I'd be fine with a corkage to cover glassware.

Linens either way don't bother me. Just make sure to store them carefully when dirty - that thing about oily rags catching fire? Happened at Stained Glass very shortly after they opened.

I also wouldn't mind a modest corkage fee. Most BYOB's are $3-$4. My favorite place in the world was Hilary's (god I wish you went in that space instead, I don't frequent the grocery store just on principle) and I think they were $2 or $3, and you had to use a jelly jar. I would like the linens. I also am waiting for a new menu, I just want more choices, and to be able to add to the prix fixe has been working for us so far, but we would definitely order more without the fixe. We have been known to order both the soup and salad to upgrade, cause I can't skip the banana bread pudding, and I never order desert.

Had the pleasure of giving Bonsoiree a shot recently, and was very pleased with the experience. I couldn't picture the location, and when arriving a short walk from the Blue line, was surprised to see this restaurant in the neighborhood.

Our part all got different entrees and apps, pretty much, 3 of us each getting the $20 prix fixe, one $9 upgrade to the lamb.

My short rib was very good, maybe not seasonal, but with app and dessert, a terrific value. The house bread pudding (the only dessert for which there is not an upcharge) was surprisingly good; other desserts from Vanille Patisserie.

Overall, my sense is that the upcharges weren't worth the upcharge, but at 20 bucks and no corkage BYO, this place was a terrific value. Nice service, you could tell they knew what they were doing in the kitchen. Anyone would love to have a place like this in the neighborhood.

We went a week ago for the Saturday dinner. Once again, a great meal. The front-of-the-house seemed a bit more organized, and I took time to notice the stem-ware. Very nice. I think I'd prefer a tall glass for water instead of a second wine glass.

And I really think they should start charging for the bottled water and sodas. Why shouldn't they be making a little bit of profit there?

Note: $5 non-refundable down payment for all reservations. BYOB $5 corkage fee.

This is now on their website. I guess they decided on the corkage fee, and lowered the non-refundable reso. I wonder if the corkage fee will bring the linens?

I was there again last night and the food was truly amazing. Ordered the 7-course tasting menu. There was another couple with my wife and I, so for the fish and meat courses they brought out two different dishes. We were able to share each of them so we actually ended up being able to taste two additional items. The braised rabbit dish was remarkable, and my wife who hates rabbit finished it in record time. Four different desserts were served so we could pass them around the table and sample a variety of tastes.

Oops, almost forgot that one of the courses was a cheese course that was excellent. There were four cheeses: one skeep's milk triple cream, a goat, a semi-hard cow's milk, and a soft sheep's milk coated with herbs.

I met Shin tonight, who stopped by the table to talk for a while. He and Kurt are doing a great job and based on the filled tables, they're being rewarded for their efforts. Bravo!!

All the best,
John

What did you drink last night John?

mhill95149 wrote:What did you drink last night John?

I brought three bottles and the other couple brought two. I brought an Adami Prosecco sparkling wine from the Veneto region of Italy, a 2002 Van Duzer Oregon Pinot Noir and an Alvear cream sherry for dessert. The other couple brought a 2001 German Reisling (sorry, I can't remember the grower) and a 1997 Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. All the bottles were in great shape, although the Mondavi needed some air.

All the best,
John

I finally made it to Bon Soiree on Tuesday night, to help celebrate the recent engagement of some friends. The three of us enjoyed the food and had a really nice time. We ordered the 3-course prix fixe menus and everything was very tasty. I think someone earlier in this thread may have described Bon Soiree as Schwa-like food but cheaper -- I feel like that's an overstatement. I wouldn't say that anything really stood out as truly amazing, but it was consistently solid and an excellent value, overall. Instead of a series of home runs, there were a lot of base hits, to use a (bad) baseball analogy (please don't hate me).

The three of us ordered different starters and mains, allowing us to sample a variety of dishes. The starters included the kamahachi tartare (very, very good with an excellent citrus dressing), lentil and corn salad (good flavor overall, but the corn seemed a little bland or undercooked (maybe?)), and the shaved cucumber salad (perfectly refreshing for such a hot night).

As for the mains, I went with an Austailian fish, barramundi with a tasty risotto cake, while my friends opted for the lamb (a little over-cooked, but still good) and the halibut (very, very good).

We all ordered the bread pudding for dessert and it was excellent, too, though the basil ice cream available in the ice cream flight was very tempting.

Service was excellent overall, especially at the start when we were seated outside, only to catch unappetizing whiffs of tiki-torch fuel (or possibly smells from a nearby dumpster). They quickly moved us inside, and while we were a little embarrased for the fuss (no one else on the patio seemed bothered), we appreciated the move. The place was pretty empty by the time we were there, so there was no sense of being rushed through dinner.

If I have any complaints about Bon Soiree, it's a mild one (and a superficial one, admittedly). Their prix fixe menu is $24, but that's assuming you order the one dish in each category without an upcharge. I don't want to say it's disingenuous, but I would rather see a $30 prix fixe without the litany of upcharges. I appreciate their goal to provide excellent food at a lower price point, but, again, when so much of the menu carries an upcharge, it strikes me as a little silly, maybe.

I certainly look forward to going back, particularly on a Saturday night. If only my friends could get back to me before the 8pm slots get filled up...

I'd like to second danimalarkey's concern about there being an upcharge for 60%+ of the selections on Bonsoiree's tasting menu. This was the only annoyance and detraction for me when I dined there a few weeks ago (I had procrasted enough after my dinner that I didn't think a good quality review was possible anymore).

Suffice it to say, my dinner was excellent, and I will return again. But, I must confess to being greatly annoyed that 60-70% of the selections in each of the prix fixe categories (starter, entree, dessert) had upcharges. That certainly takes away some of the fun and lets a little air out of the balloon. Let me be clear, these are NOT hidden charges, there is nothing unscrupulous going on there. The menu clearly reflects the upcharges. I just find the whole thing a bit disappointing when I have only two, sometimes just one, selection for each course unless I want to be stuck with an upcharge.

With a handful or less of choices for each course it might make sense to have maybe one special entree on each menu available for an upcharge but to have anything close to 50% or above of the selections for EACH course to have an upcharge is kind of a shame. One might even say ludicrious(sp?).

I like the idea of perhaps raising the prix fixe to $30 and limiting the upcharges.

Anyone else find this a bit offputting?

Bster

Bster wrote:I like the idea of perhaps raising the prix fixe to $30 and limiting the upcharges.

Anyone else find this a bit offputting?

A little bit. I can understand the annoyance with the upcharge, especially since the prix fixe has apparently been raised from $20 to $24.

Even though there are a lot of potential upcharges, I still prefer the option of the $24 meal.

I still like Bon Soiree quite a bit, but it's not nearly the everyday bargain it was. The prix fixe has gone from 20 to 24, a larger percentage of the items now have an upcharge, and they eliminated the no-corkage fee policy. I understand their decisions, but the changes have combined into a nearly 50 percent increase in the average cost of dinner, which I think is quite steep. I'll still go, but it's occasion-dining for me now.

I have to agree with the comments about the large number of upcharge items on the menu. It is hard to get the $24 rate, as many of the items are the menu are upcharged items. The last time I was there I noted to myself that the best bargain on the menu is the $65 7-course selection. You essentially get mostly upcharge items. IIRC, if you ordered the $24 3-course menu and added upcharge items on each course, you would be close to approaching the cost of the 7-course menu without getting the other four courses.

John

Kennyz wrote:I still like Bon Soiree quite a bit, but it's not nearly the everyday bargain it was. The prix fixe has gone from 20 to 24, a larger percentage of the items now have an upcharge, and they eliminated the no-corkage fee policy. I understand their decisions, but the changes have combined into a nearly 50 percent increase in the average cost of dinner, which I think is quite steep. I'll still go, but it's occasion-dining for me now.

I would agree that the upcharges are a bit annoying. Of the entrees, only two are not an upcharge and there's only one dessert that isn't an upcharge. I have to say I don't understand this kind of pricing. $24 is still pretty cheap for a prix-fixe--why not raise the cost to $30 per person and eliminate a lot of the upcharges? It just seems a little "sneaky" if someone's coming into it not realizing that they really only have two entree choices unless they want to pay an upcharge.

Any industry folks have any insight into this? I can't say I've ever seen this kind of pricing structure before.

Hi, I have been to Bonsoiree many times and have a great experience 100% of the time. As a restaurant server (coworkers turned me on to the place months ago), I understand Kurt's pricing strategy.
Initially, he put the prix fixe low at $20 to entice new customers and gain a fanbase. He told me that his food costs were very high, but he really needed to fill the seats and turn people on to the place. Now that he's filling the place nightly, he can afford to raise the prices (gently it seems) so that he can actually make a decent-enough profit and keep the good stuff coming.
I agree that the upcharges are many, but it's still a great deal and I will continue to frequent the establishment, even though I live in Pilsen.

Cheers,
Mark

A slightly different take would be to just raise the "regular" prix fixe to $30 and do away with any upcharges except maybe for one special entree on the menu which would allow for patron choice. Supplementing said regular menu could be a $20-$24 completely set "value" prix fixe noted in the upper corner of the menu perhaps with pre-selected choices (no options) for each of the three courses.

Another option might be a $30 prix fixe with "downcharges" for lesser-priced selections.

I don't know what the best option is without making it too complicated and yet removing the litany of upcharges...but they need to figure it out.

Bster

Those of you advocating a $30 prix fixe without upcharges are making a big assumption that the $6 increase will cover all the additional options. That may not be the case. The real fix might be to go to a standard ala carte menu with a set 3-course and 7-course prix fixe option where there are no alternatives to what's on the menu.

All the best,
John

John Danza wrote:The real fix might be to go to a standard ala carte menu with a set 3-course and 7-course prix fixe option where there are no alternatives to what's on the menu.

Now, I think this is a good idea. This is what a lot of places do. Of course, it's easy to armchair quarterback, I'm not the one on the hook for the costs!

I actually love being able to determine the composition of my dinner. When you're married to a vegetarian, it's nice to be able to go for a prix fixe and have options for herbivores and omnivores alike.

I also find it easy to navigate the menu, with the upcharges described plainly and conspicuously. It's great to be able to bring a friend who might have more modest inclinations, and know they'll be able to have a great dinner for just 24 bucks. Someone else at the table with more extravagant leanings has that option as well.

I'd hate to lose the elasticity of the Bonsoiree menu. It may force more attention to detail, but it's small enough that this doesn't seem terribly trying. They made some interesting menu changes recently and I'm eager to try the new seasonal offerings, upcharge or no.

I think your sentiments are very well-put.

Well, here's my solution...get 5 courses for $50 which is what I did on Friday night. No upcharges, and a perfect amount of food.

I'll post in more detail later, but this was a fantastic meal (the gnocchi with rabbit and sage was just ridiculous). IMO, this place has GNR written all over it.

jesteinf wrote:IMO, this place has GNR written all over it.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what's "GNR"?

John

John Danza wrote:

jesteinf wrote:IMO, this place has GNR written all over it.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what's "GNR"?

John

GNR

Alright, so here are my full thoughts...

I had a really enjoyable meal at Bonsoiree on Friday night. Although the menu only gives the options of 3 or 7 courses, our waiter let me and my dining companion know that there was also a 5 course menu available for $50. Although we would both have to choose the same items for our tasting menu, we decided to just go with it.

We started with 2 appetizers, the gnocchi with rabbit and sage and the kampachi tartare. Like I said, the gnocchi was ridiculous. The past was perfectly light and airy, the rabbit tender and flavorful and a gorgeous sauce that just pulled the whole dish together. I could have easily eaten a giant bowl of this for a main course. The kampachi was also quite good. The fish was pristine fresh, and there weren't too many flavors on the place competing with it. Served with a little cracker and some wasabi tobiko, this was another really nice starter.

For our main courses, our first was the lamb served with a tortilla with manchego cheese. The lamb was sliced and served a perfect medium rare. The lamb actually tasted lamb-y, so that was really nice to see. The tortilla was actually the surprise of the plate. While I was expecting a little mini-quesadilla (I'm not really sure why), it was actually more like a gratin, layers of tortilla and manchego. Just different and delicious.

For our other main we had the sliced flank steak. This dish was the closest thing to a miss we had all night. Although our server told us the steak had been marinated, I could really pick anything up, so it was a bit bland and a bit tough (but nicely cooked). The meat was definitely improved by an onion sauce and some heirloom tomato salsa that were also on the plate. The starch with this one need some help. The menu advertised "wasabi mashed potatoes". First I had to groan because I mean come on, wasabi mashed potatoes. Really? But putting that aside, they were really just mashed potatoes with a whole bunch of horseradish in them. They were tasty, but a bit one-dimensional, and not nearly as interesting as just about everything else we ate.

Dessert was bread pudding which was delicious and just the right amount.

Service was friendly and efficient, and the restaurant just has an overall nice feel to it. If I lived closer, I would be at this restaurant all of the time.

Side question...is this the old Savoy Truffle space?

jesteinf wrote:Side question...is this the old Savoy Truffle space?

Yep.

Anyone know if they still offer a vegetarian option for the underground menu? I get the emails but they don't seem to indicate anything of that nature...

I would like to nominate Bonsoiree for the 2007 GNR. After an initial kerfluffle involving the e-visceration of this perhaps over-enthusiastic friend of the restaurant , those who actually got ourselves into Bonsoiree discovered one of the most refreshing and exciting places to dine in Chicago. I have been to three of the Saturday night "underground" dinners (the number would be higher if my schedule allowed). Other than some timing issues that have since been addressed through added staff, I was instantly delighted with Bonsoiree and have only felt more charmed by this little bijou since. These Saturday events have now expanded in popularity enough that Bonsoiree had to add a 5:00 p.m. seating, doubling the number of lucky diners allowed to enjoy the $50 - $60, five course dinner. But, that's not all; Bonsoiree is now open to accommodate diners all week long (they recently announced Sunday dinners), offering 3- and 7-course options! (Oh, hope that doesn't sound like a shill.)

To be serious. Like current GNR holders Lula Cafe and Sweets & Savories, Bonsoiree is the kind of little place doing great things with food that makes me glad to live in Chicago.

Bonsoiree
2728 W. Armitage
Chicago, IL 60647
773-486-7511

Mike G: Suggested GNR quote material appears in red.

I'll enthusiastically second this one. The whole time I was eating there I thought to myself, "what a perfect GNR this place would be".

The super-secret, you'd-never-guess-what-was-inside exterior of underground restaurant Bonsoiree.

Eatchicago and Petit Pois, Stevez, and my wife (King's Thursday) and myself went to Bonsoiree last night for the seven-course tasting menu.

The back patio seemed like a charming idea, proved less so in the mugginess, mosquitoness and proximity to warm dumpsters of the evening, but the service was certainly excellent-- from the chef and from our waiter, whom some of you will recognize from another establishment, both of whom were personable, deeply interested in how we were enjoying the meal, and well on top of things throughout the meal. (So does that mean they're just really nice and friendly, or that they recognized us as being on LTHForum recon? Yes.)

The courses started with a yellowtail tartare disc surrounded by ponzu sauce and wasabi tobiko (I translated for my wife, to whom all this Japanese was Greek):



As you might expect from caterers turned restaurateurs, they have that pretty food thing down really well. Next was a cold tomatillo soup (not the most photogenic course of the night):



We expected the yellowtail to taste mainly of itself, though the lack of wasabi in the wasabi tobiko was a slight disappointment. The tomatillo soup, however, gave us more cause for worry-- it just seemed to be missing some finishing touch, like salt or sherry vinegar or something, that would make it into more of a dish, and less like sipping a salsa or a sauce for a piece of broiled fish.

Somewhere along the way Stevez ordered this, and recommends it to all:



The next course, happily, recovered and gave us more confidence for the rest of the meal. We actually tasted two different dishes, a crabcake (I forget, now, what the distinctive features of it were):



and the dish I think we all pretty much agreed was the best of the night, a rabbit dish with gnocchi:



The crabcake was pretty nice, although a couple of folks objected to the rosewater in the sauces around it, which gave it a slightly soapy nose as you ate it. But the rabbit dish was excellent, buttery and lush, well worth having as an entree if you go.

That's where the pictures end because darkness fell soon after. A halibut dish was nicely put together but the halibut was a bit overcooked, a little tough and stringy as that fish can get; it ought to have been supple and moist. The inevitable big-meat course was clearly intended to be a showstopper, but had the bad luck of being awfully similar to something I had made for a party a month or so ago, which as it happened everyone at our table had tried: in my case it was the glazed pork belly from the Balthazar cookbook, here it was pork belly in star anise bourbon sauce, both tasting of tomatoes cooked down and a vaguely Chinese flavor profile. A solidly savory and filling dish, too bad it was robbed of the novelty factor in our particular case.

Next was a cheese course, of which a very nice, soft St.-Andre was the best. Finally came dessert-- and not surprisingly, coming from a caterer and a nearly one-man-band in the kitchen, this seemed mainly to be an assemblage of items from outside (the Vanille Patisserie chocolate tag on one being the dead giveaway). The best of them was a simple grapefruit sorbet, but there was something for everyone-- chocoholic, banana bread pudding fan, novelty seeker (sage sorbet).

So what did we think, what did I think, especially given that Jim in Logan Square has nominated this place for the highest honor known to man, the Great Neighborhood Restaurant award? My feeling, frankly-- a nice place, a promising place, but very much a work in progress; a place where a young chef is learning his way, pulling off some accomplished dishes and also missing the mark sometimes in seasonings (the soup) or in execution (the halibut). And at $24 for three courses, that's a really good deal, to have a neighborhood place of such ambition, often realized, and to be able to go there and see what's new every couple of months. At $65... now we're getting up there in real money, and other places have proven cannier in delivering bang for the buck (Dave Richards at Sweets and Savories, for instance, making sure that some luxe ingredients like white truffle or foie gras turn up along the way to make the prix fixe seem like a steal). That forced me to start comparing it to other places in that price range, and at best it lands in the middle with other places that seemed pretty good but not knockouts, like Sola. So in terms of being a Great Neighborhood Restaurant, it seems premature to me (ironically given this thread's title)-- but well worth watching at the $24 price point, and more than friendly and welcoming enough to make you want to wish it well and see it achieve its promise.

Mike G wrote:Somewhere along the way Stevez ordered this, and recommends it to all:

I'm a big fan of Gus, especially the Star Ruby Grapefruit. . . expensive though!