Maison Brasserie
333 E. Randolph St.Chicago, IL 60601
Loop
312-241-1540
maisonbrasserie.com
Hours: Lunch: Monday-Friday; dinner: seven days
Sunday brunch
Open late: Monday-Saturday till 11
Our Review
From the owners of Custom House Tavern comes Maison, a neighborhood restaurant located in Lakeshore East or Near Eastside or whatever the realtors are calling this not-quite-a-neighborhood development east of Michigan and north of Millennium Park. It's a gem of an eatery—upscale without being extravagant, fancy but not overpriced. The dining room is sleek and dimly lit, and the waitstaff adept at making sure you're not long without an ever-replenishing little plate of Red Hen baguette, butter, salt, and radishes. Chef Perry Hendrix's classic French bistro selections comprise, at the outset, usual-suspect starters like frisee salad, onion soup, and a sprightly steak tartare, vibrant with preserved lemon and capers and complemented by fries and a soft-cooked egg. Steak frites is on the entree menu along with trout amandine, a croque madame, garlic sausage, and roast chicken. This season there's also perfectly cooked salmon on a bed of ratatouille, accentuated by salty pistou. And there is, unforgettably, a leg of crisp-skinned duck confit that's quite fine on its own—you know, it doesn't hurt to cook a thing in its own fat—but elevated to near perfection by bitter turnip gratin and just a touch of lavender honey. Maison also offers a short but elegant beer selection, a comprehensive wine list, and some high-class-type cocktails, plus desserts that we would have happily eaten if only our budget hadn't at that point been, unhappily, blown. If Maison's handle on the classics is universal, I'd guess that the end of the meal—take your pick of floating island, lemon curd tart, dark chocolate mousse—might be just as sweet as the rest of it.
Price: $$$
Payment Type: MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, Discover
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