- Address:
- 17 E. Monroe St., Chicago, IL, 60603
- Phone:
- 312-917-3404
- Overall User Rating:
-
(14 ratings)
- Hours:
- Breakfast: 6:30 a.m.-11 a.m. daily Lunch: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily Dinner: 5-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 5-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Although Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had a famously extravagant banquet there in 1879, it has been a long time since there was a compelling reason to dine in the Palmer House.
There was a time when Sunday brunch at the Loop hotel's Empire Room was the thing to do, but brunch is strictly an Easter and Mother's Day event these days. Trader Vic's once assuaged the umbrella-drink and pu-pu platter cravings of tourists and businessmen, but that restaurant exited the Palmer House in 2006.
Well, grab your top hat and dust off your spats. There's a new restaurant in the Palmer House Hilton, one worthy of that proud hotel's elegant and luxurious history.
The restaurant is Lockwood, the name referring to Lockwood Honore, the youngest brother of Bertha Palmer, she the wife of Potter Palmer, who built the original hotel and its second iteration (the Chicago Fire destroyed his first effort).
But that's the only thing that's dated about Lockwood, which, though connected via a large open bar to the hotel's historic mural-ceiling lobby, is very much a space of its own. The low-ceilinged dining room is clad in rich wood, cream-colored walls and noise-deadening carpeting. Tabletops are wrapped in camel microsuede and topped with gleaming flatware and stemware. Amber-shaded Tiffany lamps and low-wattage ceiling fixtures provide soft, romantic lighting, while recessed pinpoint spotlights take the strain out of menu perusing. There seem to be more booths than there are free-standing tables. It's a room suitable for a big evening out, and more often than not, people are dressed to the nines.
The chef is Phillip Foss, whose glittering resume includes work at Le Cirque, the King David Hotel and the Four Seasons in Maui, but he's not new to Chicago; he also helped open Bistrot Margot in Old Town. More important, Foss is a major talent, a clever and visual chef with a gentle sense of humor and an unerring sense of flavor, whether he's whipping up a "faux gras" of duck terrine and copious amounts of butter and cream ("We engorge the liver here," Foss jokes), or creating a "crab apple" package of crabmeat rolled in paper-thin sheets of Granny Smith apple, drizzled with honey and rolled in macadamia nuts.
But enfolding and stuffing are big parts of Foss' style; he loves placing little gift-wrapped packages on his plates. Butter-poached Maine lobster may be the star of one dish, but the accompanying ravioli squares packed with cauliflower and apple and set over a bright ginger-saffron sauce steal the show. Pieces of kurobuta pork tenderloin are wrapped in prosciutto and placed over a parmesan-reggiano-accented jus. A tiny wonton, filled with goat cheese and veal tongue, makes for an uncommonly tasty amuse.
Foss' trio of veal -- one of the best dishes on the menu -- includes melt-in-mouth pieces of loin, crispy sweetbread (mounded with caramelized root vegetables within a hollowed apple) and shank meat wrapped into wedge-shaped crepes with a smear of mascarpone cheese and sauteed to a slight crisp.
Other not-to-be-missed treats include tender pieces of squab breast, placed over an artichoke heart stuffed with nicoise-olive tapenade and sauteed leg meat and liver, bolstered by a reduced stock laced with bitter chocolate. Crispy-skinned black bass and fennel confiture is served over a bouillabaisse broth so powerful it's almost overkill to use it in support of a single fish.
Desserts aren't quite as dazzling as the courses leading to them, but they're close. Fabrice Bouet's offerings include a molten sponge, a cute play on the oozy-chocolate deal that includes a bit of port wine, almonds and Bailey's ice cream -- definitely dessert-worthy. There's also a gorgeous banana napoleon with brioche French toast, rum ice cream and chocolate sauce, and, for you history buffs, a "reconsidered" interpretation of Bertha's Famous Brownie (what we know as the brownie was born in the Palmer House in 1893, created by the chefs at Bertha Palmer's urging and served at the World's Columbian Exposition), made with premium chocolate and served with shiraz-laced chocolate sauce and a glass filled with chocolate-milk mousse.
Service, which had a misstep or two on my first visit, has improved considerably with the arrival of general manager Kirk Alston. Alston, formerly general manager at Otom restaurant, adds a natty and genial presence to the dining room and is an articulate and passionate promoter of the restaurant's deep (and luxuriously priced) wine list.
Is it safe to dine in the Palmer House again? I'd say it's practically mandatory.
LOCKWOOD ***
Palmer House Hilton
17 E. Monroe St.
312-917-3404
Open: Dinner, breakfast, lunch daily
Entree prices: $28-$46; tasting menus available
Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V
Reservations: Strongly recommended
Other: Wheelchair accessible; valet parking; discounted self-parking with validation
Ratings key:
OUTSTANDING ****
EXCELLENT ***
VERY GOOD **
GOOD*
SATISFACTORY
UNSATISFACTORY
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
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pvettel@tribune.com
IN THE WEB EDITION: Watch Phil Vettel's video review of Lockwood at chicago tribune.com/vettel
