Marche'

833 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 226 8399
www.marche-chicago.com

Negative 20 degrees in Chicago is not fun. Crazy windy and you have to stop every two blocks to get some coffee or some booze just to keep going. After an afternoon of just such stops, needless to say we needed a nap...
The original plan was to take a restaurant crawl up Randolph, in the West Loop, stopping in place after place to experience as many as we fancied...Perhaps warm up with some hot sake and some maguro at Meiji, then to Blackbird for a small bite too. Well, after our nap, we just barely made our nine o'clock reservation at Marche' a few blocks down the street from the above mentioned restaurants.
The size of the place was not at all what we expected, its soaring ceilings were adorned with elaborate and colorful fabrics, something that of a circus...It had us worried. We had read the reviews and praise, but we began to doubt the quality from the flurry of activity we witnessed as we were guided to our table situated in the back corner of the restaurant. Much to our contentment, the place was dimly lit, (although the website would have you believe something different).
The music echoing overhead at first was a bit intrusive, until we heard Les Nubians piping through the speakers, then we knew we were in good hands for the time being.
We started with a few glasses of champagne ($14) for the middle of the road choice. Our server was nice. She realized we were not in a rush and we invited her to join us and enjoy the food, she politely declined with a chuckle. We proceeded with steak tartar, and escargot which both were extremely tasty. Although, I personally did not need the bread crumb topping on the little guys, since the bread served, was perfect for dipping in the buttery, garlic goodness. A bottle of Chinon that reminded us of our trip to the Loire Valley of France a few years back followed...Next the evening selection of pate'. Pork and pistachio wrapped with pork fat, and served with duck liver mousse accompanied by whole grain mustard and cornichons. Rich and guiltily dirty. (dirty in the good way, dirty).
Moules Mariniere came next. The pommes frites were perfectly crisp and salty, and the mussels arrived in a creamy shallot broth. Finally we opted for the cheese plate, since we were getting quite full at that point. Three or five choices; we went for five of course. Served with some dried fruits and nuts each was tastier than the next.
We really wanted to try a dessert, but our guts would not allow us. So we decided on an after dinner drink...no such luck, they did not carry Navan (the Madagascar vanilla bean flavored creation of Grand Marnier) which we both had a taste for, so we moved on to a place next door for espressos and limoncello...
All in all, the low light, the great service, and the rich flavors of France brought back a flood of memories from our travels and if given the option we would definitely go back to indulge, but, really, Chicago has so many French eateries that I would rather try a new spot before my return.