440 South LaSalle Street, 40th Floor (map)
(312) 663-8920
www.everestrestaurant.com
Closed Sunday–Monday
$$$$

Forty floors above the chaos that is Chicago’s financial district, with a spectacular overlook of the city, is Everest restaurant. Besides being gorgeous in an architectural sense, it is also tops in romantic inspiration and, more importantly, great dining.

In the mid-1980s, Chef Jean Joho was lured out of his native Alsace to help establish Maxim’s restaurant here in Chicago. Sometime later he joined the Lettuce Entertain You group and gained almost immediate success in the form of this Loop enterprise. Somehow he also finds the time to oversee his other dining venues, the more casual Brasserie Jo (Chicago and Boston) and the Eiffel Tower restaurant in the Paris Hotel, Las Vegas.

The simple black-and-light-tan decor with soft lighting belies the creativity just steps away in the kitchen. Diners have a hard time avoiding out-the-window-gazing in order to peruse the menu and enjoy the award-winning service.

The very first Slow Food member in Chicago, Chef Joho bases his success on finding the best local, seasonal products that look good as well as taste good. He has a way of taking otherwise overlooked or forgotten ingredients and making a dish that has the “Cinderella” touch, turning rice into risotto with edible gold leaf, for example. Many of the humble ingredients are from his native land, and so you will find turnips and cabbages among menu items as well as foie gras and pheasant. Common items are raised to a level not usually seen in daily fare—for instance, few people other than Chef Joho consider the parsnip a dessert ingredient.

Patrons have the flexibility of choosing between à la carte, a seven-course menu, and a pre-theater four-course meal. Although the menu changes often, one can always be assured of inspired combinations such as Cold Garden Vegetable Soup with Maine Lobster and Alsace Gewürztraminer, Cream of Chestnut with Duck Confit, and Suere Rueva and Roasted Filet of Line-Caught Striped Bass with a Tomato Crust and Yellow Tomato Coulis. The enjoyment goes past the selection of small American farmer’s cheeses and lasts as you dive into the Caramel Cranberry Tart with Sautéed Apples and Cranberry Jelly.

The wine list also reflects Joho’s homeland. Amid the many varied international selections is the largest collection of Alsatian wines outside of Alsace. Valet parking is complimentary, jackets and reservations are required, and smoking is interdite.

In 1995, Joho opened Brasserie Jo, a more casual bistro where he shines the spotlight on common ingredients, mostly derived from his native Alsace, and produces consistently delicious items full of flavor and texture. Quiche, choucroute, and escargots à l’Alsacienne are just a few of the offerings you will find there.