“I’m all right brain,” says Eric Aubriot, the French-born chef and owner of Aubriot restaurant in Lincoln Park. “I’m creative, and French cooking in France doesn’t allow for that much. It’s more about control and consistency.” The 30-year-old opened his namesake eatery four years ago. This summer he launched two new ventures: Tournesol, a bistro in Lincoln Square, and Eau, a late-night lounge. And while the menus at all three restaurants appear to consist of standard French fare, he takes liberties that his forefathers might not encourage. “I still do the classics like kidneys and shanks,” says Aubriot, “but I can put them with a curry emulsion or a savory tomato sorbet.”
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With the opening of Eau he’s also liberated himself from traditional ideas of where French food ought to be eaten. No stuffy dining room or homey bistro, the stylish space–which occupies the second floor of Aubriot’s building–has Lucite chairs flanking the tables, abstract paintings by local artist Lee Tracy gracing the white walls, and a cucumber-colored exposed kitchen. It’s open Thursday through Sunday after nine only, and the small-plate cuisine–mushroom ravioli with leeks and shallot cream sauce, sauteed quail with oven-dried tomatoes and field greens in a coriander vinaigrette, and a salade nicoise with black olives and capers–is accompanied by pulsating acid jazz and downtempo riffs played at conversation-friendly levels. “I wanted to do something different,” says Aubriot. “Believe me, after slaving in a hot kitchen for 12 to 14 hours, pressing up against everyone, the last thing you want is to go to a crowded bar, pay a cover, and not even be able to talk to anyone you’re with.”
In the early 90s his passion for French cooking took him back to his birth country, where he apprenticed under Michel Guerard at the three-star Les Pres d’Eugenie in Eugenie-les-Bains. There he was exposed to the lighter, more healthful art of cuisine minceur. Next he went to Monaco to learn under Alain Ducasse at George V. After two years abroad he came back to Chicago, doing stints as a line cook at several highly regarded restaurants–Gypsy, Trio, Vidalia on the Park–finally landing his springboard job as chef de cuisine under Jacky Pluton at Carlos’ in Highwood.
