Lombard's French Quarter hits the right notes

“All the food's mediocre here,” says our server. Then we all laugh.

What she really means is that all the food is moderately spiced and her misspeaking couldn't be farther from the truth. The new French Quarter restaurant on the outskirts of the Yorktown Center in Lombard, subtitled “A New Orleans Kitchen,” hits on all the marks, repeatedly.

The strip mall corner spot had been home for many years to the steady and loved Bistro Banlieue and later reopened as Sequel by the same owners. But now the space is French Quarter, restaurateur Belinda Kowal's baby. She's got an Italian restaurant in New Orleans, and a New Orleans eatery here. It was indeed her New Orleans connections that got her the chef: New Orleans native Kris Allen.

A cut-corner bar frames the first room where live music plays every Saturday and Sunday, while white tablecloths cloak the tables. Everything is now, appropriately, bronzed and purpled, with dark line drawings on the carpeting in the main dining area, and another, smaller salon up three wood-floored steps.

Sparkling Mardi Gras beads hang from the chandeliers and the tables, and New Orleans-themed paintings created by College of DuPage students festoon the walls; profits of art sales benefit Hurricane Katrina restorations. The subtly celebratory notes of jazz swirl around, and before you know it, the music has morphed from recorded to an actual live band.

French Quarter opened in the later part of 2011 and on a recent Saturday night it was promisingly filled. The small plates/large plates menu, covering Creole and Cajun aptly with an haute twist, features seasonal and, where possible, locally sourced ingredients. Petite raw and colossal chargrilled oysters under loose crumbs and a cheese butter gratin straddle the categories.

Chef Allen dictates the seasonal menu, which changes every five to six weeks. During our visit he showcased andouille sausage and chicken gumbo. Its dark red roux boasted great depth and flavor, yet the dish was slightly short on andouille on this particular night.

Details were not overlooked: There was enlightening power even in the hot cornbread biscuits, which, try as I might, I just could not resist slathering just a bit more butter on.

Appetizers, like a crawfish arancini — three crunchy golden balls of crawfish and risotto, over a crawfish cream — provided a well-balanced execution and were texturally fun. Other starters, like a beet carpaccio, mini po boy sliders with shrimp, oysters and andouille sausage sounded just as fun.

Entrees seemed well-rounded: Colorado short ribs with braised greens and grits; a Cajun rib-eye, amended with a crawfish étouffée (not cheap at $35), was nevertheless intriguing. Venison, too, makes an appearance, brought in from Wisconsin and supplemented with Tabasco-flavored fried onions. There was even a whole split lobster — for about $40.

Despite the underwhelming duo of sides — an undercooked potato salad and an unappetizing corn macque choux — the Amish fried chicken is a superb rendition all its own — deeply golden, succulent, salty and addictive.

The Southern Comfort-brined Berkshire pork chop was similarly amazing; drizzled generously by a grainy mustard cream sauce and set over a sweet potato and andouille hash.

We finished out the meal with a French pressed cafe du monde and beignets, not so much the small bites that disappear in a cloud of puff, but hefty, palm-sized shot puts heavily coated in powdered sugar.

Open late nights with “late plates” like Cajun nachos, po boys and FQ frites, as well as for Sunday brunch with Nola benedict — Berkshire pork belly and boudin sausage, French Quarter is more than ambitious. And based on what we've seen so far, that ambition is matched with class.

Ÿ Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. The Daily Herald does not review restaurants it cannot recommend.

French Quarter: New Orleans Kitchen

44 Yorktown Center, Lombard, (630) 495-2700, <a href="http://www.fqrestaurant.com" target="_blank">fqrestaurant.com</a>

<b>Cuisine: </b>New Orleans-style Southern cooking

<b>Setting: </b>Classy, white table-clothed room filled with art by College of DuPage students and jazz music

<b>Entrees: </b>$12 to $40

<b>Hours: </b>11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday