Chez Paul Still Fancy (but Predictable) After All These Years
June 02, 1985|By Mark Knoblauch.  Chez Paul is a Chicago
tradition. Continuously managed by successive generations of the
Contos family, this restaurant has been a part of the city`s
dining scene for 40 years. A good number of Chicagoans who now
tout the pleasures of trendier cooking discovered the joys of
haute cuisine and fine wines in this converted mansion. Lots of
out-of-towners still count it Chicago`s leading restaurant,
booking it to capacity during big conventions.  In its heyday
during the `50s and `60s, Chez Paul epitomized fine French
dining in the Midwest. Its food was exotic, and the menu listed
just strange, French names. But in 1985, when even nouvelle
cuisine is old hat, Chez Paul`s unremittingly heavy, rich food
is decidedly out of fashion. With only a few exceptions, items
on Chez Paul`s menu are good, but the food rarely excites, never
surprises, never makes a diner stop and roll a morsel over the
tongue to try to figure out wh