Behind The Stick: Henri Presse At Henri

By Paul Leddy in Food on Jan 9, 2013 7:00PM

The Henri Presse, the house cocktail at Henri.

There is a quiet oasis on Michigan Avenue between Madison and Monroe streets. It isn’t the Crown Fountain, although, there are some that find the changing faces on the screens relaxing. Instead, the oasis can be found across the street where you will discover a restaurant that will make you feel you like you have been transported to a French salon. Walking in from the busy sidewalk and into Henri, an instant calm takes over; all the noise and bustle outside seems to disappear.

Henri’s cuisine, as Clint Rogers, the subject of today’s video explains, is “fine-dining French-American food.” The restaurant produces French cuisine utilizing local American products. Henri’s bar program, not surprisingly, takes a similar approach. The cocktail demonstrated in the video today showcases the French aperitif wine, Pineau des Charentes, to make a variation of the Sidecar. Clint adds a little American Rye whiskey to help give the cocktail more structure and substance.

Clint is as comfortable on the other side of the bar as he is behind it. In fact, there are days when you could walk into the restaurant and see him pulling double-duty as a server and bartender. No matter if you are sitting in the dining room or at the 7-seat bar, you know you are in very capable hands. As you settle in and look over the cocktail menu, your eyes may gaze out the window to the busy Michigan Avenue and ponder a world that seems miles away.