Angus hangar steak with chimichurri Béarnaise. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR.
George Trois has been well covered on the North Shore. The restaurant’s 12-course tasting menu, hand-delivered and described by Chef Michael Lachowicz in person, was one of the most exquisite evenings we’ve encountered. The same prodigious culinary skill responsible for that experience now brings two additional restaurants to the North Shore—all in the same building.
ABOYER is happening.
Groups of friends, families with kids, everyone lively, loud, and excited. There’s weekend energy to the room, even on the Wednesday evening of our visit. A pristine bar occupies one side of the room evoking a modern mixologist’s test kitchen. A white marble bar and subway tile walls set the stage while we sipped a Huckleberry Mojito and a gin variation on an Old Fashioned. The menu applies Chef Michael’s legendary French training to a scrumptious collection of comfort foods. A glance at the tables surrounding us promised that it would all be delicious.
SILENCIEUX is magic.
When the door swung shut behind us, the music and lively chatter of Aboyer disappeared and were replaced by classic jazz standards. Floor to ceiling windows fill the space with twilight. A large wooden art piece on the wall is both aesthetically pleasing and serves to dampen the acoustics of the room. This is the space for conversation over elevated cuisine. It’s the kind of place where two varieties of fresh table bread arrive with unsalted butter and three different flavors of sea salt to accent it.
Silencieux is a prix fixe three-course evening with five incredible options for the first and main courses and a few desserts. The dining room filled up quickly and we saw a wide variety of menu selections at neighboring tables. Everything we saw looked Instagram perfect, but we can’t recommend the two following dishes highly enough.
BEEF
Aboyer was designed to be the most approachable room under Chef Michael’s roof. Hence, not a white table cloth in sight. The Beef entree is Angus hanger steak, cooked to perfection, accompanied by the most mouth- watering chimichurri Béarnaise sauce. It works the same magic on the Pomme Frites as it does on the meat. Although, if you opted for a side of Creamy Whipped Pomme Puree or the Herbed Potato Gnocchi, old-school Chef Michael afficionados would nod in appreciation.
WHOLE ROASTED DOVER SOLE
This one is dinner and a show, rolled out on a cart and deboned tableside. The flavor is exquisite—mild and buttery. Perhaps we’re just suckers for Chef Michael’s lobster sauces because the sole comes with a frothy hazelnut lobster jus that is out of this world. With a side of crisped forbidden rice and edamame grounding the dish between bites, this is a beautiful centerpiece for an unforgettable three-course meal.
Whole roasted Dover sole with hazelnut butter jus. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR.
STUFFED ROASTED QUAIL
In a word, exceptional. Dry Spanish chorizo sausage injects a zesty bite into the beautifully juicy bird swimming in decadent truffle sauce. Wild rice brings a warm risotto comfort to the plate, balanced nicely by the crunch of frisée.
Stuffed roasted quail, with Spanish chorizo and wild rice risotto. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR.
RAVIOLO OF LOBSTER
This dish was the highlight of our night. The house made pasta is the perfect texture, concealing prime bites of lobster. Confit white asparagus brings an element of crunch to the plate, but it’s the sauce that really makes everything sing. The asparagus-lobster jus is almost floral in its richness, almost like a savory syrup with a subtle garlic sweetness.
Lobster raviolo, with a confit of white asparagus, and an asparagus-lobster jus. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR.
Aboyer, Silencieux, and George Trois are located at 64 Green Bay Road in Winnetka, 847-562-6105, georgetroisgroup.com.
