Took the parents out for dinner at Le Bouchon last night, a combo celebration of Father’s Day and my Mom’s birthday. Then went to see “We All Went Down To Amsterdam” at the Steppenwolf Studio http://www.steppenwolf.org/ I highly recommend both.

I started out w/an onion tart “La Tarte a l'Oignon Alsacienne.” Slightly warm, heavily caramelized onions w/a light buttery crust, a pleasant addition were some strips of smoky bacon which only heightened my enjoyment of this dish. A stellar appetizer.

Both parents had the chilled leek salad w/mustard vinaigrette. Just delicious on the warm night yesterday.

Wife and I split the roast duck for two. Great tasting duck, done perfectly w/orange marmalade applied to the skin while roasting. Terrific. The orange sauce that accompanied the duck was horrible, very disappointing. Thankfully there was enough of the marmalade that the sauce was not necessary.

Pop had the monkfish Provencal. Done just perfect. A ragout of spinach, zucchini, and squash was served alongside.

Mom had the salmon w/a cream leek sauce. Good, but I think I’m spoiled by the salmon I’ve had on the west coast caught in the pacific.

Two desserts were split. Fresh berries w/crčme Anglaise and an apple tart. The berries were perfectly ripe, the crčme Anglaise were wasted calories as it did not add anything and was not needed. The apple tart was very weak IMO, just did not have the buttery rich taste, nor were the apples bursting w/flavor.

We had two bottles of wine, total bill was $170ish.
Appitizers: $4-6, entrees: $13-15

Menu, hours, and further info http://lebouchonofchicago.com/

I've been to Le Bouchon several times - it's only 4 blocks from my house, and I find it to be quaint and a great value. Delicious French bistro cuisine for a low price of $13-15 per entree. Can't beat that!

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When once you have experienced being a 1K, you will forever fly the friendly skies with your eyes set on 100% mileage bonus and SWUs, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return, every year!

I second that -- I've been once with my wife and had a great meal for very reasonable prices. It's a little cramped and can be loud, but it's nothing unreasonable. It's just part of being in a good neighborhood bistro or trattoria IMO.

BTW, I also had a great onion tart there, followed by the night's special -- a roasted rack of lamb with vegetable rattatoui (sp) and roasted potatoes. Regular menu items, as well as wines and desserts, seemed good as well.

Bump...

Another great meal at Le Bouchon several weeks ago. On a busy Saturday night, I was able to call ahead for a 10 p.m. table. My wife and I got there early and enjoyed some wine/champagne at the bar.

Her first glass of wine (Beaujolais) was corked and somewhat rancid, so with apologies the bartender offered to replace it with the house champagne, a by-the-glass brut running only $6.50 or so. Excellent stuff, good enough to make me forget about the nice Coute du Rhone (sp) I was drinking.

The food is as good as it's ever been here -- great flavors, deceptively "simple" bistro cooking and ZERO pretention anywhere. The kitchen staff and wait staff combine to make it a comfortable, friendly dining experience.

Ask to be served by John, one of the regular waiters, if you go.

BTW, this place serves amazing hangar (skirt) steak and good lamb. The duck looks awesome as well. Everytime I have been here, there are some nightly specials written out on a paper card to supplement the regular menu, which is good enough in itself.

If that weren't enough, Le Bouchon is pretty close to the L station too.

Thanks for the tip and review. Although I am a native Chicagoan, I am always on the lookout for new places to try.

I'll also add some contributions to the "plate" as well.

a recent review of La Sardine, Le Bouchon's sister restaurant


La Sardine
http://frenchrestaurantschicago.com/
111 N. Carpenter St.
(312) 421-2800
Valet parking, $8
Price range, $5-$21

My friends were already relaxing at the handsome bar when I arrived, and both reported snippy treatment by the hostess. (I'd had a similar "greeting" at La Sardine's sister restaurant, Le Bouchon, 1958 N. Damen Ave.) But once we announced ourselves as a complete party and were seated, service was exemplary: patient, helpful, seamless. Even better, we lucked into their Tuesday night three-course prix-fixe dinner ($25), an astonishing deal, given the quality of food and range of choices.

If you love France, the smoked salmon plate ($8 ŕ la carte) will have you booking the next flight. The fish is mild, sided with chopped egg, shallots and capers. A parmesan and mushroom orzo ($8) was heavenly, like mac and cheese for grown-ups. Oddly, the tomato soup ($5) reminded us of the canned stuff we grew up on.

The two fish entrees we ordered were among the best I've had anywhere, because of careful preparation and excellent ingredients. Seared grouper ($21 ŕ la carte) was set atop a bed of creamy polenta and paired with spinach. Sautéed tilapia ($19) was even better, thick but tender and set on lyonnaise potatoes, along with haricots verts. The sole disappointment? The house steak. It's tough, and its mountain of pommes frites nothing special.

Desserts are top-notch. Don't miss the tarte aux pommes ($6 ŕ la carte) or the chocolate soufflé and crčme anglaise ($8), both by the book and delicious. If sweets aren't your thing, assorted cheeses ($7.50) are coupled with a refreshing mix of chopped pear and melon.

Every table, and the bar, was filled, but we had no trouble with noise.

Oooh.. thanks for bumping this. I need the reminder to revisit Le Bouchon, which I am lucky enough to have just across the neighborhood. Based on your review I'll be looking to check out Le Sardine too.

At first I thought this was your review of our visit there and I thought you meant to say, "My handsome friends were already relaxing at the bar...."

At any rate, given the choice of Le Bouchon or La Sardine, I would definitely prefer Le Bouchon. However, La Sardine is much more conveniently located to the downtown and River North hotel areas.

fully agree ^

Let me bold something, "My handsome friends were already relaxing at the bar...."

Check out Le Bouchon on Mondays when they have 1/2 price wine.

I think Le Bouchon has good food and is a great value, but I find it too crowded generally speaking.

This is definitely something a reader should be aware of. I _like_ it.. tables all in close, packed together, cold night. Reminds me of happy dinner places in France and such. But it would get tiring if that was normal everywhere.

Has anyone gone recently? I looked at the reivews on metromix and they were mixed. In fact the reviews in the springtime last year were good, but after the summer they got to be really bad...

La Sardine was just mentioned in Chicago Magazine's recent article "The 124 Best Dishes". The dish mentioned was Veal Kidneys - bite sized nuggets of veal kidney in a sherry Dijon cream sauce served with a side of turned potatoes.

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Having visited Le Bouchon not very long ago, my opinions of a couple of years are ago are reversed. I found it disappointing and would much prefer La Sardine.

Actually, I would prefer any number of other French places nearby (Brasserie Jo, Mon Ami Gabi, Kiki's, Cafe Matou, Marche) to either one of them.

Went here two nights ago. Enjoyed the onion tart and escargot; the boulllibaise was so-so. My girl enjoyed her beef medallions.