Having stepped out of my element to enjoy the Peking/Beijing Duck feast at Sun Wah during the afternoon, Saturday evening would find me back in my comfort zone as I stepped up to the quiet doors of Les Nomades at 222 East Ontario Street, just steps from the Magnificent Mile. A Chicago landmark even before its transition from private dinner club to critically acclaimed restaurant in 1993 owner Mary Beth Liccioni’s house of refined French cuisine had long been on my list of places to visit in Chicago yet unfortunately something else always seemed to grab my attention away; first L2o, then Girl and the Goat, and even on this visit RIA – at least until I found out that Chris Nugent would be quitting and that his last day would in fact be while I was in town.
Having e-mailed the restaurant to be sure that Chris would still be in house and to inquire about the possibility of a tasting menu (as opposed to the standard 4 or 5 course menu) I was assured that not only would Chef Nugent be in house, but that he would be honored to put together a tasting of some of his classics on this special night provided we arrived early and with that noted (in addition to the terrible customer service at RIA both via E-mail and Phone) a reservation was made for 5pm for two, myself and a local gourmand who reached out to me via E-mail volunteering his company.
Arriving just moments after our 5pm seating time I walked up the steps of the old turn of the century brownstone and upon entering the front door was immediately greeted by Ms. Liccioni who was working the coat check, welcoming guests, and being as perfect a host as you can expect. With my friend already waiting in the lounge we exchanged greetings and on confirming our reservation we were led by the hostess up a flight of stairs to the larger of the multiple dining rooms where a heavily linened table sat amongst a room of oil paintings, Lalique vases, and polished hardwood floors. Greeted promptly by our server, a heavily accented man who did not give his name (just as it is in Paris) we were offered water – still or sparkling – and provided next with the nightly menu and wine tome before being left to our decisions.
With my dining partner opting for a couple glasses of wine during the evening and myself sticking with water due to plans for a return trip to The Aviary or Publican afterward our waiter would return shortly as the room was beginning to fill and upon asking about the tasting he went to speak with Chef Nugent and returned moments later with a copy of the menu just drawn up moments prior. Reportedly the last tasting ever to be composed by Nugent at Les Nomades we happily agreed to the menu despite the fact that it lacked Nugent’s famous duck consomee and with that the night began.
With the room subdued and light music playing overhead a quick browse of the clientele indicated quickly that my friend and I would be the youngest persons in the room that evening and talking about any number of things while we waited the first taste of Les Nomades would arrive as the only disappointment of the evening – a room temperature bread service with nondescript butter that was simply left on the table with no description but flavors later discovered to be a rather spongy baguette, a decent whole wheat, and a nutty sesame bread which did not inspire overindulgence save for the occasional use in sopping up sauces.
With the bread sitting idly on the table our server would return shortly with the first actual dish of the evening, a three piece amuse bouche of rouge vif d’etempes Pumpkin soup, truffle foam, and a gougere. Large enough to have been a proper course and tasty enough as well I opted to first taste the soup, a creamy veloute with ample spice notes like a warm liquid pumpkin pie before adding the dollop of crème fraiche and subsequently enjoying the gougere. Sweet, savory, smooth and a touch of sour this was a nice opening volley and a good example of what was to come.
For first proper course of the evening Chef Nugent would certainly start out with the right ingredients – “Truffled Pate de foie gras, celery root, brioche” and overall the creamy foie gras was magnificent while the light bitter notes of the celery root acted to ground the flavors and a light kiss with truffle oil added its characteristic essence without overwhelming the rest of the composition. A great presentation in regard to the center of the plate my (and my dining partner’s) only issue with this plate was the paltry piece of brioche – not nearly enough for spreading or to make a difference and a bit of a disappointment considering both the poor quality of the bread basket and the fact that we would later receive a whole slice of warm brioche with our cheese course.
With the sapor of the foie still lingering the next dish to arrive would be delivered with minimal description but expert execution in the form of “Seared Diver scallop, cauliflower, braised oxtail, grain mustard oil.” Beginning first with the scallop, nicely caramelized on the exterior and nearly raw within, this U-8 monster was impeccable while the combination of light heat from the mustard oil melded nicely with the creamy puree of cauliflower and meaty but not overwhelming shredded oxtail.
For the third of our ten course tasting “Herb roasted Maine lobster, heirloom squash, sea beans, Madras curry sauce” would arrive, again with just a brief annotation of the ingredients and realizing by this point that the service at Les Nomades was much more Pre-Catelan than Per Se (IE professional but stiff, thorough but not there to be your friend) I was glad to have a dining partner. For myself one of the highlights of the evening despite the fact that I’m often underwhelmed by lobster this dish shined brightly with the butter poached and lightly roasted tail crisp and snappy while the mildly sweet squash imbued with more butter was tempered nicely by the heat from the curry. With sea beans and microgreens largely used for garnish this was certainly a heavy “French” crustacean preparation, but the use of Indian spices did a lot to keep it interesting.
Continuing a trend of exquisite preparations with tip-top ingredients “Sauteed loup de mer, lobster ragout, preserved meyer lemon, cognac” would serve the sea bass as moist and delicate as if it were sous-vide while the skin remained crisp, crunchy, and peerless in execution. Moving on to the accoutrements, a touch of greenery and some balled vegetables swimming in a broth teaming with lobster, butter, and cognac plus a light kiss of lemon topping the fish – exemplary and amongst the strongest courses of the night.
With service continuing to underwhelm – a missed spoon here, a bumbled presentation there – but pace remaining leisurely and comfortable the midway point of the meal would be marked by my second favorite savory of the night; “Trumpet Royal Mushroom risotto, veal sweetbreads, parmesan.” With the risotto toothsome and creamy despite being just a bit thin the flavors were teaming with earthy umami and light notes of cheese that paired wonderfully with the trio of small sweetbreads, crisp on the exterior, slightly gamey on mastication, and perhaps even more creamy than the risotto.
Heading in a logical progression to heavier proteins the next course of the evening would prove to be my favorite by some distance, a simply perfect preparation of Roasted Guinea hen, potato, and truffled onion ragout. Beginning first with the obvious star of the dish, the Guinea hen, the bird would prove to be one of the best I’ve ever tasted with its fatty skin crisp and flavorful while the breast itself remained moist, tender, and rich. Not to be outdone, the accompanying sauces would prove to not only stand well on their own but also to further enhance the flavors of the bird – the first a central ring of sieved potatoes that Robuchon himself would approve of and the outer ring a thickened port reduction adding just enough sweetness to balance the onion and bok choy ragout beneath the hen.
For the final savory listed on our tasting menu Chef Nugent would send out another gem in the form of “Roasted venison loin, parsnip puree, Brussels sprouts, Tokyo turnip, Armagnac aigre-doux,” a lovely piece of farm raised deer cooked just past rare and again with a lightly boozy sauce and plenty of spices and nuance to keep things lively. Ruby red and flanked to its left with earthy parsnip puree topped with cooked radish, carrot, and rutabaga the flavors were again spot on and the execution without fault but without nitpicking too much I’ll simply say that while I enjoyed the dish I also felt like I’d already experienced the same sauce presentation twice on the same menu and although everything was good the flavors were unfortunately beginning to run together.
Expecting the cheese course to arrive next Chef Nugent instead opted to surprise us with a bonus course; a sized down presentation of his menu favorite “Grilled octopus, frisée, potato, lardons, bacon vinaigrette.” Seemingly appropriate for a French menu to move from savories to desserts with a small salad and featuring some of my favorite ingredients I really appreciated this dish not only for the levity but also for the impressive use of octopus in this classic salad, a texture something like the white of an egg on a Frisee aux lardons salad but without the creamy yolk thus rendering it substantially lighter.
Unable to select from the cheese board due to the tasting menu our cheese course would instead arrive as a composed plate consisting of a single half ounce slice of the highly regarded Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese plus a touch of honey, butter nut squash puree, and some edible flowers. With the raw cow’s milk cheese featuring a bloomy rind and mild nutty notes highlighted nicely by the honey I have to say this was tasty but overall a rather weak cheese presentation given their large selection and the large slice of Brioche included would have been much more appreciated with the foie gras as there was not nearly enough cheese to justify such a large slice of bread this late in the meal.
For our transition to sweets we were next handed a slowly dissolving bowl of “Fresh Fruit Soup” featuring White Peach and Pineapple- a seemingly strange combination given the time of year but decent sweet treat and a nice palate cleanser, albeit rather unexciting.
For the grand finale of the evening the obvious dessert choice was a pair of Les Nomades famous soufflés, flavors determined by the kitchen to be Grand Marnier for myself and Raspberry for my dining partner. Arriving along with a $6 espresso and a $6 Americano and both with a good rise though not quite as tall, proud, and perfect as those in Paris (or at L2o) the flavors were subtle with the cake well matched to the sauce but overall I would have honestly preferred a bit more crackling crust to the top layer; a personal preference, but a preference none the less.
Still sipping our beverages as we finished off the soufflés a small tray of mignardises would arrive to conclude the evening just after 7:30 and although none were particularly memorable the quartet of a Vanilla Macaroon, lemon Madeline, Chocolate Ganache, and yuzu pate de fruit were all tasty and though the Madeline was a little too “cakey” the macaroon had a perfect crackling shell juxtaposing the soft creamy interior that I really enjoyed.
With the bill delivered and credit cards ready our server would arrive to gather the check along with a guest, Chef Nugent himself who took the time to come out of the kitchen and thank us for coming in plus sign the last tasting menus of his career at Les Nomades. A humble man seemingly in no hurry and with nothing but praise for both the front of the house and the kitchen staff at the Les Nomades Nugent told us about the plans for his new “Goosefoot” opening in Lincoln Square later that year, the format he hopes to follow, and career aspirations going forward (perhaps that elusive Michelin Star that Nomades was strangely never able to achieve) before again thanking us for coming in and then saying hello to other guests before returning to the kitchen.
Making our way down the stairs where my friend had valeted while I had walked we were once again greeted by Ms. Liccioni who checked in to see how everything had went and who also spent a few moments talking about the local dining scene, the Zagat vs. Michelin ratings, and the impending return of former chef Roland Liccioni to the kitchen. Pleasant and likeable Ms. Liccioni, like Chef Nugent before her, again thanked us for coming in and welcomed us to come back “soon” to see the new direction and menu under Chef Roland.
With farewells bid and plans to dine at Avec the following evening my friend obtained his car while I set to walking to meet up with my sister and Nate over near Fulton Market and as I walked I thought back on the experience at Les Nomades with somewhat mixed feelings, feelings I still harbor today and largely due to a sort of paradox presented by the restaurant itself – a restaurant that does everything in terms of service and style in a rather “French” way but never quite achieves even at the level of a Michelin 1* restaurant in that regard while the kitchen takes a clear French influence and blends in notes from the East seamlessly but at the same time a bit redundantly. A good meal for sure and without a doubt a great indicator of Nugent’s skill I will admit that I felt the price tag was slightly high but all things being equal the ingredients were impeccable and the experience memorable enough that Goosefoot now rests high on my list of places to visit on my next trip to Chicago whereas a return to Les Nomades would be much further down the list but certainly not something I’d be opposed to.