Let’s compare the salade Lyonnaise served at two restaurants owned by brothers Oliver and Nicolas Poilevey.
At Le Bouchon, the undeniably charming Bucktown bistro open since 1993, the salad is by the book. The bowl contains bitter leaves of frisee and escarole topped with crunchy croutons, fatty cubes of lardon and a plump poached egg. But the execution is also rushed, with overly watery greens diluting the flavor, while the fatty pork and egg yolk tromp over the weak vinaigrette.
At Obelix, which recently opened in River North, the salade Lyonnaise “canard” respects the recipe’s basic formula while playfully skipping the specifics. Duck makes multiple appearances — a duck egg replaces the usual chicken one, croutons are crisped up in duck fat, and the lardons are replaced with duck confit crisped up beyond the point I thought physically possible. A ringing vinaigrette coats each leaf of frisee and escarole so the brightness battles the admittedly fatty meat.
It’s no contest which version is better.
The interior of Obelix, at 700 N. Sedgwick St., Chicago.
I’ve dreaded reviewing Obelix, because I’d have to grapple with one of my least popular Chicago restaurant opinions: I find Le Bouchon boring. I’m baffled when local food writers fawn over it. That overly creamy and buttery French food lands near the bottom of things I crave.
Which makes Obelix all the more unexpected. It shows that the Poilevey brothers want a French restaurant freed from tradition and the expectations that come along with it. The more risks they take, the better the outcome.
I’ve never laid eyes on steak tartare so jaw-droppingly attractive. Instead of a pile of brown, the diced cubes of filet mignon sit upon a verdant bed of green-garlic aioli, while an assortment of pristine herbs rests on top. Chef Oliver Poilevey said he looked to Vietnam for inspiration. “I wanted a tartare that was light, but full of umami flavors,” he said. Thanks to a fish sauce reduction, each bite is shockingly meaty, yet the aioli is floral, aromatic and slightly spicy. “It turned out better than I thought,” he said. That’s an understatement.
In-season soft-shell crab rarely disappoints, but this version, developed by sous-chef Nathan Kim, still finds a way to accentuate the briny sweetness of the fried crustacean by coating it in a sweet chile glaze and serving it with a tapenade aioli.
But the most thrilling moments come when Mexican and French influences collide headfirst. This is not completely surprising since Oliver Poilevey teamed up with Marcos Ascencio a couple of years ago to open Taqueria Chingon, a taco shop that loves to dish out blood sausage and duck. (I actually included the duck carnitas taco on my list of Chicago’s best tacos, though I still wish the corn tortillas were a few millimeters thinner.)
Foie-co, a foie gras taco, at Obelix.
It was at Taqueria Chingon that Oliver Poilevey conceived of the foie-co, a hilariously indulgent yet irresistible foie gras taco. “We had a bunch of foie gras around one day, so I crisped up the meat and then cooked the masa in the fat until it got crispy,” he said. It’s drizzled with a fruity and sweet cherry jam, along with a scene-stealing salsa macha, which adds smoky, nutty and spicy notes. Though probably the most expensive taco in town at $23, it’s a must order if you’re up for the splurge.
But the dish that truly floored me was a lowly seasonal side dish. Order the asparagus and it comes with an al pastor hollandaise, a red-orange sauce that’s deeply porky and creamy, but also spicy and spiked with citrus. You could pour it over anything and I’d dig in with abandon, but it enhances the fresh sweetness of the asparagus.
“We have a whole bunch of rendered al pastor fat every day at Taqueria Chingon, and I wanted to do something with it,” Oliver Poilevey said. “It’s really liquid gold.” Instead of feeling forced, like many fusion dishes do, it’s an example of how thrift helped create a moment of culinary revelation.
Fans of traditional French dishes will find some favorites, including a French onion soup and a respectable rendition of steak frites. But, importantly, a visit to Obelix sans duck is a visit wasted. “Duck is my favorite protein to cook with,” Oliver Poilevey said. The 10-day dry-aged duck breast sounds straightforward, but the stunning dish features two remarkably tender pieces of meat positioned next to caramelized kohlrabi and a glazed turnip, with pickled gooseberries and a sweet-sour gastrique seasoned with vadouvan (basically a French version of an Indian spice blend).
Considering the use of heat and acid on the food menu, I was initially surprised Nicolas Poilevey went with such a decidedly French wine list, but he doesn’t see it that way. “I don’t really like those monster wines that don’t go well with food,” Nicolas Poilevey said. “French wine likes to compliment the food, so it’s been easy to work with the menu.” I particularly loved the lively but delicate glass of the Emile Beyer “Eguisheim” pinot gris 2019.
Mille-feuille dessert at Obelix, made of puff pastry, chocolate, hazelnut and Meyer lemon.
The other key player at Obelix is pastry chef Antonio Incadella, who spent time at the now-closed Spiaggia. His handiwork is all over the dessert menu, from the crackly mille-feuille to the baked Alaska that’s torched tableside. (“I love to set things on fire,” Oliver Poilevey said.) But Incadella is just as nimble with savory dishes, including an unexpectedly delightful strawberry tart, which balances the sweetness of the in-season fruit with salty whipped fromage blanc.
Obelix takes the place of Entente, which closed in the River North neighborhood during the pandemic. The tall ceilings and neutral color scheme of the room obviously lacks the cozy ramshackle charm of Le Bouchon — but that means the focus is where it should be, on the often wild and exciting food that shows up on the plate.
nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com
Obelix
700 N. Sedgwick St.
312-877-5348
obelixchicago.com
Tribune rating: 21/2 stars, between very good and excellent
Open: 5-10 p.m. Thursday, Monday; 5-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 5-9 p.m. Sunday. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Prices: Starters, $14 to $21; main dishes $29 to $65
Noise: Conversation friendly
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible, with bathrooms on first floor
Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
Originally Published: July 11, 2022 at 6:00 AM CDT