Cindy's birthday is just before Christmas. The only thing she asked for this year was a nice meal in a quaint French restaurant in Chicago. She said, "Not that fancy one out in Wheeling. (Meaning Le Francais.) But some place nice and cozy."
Since I'd eaten there recently, and we were going to be staying downtown, Cafe Matou immediately jumped into my head. (By the way, I found out that "matou" is French for "tomcat" - hence, the outline of a cat in the logo.)
From my earlier visit, I found Cafe Matou to be a culinary experience that may be tough to top at many restaurants in the Chicago area. Chef Charlie Soucher utilizes fresh and unique ingredients within an ever changing menu to prepare meals that are similar to those served in villages and rural areas across France, only he adds contemporary American twists to the food along the way.
I had made reservations weeks in advance for the Saturday night before Christmas, thinking that we'd have a problem getting in. Turns out that it wasn't all that busy, but it was still wise to plan ahead.
The menu was completely different from the last time I was there, which was expected and appreciated. Cindy was going to try something new - she didn't know what, but she was dead set against going with something she was familiar with.
One of the items on the menu was a fish called monchong (right), something we definitely were not familiar with. The waiter explained to us that monchong was a deep sea fish that was once considered to be a "throw-away" fish that was caught in nets with tuna. But it's recently become a favorite of Pan-Asian cuisine across the United States. You can read more about monchong here.
My stomach was in turmoil a little bit and I didn't think I should go for seafood. So I went with a basic grilled strip steak, topped with a Cabernet reduction sauce with garlic butter button mushrooms with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. It was sort of like the flank steak and risotto I had my previous visit, but not the same.
Ordering wine at Cafe Matou is an adventure since all of their wines are French wines, and I don't have the knowledge of French wines like I do American or South American wines. I think I'm getting better at it, but I'm still not as comfortable when ordering. I remembered that we had a Gigondas wine from the Rhone Valley the last time I was in, but it turned out they now had TWO Gigondas wines listed and I couldn't tell you which one was which.
I talked to the waiter, who was a young guy, and he was not much help on choosing the wine. So, I decided to go with the more expensive of the two Gigondas.
The waiter brought out the bottle, opened it up, I tasted it, it was good. We were sitting there for a moment and suddenly a guy came up behind me and reached for the wine bottle. He turned it around to look at the label and he said, "Oh, yeah. You've got a good wine there."
I didn't have a chance to see who it was, all I saw was a white jacket sleeve. I said to Cindy, "Who was that?"
She said, "That was the chef!"
I said, "Really?"
She said, "Well, it said 'Chef Charlie' monogrammed on his jacket." We were guessing the waiter went back to talk to Charlie Soucher about our wine pick and he wanted to double check that we got the right Gigondas.
As we were waiting for our main courses, Cindy got to looking at some of the interesting art work on the walls. The art is all original paintings done by local artists in the Bucktown area of Chicago. Cindy used to do some still life paintings so she was intrigued. Honestly, I never noticed the artwork during my first visit.
Cindy's monchong came out with steamed rutabagas - something she's definitely not tried before. She said it was a sweeter tasting fish than she'd expected and was happy that she order it up. My strip steak was good, nothing fancy or exciting. But the way my stomach was feeling, I didn't need exciting.
I wasn't going to get dessert, but Cindy insisted on doing something. She looked at either the creme brulee or a dessert that was baked bananas with figs and prunes. I told her the baked bananas with figs and prunes sounds like something they'd serve for dinner at retirement homes.
She went with the baked bananas and fruit and I took the creme brulee. I know I shouldn't have gotten it as my stomach was still a little upset, but I went with it anyhow. What the hell - it's Christmas time.
And I'm glad I got it. You're talkin' to a guy who has eaten creme brulee across France and in some of the best restaurants in the United States and I'm not certain that I had creme brulee as good as what I had that evening. Usually, the custard under the caramelized top is warm after they've taken the torch or broiler to the top. But this custard was cool and refreshing. I was only planning on having a couple bites, but I ended up finishing nearly the whole thing - much to the consternation of my stomach.
Cindy's baked banana and fruit dessert came out as a piece of pie and she said it was delicious. She offered me a bite and I refused. I've never cared for the taste of bananas, but she told me that it didn't really taste like bananas.
Cindy loved the food and the experience at Cafe Matou. My food was good, but pretty basic. I don't think my meal was as good as the last time I was there, but it was still good, nonetheless. But as long as Cindy was happy with it, I was happy, too. And she was ecstatic.
Cafe Matou may not get the press or the accolades of some of the more famous Chicago restaurants, but I'd put their food up against any one of those places. It's a little out of the way, but this hidden gem is worth the journey.
(Update - I was informed in November of 2010 that Cafe Matou has closed. Charlie Soucher is approaching 60 years of age and he wanted to slow down. The Soucher's are planning on moving to Mineral Point, WI and possibly will open a restaurant there.)
Comments