Last week I had the fabulous opportunity to go to Chef Pierre’s former restaurant, Le Titi de Paris. Le Titi de Paris is located in Arlington Heights, a suburb about 40 minutes from Chicago. It is French cuisine of the old-school variety. The exterior of the restaurant is charming. The inside is very traditional and the live classical music as we entered was endearing. While Chef Pierre is no longer involved with the day-to-day operations of the restaurant (he owned it from the early 70’s until about five years ago), he has helped facilitate the new owner’s financing and keeps a warm watch over his life’s pride.

As Michael and I entered, a group of students, wine in hand, already encircled Chef Pierre and his wife. Chef Pierre raised his eyebrows as soon as he saw me walk in and promptly asked me where I was sitting. “Next to you, if that’s possible!” I replied. I was super-excited when he made sure that Michael and I were able to sit with him for dinner. After many introductions to the other students (I didn’t know many of them since they were from other sections) and a couple of glasses of wine (more for some than others!), we sat down to eat.

Due to the late arrival of a couple guests, Chef Pierre helped the servers combine the tables so we all could fit around one table. While assisting with the seating arrangements, he jokingly said, “See, I know what I’m doing in a restaurant!” The amuse-bouche consisted of a small sushi roll bite and a canapé of rabbit rillet (both excellent!). The sushi took me off guard….this was a French restaurant, afterall? But I wasn’t going to complain because it was quite good! Next up was the salad. Now this one puzzled me – a large lobster spring roll (lobster, Mesclun greens, English cucumbers, and mango rolled into a soft rice paper wrapper with a passion fruit fennel vinaigrette). I’m not sure why the menu went all fusion on us so far, but it still tasted great nonetheless. I’m glad the entrees took a more traditional turn though.

First up was the Salmon en Croute. Excellent! A small piece of salmon enveloped by salmon mousse and puff pastry. There was something else wrapped in there that I cannot remember, but it was wonderful. But what made this dish so special was the sauce. It was a beurre blanc with white wine and shallots….plus some other yummy things I cannot remember. Silly discussion ensued on topics such as our favorite “characters” from class, fun places to travel, and stories from our “day jobs” as we ate. In addition, Chef Pierre introduced us to some of the “old timers” around the restaurant and told us some funny stories about hosts accidentally stabbing servers with steak knives and the alarms going off at the restaurant and the cops asking Chef Pierre to put his hands up.

The second entrée was Michael’s favorite. Slow Braised Asian Scented Pork Belly on Granny Smith Apple & Smoked Bacon Choucroute with Green Peppercorn Essence. Wonderful! I didn’t even mind the ½ – inch layer of fat on top of the pork. It was so tender and the sauerkraut was excellent (normally I do not eat sauerkraut, but I was practically licking this off the plate!). Michael wanted a second helping, but I reminded him that it might be rude to ask, being that we were in such a traditional atmosphere.

Wine glasses were replenished as Chef Pierre asked if anyone would like a tour of the kitchens and wine cellar. His small anecdotes about changes to the dining room, bar area, and kitchen over the years were captivating (crack cocaine in the private dining area?!). The tasting room and wine cellar downstairs were of the most interest to me. It seemed there must be so many stories about the space and Chef Pierre was only able to scratch the surface for us. A bit of sadness crept in as I reflected on how similar I feel about not being able to portray all the things I love about the Resort to Michael.

But, as we trekked back up the stairs, through the pastry kitchen, past an enormous cappuccino maker, and to our awaiting desserts, I came back to the present with a smile on my face. Not only did we each have a Meyer lemon tart with caramelized meringue (Chef’s favorite) waiting for us when we returned, but each table had a dessert sampling. This included a chocolate layered dessert shaped like a piano, a slice of chocolate cake, and a few other items that my mind is not remembering at the moment! But it all was wonderful. The evening at Le Titi de Paris was a wonderful culmination of the last two quarters in class with Chef Pierre. In addition, I was extremely happy to finally introduce Michael to the Chef I’d been chatting up for the past six months.