AU CHEVAL (Chicago, IL)

Did you miss me?  Wait, don’t answer that question, my feelings are easily hurt.  Just tell me you missed me and my food posts, and I’ll love you forever.  I promise.  Well… kind of sort of.  Anyways, I’ve been extremely busy with work lately.  Being a superhero comes with a lot of responsibility, so hopefully you all understand.  I traveled to Chicago because ticket prices were basically free, so I decided to go just for a day.  I was able to visit Au Cheval on the recommendation of others and I was not disappointed AT ALL.

The restaurant is located off of Randolph Street which is a mile or so outside of the West Loop.  I was referred to this restaurant by someone who loves burgers, so for once, I listened and decided to try this restaurant out.  I got to the restaurant around 12 p.m. but it was already packed with an hour plus wait time.  The restaurant isn’t the biggest and they don’t take reservations so I was already iffy about going because I hate waiting for food.  The interior of this restaurant reminded me of an up-scale bar.  If you do decide to go to this restaurant make sure you’re not hangry, otherwise you’ll continue to ask the hostess how long will it be before you’re seated.  You do have the option to sit at the bar, which is first come first serve, but if you have a group of people you most likely won’t be able to sit at the bar.

When I was finally seated, I already had an idea of what I wanted to order.  How can anyone possibly wait one hour for food, then sit down and not know what they want to order?  If you are one of those people then I forgive you, but next time, make sure you look at the menu while you’re waiting to be seated.  As the waiter came I literally shouted out my order before he mentioned who he was.  Well, not quite exactly, I let him give me his name before I proceeded to inform him I wanted to try three dishes.  I was able to order a burger, foie gras and eggs, and chilaquiles.

The first thing that was inhaled was the cheeseburger á cheval that was topped with thick cut peppered bacon and an over easy egg.  I would like to first start off and say that this was the best burger I ever had in my life.  The burger was flavorful, seasoned perfectly, juicy, and lean.  I’ve had burgers that were dry and I always questioned why they were priced so high, but this burger was everything and then some.  Anytime I have the opportunity to order a burger that has a sunny side egg attached to it, then I’m all for it.  I’m not even sure if I actually chewed any of the burger.

The next thing that was ordered was the Foie Gras and Scrambled Eggs.  For those of you who don’t know what Foie Gras it’s a luxury food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened.  This was my first time ordering Foie Gras so I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but when I tasted it, I was not pleased.  It taste like eggs with the fat piece of a rib eye steak with gravy smothered in it.  I’m not sure why I ordered this dish, but I did.  The Foie Gras was something that I would’ve ordered at a French restaurant, not a bar.  That is my mistake, I will learn from it.  Everyone knows how much I love eggs, so the disappointment in my face clearly was worn after tasting those eggs.

Last but not least the chilaquiles was ordered.  This dish was can be described as tortillas with a bunch of toppings.  Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish but I’m not too sure why it was served in a restaurant that served Foie Gras as well.  It didn’t make sense to me but it was ordered.  Guacamole, Sour Cream, Onions, Peppers, and a dressing sat on top of the tortillas.  This was my second least favorite dish, and it tasted like something you would order at AppleBee’s.  I would stay away from this dish in particular, unless you’re drunk or high.  If you’re one of those mentioned, then dig in!

Overall, this restaurant is a pass.  I wouldn’t go to this restaurant for brunch just to get a burger, and if you do decide to get just the burger then it’ll be worth it.  I don’t understand the theme of the restaurant.  Foie Gras is traditionally a french inspired item, while Chilaquiles is mexican.  Those two items are literally on two different sides of the earth.  How can they be correlated in a bar restaurant setting?  Foie Gras is a delicate item, they should not be in a restaurant that sells nachos.

OVERALL RATING : MAY I SPEAK TO THE CAPTAIN