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Restaurant review: Atlantique makes a splash in Andersonville
By Scott Molyneaux Correspondent
Seafood is the name of the game in our fair city lately, and we can chalk another winner up on the board. It is quite refreshing to find a neighborhood restaurant that harnesses the flavor of the sea, fuses it with innovative world flavors, and delivers a consistently delicious result every time. Such is the case at Atlantique, a hot new restaurant in Andersonville on North Clark Street. The food produced by Jack Jones and his team of talented cooks is undoubtedly some of the best in the city. Don’t be alarmed by the enormous blue marlin peering at you from the wall as you enter. The omnipresent fish simply serves as the namesake of the bar, where patrons gorge on extra large martinis and fabulous glasses of wine. In fact, the cuisine at Atlantique is serious business. Fresh seafood is affordably priced and always hits a home run. Several recent visits to Atlantique have been, for the most part, positive dining experiences. The service staff dances around the dining room, knowledgeable and precise in their delivery of menu descriptions and daily specials. A succulent seviche one night consisted of scallops, shrimp, calamari, tomato, and fresh chiles, all laced with just the right amount of lime and cilantro zing. First courses hover around $9 and are well worth it. The Louisiana crab cake napoleon is a hit, accented by an arugula infused oil and a tarragon sauce. The cakes were pure crab; wonderfully crispy and piping hot. The warm lobster salad, a unique combination of Yukon gold potato, braised fennel, sweet vidalia onions, and sea urchin vinaigrette is equally notable. Warm shellfish and potato salad, a Mediterranean tradition, is raised to a new height at Atlantique with the addition of the pungent truffle oil and sea urchin. Less impressive was the crab and corn chowder, paired with shiitake mushrooms and fava beans. The soup was much too thick soup and grainy, and the promised porcini oil drizzle added little to the flavor. The entrees are beautifully prepared with some of the most reasonable fish prices in town, it is tough to go wrong when ordering. Roasted Alaskan Halibut, perched a top an oozing mountain of sweet corn and red pepper risotto is reasonably priced at $18. The fish comes perfectly cooked, slightly opaque in the center, and swims gracefully in a pool of rock shrimp-tarragon broth. One of the most interesting choices is the grilled ahi tuna. The kitchen stretches its culinary hand and pairs it with purple sticky rice, seaweed salad, and a lemongrass-ginger-wasabi sauce. The tuna was beautifully rare and had a dark crust on the rim from a proper searing. Pacific Wild King Salmon sounds intriguing on the menu. It is honey mustard glazed and coupled with lemon spinach, pinot noir reduction, and wasabi cream, but the dish is too weird a pairing for the flavors to really work together. Always a good choice at Atlantique is the seared dry pack sea scallops over a lobster-mushroom polenta. The scallops are enormous, and caramelized to an exquisite golden hue while retaining a soft, juicy interior. Between courses the sorbet of the evening always arrives to cleanse one’s palette before continuing on with delight. The Wine list, featuring many whites and lighter reds, compliment the fish-heavy menu, and are reasonably priced. Several half bottles are available as well, allowing diners to taste much more expensive wine in a smaller package. A recent visit had me sipping a spicy Savennieres from France’s Loire Valley. For the most part, service is wonderful although on two recent visits it took some time for the waiter to bring the wine. Smoking is also a curious issue here. Some nights they allow smoking at the string of booths across from the bar, but when the dining room gets about half-full, they generally limit it to the bar only. Atlantique takes its spot on the list of must try seafood restaurants in Chicago. If you live on the North Side, this is the place to go for fish. Try it once, and you’ll be hooked. Atlantique and the Blue Marlin Bar 5101 North Clark St. (at Irving Park) Chicago 60640 Business Hours: Monday-Thursday 5:30-10:00, Friday and Saturday 5:30-11:00, Sunday 5:00-9:00 Reservations Valet Parking Available (773) 275-9191 Back to top | Home Webmaster: Sal J. Barry The Columbia Chronicle is a student produced publication of Columbia College Chicago and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of Columbia College administrators, faculty or students. |
October 23, 2000
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