In March, Sandy and Angie D’Amato, owners of the famed Sanford restaurant, sold Coquette Café to Chris Hatleli and Nick Burki, the duo known best as the co-founders of The Social. Their purchase of Coquette is a homecoming of sorts, as they worked there when it first opened in 1999.
The new owners have retained many winning touches. With three dining areas and a central bar, Coquette’s layout remains the same. The walls still feature gold tones and the tables are topped with the familiar white linens and butcher paper. Customers continue to eat at a relaxed pace and meals still begin with those excellent crusty small baguettes.
The menu has seen a few changes and stays even truer to French form. Many items are marked as “Coquette Classics,” including onion soup, salad Nicoise and the excellent steak and frites.
Start with one of the classic flatbread pizzas. The crust is as thin as a wafer and utterly crisp. The pizza made with fennel sausage, roasted mushrooms and asiago cheese ($11.25)an inspired blend of ingredients--is probably the best. The Alsatian flammekueche ($9.50) also continues to charm. The flatbread is topped with a thin layer of creamy cheese and studded with bits of bacon and onions, flavors that are more German than French. For a light meal, add a salad of field greens with Dijon vinaigrette ($5.50). The field greens actually are primarily leaf lettuce, but the lettuce is very tender and the vinaigrette adds a rustic element.
The entrees are divided between meat and seafood, with a pasta option and two other vegetarian entrees available as well.
One vegetarian item is artichoke gremolata ($16.95), a stew made with artichoke hearts. They are simmered in a chervil broth with diced tomatoes, asparagus spears, chickpeas and a dash of white truffle oil. The broth is soothing and pleasant, though the firm chickpeas could use more soaking.
Everyone should try the grilled hanger steak with frites ($21.95) in a red wine shallot sauce. Everyone who enjoys beef on the rare side, that is, the way it is always prepared in France.
Coq au vin ($19.95), a half chicken served in two pieces, is a classic preparation. As a convenience for the diner, the chicken is partially deboned and some skin is removed. The rich sauce includes red wine, mushrooms and pearl onions. More onions would be appreciated, as they revel in this wine sauce.
The menu also offers sandwiches for the more budget-minded. Every day features a special for less than $10. One day the special was a wasabi-marinated hanger steak, which brings back memories of the early days of The Social. It may seem touristy to order a cheeseburger ($9.95), but this is one of the best burgers to be found locally, featuring succulent Angus beef topped with Gruyere and an onion relish. The sandwiches all include pommes frites with a side of aioli. The aioli is excellent.
Coquette maintains a fine level of serviceat times, even the butter knife may be replaced. It could be tempting to stop here before attending a play at one of the nearby theaters, but be sure to allow adequate time for an unhurried Parisian pace. Take the time to savor the escargot and a fine bottle of wine, or perhaps Rendezvous Ale, custom made by the local Lakefront Brewery. Coquette Café remains in very good hands.
