Bonsoirée Café and Delicacies
2728 West Armitage Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647
Date of Review: May, 2007; updated May, 2008
Bonsoirée is a true “find” in the heart of Logan Square. This BYOB restaurant / catering business has a pleasant, quaint store front location on Armitage Avenue. I have walked and ran up and down this slice of Armitage twenty or so times without ever noticing the place until a friend of mine told me about it. There are only about 10 tables, exposed brick and a romantic atmosphere. This is a great spot for a date or a private meal with friends.
When I visited Bonsoiree, they offered a 3 course Prix-Fixe menu for $20 every Tuesday through Friday. They now only offer the 3 course Prix-Fixe menu for $30 every Tuesday (with no restrictions).
During my visit, there were 4 starters you could choose from with one (lamb) having a 3 dollar up charge. For our starters, we selected the asparagus and oyster mushroom salad and the Caesar salad. The asparagus salad had a nice tower of chopped asparagus (as opposed to stalks) and was served with shitake and oyster mushrooms in a nutty, vanilla guave vinaigrette dressing. The Caesar salad was great. The baby spinach leaves were nice and light, not weighed down by a heavy dressing. You actually couldn’t even see the dressing on the spinach leaves. On top of the salad, there was lots of shaved pecorino Romano slices and two mild white anchovies which really made the salad. The salad is served with some excellent chive brioche croutons.
For entrees, we both decided to go for the fish. Julie got the Hawaiian moonfish which required a 3$ up charge. This hearty, flaky fish has a consistency close to that of salmon with a milder flavor. It was served in a Ponzu Beurre Blanc sauce. While a bit buttery for my taste, it went well with the fish and the accompanying taro root. The root was an interesting side and was cooked perfectly. It wasn’t too mushy or too firm. I had the Grand Marnier Seared Salmon. This was served with some very flavorful roasted portabella mushrooms which added a nice flavor to contrast that of the salmon. The Grand Marnier sauce was excellent also as it covered a decent size piece of fish. The fish was served with a circular portion of very nice Spanish tortilla topped with a pepper relish.
For dessert, the signature bread pudding is the only dessert that doesn’t require an up charge and is also the one we both selected. This was a great choice as there were 2 separate chunks of banana bread pudding on each of our plates served with a small tin of white chocolate crème anglaise sauce. The flavor of the bread pudding was a bit buttery, reminding me of the Sara Lee coffee cakes I used to have with my Dad on Saturday mornings as a child.
We also ordered a pomegranate and berry soda which had great flavor.
Bonsoirée café offered fantastic value when I visited. For the Prix-Fixe menu with one 3$ up charge and one 2.50$ soda, out total bill was $49 plus tip. Today, the prices of most of the entrees are above $20 while starters range from 6-12$.
Bonsoirée Café and Delicacies has an extensive catering business and even offers meals that they will prepare in your home for an elaborate dinner party.
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