ML - Michigan Avenue

2015 - Issue 4 - Summer - Art of the City - Hebru Brantley

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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clockwise from far left: Executive Chef Bill Montagne trained at Michelin three-star Le Bernardin; the restaurant flies in its seafood daily; Scottish salmon with smoked salmon roe, pea tendrils, and verjus vin. seafood dishes." Montagne's bona fides are evident from the start, with appetizers that are highly sophisticated in both presentation and f lavor profile, from delicate tuna tartare to stunning sea urchin and caviar yuzu royal, whose briny f lavors are offset by creamy yuzu custard. Poured tableside, an Alaskan king crab bisque, chunky with charred corn and piquillo peppers, delights with a hint of spice (and may be one of the best soups in the city). Other seafood options include whole fish prepared with striking simplicity ("We scale it, we gut it, and we put it on the grill," sums up Moore), like meaty whole American red snapper and delicate Dover sole. For his part, the unassum- ing Montagne defers to the quality of ingredients he's working with. "It's some- thing that gives us a leg up and sets us apart," he says. "A lot of what we're able to do is based on relationships that I've built with seafood purveyors over the years." For Montagne's team, that means getting the best-quality fish, which the restaurant f lies in every day. "The food," he says, "is relatively simple, really—it's made to showcase these beautiful ingredients." And though seafood is the rule (along with a selection of USDA prime steaks), vegetables get loving attention here, and that's no accident. With seafood, says Montagne, "you want something that's a bit lighter, which is what I steer toward." That perspective results in dishes like refreshing and surprisingly artful cauli- f lower couscous, a bounty of asparagus, carrots, peas, favas, cherry tomatoes, and more. The space itself echoes that lightness: hunter green upholstery, warm wood accents, lofty 44 -foot-high ceilings and soaring f loor-to-ceiling windows that f lood the room with light. A raw bar piled with ice and the day's fresh fish selection— from branzino and black bass to turbot and more— beckons from the direction of the open kitchen, and the room buzzes with a Chicago Cut–caliber crowd, from bigwigs in suits to, one recent night, members of the Blackhawks. Through it all, Flom and Moore are a reliable front-of-house presence, whether welcoming guests or stepping in to serve Dover sole tableside. It's that attentiveness that has made them respected veterans, and it's serving them well at C Chicago. "People come back for it," Moore says of the service philosophy. "That's what people pay for. We set a high standard, both myself and David—and it works." 20 W. Kinzie St., 312-280- 8882; cchicago.net MA photography by neil burger "A lot of whAt we're Able to do is bAsed on relAtionships i've built with seAfood purveyors over the yeArs." —bill montagne Start FreSh Appetizers set the scene at C Chicago, and arguably the best is the tuna tartare ( pictured), a stunning roulade of premium-grade fsh ("We buy only the No. 1 tuna, and we fy it in our- selves," says Executive Chef Bill Montagne). It's balanced with avocado and seasoned with kim- chi furikake, a complex Japanese seasoning used on rice. "It's like candy to me," enthuses owner David Flom. Belly Up With its comfortably backed chairs and prime people-watching views, the restaurant's sleek, curving, light-flled bar is an ideal spot for a post- work martini and a round of oysters. 90  michiganavemag.com taSte

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