tableside. These are simple, hearty, satisfying plates that are in no way incompatible with the splendor of the others.
1935 N. Lincoln Park West 872-829-3971theblanchardchicago.com
