BomBon Cafe

My wife and I stoped in on Saturday for lunch at this new outpost of the Pilsen bakery. The Cafe is a brightly colored storefront that has about 10 tables. You order at a counter and they bring the food to your table when ready. In addition to the desserts, they serve a light menu of soups, tortas, tamales, tacqueiras, quesedillas (sorry for the spelling), sopas and a few other items.

We started with the soup of the day, a carrot soup. It was an excellent, creamy, rich soup with some fried carrot slivers thrown in for texture. It came with a nice roll.

I had a torta with steak, grilled peppers, cheese and and few other ingrediants. It wa a very nice sandwich, although i could have used a bit more zing in the flavors. My wife had a chicken tamale that came with a very nice bit of green salsa to top it off.

Perhaps best of all are the desserts. The bakery in Pilsen has received well deserved accolades, but the last few times we've been there, they haven't had much more than the cakes and the mini-tarts. At the Cafe, they also had a great selection of sweet breads, cookies and other items. I don't know the names, but I can only say the selection was far greater than what we've seen at the place in Pilsen. The items we sampled were all quite delicious.

My take: I wouldn't go out of the way for the food, but if I was in the area, I stop in anytime, and I wish there was a place like this in the loop for lunch. For dessert, however, I think we're likely to go back there, rather that the Pilsen location, for the selection.

Jonah

Bombon Cafe
18 South Ashland.

I stopped in at Cafe Bombon for lunch today, and I thought the food was wonderful. I had three bocalao quesadillas and the xochihilato (sp?) salad of beets, frisee, grated apples, goat cheese, sunflower seeds, and a not too spicy orange chili vinagrette. Sidral Mundet washed it all down beautifully.

I didn't even try the desserts, which was apparently a mistake, and I would still heartily recommend Cafe Bombon's West Loop location.

Keep eating,
J. Ro

I couldn't find this anywhere with a search, so here goes - sorry if it's old news but it's exciting to me!

We picked up a cake from the Ashland/Monroe location today, and found out that they're going to be opening "soon" at 170 W. Washington, I believe where Burger King was. This is great news, because the Ashland/Monroe location has even worse parking availability than the original Pilsen location.

This is indeed exciting news for those of us who are hungry Loop workers!!

Suzy

sdritz wrote:This is indeed exciting news for those of us who are hungry Loop workers!!

Absolutely! I was drooling looking at the tortas menu at the Ashland location - all I have near my office now is the abominable no-pork, no-tamale Taco Fresco and the chaininess of Chipotle. If BomBon has a lot of seating, I may be there every day for lunch.

So we serve the simple tres leches cake (with mixed fruit on top but not inside) yesterday at our office's 5-year-anniversary staff meeting, and our newest employee hadn't had it before. He is looking at us talking about BomBon and the squeal from one of my coworkers when she heard about hte new location, and he's wondering if we've lost our minds.

Then he takes one bite... looks up in awe, and says "This is REALLY good cake" and proceeds to devour it.

I saw an "opening next week" sign in the window early last week, I don't suppose it's open yet?

paddleboard wrote:I saw an "opening next week" sign in the window early last week, I don't suppose it's open yet?

It is open, though only the bakery.
Jamie

I stopped in today and they said that the kitchen would likely be open tomorrow. I picked up a menu and it looks fantastic.

Just finished up lunch from the newly opened Loop location.

My torta was fantastic. I had the Cubana which had sausage, ham, sliced pork leg, cucumbers, avocado (according to the menu, but not found on mine), gouda cheese, honey mustard spread. The "sausage" actually looked like sliced hot dogs, but hey, I'm no expert. They also have Mexican Coke, so make sure you have a bottle opener on hand if you're bringing it back to the office.

The sandwich cost $7.75. This is not a big sandwich, nor did it come with any chips or sides. It's a good sandwich, but $8 is a bit steep. Things are also pretty disorganized behind the counter, which you can't really fault them for considering it's day 1. I'm going to give them another week or two before I go back.

I've just finished my first torta from the loop location of Bombon. I've been a fan of Bombon through their first couple incarnations and this doesn't change a thing.

I enjoyed a Torta Zapoteca: beef cecina, avocado, pickled red onion, nopales, Oaxaca cheese, mixed greens. Served with a small container of pickled jalapenos for garnish.

The sandwich was terrific and the fact that these ingredients (and many others) are now a part of my loop lunch options is a major quality of life upgrade for me.

There are plenty of pastries, including individual sized tres leches cakes.

Viva Bombon!

Best,
Michael

My boyfriend and I just had lunch here today too. I had the Sonora (arrachera (marinated steak), mixed greens, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, jalapeños cheese and avocado spread), and he had the La Chilanga(ham, salami, serrano ham, mix greens, tomato, avocado, Chihuahua cheese, mayo, grany mustard and chipotle spread). They were both delicious, and the rolls were very fresh tasting. We split a strawberry tres leches cake for dessert. They did a great job renovating the space given that it use to be a Burger King. I'm so glad and grateful to have them within walking distance of my office too!

We need a BomBon lunch event.

I was going to go over there today, but got busy. So now it's looking like it will be Thursday or Monday. But I may stop at the Ashland/Monroe location for dinner if I can find a parking space within a block.

Pucca wrote:They did a great job renovating the space given that it use to be a Burger King. I'm so glad and grateful to have them within walking distance of my office too!

Actually they didn't have to do that much. The space was Polleto (a horrible, kind of chainy chicken place) after it was a BK. The layout is pretty much the same.

jesteinf wrote:Actually they didn't have to do that much. The space was Polleto (a horrible, kind of chainy chicken place) after it was a BK. The layout is pretty much the same.

Polleto was so incredibly hideous the one time I tried it, that I had completely exorcised it from my mind.

jesteinf wrote:

Pucca wrote:They did a great job renovating the space given that it use to be a Burger King. I'm so glad and grateful to have them within walking distance of my office too!

Actually they didn't have to do that much. The space was Polleto (a horrible, kind of chainy chicken place) after it was a BK. The layout is pretty much the same.

I guess I should've said redecorating instead of renovating. I had never been there when it was one of the previous occupants, but I was mostly referring to the decor. There seemed to be a lot of attn to detail, which was nice.

Hannah's Bretzel has serious competition for my monthly expensive lunch now. I had a Sonora too and it was totally slammin' outrageous even after unexpectedly having an hour to wilt in my backpack.

I think Bombon in the Loop will be important for Mexican food in the US the way Bayless' places were. It will expose a much broader group, including out-of-towners, to a side of the cuisine (and culture) that is largely unknown here. It's a very cool place. I hope they continue to be uncompromising. (Just had a few tamales de "rajas con queso," which I put in quotation marks because the sofrito of chiles, tomato and epazote (I think) is far removed from the typical strip of poblano. I was sort of expecting a toned-down, gringo-ized version of Bombon, like the airport branch of a local BBQ or deli institution you sometimes see, but the Loop Bonbon is very impressive with a big crew of skilled folks in the kitchen making interesting, high-quality stuff from scratch.)

I finally made it over there today for lunch about 12:45pm. The place was full enough for that time of day, and there was quite a line at the pastry counter with diners taking something back to the office.

I ordered a #8 torta to go. I don't remember it's name, but it had carnitas, greens, pickled red onion, tomatoes, and an avocado spread. I was going to pick up a half dozen macaroons, but they did not bring any from the main Pilsen store today. A person whom I believe is the owner Luis was working the bakery section, I've seen him before at both the Pilsen and East United Center locations.

[BTW, that Ashland/Monroe neighborhood needs a name. On BomBon's cards, they call it "West Loop," which if true also means that my SE DuPage County home is in West Marquette Park.]

Back to the sandwich: For $7.50, they may have a problem getting people to come back frequently. Personally, I thought it was excellent, and given that a mediocre sandwich with "extra" meat at Potbelly is $4.49, it's worth the price. The uneducated.... maybe they'll step into Subway next door instead. The portion was not insanely large, but it was filling.

The only two very minor nitpicks I had were:

1. They gave me a nice thick slice of tomato, which unfortunately (and beyond their control in March) had no taste whatsoever. The sandwich was much better when I took it out.
2. The artisinal sesame roll was delicious, but it just didn't feel authentic compared to what I'd get as a torta roll at a typical taqueria. I'd like the option of a less complex roll. But, I'd also buy a bunch of those rolls and split them in thirds if I was having people over to the house - they were truly fantastic.

Unfortunately, their kitchen line process needs improvement. It took WAY too long for me to get my sandwich. They deliver to the tables for dine-in in attractive wooden trays. But there might not be enough space in the little prep area to push orders out fast enough on a beautiful May day.

Most of their other items also end up in the $7 range when you add meat to them. The exception are the tamales, which are $2 each - on the high side, but this is Wells and Washington, after all.

At $8+ after tax but excluding a drink, BomBon is going to be a once/week location for me the way that Pompeii is during the summer for their salads. If they can find a way to get a few items into the $6 after-tax range, I'll probably be there 3-4 times a week when I'm in town.

threadkiller wrote:Back to the sandwich: For $7.50, they may have a problem getting people to come back frequently. Personally, I thought it was excellent, and given that a mediocre sandwich with "extra" meat at Potbelly is $4.49, it's worth the price. The uneducated.... maybe they'll step into Subway next door instead. The portion was not insanely large, but it was filling.

I had the same sandwich, the Dominguera the other day and I enjoyed it immensely. I don't think they'll have much of a problem getting people to return, in spite of the cost. A few doors down, Hannah's Bretzel has proven that good ingredients sell, in spite of a high price.

threadkiller wrote:2. The artisinal sesame roll was delicious, but it just didn't feel authentic compared to what I'd get as a torta roll at a typical taqueria. I'd like the option of a less complex roll. But, I'd also buy a bunch of those rolls and split them in thirds if I was having people over to the house - they were truly fantastic.

True, it's not a bollio, and this bothered me at first. But I got over it pretty quickly too. It's a good roll.

Best,
Michael

Not a bolillo, a panbaso, nor a telera, but a semita. Given the vast repertoire of Mexican breads and Bombon's chops, the likelihood of them going "inauthentic" seems very low.

Just came from Bombon Cafe, where I had a torta zapoteca that was outstanding (after following threadkiller's advice to lose the styrofoam March tomato), and a bowl of cream of spinach soup that garnered kind of a "meh" reaction, not much flavor besides salt and cream (plus, I had ordered the roasted corn soup, but they were busy enough at noon today I thought I would give them a break on the mixed-up order; anybody know whether that corn soup would have warranted the trouble?). I enjoyed looking at the pastries, but like poor Brunellus,* I usually have a mental overload when presented with such a variety of impossibly good-looking choices. Accordingly, I whistled past the display window and out the door.

* Brunellus is the name usually given to Buridan's Ass.

I picked up a preordered large cake this morning for our office's fifth anniversary party. What do I see on top of the case? A gigantic display stack of macaroons, maybe three dozen of them.

Talk about action! It was just yesterday that I asked the gentleman who I think is the owner if they carried the macaroons at this location. It was as if I walked out of there yesterday, and he immediately called the Pilsen store and said "we need macaroons!!"

I hope he sold out of them, I did my part by buying four, although I did give three of them away at the office to people who just inhaled and then raved about them.

At 75 cents each, they may be the biggest bargain in the Loop.

jesteinf wrote:I had the Cubana which had sausage, ham, sliced pork leg, cucumbers, avocado (according to the menu, but not found on mine), gouda cheese, honey mustard spread. The "sausage" actually looked like sliced hot dogs, but hey, I'm no expert.

Okay, this is the one beef I have with BomBon. I do love their juicy, messy, flavorful tortas, but you're right about that "sausage." It's a hot dog. Why even put it on there? And the missing avocado...I think I've ordered several sandwiches promising avocado, but it rarely makes an appearance.

I understand good avocados aren't always easy to find, but can someone explain the hot dog? Is this a Mexican touch, or is there some legitimacy to a hot dog on a Cuban?

crrush wrote:I understand good avocados aren't always easy to find, but can someone explain the hot dog? Is this a Mexican touch, or is there some legitimacy to a hot dog on a Cuban?

As far as I know, the Torta Cubana is a Mexican interpretation of the Cuban sandwich, so questions of "legitimacy" seem beside the point. My one, rather singular experience with this delicacy featured (some approximation of) a hot dog and left quite an impression, so while I'm sure that BomBon's ingredients and preparation are of much higher quality across the board, I think I'm going to limit myself to sandwiches with no more than 15-20 ingredients from now on.

The Torta Cubana at La Oaxaquena includes the hot dog as well. It's, um, alot of meat. I learned the hard way, I stick with the lovely Torta Oaxaquena now.

The Mexican torta Cubana has relatively nothing to do with the Cuban sanguiche mixto. As mentioned previously, in other parts of Latin America, particularly Mexico, "a la Cubana" tends to signify the baroque, the ebullient, or the overwrought. The sandwich described would be unrecognized by Cubans. The use of ham and pork could possibly be a loose connection to the Cuban sandwich, but the torta almost always also includes a bunch of other stuff.

PS, a hot dog is a sausage. The generic word for sausage, most often used to describe hot dogs, salchicha, is closer to "sausage" than other more specific sausage descriptions such as chorizo or morcilla.

JeffB wrote:The use of ham and pork could possibly be a loose connection to the Cuban sandwich

And mustard... seems like a fairly non-Mexican ingredient. Avocado, on the other hand....

You don't see much mustard in Mexican sandwiches-- except that it is featured on various Mexican takes on the hot dog (salchicha Frankfurt), so it's tough to assume the mustard goes with "Cuban" or "salchicha." I don't think it usually shows up on taqueria tortas Cubanas. Anyway, at Bombon it's honey mustard, which is a fancy spin. No pickles...

Today's soup at BomBon in the Loop:

Chicharron

Insanely good.

Back again today for the LTH lunch. Impressions about the food/service:

- I arrived at 11:35. There was already a line to order, but the seating was wide open. By 11:50, the seating was all taken.
- I ordered three tamales: two with rajas and one with chicken in a chipotle sauce. They came out really quickly (as opposed to the 10-15 minute wait everbody else had for their sandwiches). The rajas ones were good but I was expecting more of a kick from the pepper.
- The chicken/chipotle tamale was outstanding. For $2, that might be the best buy in the Loop for somebody who wants a small but tasty item.
- No macaroons. Pucca had asked about them on Monday and was told that there would be some, and there were not.
- There is no attempt to upsell the sweets. For that matter, it didn't appear that there was a manager on the floor, but I had my back to the rest of the room so maybe I just didn't see him/her.

There is still clearly a service mechanics issue here. I am hoping that it is temporary, that they just weren't prepared to ramp up this fast.

But I am still extremely positive about the food, enough that this will continue to be a once/week destination for me.