Slideshow

First Look at the New Bonsoiree and Beverly Kim’s Refined Asian Tasting Menu

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There are restaurants, very fine ones, which take dishes recognizable to westerners and give them an Asian spin with new spices and ingredients. The new iteration of Logan Square’s fine dining hideaway Bonsoiree, under Top Chef-testant Beverly Kim and her husband Johnny Clark, is not one of those. Kim and Clark’s 12-course tasting menu (with a couple of extras thrown in) is unapologetically Asian in format, flavor and texture, and reminded us more of omakase-type meals we’ve had at places like Sankyu or the late, lamented Matsumoto than anything we’ve eaten in a downtown hot spot. But adventurous diners open to discovery and surprises will be amply rewarded with flavors and textures that may be unusual but are also beautifully refined— a paradoxically delicate yet hearty chawanmushi, a soul-filling bone soup with strands of jerky-like caramelized brisket, a duck breast and sausage dish that could be from a German restaurant save for the brightly pickled water chestnuts and nasturtiums providing unmistakably Asian contrast. While in partnership with the consistently intriguing food were Rachael Lowe’s beverage selections, which ranged from wine to sherry to beer— not to mention the room, which has been given a handsome, subtly Asian facelift. The menu will evolve with the seasons, but our man Huge Galdones has images of what will be served when it opens for regular service beginning Friday; check them out below.

Husband and wife team Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark at work in the kitchen. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Geoduck clam, preserved radish, kimchi, mustard, seawater foam. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Ember roasted carrots “Thai style,” cultured coconut, chocolate mint. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Chawanmushi, scallop, jinhua ham, x.o., lemon verbena, yellow chive. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Black sesame brioche. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Smelt, fermented leek, Indian cucumber, rue. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
“Bone soup,” omasum tripe, marrow, caramelized brisket, scallion. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Aged Swan Creek Farm duck, five spice sausage, lily bulb, orange blossom. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Intermezzo of vegetables with whipped lardo and cracklings. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Foie gras semifreddo, buckwheat, salted plum sauce, chameh melon, anise hyssop. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Palate cleanser of tomato gelee, umeboshi foam, sorbet. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Makkoli cake and ice cream, candied young ginger. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Pat bing su, sorrel granité, sweet red bean, oxalls. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Ginger gelee, chocolate cream, sesame cookie. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
The back patio at Bonsoiree. Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
First Look at the New Bonsoiree and Beverly Kim’s Refined Asian Tasting Menu