Bistro Campagne Rich in Food, Family and Farm to Table History

Nestled on Lincoln Avenue in the heart of Lincoln Square is a place where people can forget they’re in a city.

Bistro Campagne has been open for just more than a decade. But residents enjoying its rustic, French food might not know the man who opened the restaurant had a huge impact on the Chicago dining scene.

Chef Michael Altenberg was a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement in Chicago. He died a year and a half ago.

It all started when his then 2-year-old son, Elias, was diagnosed with Leukemia. After researching the disease, the chef was convinced most illnesses came from toxins consumed in everyday meals.

“It changed his perspective on food and how he lived his life,” Bistro General Manager Todd Feinberg said.

'The one thing I knew is that we had to keep this open. ... Michael created something greater than he was.'

So when Altenberg went to open his own restaurant, he took that habit with him: “If you practice it with your family, you should have the same mentality with your customers.”

Pioneering farm-to-table restaurants

His first restaurant, Campagnola, opened in 1995 in Evanston. Immediately, Altenberg brought in farmers and took his friends in the industry out to the farms—it was one of the first times farmers had sold to restaurants in the city.

“We’re putting things in peoples’ bodies—it’s going to be cream and butter, but it’s going to be the best cream and butter,” Feinberg said.

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The chef continued his relationship with farmers when he opened Bistro Campagne in 2002. Originally a teahouse, Altenberg’s business partner Mark Malbone took one look at the building and said it had to become a French countryside bistro.

The chef’s classic dishes are made with local ingredients, but fight the intimidation that sometimes comes with French food. The bistro concept’s humble beginnings after the French Revolution calls for simple food built from the ground up, like the “Strudel à l’Oignon Caramélisé.”

Altenberg’s signature caramelized onions are joined by marsala and butter rolled with phyllo dough and a house cheese blend. The result is a rich, appetizer that introduces you to the decadence of French food.

The chef’s love of dark beer is manifested in New Belgium black ale-braised beef cheek, served simply with Yukon Gold potatoes, parsnips, carrots and onions.

“People love being in the city but sometimes you want to escape from it and be in the country," Feinberg said.

Loss of a ‘mentor’

But just a decade after opening in Lincoln Square, tragedy struck. Altenberg died suddenly in March of 2012. The 48-year-old chef was found unresponsive in his home, and couldn’t be revived by paramedics.

“It was the biggest shock of my life,” Feinberg said. “That Saturday night we had a packed house. Everyone was devoted to Michael and telling the staff their mentor was gone … it was the hardest thing I’ve had to do.”

In the aftermath of losing their leader, Feinberg said the hardest part is fighting the misconception that Bistro Campagne will close.

“The one thing I knew is that we had to keep this open,” he said. “Michael created something greater than he was.”

Moving forward

That mentality has continued with chef Adam Dittmer. Dittmer started at Bistro in April 2010 and worked under Altenberg until his death.

The chef has learned to pay homage to the former owner, while integrating his own style into the classic French dishes. A socca crepe that’s typically made with chickpea flour and vegetables takes an even fresher turn with a butternut squash puree, sweated leeks, sage, walnut oil and goat cheese.

“They key theme is seasonality,” Dittmer said. “I try not to waste anything—and make sure people aren’t overwhelmed by the menu.”

Six to eight farms still supply the ingredients for Bistro’s dishes.

A tart plum butter from Mick Klug Farms cuts through the rich duck breast that’s also served with faro and pickled rainbow chard.

The trout comes from a sustainable farm and the braised beef cheek from a co-operative of farmers dedicated to raising cows without hormones or antibiotics.

Along with a seasonal menu, Bistro offers an all-you-can-eat mussels night on Tuesdays and live music on Sundays.

"I see us maintaining our vision of the French countryside bistro — keeping the vision of the food as something that's timeless, enjoyed 100 years ago and something people are going to enjoy 100 years from now," Feinberg said.