Jessica Taylor
01/01/2004
At the height of his NBA career, in 1997, Michael Jordan wanted to enjoy the finest in Chicago dining without encountering a mob. This quest for privacy, combined with his affinity for good food, premium cigars and fine wines and spirits, prompted His Airness to become a silent partner in a new upscale
restaurant—one with a private dining room and adjoining salon built to his specifications. Today Jordan’s one sixtyblue (lowercased and named after its street number and exterior color), located on Chicago’s West Side, is championed by the city’s top financial players who book the private dining room to slam dunk power deals incognito.The private dining room at one sixtyblue is, indeed, an ideal venue for top players to hold court. The PDR’s floor-to-ceiling glass French doors, which close for privacy, are equipped with an electronic screen that allows one-way viewing into the restaurant’s open kitchen, main dining room and glass-enclosed wine room. Inside the PDR, the round, generously sized dining table comfortably seats as many as 14 guests. A dimmer switch on the wall places the evening’s lighting at the host’s control.
After an impeccable dining experience, the party can retire to the adjoining private salon for overtime negotiations and general camaraderie. But first, guests might want to select their favorite premium cigars from the restaurant’s walk-in humidor. At one sixtyblue, aficionados can clip the tip and light up, a pleasure no longer allowed in either New York or Los Angeles, where smoking bans prohibit the enjoyment of cigars in a public place. Nonsmoking guests will appreciate the air filters.
The salon’s living-room feel is enhanced by oversized couches and armchairs, a big-screen TV, high-tech audio system and a private bathroom. In keeping with interior designer Adam Tihany’s elegant look, black and white images of Billie Holiday grace the walls.
The dining experience, of course, takes center court. Executive Chef Martial Noguier’s imaginative cuisine has been variously described as California French and modern American, but perhaps the menu is best understood as French eclectic. Noguier, a Parisian recently sworn in as a U.S. citizen, trained under Michelin-starred notables Alaine Ducasse and Jacques Maximin. By combining the French culinary training of his youth with the non-Gallic cultures he absorbed while working in the Caribbean and California, Noguier turns out spirited dishes rich in flavor and texture. His choice of seasonings—cumin, curry, coconut, ginger and Moroccan argan oil—reflects his cross-cultural travels.
Noguier takes a "freedom of foods" approach to his cuisine, applying innovation and choice to the menu. His dishes range from the hardy to the sophisticated. The veal tenderloin, fire roasted to a savory perfection over wood from vintage wine barrels, should not be missed. Other dine-and-go-to-heaven choices include the rack of lamb and Delmonico steak.
Specializing in meats and sauces, Noguier’s fare is not only exceptionally flavorful but rich in textural contrast, as well. "In America, people love crunchy," explains Nogier. The mouth-watering ahi tuna tartare, for example, contrasts with a soft and buttery ahi tuna with crunchy cucumbers dressed in kalamata olives, lime and a spicy dash of Spanish piquillo pepper vinaigrette. Recognizing that the better food looks the better it tastes, Noguier’s presentations are a vibrant expression of his exuberance for food. A feast for the eyes as well as the palate, his cuisine delivers pure gastronomical joy. And what more could a person desire—except, possibly, a Bull market to match?
The private dining room has an $800 minimum for the evening.
one sixtyblue,
www.160blue.com 312.850.0303