Cafe Des Architectes in Chicago: Sophisticated Food Poorly Served (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 43)

In the fall, we attended a fundraiser for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. One of the silent auction prizes was dinner for two at Cafe Des Architectes, located in the Sofitel hotel in the Magnificant Mile area. We are glad we won the prize because not only did we donate to a good cause, but we discovered a very good restaurant that we otherwise probably would not have visited.

We started with a bottle of Easton Zinfandel. This was not our favorite. It almost tasted fizzy and it lacked the fruit undertones we usually like in Zinfandel. It was Superbowl Sunday, so there was basically no one in the restaurant. The first food course, a wonderful amuse bouche of scallop tartare, came at 7. We followed that with another excellent course of a cheese appetizer. There were six cheeses (bleu, goat, brie, Canadian cheddar, machengo, and camembert). Every one of these cheeses tasted great and the only problem was that they were so good, we ate them all, so we were immediately full, as the portions were quite large.

"Fortunately," the wait staff seemed to anticipate that we might need some time to digest the cheese. The next course, a rather mundane mixed green salad, came about an hour and fifteen minutes later. The entrees were mixed. Lisa loved hers -- the lobster trilogy. The lobster tartare was the best tasting lobster she's had and rivaled the lobster martini from the place in Michigan we tried last spring. The poached lobster was also very flavorful. The lobster risotto was less good, as the risotto was a bit too salty. Steve had the duck, which, like our president, was a lame one. This is particularly surprising for a French restaurant, which should specialize in duck. Especially problematic was the fact that the duck was not crisp at all, but instead was very chewy and had a gamey flavor.

For dessert, Lisa ordered the chocolate trio, which she thoroughly enjoyed. All items -- including chocolate foam, frozen dark chocolate pave, and chocolate streusel -- were very dark chocolate, and she wished she could eat all of each one, but was still full from the cheese and lobster. Steve was less enthused with his sugar pumpkin custard. But it was interesting, albeit too sweet for his taste.

We both thought the bathrooms were nearly top-notch, although Steve decried the long walk, which Lisa partially obviated by taking the elevator on the way there. Both bathrooms had good decor and were very clean, though not quite fancy enough to get our top rating.

We did not have to pay, other than for the wine, but it would have been about $200 with a bottle of wine, and about $175 with wine by the glass. This is a rather low profile restaurant, but one well worth trying, especially if you're a cheese fan. However, if you have someplace to go after dinner, go to the restaurant early because, even with hardly anyone there, dinner took a full three hours (we do enjoy each other's company, but three hours is too long for any place other than, perhaps, Tru).

Our ratings for Cafe Des Architectes, 20 E. Chestnut, Chicago, IL:

7.5 of 10 Steak Knives; 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes