All About Argot, Lincoln Park’s Charming New French Bistro

Inspired by his love for classic French bistros, Wilson’s timing couldn’t be better, as a new wave of French restaurants hit Chicago (Obélix, Brindille, etc) with the James Beard nominations to back them up. As a “tiny little group neighborhood thing,” Wilson doesn’t plan on competing with the bigger names around the city.

Instead, he wants to focus on the soul of Argot, whom he envisions as a Frenchman who moved to Chicago. “He’s like our avatar of sorts,” Wilson explains. “We imagine what this person talks like and thinks like and eats and drinks.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the newest French bistro in town.

1. Expect classic French bistro items, and then some.

To help create the menu, Wilson brought on Wisconsin native Lucas DePerry as executive chef. He’s turning out duck leg confit, which is cured and braised for 18 hours, resulting in a super-concentrated, supple meat that’s served with sous vide fennel and a charred onion soubise.

There’s steak frites, of course. In this case, it’s a seared teres major steak with herbs and garlic, served with a peppercorn sauce and seasoned fries.

There’s brunch, too, with French toast (naturally) that starts as a baguette soaked overnight in crème brûlée batter. The toast is topped with generous dollops of vanilla bean crème fraîche and housemade orange marmalade that makes use of leftover oranges from the bar.

2. The menu goes beyond France to nod to the Midwest.

While the menu is loyal to its avatar, you’ll find sprinkles of DePerry’s heritage on a few of the dishes. Born on the Red Cliff Reservation on Lake Superior, DePerry grew up fishing and eating a lot of whitefish. At Argot, he transforms those memories into a baked whitefish dish served on top of a bed of lentils and topped with a fish bone-infused crème fraîche and herb oil. 

He also pays homage to the Midwest with the “pigs en croute,” his twist on pigs in a blanket. The pigs here come from local vendor Paulina Meat Market, which provides Toulouse sausage stuffed inside the puff pastry. The flavors of this regional French sausage lean heavily on garlic, black pepper, and nutmeg, and are traditionally used in French dishes like cassoulet. It’s served with a housemade Dijonnaise. “It’s super simple and straightforward and simple,” DePerry said. “We’re letting everything speak for itself.”

3. Vegetables take center stage.

“We want it to be approachable and easy for anyone to dine,” DePerry says. To that end, vegetarians are welcome. “French bistros are not [always] the most friendly to vegetarians, so we wanted to make sure we had really thoughtful vegetable dishes,” Wilson says. 

Consider the mushrooms “escargot,” a play on the traditional snail dish, reimagined without meat. It starts with a mushroom and walnut mousse, piped into cremini mushroom caps and roasted before getting finished with a persillade sauce. It’s served in a set of six, arranged to mimic an escargot dish.

Another dish where vegetables take on the role traditionally played by a protein is the carrot tartare, which starts with carrots from Nichols Farm. They are sent through a meat grinder, molded into a disc, topped with a crème fraîche and onion sauce, and served with crackers from Montélimar Bread Company in Evanston. 

DePerry’s partner is vegetarian, so he knew firsthand the mental gymnastics people have to go through to make sure there are vegetarian options available on a menu. “It took a long time to develop these dishes,” he said. “To make sure that we respect the vegetable, so that when we showcase it, we’ve turned it into something else that adds value to the experience.” 

4. Yes, there’s wine. But there are options for non-drinkers too.

The wine program is split into two parts. For more casual drinkers, there’s a standard “Market List” on the back of the menu, featuring French and domestic wines capped at $150 a bottle. “We want to make sure there is tremendous value for the guests and really thoughtful and interesting selections that are super delicious and fun with the food,” Wilson says. “But we also have a list for people who want to geek out and go big.”

On the “Collections List,” which comes in a separate booklet, you’ll find wines from around the globe, vintage ages, benchmark regions, and more that he’s collected over the course of his career. 

And for people who aren’t drinking but want a drink, there are non-alcoholic options as well, like an elderflower spritz and a pear sour. They also carry the Phony Negroni and Amaro Falso by St. Agrestis, a Brooklyn-based company.

“If someone isn’t drinking, we don’t want them to be relegated to just soda or iced tea,” Wilson says. “They can actually have really interesting beverage options.”

5. The cozy space is designed with the neighborhood in mind.

Dark greens and walnut wood tones create a warm atmosphere that the team hopes will lend a welcoming hand to guests, whether they’re DePaul students, young professionals, families, or industry professionals. You’ll find cheeky wine-themed artwork, cozy banquettes, and a wall of wine at one end of the space. 

“The idea is to keep it refined but relaxed,” Wilson said. “You can get into the fancy wine, but we don’t want to be too formal about it. We want things to feel fun and comfortable but still nice.” With the primary goal of catering to the local neighborhood, Wilson plans on hosting wine tastings on Tuesdays, and hopes to eventually bring wine dinners to the restaurant as well.  

“We can’t speak to what other French restaurants are doing,” he says. “We wanted to focus on what we believe is cool and great. And that’s what we did.”

Grace Wong is an award-winning journalist covering food and travel. Since working at the Chicago Tribune, she has freelanced for publications like Better.net, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Block Club Chicago. Follow her at @GraceWong630. Follow Resy, too.