I really detest chain restaurants. In fact, I'd rather die of hunger than ever be caught in whatever horrific splendor of the suburbs you might want to name. You could say that when restaurateurs begin opening multiple locations all over the city I become highly skeptical of the food.
However, Stephan and Nicole Outrequin Quaisser, who have opened two other French restaurants in Chicago, seem to be immune from strip-mall chicken-finger blandness with Brasserie 54, which is a petit bijou in Andersonville that stays true to its French pedigree.
The ambience itself feels like a vintage Paris metro station, with subway tile, maps of Paris and photos of the Parisian sites most Americans would recognize. I will say the lighting could use a boost. The ambience is très charmant but just a tad on the dark side. Having been to Paris a number of times, I can say that rarely do Parisians eat in the dark. I get the whole "vintage electric light bulb" thing that everyone is doing but I think we can manage an atmosphere dim enough that I look fabulous in it, but not so dim that I am unsure if I am eating a chicken leg or a finger.
We started with roasted endives and a warm crab salad. The endives were delicious, covered in melted cheese and bacon and roasted to perfection. They were almost sweet and that is quite the feat since, normally, dandelions are less bitter. The crab salad was a perfect small-plate salad and since both my dining companion and I are crab snobs, we were happy to discover Brasserie 54 used actual crabmeat and not some compressed whitefish from the Sea Queen. The vinaigrette was house-made and added just enough flavor to the frisée and Boston bibb lettuce.
I nearly always order the special and that night it was coq au vinwhich was just lovely. The wine reduction was just at the point of caramelization so the sauce was slightly thick but not sticky. The meat of the chicken fell off the bone. The additions of bacon, mushrooms and shallots gave the chicken just enough flavor to make it pop but did not overpower, as shallots are wont to do. My dining companion ordered the brick chicken. This is chicken, marinated for what must be weeks, then roasted under a towel-wrapped brick until just done. I can very highly recommend this dish. The skin was crunchy and the chicken was so juicy that I daresay I do not believe I have ever had chicken quite this good before. I know. I know. It's chicken. But seriouslythis was that good.
Our server used her gypsy mind power and made me order dessert even though I gave up sweets for Lent. She must be a lawyer by day because she suggested the rice pudding: "It really is barely a dessert. It's just rice! So you're not really breaking Lent!" Yes. Thank you for damning my eternal soul but allowing me to eat the delicate rice pudding Brasserie 54 offers. This is not your diner's rice pudding. Served warm, the rice is actually cooked with a stick of cinnamon so the taste is not overpowering and is evenly distributed throughout the dish.
Andersonville was once the home of Swedish pioneers who landed in their long boats along the shores of the gayest beach north of Florida, and who wanted a Swedish neighborhood. What they got was the eclectic blend of all that is good. Brasserie 54 is a must-try for anyone in Andersonville.