To Jean Banchet....

[Joe H]

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2013/11/25/jean-banchet-passes-away-at-72.php  Jean Banchet has passed.  His signature restaurant was named the best restaurant in the United States in 1980 by several national publications including Newsweek which had a lengthy cover article about it.

I had lost 142 pounds on a diet (not an exaggeration) and read the article when I was down more than one hundred.  I called and made a reservation three months in advance not having the vaguest idea who I would go with.  But it was going to be my reward for a year of my life and losing the weight.

A former girl friend who had moved to Chicago said she would like to go and then, two weeks before, called and said she couldn't make it.  But she had a girl friend who had nothing to do that night...

We went.  A blind date to the best restaurant in America.  One day I'll write about this in detail but this was one of the best meals and experiences of my life.  I had never had a dinner like this, never tasted a truffle before, certainly not foie gras either.

Jean Banchet, thank you for a memory that a third of a Century later I still cherish.

And to my blind date of that night who is probably a grandmother today, I toast you.