Petite Edith offers a fusion of French cuisine and Midwestern sensibilities to Chicago's River North neighborhood, and you don't want to miss its winter menu. Chef Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo have brought their talents from the Michelin-starred Esmé Chicago to Petite Edith. Both restaurants are participating in Chicago Restaurant Week through Feb. 8, and Petite Edith has a three-course menu for $60—it comes with the squash skewers, the house soup or Edith salad, and your choice of entree between the cassoulet, the salmon, and the agnolotti. We ended up opting for a regular dine-in meal in order to experience the menu's full breadth, ordering at least one dish from each of its sections. Coming in, we encountered a beautifully crafted dining room with garage door-style windows that stay open during the summertime. Of course, on this Saturday night, we watched the snow fall and settled in for an evening of delight and surprise.
The menu begins with an illustration and a French line that translates to "Little by little, the bird builds its nest." We began building our cozy evening with cocktails, choosing among the wealth of creative concoctions offered. My partner went with the Pont Neuf, which said it was like a Jungle Bird with "views of Notre Dame," made up of Rémy Martin VSOP cognac, Paranubes rum, Averna, and pineapple. The original Jungle Bird is on the bitter side, so this version is a bit more palatable and sweeter. I ordered the Bayonne Spritz, with the playful description, "Hugo who?" This take on a Hugo Spritz included Alpine Blend, Spruce Tips, and Cremate. It was accented with the spruce tips, adding the perfect herbal flavor to its light and bubbly personality.
For our first appetizer, we chose from the Fruits de Mer section of the menu. The Red Snapper Crudo included endives, quince, and citrus. The endives were the perfect topping to add an extra texture to the dish, with super fresh fish beneath and fruit adding a tropical element. This started our meal off with bold flavors, perfectly balancing its rich protein with its acidity.
Next, we went for the squash from the menu's Brochettes section, which included jamón iberico, crème fraîche, pistachio, and white balsamic. My partner would have liked the pistachio flavor to come through more, but I loved that the balsamic took center stage, adding flavor to the perfectly cooked squash on skewers. We followed this with the Duck Consommé from the Avant le Plat section, which included duck rilette tortellini with rosemary. Wow, this dish was heavenly. The broth was everything you might love about duck's flavor without being at all oily or fatty. Though there were only about four tortellini in the broth, my goodness, were they delicious, almost like a French wonton soup. Perfect for a freezing night!
Then we ordered from the Le Pain section, opting for the Leek Tart with almonds, roasted garlic, and cottage cheese. This dish was probably the highlight of the meal for both of us—the pastry edge was perfectly flaky and buttery, and the softened leeks inside had an amazing flavor. We would come back again and again for this tart.
The Corn & Escargot Agnolotti was our first entreé, and it was both stunning and delicious. It came with tarbais beans and sauce périgourdine. Escargot is probably my favorite French protein, and pairing it with softened beans, perfectly al dente pasta, basil pesto flavoring, and soft cheese inside the agnolotti? I could have eaten this dish three times over and still want more!
We may have taken our adventurous spirit a bit beyond our ken by ordering the Pig Trotters dish from the specials menu, and why shouldn't we have? When in France! It came with foie gras, mushrooms, sweetbreads, and pommes puree, aka mashed potatoes. We were a bit daunted by the sheer size of this dish, so we started with the potatoes and were delighted with their fluffy texture and rich flavor. The sweetbreads in the main part of the dish were a tough texture for my partner to enjoy, kind of like a softer sausage, but we could tell that everything was cooked to perfection. The sauce beneath the main meat was rich and almost like a steak sauce. This was such an impressive dish, with so many complex textures and flavors, we had to take most of it home for later!
For dessert, we went for the chocolate cake with cherry, which came with an orange creamsicle shake. My partner ordered an Amaro Montenegro to top things off, and I ordered a coffee (which came in a big ole' French press, so I had plenty to savor!).
Our server Lauren was so lovely, and we ended up chatting with several staff members and the table next to us about our reality TV obsessions, favorite Chicago neighborhoods, and food recommendations. In addition to an atmosphere that welcomes collaboration and camaraderie, Petite Edith succeeds in its quest for quiet luxury, imaginative flavors, and odes to French favorites. It may not be the most accessible dining option in the River North neighborhood, and the modest portion sizes may not meet our American expectations. But overall, for a special night out with loved ones or new friends, Petite Edith will feel like a quick and dazzling trip across the Atlantic.
Petite Edith is located at 878 N. Wells St. You can make a reservation on OpenTable.
All photos by Row Light.
This coverage was made possible by a promotional invitation. Our opinions and editorial choices remain entirely our own.
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