The hotly anticipated grand opening of Le Select, the French brasserie that is the newest addition to co-owners Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz’s expanding culinary empire, took place on January 25. Thanks to the throng of A-listers and foodies, the restaurant hummed with excitement for this handsome spot that will soon be on everybody’s Hot List.
Le Select at 504 N. Wells.
The River North restaurant at 504 N. Wells was formerly the Hudson, SushiSamba and lastly Bottled Blond. It is awash is calming shades of neutral browns and reds with scattered greenery and large, spacious booths. On this opening night, guests were greeted with champagne, an open bar and a lite buffet.
Monika Dixon with Kevin Boehm, Boka Group co-owner, and friend.
On the first floor, the spacious dining room features row upon row of arching lights, which was reminiscent of lighting in old time Paris dance halls. Upstairs, a dark, cozy bar/club area awaits with lots of intimate seating. Even the elevator to the 2nd floor has red lighting as a sexy promise of what’s to come.
A lovely champagne greeting on the 2nd floor leading to the bar/club area.
The Boka Restaurant Group always delivers and this is definitely apparent in this 12,000-square-foot-space with an additional 2,000-sq-ft of event space. The Boka Boys have tapped Chicago native Chef Daniel Rose to help with this big endeavor. Rose rose to prominence with award-winning restaurants in Paris and New York. (This dynamic trio will soon be opening another eatery inside L.A.’s Hoxton Hotel, according to Eater).
Unique lighting in the main floor dining area.
The menu is extensive with specialties of the house that include duck breast a l’orange, choucroute Strasbourgeoise (traditional sauerkraut, smoked sausage, veal boudin, thick-cut bacon, knockwurst), roasted chicken and cote de boeuf.
Welcome to Le Select!
Cara Sandoval is the restaurant’s service director (co-founder and GM of the two-Michelin-starred Oriole restaurant), Kevin Roskoskey is GM (a former operating partner at Scott Harris Hospitality) and chef is Audrey Renninger (moving from Paris where she worked at Rose’s La Bourse et La Vie). Renninger’s chef de cuisine is Chicago local Jason Heiman.
Le Select at 504 N. Wells St. in Chicago.
Rob and Kevin are masters at bringing together the right teams for the right spots and, as you can imagine, they have nailed it on this one as well. Seen on the crowded scene were Monika Dixon with her new fiancé, Donnie Madia, Dr. Julius Few, Michael Kutza, Nina Mariano, Pasquale Gianni, Jon Harris, Donnie Weisberg, Chuck Jordan, Tom Kehoe and so many others.
(Le Select, 504 N. Wells St., Chicago, leselectchicago.com, 312.896.4504)
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