Twenty-first-century brasseries bear little resemblance to the original breweries they started out to be or, more recently, to restaurants where beer is served, and Chicago's newest bids to the title are no exception. Old Town Brasserie and Brasserie Ruhlmann emphasize fairly classic food and wine by acclaimed French chefs in polished surroundings but neither recreates the fabled brasseries of Paris—such as Au Pied de Cochon, near Les Halles (the food market), where patrons would often sack out on banquettes after gorging on oysters and quaffing copious amounts and Beaujolais. Just as well, I suppose.
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