Tuning Les Violins: Rittenberg Pitches a Little Lower
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When asked what Les Violins is all about, Rittenberg refers back to the Consort Room, a chichi supper club atop the Michigan Avenue Westin Hotel that closed six years ago. Rittenberg believes he can resurrect the Consort Room’s special-occasion aura and make it popular once more. But at a time when diners (even those over 35 years old) seem to be demanding more of everything for less money, Rittenberg is working the very high end of the price scale. Les Violins entrees start at $14.50 for a plate of pasta and rise to $29 for the Dover sole in a champagne sauce; appetizers are in the $8-to-$12 range and desserts hover around $5. The private nightclub requires a $500 membership fee up front ($200 for charter members). About 650 people have signed up thus far; Rittenberg says he still is getting the word out. For now, Les Violins restaurant patrons are being invited into the adjacent club after dinner to have a drink and look around at the smoked glass and dark gray walls. Around 10 PM on a recent Saturday the club was almost empty, and a staffer said the room was awaiting permanent banquettes to accommodate guests who do show up.
Speaking of maximizing revenue, the Chicago Dining Authority hopes to do just that with the creation of the Pompano Club on the first floor of its massive three-story Burhop’s restaurant at 500 N. LaSalle. (The group also owns Prairie and Red Kerr’s.) According to CDA president Ted Mouzakeotis, diners already had been convening in the room, a raw bar and cocktail lounge, for after-dinner drinks, so the conversion into a destination nightclub–with live entertainment Tuesday through Saturday and a separate LaSalle Street entrance–seemed a logical next step. The club formally opens this weekend with pop-rock singer Gary Filip and his band.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Jon Randolph.
