Chocolate Souffle

New to posting, though I've been lurking for some time. I tried searching on this topic (here and Google) but couldn't find anything recent. My 11 year old daughter and I will be staying downtown next month for what will likely be a "food-centric" weekend. She actually eats quite well for her age and definitely enjoys fine dining. I was wondering in any "nice" restaurants in the downtown area offer a chocolate souffle on their dessert menu?

Restaurant Michael in Winnetka has a great chocolate souffle with butterscotch gelato truffle encrusted the hazelnuts. I just had it last night. Winnetka might be a little far north for you though.

La Sardine. Hands down best chocolate souffle.

Les Nomades has the best soufflé I've ever had*, at least at the end of the Nugent regime. I haven't been back for Roland Liccioni redux, but I can't imagine it has gotten any worse.

This won't help you, specifically, since the menu currently says they are only available in Grand Marnier, lemon, raspberry, hazelnut or passion fruit. Not chocolate. Soufflé hounds with a more open mind will enjoy Les Nomades version for certain.

Speaking of hounds, Steve Dolinsky did a story on their soufflés: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=8736650 (Marybeth Liccioni talks about chocolate soufflés being a little more difficult because of the density of the chocolate, although it seems to suggest that they may be available)

Les Nomades
222 East Ontario Street
Chicago, Illinois
(312) 649-9019
http://www.lesnomades.net
**jackets required**

* Fantasy soufflé time machine destination would include L2O under Laurent Gras, certainly Les Nomades' equal. But I assume that the soufflés took off along with Mr. Gras. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I've had the chocolate souffles at Michael and at La Sardine, and both are excellent. It's been a long time since I dined at Les Nomades.

Since these are three very different places, here are differences to consider:

Michael is in north suburban Winnetka, about twenty miles north of the Loop. If you don't wish to drive, it's only a block from the Indian Hill station on the Metra UP North line (and what 11-year-old doesn't love a train ride?). The food is creative French with global influences. It's mid-priced among these three choices, with a three-course prix fixe for $50. Elegant, but not overly formal (jackets NOT required, but blue jeans not appropriate).

La Sardine is in the West Loop, just west of the Loop. The food is traditional French bistro fare. It's the least expensive of these three options, with entrees around $20. Casual (blue jeans okay). They have a special on Tuesdays, any three courses for $27.50.

Les Nomades is a fine-dining restaurant in Streeterville, just off the Mag Mile. The food is very creative French with global influences. It's the most expensive of this group, with a four-course prix fixe for $115. Elegant and formal (jackets required for gentlemen).

Just as a FYI, souffles are very easy to make at home, even for novice cooks. I know they've gotten a bad rap on television because it's easy to joke about them falling at the slightest touch, but that's overblown (no pun intended). Follow a good recipe and it's not terribly hard at all to have one come out well. Most recipes have you create a foil collar around the edge so they can rise over the top lip of the souffle dish, but I usually make it easier on myself by using a larger souffle dish than specified, thereby not having to deal with a collar. The only difference in the results is that you don't get the visual effect.

jonathanlehman wrote:

* Fantasy soufflé time machine destination would include L2O under Laurent Gras, certainly Les Nomades' equal. But I assume that the soufflés took off along with Mr. Gras. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

The awesome souffle didn't leave with Gras, as I had it in 2012 under Kirkley (you can check out my meal on my blog http://windyfoodie.com/l2o/). But I think they might have removed it recently in an attempt to make the menu more contemporary. Although at a restaurant of that caliber, I can certainly imagine one would be able to make a request ahead of time.

I agree that Les Nomades also serves a great souffle, albeit probably not in chocolate flavor. In that sense, The Lobby is on that same boat.

I really like Le Sardine. But I don't remember if they have chocolate souffle per se.

I've had chocolate souffles at Roy's and Mindy's Hot Chocolate. Both were good. But they were both served on plates like cakes.

Thank you so much for all your replies and suggestions. As it so happens, we are local, living in the NW suburbs. We will have to try Restaurant Michael sometime soon. As for our weekend downtown, I think La Sardine is a wonderful option, and I will definitely make a reservation there. I also like the suggestion of making souffle at home. I'm a very good cook, but count me among those who thought souffle was too tricky (then again, my creme brulee was a serious flop; it ended up more like flan.)

windyfoodie wrote:I really like Le Sardine. But I don't remember if they have chocolate souffle per se.

They've had it in all of my several visits. Even served in individual sized souffle dishes, not on plates.

quirty30 wrote:As it so happens, we are local, living in the NW suburbs.

You might want to try Barrington Country Bistro, also. Their website menu shows a grand marnier souffle.

I thought of another restaurant that usually has a chocolate souffle: Han 202, in Bridgeport, not far from U.S. Cellular Field. Han 202 is an interesting place, offering a $25 five-course prix fixe menu consisting of mostly Chinese soups, appetizers, and entrees, and mostly French/Western salads and desserts. There's a $5 surcharge for the chocolate souffle and it's a good one, worth every penny of that surcharge. Han 202 doesn't get a lot of attention but they serve great food and it's an incredible bargain (even more so for those who imbibe, thanks to their BYOB policy).

These things can change, so you may want to phone ahead, wherever you go, to see if the chocolate souffle is on the menu.

quirty30 wrote:Thank you so much for all your replies and suggestions. As it so happens, we are local, living in the NW suburbs. We will have to try Restaurant Michael sometime soon. As for our weekend downtown, I think La Sardine is a wonderful option, and I will definitely make a reservation there. I also like the suggestion of making souffle at home. I'm a very good cook, but count me among those who thought souffle was too tricky (then again, my creme brulee was a serious flop; it ended up more like flan.)

La Sardine is wonderful. If I remember correctly they have two options for soufflés, one of them always being chocolate. They serve it with a creme anglase.
After a recent trip to London where we had an incredible vanilla soufflé with apricot sauce at The Delauney restaurant I began experimenting with soufflés again. I hadn't made one since cooking school years ago, and they were surprisingly easy to make. There was a recent tutorial in Fine Cooking magazine which listed how to make them step by step.

Edit to add: Here is a link to their video tutorial: http://www.finecooking.com/videos/how-to-make-chocolate-souffles.aspx?utm_source=social&utm_medium=fb_post&utm_term=no_offer&utm_content=fc-howto&utm_campaign=FC_social

Bavettes Bar and Boeuf also has a chocolate souffle.

http://www.foodspotting.com/places/5280 ... te-souffle

bhovsepian wrote:Bavettes Bar and Boeuf also has a chocolate souffle.

http://www.foodspotting.com/places/5280 ... te-souffle

I think that if you were to visit this spot on the earlier side, it's probably exactly the kind of posh, fun restaurant that your daughter would enjoy. I know I would've loved a place like Bavette's when I was that age:


*I started going to Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa when I was in utero so that might be a reason...

Thanks again - more good ideas. Love the Bavette's menu. I managed to get front-row tickets to Jekyll & Hyde and I think Bavette's would be a great choice for an early dinner beforehand (although I'm a little worried now about taking an 11 year old to a musical about a serial killer and a prostitute.)

Perhaps I will experiment tomorrow night and make a souffle for my kids for Valentine's Day as well