Everyman Oasis in the Sky: The Grande Luxe Cafe

Thwarted from going to Robert’s Pizza and getting a little intimate with their highly-touted crust because the restaurant doesn’t open until 5; my surprise was not accompanied by a Plan B.  Breakfast was a banana that had satisfied for all of 30 minutes hours ago. Headed back toward Michigan Ave. I looked up and saw it.  The Grande Luxe Café.

When it comes to restaurants, the quality of the food trumps the quality of the service period.  The GL made me rethink that dictum.  Floating above the southwest corner of Michigan Ave. and Ohio St., it wraps around the second floor and is sheathed in glass.  You can clearly see people eating when you look up.  From the street, it also looks as if it must be cavernous. And, at noon, on high boil.

Five or ten-minute wait for a party of one, cool.  That gave me time to plum the menu.  Had already noticed that the kitchen was pumping out a lot of sandwiches and salads.  Both were well represented on the menu too.  But there were other things in the pasta and fish worlds that rattled the curiosity cage.  I had settled on one of two Bento boxes when my buzzer went off.

Touristy?  Looked like it but it was clear a lot of local folks filled the mix too.

Having found favor from the seating gods, I was escorted to one of the restaurant’s prime tables.  Right at the window just as it curved going from the west to the south, I looked directly down at the pulsing intersection below.  The sun was coming out and people were shedding their jackets.  After lunch, the Kerry James Marshall exhibit at MCA was next on the agenda so I was practically percolating with good cheer anyway.

When the baby-faced waiter recommended the salmon bento box by a hair over the other option and the loopy sounding chowder soup with chicken as well, a quick nod got it going.  A little adventure in this glass paradise.  Was not expecting what came out.  No box.  No conventional Bento box anyway with small compartments.  Instead four white ceramic bowl plates descended from server hands.  One had a small slice of salmon resting on mashed potatoes.  Others carried the salad, asparagus and the soup.  Four not so tiny bowls. All self contained and in a sphere of their own.  How my small table would accommodate two people ordering Bento boxes stays a mute point.  Visually, as healthy as it all looked, the meal seemed a little decadent.  It was a lot of food.  Perfectly roasted and lightly seasoned, the asparagus tasted like spring.  The salad’s vinaigrette was all the boost it needed.  With its mixed greens and cherry tomatoes, the house salad was neither ordinary nor cliché and the chowder was flavorful and filling even though I would have preferred it warmer.   Everything was more than acceptable and considering a price point under $20; it would be more honest to call it exceptional.

Could this lunch be duplicated?  I don’t really think so.  After I was seated the time was stuffed with charm.  A beautiful sun filled room, a delightful wait staff who made a point in letting me know there was no need to rush after the bill was paid and an unexpectedly bountiful and healthy meal.  I may not be able to duplicate it, but I think I might try to anyway.