BomBon 4

I miss BomBon so much; it’s lunchtime on the Friday before Labor Day, which should be an exciting time. Long weekend ahead, and the possibility of getting out of work early. But no, instead, I am feeling pangs of sadness, for all I desire at this very moment is a Sonora torta.
I still have their carryout menu in my desk.
Sniff, sniff :(

So I left my office with the thought in mind that I was going to find the ever elusive CPK to go. I looked, it was nowhere to be seen. So after roaming aimlessly for ¹⁄₃ of my lunch hour I stumbled onto BomBon. At first glance it appeared to be a bakery and I decided apparently I would be eating cake for lunch (which did not seem out of the question).
Little did I know I had actually found a little Mexican Café place. I bumbled about on the menu and ordered a safe choice– quesadillas and soup. I grabbed the food and headed back to ye olde cube to chow down. When I opened the box I was slightly baffled by the look of these quesadillas. they were unlike anything I had ever had. I was suspect at first, but after one bite they were so good I had to take a picture (note in my added picture there is a bite missing).
These little cheese poofs are freaking awesome. I try not to hit them up too many times per week just so I can still fit into my clothes. but yum yum yum– and I have never had to wait in line and never been unhappy with the food. I have not ventured outside of the mini quesadillas yet, but I plan on it ASAP.
EDIT 2/​19** I went back last Thursday. Apparently they have lost their lease and this location is no more. I am so sad. The other location is way too far to get to during lunch. boohoo. I will always have the memory of those mini quesadillas…

Damn man, I really thought my eating marathon was over. I’m like MISSING the muffin top days when at least I could zip my pants up even tho I was oozing out of them. Now I’m so far gone, I couldn’t get back if I wanted to! Shee-​it! But f*ck it, who says no to food like this?!
Had the pork carnitas torta; soft fresh homemade bread, nice hint of lime in the guac spread. Fantastic side of chips and salsa — literally the best chips I’ve ever had. Great horchata and delicious strawberry tres leches cake to top it off. I was gonna deduct one star just because the menu is hard to figure out and not listed on any overhead boards, but fuck that noise; for food this good, I’ll do a little leg work. Besides, reaching over to grab the menu is the most cardio I’ve done all week. Sad, but true.
2÷8÷08: I just called them, and it’s true, they are CLOSING TODAY!!! FOREVER!!! R.I.P. BomBon 4.

My ongoing tour of Unilocalers’ favorite lunch spots continues…
Bombon is the best I’ve been to so far, and probably even better than Taza. These ingredients are fresh! The bread, the ingredients, everything. And you have actual décor so that it’s a pleasant half hour. I don’t really have any more to add, except that given their encyclopedic array of sandwiches, I’m going to have my work cut out for me figuring out which one’s my favorite.

Went here for lunch with a good friend. Seems a bit confused upon first walking in – is it a sandwich shop? is it a deli? is it a bakery?
Once you orient yourself, though, its worth it. Food was good, wait wasn’t too bad. Place was nice.
I’ll need to give it a return visit for more specifics.

Problem: BomBon 4 is right next to Hannah’s Bretzel!
Okay so this place has amazing lunches, desserts, and drinks. I’ve been here twice — once to taste their tres leche cakes (under $ 4). I ordered the hazelnut one, of course! Yep, it’s everything that people have been writing and more.
Yesterday a friend of mine and I met up here for lunch. I ordered the combo ($ 7.75), which consists of a smaller sandwich and soup or salad. I had corn chowder and the sonora (sp?) sandwich. Both were excellent. I highly recommend the sonora sandwich (marinated steak, greens, caramelized onions). Oh yeah! I also got the rice water drink — nice and sweet. It was like a dessert drink and refreshing all at once.
Wow, just writing about it now makes me want to go again today for lunch!

HOLY MOLY
The sign of a good bakery? When it is also a mexican food restaurant and I am too enamored with all of the pastries to even *think* about eating mexican food!
My friends dragged me there so they could try the tres leches cake, which does not sound even remotely good to me because I loathe anything that could even be construed as soggy. I had resigned myself to watching them eat their soggy cake (it is literally cake soaked in milk) — when I saw it. It was like a light from Heaven lit up the glass case on this one particular piece of cake for me. The Chocolate mousse cake with white cream frosting. It was so moist and perfect, I wanted to continue eating it forever.
I will usually share food with my 2 friends no problem, but I really had to talk myself into offering them a bite, and in the end it was only because I felt bad that they had to eat the soggy cake (even though Evann swears it is the best thing she has ever had). I left here with split emotions over moving to Chicago… I could leave my lovely city of San Francisco and be closer to the cake from heaven and weigh 400 lbs and be happy. Or I could stay in San Francisco and drag Evann here every time I come and visit.
Stay tuned for a decision…

OYE! DRINK THE WATER!!! The execution on the food is nearly flawless. Fresh, innovative, a TON of choices. It is not cheap, but anybody on here who does not belive in the adage «you get what you pay for» ought to move on. I ate there yesterday with a friend for the third time; it was the first time I dined there, as opposed to taking it back to the office. «La Clasica» was just so enjoyable, lightly breaded flat chicken breast, avocado, poblano spread, cheese, fresh greens on a very light roll. Its Mexican you want when you HAD Mexican food last night and Huevos Rancheros for breakfast. Innovative, clean and yes the desserts look very nice. I had flan once, it was good.
Oh, and the water: they have a beautiful huge glass container filled with fresh water, accented by cut lemons and rosemary sprigs to cut the chemicals of Chi-​Town city water… that is TLC for the customer! 1.0−1.5 gripe (s)…lose the tiny 6 oz. Dixie cups for water… annoying and not good for the environment… also the table service was slooow Otherwise: Guau!

This is totally the place I go for lunch when I want to treat myself. The have the BEST tortas ($ 6.95 — $ 7.50). These warm sandwiches are all freshly made with just amazing taste and texture. If you get the small sandwich, it comes with cute jicama/​spring green salad.
I would come more often, but I always get sorely tempted by the dessert display that taunts you as you walk out the door. mmmm… cakes

The best tres leches cake I’ve ever had in my entire life. And I love me some spanish-​inspired cakes, let me tell you!!! I had the strawberry one; got a caramel one to go – can’t wait!!!
I also had a sandwich with pork carnitas, onions, tomatoes, greens, chihuahua cheese and avocado spread. This sandwich was amazing. A-​mazing. Just amazing. FUDGING AMAZING! OMG, I’m still thinking about it.
The menu had so many items that I wanted to try — a build it yourself torta (with so many ingredients to choose from!), tamales, salads, soups, and a variety of sandwiches that will make you weak in the knees and happy in the pants.
Everything is reasonably priced. Hey, it’s the Loop. What do you expect? The sandwiches are b/​w 7 and 8 bucks, my tres leches cake was just shy of 4, and my bottle of water was a buck 50. Best 14 dollars ever spent! I’m full AND satisfied (believe me, you can be full WITHOUT being satisfied).
Just insert an IV into me please, connected directly to any of their cakes. Thanks.
I can’t wait to come here again. And again. And again.

2008.02.20 UPDATE — BOM BON on Washington is CLOSED!!!
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I agree, this would be a five-​star restaurant. The only reason I knock it back a star was because its air conditioning didn’t seem to be working very well, it was pretty warm on this day (roughly 90 outdoors).
Service on a Tuesday at 11:15 am was very fast and event at 11:45 there was still seating. This is one of those hybrid fast-​food places where you can leave your dishes, napkins etc. at your table and wait staff clean up for you, similar to Soprafina.
I had the half Toluca with bean and ham soup. I love the wooden basket that the food is served in. The meal was very tasty and came to my table in 5 – 10 minutes.
I will go back regularly now. Thanks to fellow Unilocalers for this find.
Update 2007.08.20: Today I had the tuna sandwich (costena) and the Mexican chili. They were both excellent. Brought my food out in around five minutes.

Pastries in the window and tacos at the counter?!
Identity crisis or heaven?
I’m thinking something a lot closer to the latter.

The BomB is on! Wo.
I went here for lunch yesterday since I am aiming to try all of these Unilocal endorsed Loop spots. I was in a hurry so I didn’t have time to dissect the menu. Also, the guy at the register seemed kind of annoyed when I started to ask questions. So I killed my curiosity and settled for the first torta on the list — the Sonora with sliced steak, peppers, cheese, guac spread, etc. I took it «to go» and proceeded to wait alone up front. I felt idiotic and pretended to read the Sun Times but my stomach would not settle down. Concentration seemed impossible — Show me the TORTA!
At last, the torta was in bag, in hand, and zipping along with me down Wells. Julia W was right — the bread is fantastic. Perfect consistency and the size of a small dinner plate. That sammich was HUGE. I dove in thinking I would save half for later but I couldn’t stop. The next thing I knew I was staring at the empty heat-​perserving foil wrapper. Yup, I ate it all. VERY tasty but very heavy in my comanche for the rest of the day. I think I can still taste that steak right now. Next time I stop by, I will only order the small torta because obviously I have a slight problem with sandwich self control.

Another addition to the BomBon family and I’m a fan! Back in the days when I worked in the Loop this would have been a spot that I would have added into my lunch rotation. These days I don’t make it to this area much, but if restaurants as good as BomBon 4 keep popping up I might.
I ordered the chicken tacos and I was absolutely famished when I placed my order. My dining companion, the oh so lovely Miriam W from Unilocal DC, ordered the beef tacos. It took a very long time for them to bring our order out to us… I literally thought about grabbing a few chips from the table next to us (not sure if the girl would have appreciated it), but when the tacos arrived they were well worth the wait. And they were pretty darn tasty! That is everything besides the guac that came with them… the guac wasn’t quite doing it for me (I’ve had better guac from chipotle),
I checked out the bakery on my way out looking for my favorite raspberry bars that BomBon Americano serves. Unfortunately so raspberry bars at this location, but their dessert selection did look pretty good so I’ll be back when it’s not bathing suit season.

There are 2 things keeping this from being a 5 star review:
1) the first time I was unprepared for how long it would take for my salad to come out, as I came in between 1 and 1:30, well after the rush.
2) I have not tried any of the sweets here. Yet.
Great salads. the ingredients were fresh and weren’t overpowering (sometimes you get too much of something on a salad and it ruins it, you know?). my fave dressing, a chipotle creamy dressing, has just a small kick to it, enough to make your tongue tingle. plus, they cut the avocado fresh for your salad too.
can’t wait to try the tortas, and the desserts!

Solid food– many Unilocalers seem unhappy with the price, but considering the ingredients I don’t think it’s bad. I had a caribena sandwich, and it was delicious. My friend had a cantaloupe infused water, and it was not overwhelmingly sweet, but very refreshing. They are very ungenerous about the amount of potato chips they serve with sandwiches.
Lines can be long. Long waits– Our food was served at least 10 – 15 mins after placing the order. They don’t take AMEX.
Not exactly a quick/​cheap lunch spot, but definitely recommended.

The food here was fantastic, but the prices were something of contention. $ 8.00/sandwich would be something more to complain about except I swear it was one of the best tortas I’ve ever had. Jarritos were available, but I stuck it out with their ice cold complimentary lemon water.
We got our sandwiches to go, and we regretted that because it seemed like stay-​in patrons received a complimentary side salad.
The pastries were also amazing. Chocolate croissants like I’ve never had and their cookies were like a heavenly balance of pounds of butter and sugar. I had the worst sugar crash today because I ate 4 or 5 pastries.
The salads were a bit small, but delicious as well.
Only 4 stars because of the expense and because there’s no menu above the counter. Look for the yellow piece of paper as you enter. I suspect the line was slow because few of us realized what we wanted to order till we got to the cashier and were handed a piece of paper.

My new favorite lunch place, hands down. Five stars for the Caribena sandwich alone; a delicious combination of tender roasted pork, advocado, tomato, grilled pineapple, and gouda cheese all served on fresh artisan bread. My friend Eric was heard to exclaim «This may be the best Torta I have ever had. Seriously.» Considering he has had a few in his time, many of them actually in Mexico, I consider that a pretty strong recommendation.
The unbelieveable thing is that I still have 16 more sandwiches to try. Going to have to roll up the sleeves, loosen the belt and get on top of this problem.

This new Bombon spinoff is a welcome addition in the Loop, taking the place of the short-​lived Polletto. The lunch line can be daunting, but the reasonable wait time will give you time to think about the interesting selections on the menu. My order of three crispy mini-​taquitos was very lavishly topped with fresh cheese and salsa, and filled with your choice of pork, beef or chicken (I chose all three for the full variety). My friends enjoyed their Mexican-​style sandwiches filled with a host of eclectic ingredients. The Correcaminos featured slices of roasted pork leg, avocado and manchego cheese. The La Cubana (listed on the menu as «Mexico City Style») is a meat-​lovers selection piled with ham, sliced pork leg, and Vienna weiner along with avocado, cucumber and gouda cheese. Roasted corn soup and tamales were also devoured by my feasting friends. Of course, we each ordered dessert selections such as the individual-​serving mini-​tres leches. The bakery counter is a must-​stop even if you are not ordering any food.

WOW! Really good Mexican food downtown, in the Loop, I cannot ask for more! Well, I can and I will, actually, as I am making this a once a week stop for lunch!
I had the mini chicken taquitos, which admittedly is an appetizer, but plenty for a lunch. The salsa on top was to die for!
For refreshment, they actually have Jarritos! Yay! It’s the only sugar soda I drink and goes great with good Mexican fare!
Didn’t get anything at the bakery on my way out, but did snag a couple of cookies to sample and they were so yummy!
I completely recommend this for lunch!