Say things go so bad the 99 percent really get angry. They’re not going to torch the Vietnamese pool hall, the abandoned laundromat, or the Korean blanket store on Lawrence. At least not right away. First they’ll smash the Mag Mile, and take dinner in the ashes of Les Nomades around the corner on Ontario. You may know it as one of the city’s most storied, exclusive, and expensive fine-dining temples—and for seven years the home of executive chef Chris Nugent, who followed the legendary Roland Liccioni (who’s since returned). Nugent left Les Nomades in October to open Goosefoot in a storefront at the confluence of Ravenswood Manor, Lincoln Square, and Albany Park, and it might appear he was looking for a quiet place to ride out the coming Occupation. But he isn’t downscaling the way so many of his fine-dining compadres have. Instead he “made a promise he would not waste another day cooking unless it was food with great culinary vision and artistry,” as goes the boilerplate on Goosefoot’s website.
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That may not be immediately apparent with early courses: lobster nuggets and delicate squash agnolotti in a mild Thai-like curry washed in a licorice-root infusion is an auspiciously cohesive pasta dish, exceeded in its richness by a chestnut soup topped again with another foam—truffle this time—a flavor duplicated on the side (and not for the last time) with a gougere bursting with creamy Parmesan alongside some precisely arranged vegetables. Both are filling, stomach-priming first courses.
2656 W. Lawrence 773-942-7547goosefoot.net
