I am a big fan of French bistro dining. For my tastes, a good French bistro beats a great Italian trattoria any day of the week. There are a fair amount of good bistros around Chicago to choose from, but I find highlighting Jacky’s Bistro in Evanston to be particularly timely.

Jacky Pluton, once the owner and chef at Jacky’s, has moved on to the heralded Pluton. He remains a consultant to the bistro, but he has passed the reins to another chef from the same kitchen. The new chef is taking the approach, “it it ain’t broke, why fix it”. This is good news, as Jacky’s was far from “broke”.

I’ve dined at Jacky’s many times and I’ve tried most of the menu standards. Dinners at Jacky’s always begin with wonderful bread served with a mouth-watering head of roasted garlic. Wonderful. Entrees of note include a great steak au poivre, a delicious lamb shank, rich calf’s livers, tender braised short-ribs, and a killer cassoulet in the winter (cassoulet, in my mind, being mankind’s greatest culinary creation). There are always some nice specials including some great fresh seafood dishes. I generally have a hard time choosing what to eat at Jacky’s.

The other nice thing about Jacky’s is that it’s a bit off the beaten path, so it is rarely uncomfortably crowded (peak times are obviously full, but not too crazy). The staff is attentive and friendly. I have had one bad service experience there, but I’m chalking it up as an anomaly, since all the other trips have been great.

Cheap Eating Tip: Jacky’s is on the OpenTable.com 1,000-point list. This means that if you book a table at Jacky’s through OpenTable.com for a specific (off-peak) time, you will be given 1,000 OpenTable points as opposed to their usual 100. 1,000 points = a $10 coupon for any OpenTable restaurant.

Check out Jacky’s Bistro at 2545 Prairie Ave. in Evanston, 847-733-0899. Street parking possible, valet also available.

As a side note, I hope to get to Pluton soon and will report when I do.