I’ve never experienced pure, unfiltered indignation quite like the time a suave Frenchman ordered the cheese and charcuterie platter at the trendy London restaurant where I once waited tables.
See, the food wasn’t quite the point at this place, since most of the guests visited for the chic minimalist décor. (If interested, you can watch Hugh Grant woo a woman there in the 2002 film, “About a Boy.”)
Not content with my explaining the prosciutto was from Italy and the cheese a soft blue, he demanded I ask the chef where each was produced, down to the exact farm. When I tried asking the chef, he yelled at me for raising the topic on a busy Friday night service. Defeated, I told the Frenchman that I had no idea. That’s when this immaculately dressed man in a tailored suit stared into my soul with a look of contempt so demoralizing I nearly blacked out.
I thought about this moment as I snacked on the chef’s board ($29) from Lardon in Logan Square. Want to know where the cured meat comes from, monsieur? All of it, from the soppressata to the finocchiona, is made right there. In fact, you can view the curing room through a window from the dining room, allowing you to peek at the different meats hanging in the temperature-controlled room.
This is the work of chef Chris Thompson. He’s been curing meat for years, most recently at Coda di Volpe, but he also spent time at San Francisco’s A16 and Spruce. “I’ve spent more than 15 years figuring out what salt does to meat when you age it,” Thompson said. Instead of buying specific cuts of meat, he prefers to purchase whole animals and break them down himself. “If you’re eating cured meat here, it starts with a whole animal on the back table,” he said.
Lardon not only knows how to make salumi and charcuterie, but cares deeply about serving them. Forget about cold, dried-out slices of salami pulled straight from the fridge. Each selection arrives at your table at the optimal temperature, so the soppressata originale ($5), a dry-cured and fermented sausage featuring sizable chunks of pork and fat, tastes so luscious, it seems to dissolve in your mouth.
Landjaeger ($6), a cold-smoked sausage flavored with caraway, mustard seed and paprika, is tender, with a delicate smokiness. The Spanish chorizo secco ($6), flavored aggressively with smoked paprika and lots of garlic, smacks you with a smoke-scented and savory heat.
The cheese selection focuses mostly on domestic options, including some fascinatingpicks from Wisconsin. That definitely includes the funky and creamy Bent River Camembert ($6) from Alemar Creamery and the complex Hook’s Triple Play cheese ($4), which uses a combination of cow, goat and sheep milk.
You could heap these meats and cheeses into a big pile and they’d still taste great, but Lardon arranges each board with an artist’s eye for symmetry and balance, positioning them each in such a way that they look even more enticing. You also get all the accouterments you could want, like grainy mustard, spreadable honeycomb, briny house-cured olives and lots of sliced bread.
It’s also hard to imagine a better room to sit in while indulging in cured meats. Though it’s only been open a few weeks, the weight of what feels like a century of history strikes you the moment you enter. Look down and spot the old patterned tile floors, faded but still vibrant. Admire the long wooden bar and note the abundance of notches scratched into the top, earned from years of use.
While Lardon only opened in July, it’s been in the works for years. According to owner Steve Lewis, the space was in disrepair when he purchased it. “It took two years to rehab,” Lewis said. “We gutted it down to the bricks and joists, and then added in new plumbing, electrical, and gave it a new life to stand on.” That includes as much reclaimed materials as he could find, which adds to the ambiance. “You can’t just go to Home Depot and buy old beams,” Lewis said. “It was a difficult task.”
You can visit Lardon and spend all of your time eating cured meats and cheeses and leave happy. But you’d be missing out if you didn’t order a salad. With all the meat-centric offerings, it’s a bit shocking how good the salads are. The Green Monster ($13) features tender and bright-green broccolini mixed with a quartet of other verdant components (zucchini, shishito peppers, avocado and pistachio) with toasted farro and a green goddess dressing spiked with tarragon. This is the most popular salad, and for good reason. Nearly as great is the arugula and strawberry ($14), where the bitter leaves play off the sweet summer fruit, while creamy goat cheese tempers the pickled red Fresno chiles.
The sandwiches all show potential, even if they don’t quite hit the mark. The Frenchie ($16) features a pile of some phenomenally juicy ham (obviously made in-house) with a creamy country pork pate, buttery Brie, pungent Dijon and a cornichon mayo. But the rustic baguette is soft and dense instead of crackly and light. The same goes for the Italiano ($16), which features three exquisite cured meats (soppressata, salame calabrese and ‘nduja) that rest on a spongy roll.
A few days before I planned to finish this review, the restaurant decided to add a dinner menu, available from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. I was honestly a little worried the restaurant was about to stretch itself too thin. I was wrong.
The crispy duck leg confit ($26) features extra-crackly skin atop meat that’s deeply succulent and rests on bitter watercress and sweet, roasted plums. But the real find is the wood-grilled pork chop ($27), a gargantuan slab of pork with a hulking bone that juts out at least a foot. It’s so outrageously juicy and deeply meaty, you may think you’re digging into a rib-eye.
With all the salty things to eat, you’d hope for some good drinks, and they deliver here, too. The focused wine list is worth exploring. I particularly enjoyed the delicate cabernet franc from Filliatreau Saumur-Champ ($13).
But with the heat of summer, cocktails seem to be what most people order. With its mix of Scofflaw Old Tom gin, yellow chartreuse and tonic, The Garden Party ($12) manages to straddle the line between refreshing and intriguing. For something more intense, go with the Off the Clock ($12), a play on a martini with Letherbee gin, Mata Blanco vermouth, Vikre amaro and white pine bitters.
Dessert is limited to pies from nearby Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits, which I’ll never complain about.
Lardon’s dining room isn’t enormous, but a large outdoor patio nearly doubles the number of tables. Lewis owns the building next door, where he’s hoping to open a craft beer bar with a cocktail bar in the back. But as ambitious as his plans are, he sees Lardon as the anchor.
“Right now our focus is Lardon,” he said. “We set out to be a neighborhood place first and foremost. We are really trying to cultivate that neighborhood base.”
From the crowds, it appears locals like what they see. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Lardon starts pulling people from all over the Chicago area — it’s worth the trek.
Lardon
2200 N. California Ave.
773-697-4444
Tribune rating: Two stars, very good
Open: Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday to Sunday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Bistro menu Friday to Sunday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.
Prices: Entrees $13 to $29
Noise: Conversation-friendly
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible, with bathrooms on first floor
Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
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Review: Lardon's charcuterie impresses in Chicago - Chicago Tribune
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