La Voute Bistro and Bar Delights Chicago Foodies

Photos: 1. Diver Scallops. 2. Chef-in-Residence Thomas Donnelly, and Chef de Cuisine Dominique Tougne 3. Bacon and Onion Tart 4. Idaho Lake Trout 5. Braised Lamb Shank, 6. Asparagus Carpaccio 7. Lemon and Raspberry Napoleon.

A high-end dining experience with a French flair ... in Homewood? The concept raised a few eyebrows among Chicago food bloggers.

Several gathered Wednesday at new La Voute Bistro and Bar, 2024 Ridge Road in Homewood, to see just how well a bistro in the ‘burbs would do French fare.

“My husband asked, ‘What’s in Homewood?’” said blogger Maria Pilar Clark. “I had to come, just to see what’s here.”

That’s exactly the reaction Chef Dominique Tougne and chef in residence Thomas Donnelly had imagined. As former chef de cuisine at Bistro 110 and Chez Moi, the native of Alsace, France, he knows the Chicago dining scene well and hoped to bring his passion for it to the Southland. La Voute—French for “The Vault”—is the dining component of new boutique hotel La Banque. Both will open to the public on Monday, June 15.

“It is not just about cooking, Tougne said. “It’s about understanding the people. It’s not just ‘cooking an egg.’”

Guests were treated to several appetizers and salads, beginning with a cold Gaspacho, featuring heirloom tomato salad, fresh basil in a balsamic reduction. Tougne followed that with an asparagus carpaccio—thinly sliced, crunchy asparagus topped with arugula, sun dried tomatoes and shaved Parmesan. A delightfully colorful seasonal farmers salad, capped with a poached egg with a yolk that drizzled throughout. A few bites of a flaky bacon and onion tart, followed by a crab cake, and the guests’ eyes grew at the thought of multiple entrees still to come.

Six, to be exact: Braised lamb shank, Idaho lake trout, diver scallops, grilled steak au poivre, confit duck leg, and grilled steak frites. Meat so tender and flavored so richly; scallops served in a sauce so decadent. A meal that several bloggers called unforgettable with each bite.

“We have a lot of great restaurants in Chicago, but a lot of them are overrated,” said Kate Cahnmann, of NowYouKnowEvents.

La Banque owner Claude Gendreau set out to create accommodations and a dining experience unlike anything in the south suburbs. A hotel built within the historic site of a former bank, with touches of the bank throughout—diners eat just outside the bank’s former vault, with a door signed by then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Diners enter through a walkway flanked by a barred door used in the bank, and the bar backdrop is built of former safety deposit boxes, as is the hotel reception desk.

“We think we have a different product here that will bring people from further out,” Gendreau said, of the hotel and restaurant.

The menu is still being finalized, but staff said items will be American, with a French flair. As Wednesday’s guests reached to grab additional bites of each dish before they were taken away, each declared Gendreau and Tounge got it right.

“This is worth the drive for people to come here and just have dinner,” Cahnmann said.

“Hands down, some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.”

Read more about Homewood’s new destination:

• La Banque Hotel Brings Bit of France to Downtown Homewood