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Eric Clapton is a legendary musical icon widely considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, but he’s also got culinary chops. The British rocker has undoubtedly dined at more than a few of the world’s best and fanciest restaurants in his day, and (arguably more importantly) he played a starring role in the history of Hard Rock Cafe, one of the theme restaurants that defined the ’90s. However, one of Clapton’s favorite meals in the world is served in a Chicago restaurant.
During a 2018 visit to the Windy City, Clapton reportedly dined at Le Colonial Chicago three times in just two days. According to the restaurant’s publicist, the musician enjoyed a solo Friday lunch at the upscale French-Vietnamese spot, returned for dinner with a friend that night, and then stopped in for lunch again on Saturday (via Block Club Chicago). Clearly, you have to really love a restaurant to become a regular in less than 48 hours, but Clapton took the culinary devotion a step further by ordering the same dish at every meal: cari ga. This may sound radical even to serial meal repeaters, but it’s easy to see how the guitarist could fall head over heels for this comforting and nourishing combination of chicken, Japanese eggplant, mango, yam, toasted cashews, green beans, and yellow coconut curry sauce (plus, it’s child’s play compared to the professional athlete that eats Chipotle four to five times a day).
The history of Le Colonial Chicago
Le Colonial may not be quite as legendary as Eric Clapton, but it’s certainly an icon of Vietnamese fine dining in the United States. The high-end restaurant first opened its doors in Manhattan in 1993 and expanded to Chicago in 1996. Three decades later, Le Colonial operates locations across eight U.S. cities. The stylish outpost in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood is renowned for its upscale French-Vietnamese fare, elegant upstairs lounge, and plentiful celebrity sightings (it’s also worth noting that the spot has received criticism for its colonialism-based restaurant concept).
Menu highlights at Le Colonial Chicago include flavor-packed beef pho, crispy garlic-glazed red snapper, and of course, Clapton’s beloved cari ga. The musical icon also branched out and enjoyed the restaurant’s crème brûlée and banh cuon, a Vietnamese rice noodle ravioli stuffed with chicken, mushrooms, and nuoc cham (the fish sauce that takes Vietnamese food to astonishing heights). Le Colonial Chicago has relocated in the years since Clapton’s triple visit, but luckily, at the time of writing, cari ga remains one of the restaurant’s most popular menu items. No matter how you slice it, if you’re looking to dine like a rock star in the Chicago area, this flavor-packed dish is well worth an order (or several).