Chicago (French) - Red Rooster Cafe and Wine Bar

Red Rooster Café and Wine Bar
2100 N Halsted St (Cross Street: Dickens Avenue), Chicago, IL; Phone 773-929-7660
Date of Review: May, 2007

With a tough to find side entrance off of Halsted Street, the Red Rooster Café and Wine Bar is a find to some and a treasure to many. As you ascend up the old stairway that is supposed to take you to what you have been told is an excellent restaurant, it would be understandable for one to have doubts. However, the quaint entrance is only a hint of what is to come after you set foot inside one of the more known, yet forgotten romantic restaurants in all of Chicago. The Red Rooster is a place you take someone you really like (or at least who you think you may really like). Upon entering the restaurant, you see 12 tables (with about 6 being 2 tops), a small bar and hear cool funky music (Morcheeba on my last visit) playing in the background. The décor is rustic with cool portraits painted on the wood walls. The atmosphere speaks of the French countryside with pots, pans, garlic and a rooster hanging from the fan in the middle of the restaurant. The restaurant is very casual and has dim lighting.

I have visited Red Rooster on 4-5 occasions over the last few years and have tried many of the menu items. After you sit down, you are presented with a basket of very nice bread with butter. The French and excellent brown bread in the basket is crusty, warm and toasted (which can come in very handy if you order the mussels).

Some of the appetizers I have tried include the assorted cheese platter which includes 5 kinds of cheeses (including gruyere, blue, brie and goat) and is served with assorted fruit and nuts. My favorite appetizer is the steamed mussels. The mussels are absolutely fantastic served in a flavorful butter garlic sauce that is perfect for bread dipping. The mussels are tender and there are loads of them floating at the bottom of the bowl immersed in the sauce. This is one of the best batches of mussels I remember having anywhere. Foie gras is also on the menu as a starter and the baked brie en croute is also a great way to start a meal.

For entrees, I recommend the duck confit which consists of a duck leg and breast in a red wine sauce served with mashed potatoes, squash and carrots. It is a simple French countryside dish but a good one. I also recommend the grilled salmon in a cabernet sauvignon sauce. There is a nice assortment of entrees that round out the menu including braised lamb shank (which is excellent), steak, braised beef bourguignon with pasta, and 2-3 different types of fish.

For desserts, you cannot go wrong with the excellent crème brulee. The porcelain bowl it is served in is piled high with assorted berries on top with a bit of berry coulis on the plate. It is a solid rendition of this typical favorite.

Red Rooster has an extensive and solid wine menu that has is heavy on French wine but also has other options. While waiting for my guest, I had an absolutely wonderful glass of Vouvray for $7.75 a glass. Over dinner, we shared a bottle of 1999 Macon Solutre le Moulin du Pont ($27) that was recommended by the waitress as a solid full bodied white wine.

The prices at Red Rooster are pretty reasonable. The appetizers and salads range from 4$ to 12$, the desserts range from 5-8$ and the entrees fall somewhere between 12$ and 18$. On my last visit, my guest and I had 2 appetizers, 1 entrée that we shared, 1 dessert and a $27 bottle of wine. Out total tab was $90 and that included tax and tip.

Two different three-course prix-fixe menus are available Sunday through Thursday.