Pierrot Gourmet Review

On previous occasions, my wife and I dined at the Peninsula Hotel's four-star dining room, which has closed, and the lobby restaurant, which is exceptional. After seeing a review of the Pierrot Gourmet, the Peninsula's European-style cafe and bistro that faces Rush Street, we decided to see if it is as good as advertised. We chose dinner to avoid the wave of businessmen, tourists and shoppers in the morning and afternoon. Since reservations aren't accepted, we arrived soon after the dinner bell was tolled at 4:30 p.m. Good timing. The menu isn't expansive but it touches all bases of the palate and the food is prepared and presented as you would expect of a four-star hotel kitchen. Yes, it is expensive. But what would you expect of the Peninsula? You know what you are getting. What did we get? We started with house-made ricotta and French onion soup. Friends at next table highly recommended their choices, deviled egg and beef tenderloin slider. Entrees? Adhering to my more fish, less meat diet, I chose the pan seared salmon. My wife endorsed the truffled chicken pot pie. For dessert, we shared the exotic coconut dome, a wonderfully delicious combination of mango and coconut and fruit. Oh, my wife also gave a very favorable shout-out to the coffee. And we took home a sack of assorted macarons. Next time, we'll try to sneak in for an early breakfast. Located at the corner of Rush and Superior, a block west of the North Michigan Avenue shopping mecca, Pierrot Gourmet is an excellent destination to start the day, to take a break during a busy day or to end the day.