Bonsoiree

Summer Eating List

2013-06-13 00:00:00

Summer is the sweet season for restaurants. Fresh produce is abundant, daylight lasts longer and restaurants are busier and bigger (with the addition of outdoor seats) than at any other time of the year. So once again I'm trotting out my Summer Eating...

Review: Kabocha Japanese Brasserie

2013-05-02 00:00:00

Review: Kabocha Japanese Brasserie 952 W. Lake St. 312-666-6214 Rating:�!!! 1/2 (out of four) Heating up Chef Shin Thompson's former restaurant, Bonsoiree in Logan Square, was a darling of the foodie crowd. It also demanded a commitment, both in time...

Lessons from a 'Top Chef'

2013-03-07 00:00:00

Around this time last year, Beverly Kim was something of a minor television celebrity on "Top Chef." Several Saturdays ago, we found Kim calling out dinner orders from a cavernous and modern West Town kitchen, a space that would be the envy of every...

A potluck kind of year

2013-01-03 00:00:00

If only it were so easy to pithily proclaim 2012 as the Year of the (fill-in-the-blank). But there's really no one thread that neatly ties together the Chicago restaurant scene these last 12 months. A restaurant that put Chicago on the culinary map 25...

'03 lawsuit challenged work conditions

2012-08-30 00:00:00

There are so many opportunities here of rare, rich experiences which I need to thank Chef Trotter for. From the housewives, doctors, and others who come to work as guest chefs to famous chefs like Tetsuya, Toque and Alain Ducasse. I've always learned...

Charlie Trotter preaches excellence to the extreme

2012-08-28 03:00:00

Graham Elliot was an aspiring young cook in the late '90s carrying steaks to a party of 20 in the Charlie Trotter's Studio Kitchen when the restaurant's brilliant, mercurial owner stopped him in the hallway and grabbed one of the pieces of meat. "He...

Let's break out the old crystal ball

2012-11-08 00:00:00

Time once again for my annual exercise in humiliation, as I try to predict the star recipients in the 2013 Michelin Chicago Guide, which hits bookstores Wednesday. This is the third year that Michelin has published a Chicago guide, and if there's one...

2012 bar and restaurant review: Highs, lows and delicious trends

2012-12-19 00:00:00

When it comes to adventures in dining and drinking, Chicago definitely delivered this year. Hot chefs expanded their empires with new restaurants. New words made their way into our nightlife vocabulary. And, of course, there were doughnuts. And pie. And...

Review: Bonsoiree (closed)

2012-08-31 00:00:00

Editor's Note:�In the time since our review, Bonsoiree has closed. Review: Bonsoiree 2728 W. Armitage Ave. 773-486-7511 Rating: 2.5 stars (out of four) Take it or leave it Beverly Kim was perhaps the most controversial contestant on "Top Chef: Texas"...

Alinea, Ria, Charlie Trotter's among Michelin-starred restaurants in 2012 Chicago guide

2011-11-15 16:04:00

In Chicago’s dining scene, there is Alinea, and there is everybody else. That’s the message being conveyed in the 2012 Michelin Guide Chicago, whose star ratings were announced Tuesday afternoon. Only Alinea, which also earned three stars...

City health inspections tough even for toniest of restaurants

2011-12-30 00:00:00

Close watchers of Chicago's food scene may have been surprised to learn that Alinea — one of the most highly regarded restaurants in the city and the world — failed its routine health inspection a month ago. But what may seem like a big...

Phil Vettel recommends

2011-08-11 00:00:00

So, your kid's going off to college. There's time for one last dinner out before you pack up the minivan. Where to go? The main goal should be to ensure the little brat misses you. So treat him to a meal that he won't be able to find near campus. A...

opened April 26 in the West Loop, serving a Japanese- and French-inspired menu by chef Shin Thompson (Bonsoiree) that features shabu shabu and some seriously stunning seafood platters served in an aquarium-like dish (pictured).

2013-04-26 10:54:00

Table, Donkey & Stick. Yes, the Alpine inn-inspired restaurant that replaced Bonsoiree (pictured) does win points for a unique name, but two out of three of these words totally kill our appetite.

2012-12-19 17:25:00

Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark's reboot of Logan Square restaurant Bonsoiree lasted only a few weeks before closing up shop.

2012-11-01 08:03:00