Michael Mina, the Michelin-starred chef from San Francisco, will open his first Chicago restaurants this spring.
Margeaux Brasserie, serving classic French food, will take over the third floor restaurant space in the Waldorf Astoria in the Gold Coast, the chef announced to the Tribune. Petit Margeaux, a French patisserie, will open on the lobby level of the hotel.
Both restaurants are expected to open in early May, Mina said.
Mina is most famous for his namesake San Francisco restaurant, Michael Mina, which has one Michelin star. His restaurant group now has 30 restaurants all over the country.
Margeaux Brasserie will be about 120 seats and have a menu in the spirit of Bardot Brasserie, one of Mina’s Las Vegas restaurants, the chef said. "We always do little twists, but (it’ll be) more on the classic brasserie style," he said. "There’s something to be said for that French brasserie that has all of your favorites on the menu. You put in the three days that it takes to make the perfect roast chicken. To me that’s timeless cooking."
Some dishes on an early draft of the menu include steak frites, frog legs a la trois gros, dover sole meuniere and escargot Bordelaise.
The restaurant will have a lively bar and a couple of private dining rooms, Mina said.
On the lobby level, Petit Margeaux will serve baked goods, pressed sandwiches and coffee, with outdoor seating in nice weather.
Brent Balika, formerly of The Dawson, will run both kitchens. Balika previously worked for Mina at one of his Washington, DC properties, Bourbon Steak. "Brent was the number two in DC and every time I would go there he would have a new project to show me," Mina said. "He would be aging his own cheese, for example. He’s just so passionate about food."
Mina says he will spend the first month or two in the kitchen at Margeaux, so head there this summer if you want to catch him.
"The timing wasn’t by accident," he said. "My wife’s best friend lives (in Chicago), so my wife is really excited. She said, ‘We can do summer in Chicago.’ "
Margeaux Brasserie and Petit Margeaux, 11 E. Walton St., www.waldorfastoriachicagohotel.com
mconrad@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @marissa_conrad
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