The roots of Evanston’s newest vegan restaurant began far from the Midwest — in the waters of Costa Rica, where owner Stephan Outrequin almost died five years ago.
On Jan. 17, 2021, Outrequin suffered a surfing accident that left him in a medically-induced coma. Afterward, doctors encouraged him to examine his diet, leading him to commit to veganism overnight. That transformation ultimately inspired him to open this venture.
Outrequin’s LM Restaurant Group unveiled 17, a “fully plant-based concept” restaurant, which opened to the public at the Hilton Orrington/Evanston on Jan. 16.
Seating just 17 people and sporting a menu of 17 dishes, the restaurant’s layout allows diners to watch the food prepared before their very eyes. With a staff of just four people, including Outrequin and his son Luc Outrequin Quaisser, the family-owned and family-run restaurant features dishes like eggplant pasta and beetroot steak.
Perched atop barstools at the countertop, 2nd Ward resident Eugenia Watson and her family watched Outrequin Quaisser cook and plate their meals, chatting and laughing with the chef.
Watson was no stranger to Outrequin Quaisser’s cooking.
She has known him for years as a family friend — he once taught her to make crepes in her kitchen — and praised him as a “wonderful cook.”
Out of the dishes Watson had tried, she said the mushroom polenta stood out to her in particular, while also praising the lentil rillette, a spread that the restaurant pairs with grilled sourdough.
“It was full of flavor,” Watson said of the polenta. “The cashew makes a difference.”
Outrequin Quiasser contributed the roasted cauliflower and mushroom polenta dishes, while his sister Mary created the desserts. According to Outrequin Quaisser, his Sydney-based sister previously trained at Berlin’s CODA, a pastry-focused restaurant boasting two Michelin stars, and he worked at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme.
Ultimately, 17 is a “family project,” Outrequin Quaisser said, adding that he comes from a family of cooks, with his father being a third-generation restaurateur. He and his sister grew up with their parents’ restaurant business.
“We really understand the passion and how hard it is and the love you have to have for it to go through with it and hospitality,” Outrequin Quaisser said. “Growing up with it really opened our eyes and helped us create this project.”
Before the restaurant’s opening, the family gathered in Costa Rica, where they spent a couple of weeks together in a kitchen. His mother, Nicole Quaisser, also worked to develop the restaurant, focusing on front-of-house operations and decorating, he said.
The family owns LM Restaurant Group, whose Evanston portfolio includes Evanston Corner Bistro and Land & Lake Cafe, the latter of which is slated for a spring 2026 opening.
Hilton Orrington guest Ankit Sharma was intrigued by the restaurant when he walked past during his stay in Evanston.
“I saw it while I was trying to find a vegan restaurant because I’m a vegetarian,” Sharma said, adding that he ordered the tomato croquette. “I have no idea what any of these are — just trying something.”
One unique challenge when creating a completely vegan menu, particularly when coming from a French background, is the lack of cream and dairy, Outrequin Quaisser said. According to him, the most common replacement is coconut cream, but its sweetness poses a difficulty for savory dishes.
Outrequin Quaisser emphasized that the restaurant’s food was not meant to imitate meat, but instead aims to let people try “something new.”
“It was really to embrace the locally sourced and seasonal produce that we have around here,” Outrequin Quaisser said. “We tried to deepen the flavor profiles as much as possible and put forward the produce.”
He said that much of the restaurant’s inspiration comes from his father’s current residence in Costa Rica, with its abundance of local fruit and produce.
This restaurant is especially meaningful to Outrequin, given the origin story and his children’s culinary contributions.
“We have opened larger restaurants, so clearly we had the experience. But still, as this one is so personal, it was a bit more stressful,” Outrequin said.
In creating the menu, Outrequin said he prioritized seasonal ingredients and tastes. He added that one of the challenges of veganism can be the loss of familiar comfort foods.
For example, the restaurant’s mustard-braised cabbage is meant to be a comforting winter dish.
“I’m French, so if I had a bad day, I would eat cheese and bread,” he said. “But when you’re vegan, you can’t do that. So you don’t have that comfort food.”
Making plant-based food takes more time, Outrequin said, and isn’t as simple as making chicken breasts and potatoes on a grill. Out of the menu items he offers, his favorite is the lentil rillette.
Outrequin said that his goal is to make food that appeals to everyone, aiming to take the pressure away from veganism.
“It’s not just for vegan people,” Outrequin said. “Good food is good food.”
Much of head server Brock Hammons’ past experience has been in fine dining establishments that would see upwards of 500 diners on any given Saturday night.
Coming to 17, with just 5 tables, feels like a “fresh breath of air” and “night and day” compared to his previous jobs, he said.
“The people in the community are loving it. They’re saying that they’ve been really thankful that it’s not just like another twist of an Impossible Burger,” Hammons said. “It’s actually using the vegetables to make a whole entree out of it.”
Coming from steakhouses, Hammons said he was initially skeptical himself, but found the dishes to be far more filling than diners might expect from vegan food.
According to Hammons, the restaurant’s small size allows for selectivity and experiences that would be impossible in higher-volume dining rooms, from rejecting substandard produce to having the chef interact with guests in an omakase-like fashion.
Even as he shifts between bartending, hosting and serving, Hammons said he’s able to focus more closely on individual diners and guide them through the menu.
“I don’t think another vegan spot like this exists in Chicago,” he said.
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