Bonsoirée - Chicago

I'm on a blogging roll! Can you tell I'm on a break from classes? So while I was in Chicago over Thanksgiving boyfriend and I had an amazing meal at Bonsoirée in Logan Square. I've been getting emails from them regarding their underground Saturday dinners: new menu's that are introduced monthly and by invitation only. You can learn more about it here. We wanted to do another prix fixe menu and finally decided on Bonsoirée's 8-course Fall menu. It also helps that this place is BYOB. I would recommend looking at the menu and even calling ahead to get some wine recommendations from them. I would also recommend taking a bottle of white & a bottle of red. Sorry for the fuzzy photo's but the tiny dim lit, romantic space did not call for flash. Enjoy.

So in my excitement at the climax of the dinner I forgot to take a pic of the Wagyu - braised beef that was slow braised for 72-hours (!). It was very delicious and I only wish I took a picture of it. I'll let you look at the fall menu on the website yourself otherwise it would take me forever to go over each one.

But some highlights: the Motoyaki, the lobster and thai curry bisque and the dessert. Motoyaki is a Japanese style of cooking that involves baked food served in an oyster shell. Here they used a scallop rested in the oyster shell. It was amazing- melts in your mouth. The texture of soft scallop and crusty topping was perfection. My boyfriend's favorite dish was the bisque. The depth of flavors really progressed as you finished it off. The Wagyu (not pictured) was also very good. The most interesting thing on the menu was the finale- the dessert. Our waiter called it a play on "a night out on the town". This involved a tobacco ice cream, bourbon infused cake (very reminiscent of red velvet) a beet reduction and some very nicely done chocolate bars. I apologize if I get some of the ingredients wrong. This was such a unique dessert and I loved it for that. The tobacco ice cream was very potent on it's own - but in conjunction with the other ingredients it was very tasty.

Overall it was a very nice dinner. The ambiance of the tiny, well hidden space was cozy and perfect for enjoying your company. The progression of the meal was nice - although I felt it could have used another protein dish in the middle. I love the concept of BYOB but would have liked some recommendations on their website. The dishes were spaced out nicely - but could have come out a bit faster. Also some of the temperature's of the dishes seemed off. I'm glad to knock it off my bucket list, but not sure I'd go back.


Check it out for yourself and let me know your thoughts.. I'd love to hear other people's takes on some of the dishes. xoxo