Thursday, February 23, 2012

Au Cheval

Opening night at Au Cheval was a pleasant experience. Like it's sister restaurants Gilt Bar and Maude's it is dimly lit with rich, classic decor. The music is also a nice fit: anywhere from jazz, to 60's rock to contemporary DJ tracks. It is quite a nice synthesis that Brendan Sodikoff has carved out for himself and his partners.
Let's talk about the contemporary Diner (yes Diner) experience that they are shooting for, shall we?
As the picture shows above, my guest and I started out the fries with a fried egg on top with rich/creamy dips. Was a nice rich fies plate that you would expect from a Belgian restaurant. yeah, ok start.
Second was a rather large pile of mixed greens drenched in salt. If that was what they were going for, that was it. Too much!
Last we had the in house made Bratwurst with garlic and potatoes. I have no complaints when it comes to dishes like this. Would I order it again from here, probably not. I would move on to other plates.
Their other selections are nice. Foie Gras with eggs, Asian Fried Chicken, salmon. They have a few dishes that would make you want to go there a few more times. The 30 beer they have on tap are great. The mixed cocktails they offer paired down but quite good.
Over all I really like the aesthetic and concepts. Over-priced, I would say yes. But running business, and particularly a restaurant business with little nuances, is not definitely not cheap. Go try it out for yourself. Au Cheval is at 800 w Randolph.

5 comments:

  1. talk about a heart attack waiting to happen with those fries..geez

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  2. did you like the restaurant? did you like the food? give us a rating, a scale, something to measure your experience at this place. stop eating fries.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Yeah, I need to step away from the fry plate! I liked the restaurant.

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