You knew that Peter and Sue Kim-Drohomyrecky were opening Eggy’s, a traditional diner— yeah, that’s right, not a diner concept, not a French bordello diner nightspot, but homemade high quality American food serving breakfast lunch and dinner— in the Lakeshore East building overlooking Millennium Park. Well, that’s not all they’re opening there— they’re also going to open Maison, a French restaurant which aims for the homey informality and accessible food you might find if invited over for dinner at a home in France. Well, that’s what the Drohomyreckys call it; chef Perry Hendrix, also at their Custom House Tavern, makes another comparison that to us is even more intriguing: Brasserie by Niche, the restaurant he worked at in St. Louis owned by Gerard Craft, whose Niche is pretty much to St. Louis what Vie is to the western suburbs, the temple of exquisitely unfussy farm to table cooking. Like a brasserie should offer, it’s relatively simple but well-crafted food— from tarte flambé and a Croque Madame to pates and charcuterie, steak frites and duck confit— and it’s open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Brasserie or private home, we don’t care if someone’s going to serve good French food near the Loop at reasonable prices. The opening is expected in mid-May, with brunch service starting in June.
