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Yesterday I noticed a big banner saying "Grand Opening" above the door of the old Pasteur restaurant at 5525 N. Broadway. The restaurant, which was closed several years ago and had been unoccupied, was in a reconstruction process for the last 4 months.
Does that mean that it is now officially back in business.
That would be good news.

According to the Edgeville Buzz, a neighborhood blog, Pasteur has reopened.

http://www.edgevillebuzz.com/news/welcome-back-pasteur

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-Mary

It took them long enough, considering that it was talked about a year and a half ago in Chicago Magazine.

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"we must all understand that we're not all going to agree on everything, so let's just accept it -- hell, let's cherish it -- and move on." - ronnie_suburban

So are they running both the place on Lincoln and the new one? (I always forget the Lincoln Pk. place's whimsical name...oops. Sorry.)

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"Strange how potent cheap music is."

Urban Daddy ran a piece about the re-opening yesterday.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Called Simply It and, yes, as of last Friday, they were very much still in business

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“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” Elizabeth Taylor

I really loved Pasteur and went there fairly often, but before it closed, the price of a meal got pretty stiff. For me, it went from an occasional evening out to a special occasion restaurant. In other words from once every couple of months to a couple of times a year. This was true especially when I considered how many good Vietnamese meals could be had just a few blocks south for the cost of one meal at Pasteur. I always figured that they closed because they priced themselves out of the neighborhood. I think they saw how much Le Lan and Le Colonial were charging, and figured they could get away with similar pricing in Edgewater. Then again, it has been five years, and the cost of dining out has gone up quite a bit since then. I looked it up on Metromix which lists the entree prices as $9-$15, which I just don't believe (but would be nice). I think those prices are probably from 15 years ago. Has anyone seen a menu?

I may be wrong, but I think that David Tran, proprietor/owner of Dung Gia by the Des Plaines train station on Northwest Hwy., used to cook at Pasteur way back when.

Prices around there used to be dirt, dirt cheap. Best deal I ever got was at the SE corner of Broadway & Argyle, at Mekong Restaurant, for their luncheon special. Thin cigar-like egg roll, spicy, saucy lemongrass chicken on a bed of romaine (still haven't had any better-tasting renditions), piping hot rice, and a pot of jasmine tea, all for $2.95. But this was early 1980's.

I tell that to my kids and they say, "...and you walked 10 miles to school, uphill both ways too, Dad!"

In some categories, prices have gone up, but in others, they have held steady or even gone down. For example, there are way more places where you can get delicious food from creative chefs for $30-60/pp now than there were five years ago.

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"we must all understand that we're not all going to agree on everything, so let's just accept it -- hell, let's cherish it -- and move on." - ronnie_suburban

Don't laugh, but in our takeout menu drawer are duplicates from years ago for the same places. Our favorite pizza place charged $15.95 seven years ago for 18 inch pizza. Same pizza in 2012, $16.95.

Mr. X and I had dinner at Pasteur the other night. It is a beautiful space and nicely air-conditioned on a hot summer night. We shared the Bahn Xeo and chicken dumplings to start. I thought the crepe was very well executed. The dumplings were what I expected and wouldn't order again. For my entree, I had the Bo Xao Lan (curry beef, tender beef marinated and sautéed in a light coconut curry sauce with wood-ear mushrooms, angel hair noodles, baby okra. topped with ground peanuts and fresh kaffir lime leaf) and Mr. X had the Com Tay Cam (claypot chicken fried rice, ginger fried rice with chicken, straw mushrooms baked in a clay pot topped with grilled chicken). We both enjoyed our entrees. For drinks, we started with cocktails that I don't recall the names of: something with muddled strawberries for me and a bourbon drink for him. We each had a glass of sparkling wine with dinner.

They should be opening their back patio very soon. Our waiter said it would seat 135. If it is appointed as nicely as the inside, it will be a great place to enjoy a meal. (Beats the sidewalk dining they have on Broadway!)

I suspect you can order a similar meal at Nha Hang Viet Nam Resturant on Argyle, where I am embarassed to say I haven't been yet. Pasteur is elegant and has a nice cocktail and wine list. There are times I'll want the atmosphere of Pasteur and other times I'll want Nha Hang Viet Nam.

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-Mary

GP:

In light of Eric Aubriot's departure, have they dropped the purely French part of the menu, such as the foie gras torchon? We were there a few months ago, prior to Aubriot's leaving Pasteur, and at that point, one could construct an entirely French dinner - NO Vietnamese influence whatsoever - from appetizer through dessert, which I found a little odd.

The space is lovely, isn't it?

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Food & Flowers: Andre Jordan's sweet doodle for a cold winter's day; diary of an unhappy restaurateur, circa 1881; winter project - try a terrarium

I don't recall any French dishes on the menu. (I say this with the caveat that I wasn't looking for French dishes.)

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-Mary

At Pasteur last night. Was actually on my way to Loving Hut (BEST vegetarian in Chicago IMO) but it was closed for some reason, so decided to stop by Pasteur on the way down Broadway. I used to be a big fan many moons ago (before original closing.)

Room still has lovely decor, but food was sadly dissapointing.

Ordered Vegetarian spring roll. Had maybe half of the ingredients listed on the menu. Not bad, but nothing special. Dipping sauce was very strong on the fish sauce.

Papaya Salad was actually pretty good. Very fresh. Nice flavors. Shrimp cooked just right.

Tamarind Hot/Sour soup was really really sour. Could have been lemon soup. Tried to temper down the taste by adding some seasoning, but generally not very good.

And that's all we ordered. Maybe just ordered the wrong things, but what we had was really not satisfying.

Only French dish I recall on the menu was a Bouillabaisse.