Book A Quick Trip To Paris
Midwest Adventures by MIKE MICHAELSON
One of Paris's after-dark favorites has become one of Chicago's best-kept secrets. Maxim's de Paris, that once was one of the nation's best French restaurants, was created in the middle of the American heartland to replicate the original in the "City of Light." It has quietly built a reputation as a spot to enjoy some of Chicago's finest musical talent.
It is offered on selected Wednesdays in a cabaret-like setting and offers extraordinary value at $25 per person (plus $12 validated parking across the street). The cabaret---most often vocalists and instrumentalists---perform a wide variety of blues and jazz, sometimes including dialogue, such as in "A Little Touch of Coward in the Night," with Jeff-nominated actress and singer, Suzanne Petri. Similar, is a performance by cabaret favorite Spider Saloff, who honors the timeless works of Irving Berlin in "Berlin in Swingtime," weaving in incidents from the composer's controversial life.
An upcoming show (November 11) features Denise Tomasello, winner of the 1998 "After Dark Award" for outstanding cabaret artist. She returns with a medley of her signature classics, such as "I'm Still Here," "I'll be Seeing You" and "Carousel." Tomasello's renowned for her sultry lounge style, was crowned "Chicago's cabaret queen" by the Chicago Tribune.
Rounding out this year's "Play on Cabaret" offerings is "Christmas with Beckie Menzie and Tom Michael" (December 9), another After Dark Award-winning duo returning to Maxim's. The combination of Menzie's rich, smoky voice and inventive piano styling and Michael's expressive tenor make them one of the most sought after cabaret duos in the city.
Another program series held on selected Wednesdays is "Live at Maxim's," during which Rick Kogan talks one-on-one with musicians, authors and Chicago notables. Kogan is a well-known book author, radio broadcaster and newspaper columnist. Guests have included the late Studs Terkel, musician Buddy Charles, actor Mike Leonard and singer Bonnie Koloc. Due to appear this month is long-time political reporter Andy Shaw. This popular interview program also is priced at $25.
It was in 1963 that socialite Nancy Goldberg opened an elegant new restaurant, which quickly became one of the places for celebrities and Chicago's elite to see and be seen. Her restaurant, Maxim's de Paris, was a replica of the famous restaurant in Paris.
Exact replica, that is. The Chicago version duplicates the original's art nouveau scroll work, plush red banquettes, inlaid brass, stained glass, or ange lighting and rich mahogany tones. The kitchen, too, was stylish, serving billi bi mussel soup, filet de boeuf Strasbourgeoise with truffle sauce and sole Albert. In the mid-1960s, Maxim's was tops (missing "e" and all).
In 2000, the family of Bertrand and Nancy Goldberg donated the facility to the city for use as a meeting and reception site. Now known as Maxim's: The Nancy Goldberg International Center, it is operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.
Those who rent this property for weddings and other private events enjoy its historic ambience (albeit once-removed). The Paris original dates back to 1891, when Maxime Gaillard headwaiter at Weber's Café sunk his savings in Maxim's (dropping the "e" for style). In short order, it became a rendezvous for barons and cocottes and for crowned (and uncrowned) royalty. It caught the attention of the French playwrights Yves Mirande and Georges Feydeau, who incorporate Maxim's into their work, and of Viennese composer Franz Lehar, who wrote the pleasing operetta, The Merry Widow, which included the hit song, "Take me to Maxim's."
And so they did---especially the "in crowd, who were jet-setters before there were jets.
During the dark days of occupation in the 1940s, restaurant patrons included Hermann Goering and other Nazi high command. Their frequent visits to this famous landmark eventually fomented near-riots and accusations of being sympathizers.
In retrospect, both Chicago's look-alike Maxim's and the Paris original, took cuisine (as well as gossip and scandal) to new heights, but both got left behind by changing times and the relentless march of the 20th Century. But, Chicago's spin-off seems to have found a comfortable niche on the cabaret circuit. It is encouraging to see a performer such as song stylist Spider Saloff, standing at the piano, bathed in a red glow reflected by the club's ornate décor as she dances and skitters around the intimate room, table-to-table.
The room is small, seating a maximum of around 100 or so. "When we are able to hold it at 80, there is absolutely not a bad seat in the house," says manager Allen Nichols. "Our public obviously enjoys what we are doing here, as we focus on presentation, beautification and restoration. But with only two performance dates a month, what we need now is higher visibility."
After each public event at Maxim's, the audience is invited to The Pump Room, just a few steps away, for complimentary hors d'oeuvres, half-price drinks and the chance to see another of Chicago's celebrated nightspots. Look for famed Booth No. 1 with its private phone and for walls adorned with a gallery of star photographs (creating many "guess who" discussions among lingering patrons). Dreamy couples shuffle around a miniscule dance floor in time to live music.
The room opened in 1938 and, during the era of coast-to-coast train travel, Hollywood's finest would detrain in Chicago expressly to be wined and dined and seen in the Pump Room. Frank Sinatra was a patron for about 40 years and Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall had their wedding breakfast there.
Information: Maxim's: The Nancy Goldberg International Center, 24 E. Goethe St., www.maximschicago.org, (312) 742-8497