In the week of March 16th-21st, Chicago celebrated Chicago Chef Week! Each year, a group of restaurants are selected to showcase their chefs' talent by offering three-course lunches at a fixed price of $22, and three-course dinners at a fixed price of $44. Chicago Chef Week is an excellent opportunity to enjoy a full meal at one of Chicago's trendiest restaurants at a reasonable price! Naturally, we had to partake in this week. We decided to make lunch reservations at Sophie's Saks Fifth Avenue, a trendy, brand new restaurant that sits on the 7th floor of Saks Fifth Avenue on Michigan. The week celebrated Sophie's Chef Aleman, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and previous overseer at Fairmont Chicago Millenium Park. One of the aspects of Sophie's that intrigued us the most was the fact that the restaurant was inspired by Sophie Gimbel, an American designer and trendsetter in the 1950s. Sophie Gimbel was the first American designer to be featured on the cover of TIME magazine, and continues to be one of the most influential fashion designers in history.
Image of bar at Sophie's courtesy of sophies.com
From the moment you step into Sak's Fifth Avenue, your experience at Sophie's is nothing short of regal. The express elevator takes you directly to the bright and chic 7th floor where Sophie's sits. The 7th floor is a men's floor, and we were slightly surprised to see that the restaurant is literally smack-dab in the middle of the clothes. Unlike most department store restaurants that have more of an "entrance" and divide from the rest of the store, the bar at Sophie's is within fifteen feet of the merchandise. While this was a tad off-putting, the restaurant is still very chic and brightly decorated. The mood is mainly set with black and white, which is definitely reminiscent of the classic Sophie Gimbel. For a restaurant at peak lunchtime (12:45 PM) during Chicago Chef Week, Sophie's was rather empty. Granted, it did only open a few months ago, it does only serve food for breakfast and lunch so the lack of crowd is not the greatest sign. They sat us at a booth-like table along one of the walls, and we noticed that the entire room behind us was completely empty. Despite the miserable rainy weather in Chicago, the view of Michigan Avenue was lovely. It was mesmerizing to watch the taxi cabs bustle by on the Magnificent Mile.
Complimentary bread service and spreads
At the beginning of the meal, the servers come around with a complimentary bread service that includes offerings of multi-grain bread, french bread, and crackers. They also bring three spreads: an olive tapenade with pomegranate juice, a rosemary butter spread, and a fig spread. We tried the multi-grain bread and crackers, which were both tasty. The olive tapenade spread was nice, especially with the hint of pomegranate juice, but if you are not a fan of olives this spread is definitely not for you as it had a strong taste of olives. Similarly, if you are not a fan of raisins, the fig spread was not for you. It was nicely put together, but basically just tasted like mashed raisins. We both agreed that the rosemary butter spread was the best. It was creamy and had a nice hint of rosemary. Our only true complaint about the bread service is that it was not nearly frequent enough. They only let us try one type of bread at a time, and only offered us more once. WE NEED OUR BREAD!
Complimentary multi-grain bread
Megan's Beet Salad and Risotto:
Roasted baby beets salad ($11 on regular menu)
I had read that the roasted baby beets salad was the signature dish to try at Sophie's, and now that I've tried it I would not argue with that statement. The entire salad is plated very elegantly, and the salad includes an assortment of beets of all colors, shapes, and sizes, giving a great variety. My favorite part of the salad was the burrata cheese that was dolloped throughout the plate. It added a creamy texture to the greens and gave tartness to an otherwise sweet salad. The walnuts also provided the perfect amount of crunch.
Asparagus and black truffle risotto ($19 on the regular menu)
I am a complete sucker for risotto, so as soon as I saw it on the Chef Week menu at Sophie's I knew I had to give it a try. Chef Aleman's take on risotto involves arborio rice, parmagiano reggiano, and crispy oats. The plate was very nicely put together, and despite the smaller size due to it being a Chicago Chef Week menu item, the portion size was very generous (I had leftovers!). Risotto is not an easy dish to pull off, and I do have to say it was very tasty. The risotto was nice and velvety and the parmagiano added just the right amount of creaminess. The slices of asparagus were also a nice accompaniment to the risotto. They provided the right amount of crunch, while still being fully cooked. My favorite part of the dish was the crispy oats. I've never had a risotto that included oats before, but they added great crunch and flavor to the dish. I do have to say the dish was very garlic-y. This is not a complaint on my part because I absolutely love garlic, but if garlic bothers you this might not be the dish for you.
Caitlin's Crab Soup and Salmon:
Roasted Red Pepper Soup ($11 regular lunch menu)
Looking at the chefs week menu, Megan and I knew that we wanted to try a variety of apps and entrees to get the full experience. I ordered the roasted red pepper soup as my appetizer, which was topped with both jumbo lump crab and melted leeks. I just about licked the whole cup! The soup had a velvety-smooth consistency with very pronounced flavors of roasted red peppers. Roasting the red peppers gave the soup a sweeter flavor with the illusion of heat from the char achieved by roasting them. I was sad to only get two "jumbo" pieces of crab meat in my soup, but for this contemporary dining experience I would not expect anything less, seeing as Sophie's has a high emphasis on the appearance of each dish compliment the seasonal flavors. The jumbo lump crab added a perfect addition of texture to the dish with a hint of sweetness, followed by the earthy melted leeks. On a cooler day, I would highly recommend this soup!
North Atlantic Salmon ($25 regular menu)
As an avid salmon eater, I knew that once I saw the salmon on the menu at Sophie's I was more than likely to try it! This entree on the standard lunch menu at Sophie's is more than the Chef's Week experience, which was only $22 for an appetizer, entree, and dessert. Definitely a bargain! After finishing our appetizers, the server brought the next course to us shortly after. The presentations once again were perfect. The stylish influence of Sophie Gimbel again was reflected by this dish and the flavors, using minimal ingredients of cumin-scented heirloom carrots, cress, and carrot-mascarpone sauce and presenting a perfect entree with close attention to every detail. Despite the smaller portions of the dish, the simplicity of ingredients all complimented the salmon, only further highlighting the quality of the pan-seared fish.
Triple chocolate cake ($8 on the regular menu)
Overall, our experience at Sophie's Saks Fifth Avenue was an enjoyable experience that I'm not sure I would go for again. The decor was nice and the service was fine, but for what you receive it was not necessarily worth the steep price. Granted, the portion sizes were smaller as we were participating in Chicago Chef Week, but for $22 I would have expected to receive a little bit more. As soon as you step into the restaurant, there is a certain level of "pretentiousness" that makes everyone talk in a very hushed tone and completely alters the entire vibe of the restaurant. While it is classy, it was a bit much for two college students. Perhaps this will be more our cup of tea in our later years! That being said, the view of Michigan Avenue is excellent and Chef Aleman is a very talented chef. If you are shopping along Michigan Avenue and in the mood for a lunch splurge, don't rule out Sophie's! Check out their website for the menu and other information!
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