Bill Clinton isn’t really a junk food junkie, says Keith Luce, who ought to know. Luce spent the past two years as the White House sous chef, feeding Bill, Hillary, Chelsea, and thousands of their closest friends. Now he’s the executive chef at Spruce, the smart new Streeterville eatery.
Don’t expect to find any White House dinners on the menu at Spruce. “Obviously my style is the same, but the meals here are less formal.” He admits to only one overlap. At his most memorable White House dinner, prepared for Leah Rabin shortly after her husband’s assassination, Luce served a soup similar to the creamless Jerusalem artichoke soup on the current menu. (He will divulge that Hillary “really loves” artichokes.)
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
One of his most popular dishes is salmon tartare, which he cures with sake ($8). He also rides the crest of the new wave with ingredients such as taro root, which he makes into cakes, giving that bland Hawaiian mush some real flavor. The cakes are the base for his fine grilled salmon entree, which also includes an excellent array of mixed roasted veggies ($18.50). Elsewhere you’ll find fava beans, pancetta, quinoa–the exotic grain once grown only in the Andes but now farmed in the States–and chipotle peppers, which Luce blends with garlic to infuse into his whipped potatoes.
Spruce, at 238 E. Ontario, is open for lunch Monday through Friday and for dinner every night except Sunday. Call 642-3757 for reservations.
