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I<\/span>n 1981, when we were newlyweds, we went to the Windy City by Pullman to see Judy Chicago\u2019s Dinner Party<\/em>. Because it was a special occasion, we stayed at The Drake. We loved the exhibit, toured the Loop, and were dazzled by the Miracle Mile. Retrieving our luggage from the porter but still not wanting the fun to end, we asked the Drake\u2019s ma\u00eetre d\u2019h\u00f4tel if there were time to order Chateaubriand for two to go<\/em> before we left for home on our evening train.<\/span><\/p>\n Time was extremely tight, but they kindly said they\u2019d try. Precious minutes clicked by. When our outrageous request looked truly impossible, we let the front desk know we had to leave and caught a cab for the station. We figured we\u2019d grab a sandwich on the club car.<\/span><\/p>\n On the platform, steps from boarding, we heard someone running toward us. It was a young Drake chef in a spotless coat with Chinese knot buttons, white hat flapping. He presented a porcelain platter bearing an armor of tin foil. It was the Chateaubriand\u2013a 10-oz. tenderloin filet accompanied by a mysterious<\/span> shallot wine demi-glace reduction sauce with flavors of lemon, tarragon, and peppercorn (I\u2019m a writer, not a chef), nestled in a ring of tender baby carrots, pearl onions, haricots verts<\/em>, button mushrooms, and fingerling potatoes. Somewhere, someone must have been playing Berlioz.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re so sorry to be late. Here you are,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is on us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n We thanked him emphatically, but\u2026\u201dWhat about the platter?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur gift to you.\u201d He bowed and disappeared.<\/span><\/p>\n Had we dreamed this? After 35 years of use and washing, the Drake monogram has dissolved from the china, but the exquisite memory lives on. <\/span><\/p>\n Though we can\u2019t offer corporeal nourishment at Portland Monthly<\/em>, we do endeavor to give you that extra nugget of information to feed your imagination. Here\u2019s a little something about Chateaubriand. It was created by Montmireil, the private chef for ambassador Vicomte Fran\u00e7ois-Ren\u00e9 de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), the Napoleonic cross-media star renowned for his literary French Romanticism. To twist off Victor Hugo, who was a \u2018big fan\u2019 of the vicomte\u2019s poetry, \u201cI will have Chateaubriand or nothing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Lucky for us, it\u2019s making a comeback. See Claire Z. Cramer\u2019s story on culinary nostalgia, p. 67.<\/span><\/p>\n Because we love theatrical presentations, including those at tableside, I also cop to a pyrotechnic penchant for watching dishes served flamb\u00e9. (See \u201cDinner Is The Show\u201d<\/span> in our Portland After Dark section, page 33.)<\/span><\/p>\n
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