First Look: Duchamp

Now more than ever, Bucktown needs its neighborhood restaurants.

Down the street from Duchamp—the globally influenced American spot that opened two weeks ago in the former Meritage space—Potbelly, Chipotle and Dairy Queen dot a once franchise-free strip.

Don’t get us wrong. We like a Peanut Buster Parfait as much as the next guy. It’s just that standing in line to grab a quick bite alongside folks who are too busy rehashing recent purchases at Bebe to say "hello" doesn’t feel all that neighborly.

When the trio behind Warehouse District lounge Lumen (Jason Freiman, Peter Gogarty and Nick Podesta) teamed up with Michael Taus of River North’s Zealous to open Duchamp, they had the neighbors in mind. It’s the sort of place where you still can get a burger and a beer, and where the prices won’t prohibit repeat visits. And get this: On Sundays, Duchamp hosts a backyard barbecue-style brunch. It doesn’t get much more neighborly than that.

The spot’s name is a reference to Marcel Duchamp, and the French artist’s desire to defy categorization is mirrored on the menu of modern takes on familiar classics. But, for now anyway, the only direct reference to the avant-garde painter-sculptor’s art is a collage (still in the works) of Duchamp reproductions. The otherwise unadorned space is sleek and modern—a bit reminiscent of Lumen, which Gogarty also designed.

The menu bears a few typographic references to Duchamp’s work, but after that, it’s straight to the point: small plates, large plates, dessert.

Small plates range from $6 (garlic and Romano cheese French fries) to $13 (roasted tomato gazpacho with rock shrimp); large plates start at $11 and top out at $19. You could mix and match, but most seem to go for one small and one large plate per person.

How do we know? Seating is communal. Indoors and on the 80-seat patio, substantial, eight-person walnut tables are nearly the only option. This makes Duchamp a great place to meet your neighbors—and a not-so-hot first-date destination. But since it’s aiming for the former, it’s entirely appropriate. What better way to get to know your neighbors than to lean over and ask if you can try a bite of that beet salad?

We didn’t go quite that far. But we did sample a few dishes that might warrant it. Our five plump "East meets West" hot wings ($8) were perfectly crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside, glazed with a spicy-sweet Korean chili sauce and served atop soy-ginger mayo. And though the rillette on our duck rillette tartines ($8) wasn’t the classic rich, spreadable version, we gushed over Duchamp’s interpretation: surprisingly light scoops of tender, apricot-studded duck meat on crisp crouton rounds served over cauliflower puree.

In general, small plates outshine large plates—but that’s more a compliment to the small than a swipe at the large. Our bouillabaisse ($19) of Chilean sea bass, mussels and rock shrimp wasn’t a classic take, but the rich, coconut milk-based red curry broth was so good we’d have licked the bowl if not for the other diners at our table.

The only dish we tried that fell flat was steak and eggs ($19). The "eggs," a small parmesan and smoked bacon quiche, were gone all too quickly, but the skirt steak wasn’t cooked to order and the gooey roasted shallot sauce couldn’t cover for it.

Duchamp sticks the landing with desserts, particularly the cupcakes and ice cream sandwiches ($8): three itty bitty cupcakes that achieve just the right cake-to-frosting ratio and three little half-discs of homemade vanilla ice cream between chewy chocolate-chip cookies. Those sandwiches are easily the best we’ve had in town—let alone the neighborhood.

Take that, Dairy Queen.

M. Kathleen Pratt is the Metromix dining producer. kpratt@tribune.com

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