Chicago's reincarnation of the legendary Pump Room Restaurant in the Ambassador East Hotel that hosted stars of screen and stage for several decades starting in the late 1930s evokes a whole new contemporary image.
New York boutique hotel impresario Ian Schrager has designed a restaurant and hotel (now called Chicago Public) for today, retaining little to remind those old enough to remember what the old Pump Room looked like. Even the museum-worthy collection of black-and-white photos of the stars who dined there has been relegated to the side entrance and the lower level outside of the restrooms.
Likewise, very few menu items hark back to the Pump Room's heyday. Today's seasonal menu, the work of New York uber-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, is simple enough to appeal to average diners, and even those on a budget. Lunch entrees, for example, range from $11 for a sandwich to $18 for Lake superior whitefish.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel chose the organic fried chicken for lunch the day I was there, washed down with iced tea. No dessert for the trim mayor.
It will be interesting to see if the Pump Room becomes the kind of celebrity haunt it once was. My hunch is that it will find its place as one of many good Chicago restaurants frequented by ordinary folks who like to dine out.
