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Although it was named for one of its original financial backers -- and not for the famous mountain -- Everest is without question located at Chicago's culinary summit, literally and figuratively. Founded in 1986 by Chef-Proprietor Jean Joho, it sits atop the Chicago Stock Exchange, 40 floors above the southern edge of Chicago's famed downtown business district, the Loop. It's a long way from Chef Joho's native Alsace, France, but right in the middle of his adopted home country, where he's lived and worked for more than 20 years. While Chef Joho's food is French, the building in which Everest is located -- One Financial Place -- is decidedly Chicago. Built in 1984, the building is a functional and simple addition to the city's otherwise ornate skyline. Home to offices for prominent financial companies like Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and the National Stock Exchange, not to mention, one of Chicago's most exclusive health clubs, the Buckingham Athletic Club, it's the ideal location to enjoy food and scenery as rich as Everest's.
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The building at One Financial Place is worth mentioning because it's where one's Everest dining experience begins. Upon arriving, you'll enter the building through the main entrance on the west side, where there's a large bronze horse by famed Italian sculptor Ludovico de Luigi. Placed there in 1986, the same year that Everest opened, it's a preview of the art you'll see inside, 40 floors up. Before you ascend those 40 floors, however, you must first check in with security in the lobby of the building, which looks like a typical marble lobby in a typical American office building. The only evidence of Five-Diamond dining here is a small sign marked "Everest" that points visitors to the elevators. Upon checking in, security will guide you to the elevators, which you must take to the very top, to the 39th floor, where you'll find a pair of inconspicuous black elevators -- one on the east and one on the west -- that are paneled in dark wood with gold trim. A small golden plaque that reads "Jean Joho, Grand Chef" tells you that you're in the right place.
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