New bistro stars fresh food, friendly folks
By SANDY ILLIAN BOSCH sbosch@pioneerlocal.com Mar 26, 2011
Jim Engler of Hinsdale, (left), and Roger Guerin of Burr Ridge enjoy dinner at the bar served by Art Perez at Mecenat Bistro.| Joe Cyganowski~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: April 8, 2011 11:30AM
Jack Hogan had long dreamed of opening his own restaurant. So when the retired bricklayer from Naperville discovered that one of his own favorite dinner spots was closing, he finally saw his chance.
"I love the atmosphere of this place," said Hogan, owner of Mecenat, which opened March 11 at 821 W. Burlington in downtown Western Springs.
Hogan said he has kept the best things about the building's former tenant, A Taste of Vino, and fixed what needed fixing.
People complained about noise and drafts, so he has remedied those problems. And he has expanded the bar, which once was almost exclusively wine, to a full line of beer, wine and liquor.
Hogan enlisted the help of his daughter, Kelly Hogan, not only to tweak the neighborhood eatery to their guests' liking, but also to serve as general manager.
Repeat visits
Kelly said people are quickly discovering the new-but-familiar restaurant, and they're coming back.
"It's such a friendly place," she said, with people gathered for conversation at the bar or stopped by tables to chat with neighbors and friends.
"Everybody knows each other," she said.
Also familiar to those who visited the former restaurant is the food. Chef Mark Downing continues to cook up favorites like his Lake Superior Whitefish, grilled brie and fire-roasted scallops.
"He's very talented," Kelly said.
The name of the restaurant is French (Mecenat means "patronage"), but the food at Mecenat draws its influences from many parts of the world.
Guests will find the flavors of Italy in Chef Mark Downing's potato gnocchi, a taste of the South in his Creole shrimp, and a little bit of Asia in his soon-to-be-introduced salmon dish.
Downing said guests soon will see more flavors of spring showing up on the Mecenat menu.
"I change things out based on seasonality, availability," Downing said. "I want to keep it fresh."
Made from scratch
Downing makes each and every dish to order. That means dishes take a little longer to reach the diner's table.
"It's worth the wait," said Kelly, who already has a few favorites of her own.
"The mussels are amazing," Kelly said of one of Downing's signature appetizers. It features fire-roasted mussels in coconut-curry broth with green chili aioli.
The grilled brie, with arugula pesto and orange honey, is another favorite on the starters menu.
The Mecenat menu also features several salads, as well as hearty entrees like the grilled pork chop, served with mac'n'cheese and Tasso ham, pepper-crusted beef tenderloin, and linguine with blackened chicken and fire-roasted peppers.
Mecenat is open 3 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. The restaurant opens for lunch at noon on Saturdays and is closed on Sundays.
Reservations are recommended for weekends, and the entire menu is available for take-out. Call (708) 246-8668.
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