Autre Monde: Other world dining in your neighborhood

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8/30/11 Berwyn,IL Burrata Cheese with Greenhouse Gemolata at Autre Monde Cafe in Berwyn on Aug. 30, 2011. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media

Updated: November 3, 2011 11:12AM

A new spot has opened on Roosevelt Road in Berwyn: Autre Monde Café and Spirits.

The restaurant is the brainchild of two husband-and-wife teams who became acquainted at Spiaggia Restaurant in Chicago.

Owners Christine Tully Aranza and husband, John Aranza, are familiar faces around the Berwyn/Oak Park neighborhood. They’ve owned Horrorbles for many years. Collaborators Chef Dan Pancake and wife, Beth Partridge, own a farm in Ohio called Cakeridge Farms which supplies a great deal of the produce Autre Monde uses in their creations.

At the bar, the “Maltese Falcon” is playing on a flat screen while John works with ease preparing Blood Orange Gimlets and crushing ice by hand for a Sazarac. His comfort is expected since John ran the bar at Spiaggia and did his wine training under the legendary Henry Bishop. Beth was Spiaggia’s executive chef, Dan was the café chef and Christine the general manager.

“We always thought if ever the right place pops up we would [open our own place],” says Christine.

“So John had Horrorbles, he heard the building [next door] was up for sale, which was crazy expensive at first but, as the economy got weaker the price came down a bit and became something we could afford. And [it happened] with a lot of help from the Berwyn Development Corporation, they helped secure our financing and were really great,” said Christine.

John explained the menu is structured around shared plates.

“So instead of tapas where it’s smaller or individual ours are a little larger. It’s meant for you to dance through and do a couple of things instead of having just one item and getting filled on an entrée and salad.”

John poured a glass of the Capatoso, Bodega Altanza, Fuenmayor, Rioja; a Spanish red wine that is full bodied with a smooth finish.

The first course was a fried oyster, watercress salad. The oyster was cooked to perfection atop watercress dressed with a light sherry vinaigrette and slice of mandarin orange.

Next came the Pecorino Croquetas that Christine describes as “grown-up cheese sticks” ­— creamy cheese with a light panko bread crumb crust and a house cherry tomato sauce for dipping.

The next course was to be Grilled Octopus L’Escala but before they brought it out, Christine insisted on a glass of the Cantine di Marza, Falaghina, Campania.

“It’s just a pretty wine,” said Christine. The wine was light with a predominance of white fruit; a splendid accompaniment to the octopus which was prepared on a wood-roasting grill, dressed with capers and cherry red tomatoes.

Next came the Tagliatelle pasta with rock shrimp and scallops placed beautifully on top of a light sweet pea sauce. This dish has a special place in the heart of Chef Dan and wife Beth. He created it for her on a recent birthday.

“He wanted to combine all the flavors she loved and he did it perfectly,” Christine said.

Tortellacci was the next item to be brought out. Large tortellini type pasta with a goat cheese filling, black truffle and brown butter sauce filled the plate. That paired with a glass of the Argyros Estate, “Atlantis” Santorini, a light and floral red wine.

Finally, the Wood Grilled Pork Porterhouse served over escarole and gigante beans. The pork was tender and flavorful; all in all a meal and experience that was beyond satisfying.

So why did they choose Roosevelt Road to open the restaurant?

“We live here,” Christine said. “And, honestly, not to slight anything else in town because there are great places around here, but we didn’t feel there was anything like a neighborhood/city combo that also had the family table sensibility.

“This building was blank slate. It was a vanilla box; we could do whatever we wanted with it,” she said.

Autre Monde is French for “other world.”

“It encapsulates everything that we were talking about. Kind of surprise, like ‘Look. Wow! Right in the middle of nowhere on Roosevelt Road there is this cool little spot,” Christine said.

“It’s taking you to another place where you can have another experience. And it’s also reinventing the neighborhood restaurant.”

And the creators of Autre Monde are taking more than the menu seriously.

“We are trying to be as green as possible,” Christine said.

They have their own filtration system.

“Instead of charging people for bottled water, we fill up our own bottles for every table,” John said.

Their herbs are grown in a greenhouse in back where they are currently putting down pavement for patio seating.

“The lighting fixtures are almost all repurposed,” Christine said. “Tabletops, all that stuff. We are trying to marry eco-responsibility and community sensibility with the kind of food we want to do.”

Chef Dan is keeping a green menu by simply changing it with the seasons.

“We go to the farmers market every week. We go to the Berwyn Co-op to pick vegetables on Friday. Beth and I have a farm. A lot of it is about people being responsible along the food chain with a pristine clean product,” Dan said.

“ We’re not going to serve asparagus in the middle of winter; we’re not going to serve Caprese salads in the middle of winter. You can’t expect to get the same dish as when things are their best.”

Most important to John, Christine and Dan is that Autre Monde be considered a neighborhood place.

“It’s about communal dining,” Dan said. “It’s about shared experiences, it’s about great simple perfect Mediterranean food and it’s all about product-driven plates and recipes.”

Autre Monde is located at 6727 W. Roosevelt Road in Berwyn. Menus can be found at www.autremondecafe.net.

The bar opens at 4 p.m.; dinner begins at 5 p.m. with the kitchen staying open late on Friday and Saturdays.