Chez Paul Still Fancy (but Predictable) After All These Years

June 02, 1985|By Mark Knoblauch.

Chez Paul is a Chicago tradition. Continuously managed by successive generations of the Contos family, this restaurant has been a part of the city`s dining scene for 40 years. A good number of Chicagoans who now tout the pleasures of trendier cooking discovered the joys of haute cuisine and fine wines in this converted mansion. Lots of out-of-towners still count it Chicago`s leading restaurant, booking it to capacity during big conventions.

In its heyday during the `50s and `60s, Chez Paul epitomized fine French dining in the Midwest. Its food was exotic, and the menu listed just strange, French names. But in 1985, when even nouvelle cuisine is old hat, Chez Paul`s unremittingly heavy, rich food is decidedly out of fashion. With only a few exceptions, items on Chez Paul`s menu are good, but the food rarely excites, never surprises, never makes a diner stop and roll a morsel over the tongue to try to figure out what it`s made of.

Chez Paul still knows how to create the intimidating atmosphere of the

``fancy`` restaurant. Something about walking up that flight of stairs to the maitre d`s desk threatens all but the most secure. To its credit, Chez Paul is less snooty than it used to be, a little more relaxed and laid back.

(After all, it let itself be the butt of satire in a John Belushi movie.)

But the feeling remains that someone is sizing you up, assessing which room and table you`re worthy of occupying.

A person who understands Chez Paul`s nuances still can put together a good meal and have a worthwhile, enjoyable dining experience. Ordering Chez Paul`s French turbot virtually assures success. Not to be confused with the more common Greenland turbot widely sold by Chicago fishmongers, this fish comes from waters off European coasts. The sweet flavor of real turbot is like no other, whether poached and topped with hollandaise or sauteed and blanketed with sliced mushrooms.

A few other entrees hit the mark, too, such as a large serving of frog legs provencale in rich, brown, garlicky sauce. Grilled langoustines, the meat bursting from the shells, taste fine just as they are, but adding a layer of creamy pink Nantua sauce makes them really special.

Other entrees suffer from kitchen carelessness. Sweetbreads financiere ought to be a superbly unctuous dish, as rich as the name implies, but here they are merely overcooked, practically burnt and devoid of all flavor. Chateaubriand`s slices of beef tenderloin sit in a similar sauce, but the sauce in this case works to advantage. Veal Normande falls short, with very chewy meat whose mild flavor is overpowered by cream and thick apple slices.

Onion soup, once so popular, has become a cliche. It appears so often in bad form that it`s a pleasant change to find Chez Paul`s version so authentically good. Crusted over with just the right amount of cheese, the broth bubbles with full-flavored beef stock and loads of tender sliced onions. Lobster bisque is so concentrated that its proper pink has turned dull brown. A bit of anise flavor, perhaps from a splash of Pernod, helps disguise how far this soup has come from its originally intended ingredients: It is the opposite of the ideal of pure, unencumbered nouvelle cuisine.

Shrimp Papa Paul, a signature dish for years, has a thin layer of garlicky, overbrowned breadcrumbs over excellent, perfectly cooked small shrimp. The same dish substituted crabmeat as one night`s special, and the crab`s sweetness helped smooth out the topping`s bitterness.

Salads come before the entree unless diners specify to the contrary, and virtually every salad is worthwhile. A melange of tender greens makes a splendid house salad, with or without added Roquefort. Other items such as an avocado salad with creamy vinaigrette or a rich, eggy Caesar salad make it hard to decide which salad to order.

Chez Paul`s desserts demonstrate little excitement or inspiration. Because of its pure simplicity, best among them is a plain cheesecake that could win a prize for delicate texture and uncomplicated lemon-vanilla flavor. Bananas Foster may not totally live up to its New Orleans archetype, but the tableside preparation of a rum and brown sugar caramel poured flaming over vanilla ice cream makes a dramatic presentation. Chocolate mousse apparently has been ignored in the shuffle, for its chocolate flavor is so understated that it is hard to distinguish it from the whipped cream on top.

Chez Paul`s wine list, more controlled than many, stresses some pricy French classics. But the bottles are good ones, carefully selected. It`s possible to enjoy a very good bottle like Saint Veran or Chateauneuf du Pape in the $25 range.

In a place like Chez Paul, dinner often has an ulterior motive--people aren`t there just to eat. Whether they`re sealing a business deal or an affair of the heart, people are out to impress.