Balsan

Has anyone eaten here yet? I did a search of the forum and couldn't come up with much. I'm certainly planning on eating here, just curious if anyone had any recommendations or what to avoid. Thanks!

Shared a surprisingly good meal there, meaning, my expectations were exceeded. Excellent charcuterie program w/the fried testa cake a standout. They took some teasing about the $48 whole chix for 2 from us (deservedly so) but all and all, we enjoyed it very much. Will say the consensus of the table was to sit @ the bar and share some bites.

Balsan (in the Elysian Hotel)
11 East Walton Street
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 646-1400

I had a pretty good dinner there right before the Christmas holidays. Balsan's duck cassoulet, which interestingly is served as a side dish, is generous, warming, packed with duck, sausage, beans, and breadcrumbs, very flavorful and assertive. They also have a really exceptional appetizer, the chicken liver with soft, comforting poached hen's egg, and wild mushrooms.

Forgot, we liked the cassoulet a lot as well.

The hen egg was good too but @ $12 a little high. Why? The wild mushrooms. Blk Trumpets mixed w/un wild oysters. If you've got the stones to charge $12 for an egg, @ least give me what you describe on the menu. Minor but irritating none the less.

A question was raised though. Hen egg or egg? Same thing? Which came first?

Jazzfood wrote:A question was raised though. Hen egg or egg? Same thing?

No. Hen egg = $12. Egg = 50 cents

fusionfan wrote:I had a pretty good dinner there right before the Christmas holidays. Balsan's duck cassoulet, which interestingly is served as a side dish, is generous, warming, packed with duck, sausage, beans, and breadcrumbs, very flavorful and assertive. They also have a really exceptional appetizer, the chicken liver with soft, comforting poached hen's egg, and wild mushrooms.

Thanks, I'll have to give the duck a shot. What did you get as a main dish?

Have a reservation for tomorrow night here.

Kennyz wrote:

Jazzfood wrote:A question was raised though. Hen egg or egg? Same thing?

No. Hen egg = $12. Egg = 50 cents

My understanding is that "Hen Egg" is used to distinguish the egg of a chicken from the eggs of other species such as duck or quail. However, why "chicken egg" is not sufficient is beyond me other than to be pretentious and charge more.

I ate at Balsan on Monday and was also surprised at how good my meal was. My expectations were low because of how little I've heard about the place.

First thing that impressed us was how beautifully designed the restaurant- there's a fantastic white marble bar, clean lines and colors throughout, and it's all enhanced by really rich textures and materials.

We shared some oysters (including some beautiful briny delights from Baynes Sound, BC), the foie terrine (I'm not usually a fan of cold foie preparations, but this was delicious), the lomo iberico, and some cheeses. It was a great start. Then we got a pizza with tomatoes and Burrata. The crust was good, but the cheese was wonderful. Our entrees were cauliflower risotto that was very well prepared and very luxurious, a Trout, and Sturgeon. The fish were both perfectly cooked and well seasoned. I don't really remember what accompanied them, but the freshness really impressed me (especially since it was a slow Monday night).

Since none of us were too excited about any regular dessert, we just asked for them to bring out a plate of Burrata (from the pizza) and some honey to finish the meal. It was perfect.

Nothing was cheap, but everything was of high quality. I can't tell you if it'll be worth the price for you (the relative value of food vs money is a personal thing), but we were all extremely happy with our meal.

I hope more people give it a try and report what they think about it.

Raw and Cooked,

Welcome!

I thought it was an inspired move to get the restaurant to improvise a dessert to your liking: Burrata, a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream, and honey.

Regards,

Thank you Cathy2. I was proud of myself, too.

By the way (for all who read my post above), I'm not affiliated with Balsan at all. I'm a law student. I actually wrote that post thinking that it wasn't really glowing enough, considering the great time we had. On a second read, I was wrong. The post was plenty glowing. What can I say, we just had a fantastic meal.

I promise I'll write a scathing post about someplace soon. For the record, I do think Balsan is a terrible name for a restaurant.

Raw and Cooked,

Were it not for the count under your screen name, I never would've guessed that was a first post. Really nicely written!

Balsan goes on the list of places that are walking distance from my apartment that I somehow have not checked out yet...sounds like it'd be a perfect place for a "date night" one of these days

I really enjoyed my meal at Balsan. The charcuterie was stellar (especially the squab and black trumpet terrine and the rillettes), as were several of the other dishes I tried. I loved the (admittedly overpriced) hen egg and thought the fries, cooked in beef tallow, were some of the best I've had in a long time. Cheese service was outstanding, too. Selection was thoughtful and they were served at the proper temperature. Bakery items, especially breads, were top-notch. Even the margherita pizza, which I didn't love as a whole, was made on a very laudible crust.

This meal happened a while ago and it was a (mostly) social situation, so I can't remember too many of the details but my main feeling about the meal was that it was very good and that I'd happily return.

=R=

Headed there this evening pre-Figaro. Will report back.

Favorable NYT review of Balsan,which mentions Balsan's fantastic offal dishes. (Also, I didn't know the Balsan was owned by Alice Waters' nephew.)

This place is so good.

Since I was a kid, I've experienced pretty scary hypoglycemia--comes on fast (though not unpredictably) and often brings me close to fainting. I've learned to carry food with me almost always if I know I won't be able to eat steadily throughout the day, but sometimes I get caught unprepared, as I did earlier this evening driving in the Mag Mile area. I pulled into the first parking spot I saw, which happened to be at State and Walton, across the street from the Elysian.

My last visit to Balsan was earlier this year at a time when the restaurant and hotel felt entirely vacant. Tonight was very different. The lobby, elevators, hallways and restaurant were abuzz with business travelers and a lame soundtrack. I got the last open seat at the bar. Initially, service was lousy. Being half ignored is far worse than no attention at all, and I almost walked out in frustration (and desperation for food). On the verge of breakdown and therefore out of necessity, I stayed put, and I'm very glad I did.

I ordered just two small plates--the roasted beet salad with greens and marcona almonds and the veal heart, also with beautiful greens and shaved parmesan. Both were exquisite, probably pushing the acid, but I would rather have almost too much sour than not enough. The veal heart was particularly lovely--ballet pink thin cuts folded on the plate like ribbons of a pointe shoe, an ethereal chew. It's the best heart of any animal I've had in town. The style of food at Balsan begs comparison to establishments like Kith & Kin, Longman & Eagle, Mado and the Bristol, but it's a surprise to me that the glitzy hotel restaurant wins. The food at Balsan has struck me as much more carefully calibrated--without being more complicated and with similar prices (sans drinks)--than the other places. I wish its location and vibe fit better in my regular dining rotation, but my meal this evening is new motivation to find a way to visit more frequently.

AnotherMike, mbh, petite_gourmande and I headed over to Balsan after happy hour(s) at The Drawing Room on Tuesday. Balsan was one of the closest food options, but I’m glad others suggested it, since I continue to adore the food there.

Part of me wishes Balsan would list on its menu a charcuterie sampler since I’ve taken to asking extra politely on every visit if one can be prepared for me. However, I’ve gotten it as an off-menu deal every time. Part of me thinks that if a sampler makes it to the menu, the price will be considerably higher than what I’ve paid. The board we were served last night was as beautiful as all of the charcuterie boards I’ve had at Balsan, an array of flavors and textures--the most gorgeous I’ve encountered in the city.



From noon, clockwise, we received the duck rillette, La Quercia prosciutto, Fra’Mani salametto piccante and, I believe, the rabbit terrine with a very generous amount of the house breads. (Later in our meal, we got a basket with about three times the amount of bread that was on the board.) All of this cost an astounding $15. As mbh said, this food made us very, very happy.

We also ordered the veal heart, which was served with pear this time, in addition to greens and parmesan. I’ve already professed my love for this dish upthread. For a moment, I found the skin of the pear woody and somewhat distracting, but this is definitely a quibble.



The hen egg is also consistently marvelous. The mushrooms now are chanterelles.





We also had a cocktail and gin at our table, but I can’t remember the specifics.

Tuesday's visit was my first time dining at a table at Balsan as opposed to the bar. It was certainly a different feel but no less casual and cozy. I’m very eager to return for one of their Sunday Suppers (a sample menu). It seems like an excellent deal at $29.

One very minor addition to Happy_Stomach's excellent write up:

If memory serves, we were given 4 items (vs. their more usual 3) on our charcuterie plate because they were near closing and/or our server was just really damn nice and/or the others at the table had charmed him into submission. So depending on when you go and who you go with, you might get "only" 3 charcuterie items on the sampler (plus the whole grain mustard, cornichons, and quality bread.)

For $15, the charcuterie sampler minus one of the four items we had would still have been a great deal.

On all other matters related to that meal . . . what Happy_Stomach said

My Chizakaya Ramen was delicious but oh so sorry I called it a night early and missed the trip to Balsan after seeing these pics! Can't wait for Sunday Supper!

happy_stomach wrote:
We also had a cocktail and gin at our table, but I can’t remember the specifics.

The drink was a rum (sorry don't remember which kind) with lime juice, simple syrup and a rosemary sprig. It was unmemorable which surprised me as did the fact that there were only three craft cocktails listed on their menu and this was one of them. I had lunch at Balsan a couple of times over the summer and I remember being pleasantly surprised at how good the drinks I ordered were. They had a separate list of cocktails in the summer, but when I asked this time I was told that the three listed on the menu were all they had.

The glorious food, wonderful company and very accommodating waiter all combined to make the evening a success. The veal heart was meltingly tender with just the right amount of chew, the hen egg over the chanterelles was just the right amount of rich, mouth flavor to balance the acidity of the cocktails and the charcuterie sampler was sublime. I keep being very pleasantly surprised by this restaurant, I wish they stayed open later during the week.

Raw and Cooked wrote:I ate at Balsan on Monday and was also surprised at how good my meal was. My expectations were low because of how little I've heard about the place.

There's a huge gap between how much you hear about some restaurants, and how little you hear about others. In some cases, that gap is far wider than actual differences in quality. Some restaurants have a huge PR/media operation behind them. Some have a lot of word of mouth. And then there are those like Balsan, that you rarely hear about, but which turn out excellent food nonetheless, per the posts here.

At least Balsan has its own topic here on LTH, thanks to Townshend and those who have followed up with posts about meals there. That's still more than you can say for Ria, Balsan's sister restaurant in the Elysian, which has seen only an occasional mention (also positive) in topics about something else.

Kudos to those who help by providing information and insight into these "hidden gems"!

Um...

Some restaurants have a huge PR/media operation behind them... And then there are those like Balsan

Favorable NYT review of Balsan

I sense a contradiction here.

(EDITED) My apologies; I did not intend to send this topic off on a tangent.

Balsan is represented by both Ellen Malloy's Restaurant Intelligence Agency and the Elysian Hotel's internal publicity arm, to judge by my inbox. Getting less publicity than a Top Chef winner is hardly being unrepresented at all.

(EDITED) My apologies; I did not intend to send this topic off on a tangent.

nsxtasy wrote:

Mike G wrote:Balsan is represented by both Ellen Malloy's Restaurant Intelligence Agency and the Elysian Hotel's internal publicity arm, to judge by my inbox.

Then ask them how come they couldn't get their client reviewed by Phil Vettel. (Love him or hate him, he's still probably the most widely read restaurant reviewer in the Chicago media.)

Mike G wrote:Getting less publicity than a Top Chef winner is hardly being unrepresented at all.

Noting that a Top Chef winner gets more publicity only proves my point - that some restaurants get tons of publicity in the media, while by comparison, others get little to none.

And the Publican and the Purple Pig are not Top Chef winners, but everybody and his brother heard about them when they opened.

Can we please not derail this thread with a discussion of what constitutes a lot of publicity for a restaurant? (Prediction: Mike G, you wouldn't get the last word.)

nsxtasy wrote:At least Balsan has its own topic here on LTH, thanks to Townshend and those who have followed up with posts about meals there. That's still more than you can say for Ria, Balsan's sister restaurant in the Elysian, which has seen only an occasional mention (also positive) in topics about something else.

nsxtasy, then make a Ria thread. Reviewers can't get everywhere; that's what's great about LTH. It more-than-sometimes offers food coverage that traditional media doesn't provide. It seems like you've tried to start threads on restaurants you feel have been overlooked (like Sable, recently), but if you only hammer your own ideas ad nauseum and fail to give due to others contributions', at least from where I'm reading, you're actually doing a disservice to the establishments you're trying to get LTHers to think about because you're shutting down conversation. Obviously, I feel strongly about Balsan, and I want others to share their experiences about dining there in this thread--accounts that I don't want to miss because I've stopped reading the thread, knowing that you've just taken it over to insist that you weren't wrong about something(s).

I've had two meals here. Both were excellent, though the service was kind of SLOW. Pizza was pretty good. I had an outstanding gnocchi with morels appetizer.

My wife and I ate at Balsan last night. By both enjoyment and frequency of visits (we went 4 or 5 times), it's clearly my Restaurant of the Year for 2010 (not that I award any such thing or that anyone would care...). Rather than heap general accolades, some comments on last night, which was a typical experience.

(The room is a bit loud for my taste. I was seated close to a ceiling-mounted speaker and had to ask that the music be turned down because I was asking my wife to repeat everything she said, and I have excellent hearing.)

Our server, Brian, had comprehensive knowledge of the menus, both food and wine, and his suggestions and comments were spot-on. He was pleasant and efficient (and more, in a bit).

I had the chicken liver mousse (as per usual), which was pure silk. I particularly like the size of the fat cap they put on it... a lot of places overdo it and I end up scraping a good portion away, but Balsan's is probably 1/8", just how I like it. My gnocchi with mushrooms was fantastic, the gnocchi themselves perfectly textured little pillows: not heavy or dense. I had a pork belly choucroute with (housemade?) sausage that was also delicious, although the pork belly itself was the most disappointing food item of the evening. The skin was on, which added a nice crunch, but there was a solid 1" of fat between that and the first layer of meat. Simply too much for my taste, maybe others differ. The turnips and (fingerling? they had a lovely taste) potatoes were awesome on a cold Chicago night.

My wife started with an eggplant / garlic / olive oil spread which I thought was good, but a little lacking in body and flavor. A little too much olive oil, maybe; I think eggplant needs to be concentrated to really shine, and this wasn't. She had the arctic char, which I didn't try, but she loved it and it looked gorgeous.

We drank wines by the glass (rare for us). I actually think the wine list is a bit of a weak point; it's not terribly deep, and while I applaud a restaurant putting lesser-known blends and varietals on a list, not everyone wants that (my wife wanted Chardonnay with her fish, and isn't a fan of mineral-laden Burgs, which left her with one Sonoma choice, which she didn't end up loving). However, we did enjoy our Gruner-Veltliner (glad restaurants are showing this off more and more) and I had a lovely Barbera (suggested by Brian) with my entree. It's worth noting that Balsan isn't necessarily aiming for high-end wine service, and I'm sure Ria has a good list, so *shrug*. The beer list is excellent.

At this point we were full, but my wife wanted to linger a bit over her wine, so I asked Brian to bring me something sweet to sip for dessert, trusting him. He came back with two full-size stems, and informed us that he had made an "executive decision". Dan, the sommelier from Ria, then appeared with a third of a bottle of 1986 Pichon Lalande, which he emptied into our glasses. (In general, the three 80s Bordeaux vintages you want to drink are '82, '86, and '89.) Our tab was less than $200; we weren't "big time" customers, or regulars, or anything else. The restaurant just did something special for two diners who had a nice rapport with their server.

I can't recommend Balsan enough. It's definitely my current favorite.

Mrs. D and I stayed at The Elysian recently and enjoyed dinner at Balsan on the first night of our stay. Things got off to a bright start when the bartender made one of the best Manhattan's I've ever had! I had longed for a charcuterie plate (as described in previous posts) but couldn't talk Mrs. D into sharing and I didn't want to make a meal of it.

We enjoyed a moderately priced bottle of 2007 Ribera Tempranillo with our meal, which began with the tarte flambe. What a flavorful "skinny pizza!" Bacon, caramelized onion and uplands cheese (much like a good Jarlsberg) on a super-crispy thin crust. The richness of this dish was all that prevented us from ordering another.

Mrs. D selected the gnocchi dish for her entree and I opted for the seafood cocotte. We found the gnocchi fairly pedestrian in both flavor and texture but the cocotte was a deeply-flavored seafood bomb in a cast-iron bowl! I could identify chunks of clam, lobster, white-fleshed fish and scallops enrobed in a deep bowl of pink-hued bisque. I could have used a straw to get every last bit of this fine dish...it was very, very good.

We were filled up by this time so we did not pursue dessert. I would dine here again anytime.

Davooda

Sunday Supper at Balsan last night was delightful. I took a break from Balsan after a "just OK" Christmas dinner there, but yesterday's meal rekindled my fondness for this place. Sunday Supper is offered every week. It's $29 per person, and the fixed meal is served family-style.

The menu:
Winter Lettuce, Endive, Marconas, Blue Cheese
Smoked Salmon, Beauty Heart Radish, Scallions
Prime Rib, Garlic Fries, Herb Butter
Potato Pavé
Brussels Sprouts
Lobster, Mussels, Onions, Carrots
Ice Cream Sandwiches - Chocolate, Malt Ice Cream

And some photos (missing the Brussels Sprouts):















I thought the entire meal was very well executed with only high-quality ingredients and an especially deft hand with seasoning. Highlights for me included the house smoked salmon, which elicited "oohs" and "ahs" at our table. Just absolutely delicate and luscious. I also thought the prime rib was excellent--rosy pink and tender, dressed with a delectable salt that reminded me of a very fine sea salt I just got from The Meadow. Much, much better than the prime rib I had at Christmas. Also, the fries were outstanding, maybe the best I've had this year--full potato flavor, nice amount of skin and crisp!

I haven't learned to stop ordering them, but I've never much enjoyed cocktails at Balsan (or Bernard's Bar; have only had wine at Ria). Selections tend to be all over the place but often tip toward too sweet, for both menu cocktails and dealer's choice, which was the case last night. I've never had an awful drink at Balsan, but the mediocrity of the cocktails detracts from my dining experience every time. I need to stop drinking there.

Service last night was as friendly as can be, which seems to be the norm at both Elysian restaurants.