On Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, Le Bouchon unlocks its Bucktown dining room on the one night of the week it normally stays dark and hands the evening to an old friend. Chef John Hogan, a Chicago kitchen lifer who learned refined French cooking from an Alsatian master, is cooking a one-night celebration of Alsace built around choucroute, the region’s great platter of Riesling-braised sauerkraut, sausages and smoked pork. Seatings run from 5 to 9 p.m., and reservations are on SevenRooms.
Choucroute ranks among the house favorites at Le Bouchon. Picture a crowded, candlelit Lyonnaise bistro on a cold November Sunday, a steaming platter in the middle of the table and a bottle of Alsace white sweating beside it. That is the plan.
Le Bouchon Chicago: the Bucktown bistro opening its doors on a Sunday
Le Bouchon has been at 1958 N. Damen Ave., near the corner of Damen and Armitage, since 1993, when Jean-Claude and Susanne Poilevey opened a small bistro in the spirit of the bouchons of Jean-Claude’s native Lyon. The room is a jewel box: closely set tables, a six-seat bar, framed posters and paintings, servers who have been sliding between chairs for decades. Jean-Claude died in 2016, and his sons now run the place, with Oliver as chef and Nicolas as wine director.
The kitchen is in its own new chapter. In 2026 Oliver set aside the classic brigade and named three co-chefs: Lety Rodriguez, who started in the dish pit more than 20 years ago and now keeps the classics exact; Keagan Beresford, who helped open the family’s River North restaurant Obélix; and Nate Tryman, who shared the stove with Beresford as co-chef at Rootstock. Courtney Kenyon-Snider runs pastry for both Le Bouchon and Obélix.
Meet John Hogan, the chef cooking Alsace for one night
Hogan started cooking French food in Chicago in 1979. In 1987 Jean Joho, the Alsace-born chef of Everest, hired him and groomed him to run that kitchen, 40 floors above LaSalle Street, which is where Alsatian cooking got into his hands. He went on to lead the kitchen at Kiki’s Bistro for five years, ran the Chicago outpost of David Burke’s Park Avenue Café and opened his own French restaurant, Savarin.
From there he took a different turn. Hogan opened Keefer’s with Glenn Keefer in 2001 and gave the River North steakhouse a French accent and a house charcuterie program during a 13-year run. Then came River Roast on the Chicago River with his longtime friend Tony Mantuano, where whole roasted meats came carved at the table next to Hogan’s charcuterie board and his head-to-hock pork cake. Terrines, sausages, pâté and his own sauerkraut are still what he loves to make, which makes choucroute night a natural fit.
What you will eat: choucroute and the flavors of Alsace
Choucroute garnie is the dish Alsace serves when the weather turns. Sauerkraut is slowly braised with Riesling, juniper and onion, then piled high with sausages, smoked pork belly, ham hock and boiled potatoes, with sharp mustard on the side. It is generous and rich, brightened by the kraut, and it begs for a cold glass of Riesling or Pinot Blanc. Le Bouchon has not released the full menu for the night, so the details will be Hogan’s to reveal.
The kitchen already knows its way around the dish. This spring the dinner menu carried a choucroute de la mer, a seafood version with grilled yellowfin tuna, a scallop and crawfish chou farci, a brandade croquette, poached shrimp and smoked salmon over kraut with a choucroute beurre blanc. Pair that kitchen with a chef who has been curing pork and fermenting cabbage for decades, and you have the makings of a very good Sunday.
Where you will sit and how the night runs
The dinner fills the regular Le Bouchon dining room, so expect the full bistro experience: tight tables, low light, a hum of conversation and bottles on every table. Seatings for the Hogan Choucroute Dinner start every 15 minutes from 5 to 9 p.m., and each table is yours for about an hour and 45 minutes.
Book soon. On the morning of Nov. 5, 2026, the 8:45 and 9 p.m. seatings were still open to book for two (8:30 to 9 p.m. for four), and earlier times could be requested. No credit card is needed to hold a table, and the bistro asks for 24 hours’ notice to cancel. Le Bouchon has not announced a price for the night. For questions, call the restaurant at 773-862-6600.
Come back for the classics
If Nov. 15 does not work, the regular menu makes its own case for the trip. The tarte à l’oignon “Jean Claude” ($17) still layers caramelized onions, raclette and bacon on a crumbly crust, the way the founder made it. Soupe à l’oignon gratinée is $14, escargots in garlic and parsley butter are $15, and the salade Lyonnaise with poached egg and lardons is $16. The truite des fjords en croûte ($37) wraps ocean trout and English pea mousse in puff pastry and sets it in a Troisgros-style sorrel sauce with smoked trout roe.
Steak frites starts at $36 with maître d’ butter, $40 with sauce au poivre, or $42 “Manion” style, sliced over the fries and smothered in au poivre, a nod to their friend John Manion of El Che and Brasero. The current fall card adds lapin en croûte with braised rabbit and rabbit sausage in puff pastry ($39), halibut “Duglère” with brandade gnocchi ($41), a foie gras torchon with Seedling Farm pears ($39) and a whole roasted Pekin duck for two with sauce bigarade ($80). Leave room for the maple crème brûlée.
When to go: Monday wine, lunch and the rest of the family
Mondays are the insider move: every bottle on the French-focused list is half price at lunch and dinner. Nicolas Poilevey’s list leans into natural wine and Beaujolais, so it is a fine night to open something from Yvon Métras. Lunch runs Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner is 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The bistro is closed on Sundays, which is what makes the Hogan dinner a rare opening. A 3% surcharge on each check goes straight to the back-of-house team.
The Poileveys’ other rooms carry the same spirit. The brothers opened Chez Poulet, their rotisserie chicken counter and wine shop on Western Avenue, in August 2026, and Obélix brings their modern French cooking to River North. For another Bucktown night, Trattoria Lo So is around the corner on Armitage Avenue.
The honors back up the cooking. Le Bouchon won Best Neighborhood Restaurant at the 2025 Jean Banchet Awards. Oliver and Nicolas Poilevey were 2024 James Beard Award semifinalists for Outstanding Restaurateur for Obélix, Le Bouchon and Taqueria Chingón, and Kenyon-Snider was a 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.
Le Bouchon Chicago at a glance
- Event: Hogan Choucroute Dinner, a one-night celebration of Alsace with chef John Hogan
- Date: Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026; seatings 5 to 9 p.m.
- Where: Le Bouchon, 1958 N. Damen Ave., Chicago (Bucktown)
- Reservations: SevenRooms; no card required; 24-hour cancellation
- Price: not announced
- Regular hours: lunch Mon to Sat 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner Mon to Thu 5 to 10 p.m., Fri and Sat 5 to 11 p.m.; closed Sun
- Phone: 773-862-6600
Le Bouchon Chicago FAQ
When is the John Hogan choucroute dinner at Le Bouchon Chicago?
The Hogan Choucroute Dinner is Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, at Le Bouchon, 1958 N. Damen Ave. in Bucktown. Chef John Hogan cooks a one-night celebration of Alsace built around choucroute, with seatings every 15 minutes from 5 to 9 p.m. on a night the bistro is usually closed.
How do I book the choucroute dinner at Le Bouchon Chicago?
Reserve the Nov. 15, 2026, choucroute dinner at Le Bouchon on SevenRooms under “Hogan Choucroute Dinner.” On Nov. 5 the 8:45 and 9 p.m. seatings were open for two, with earlier times by request. No credit card is required, cancellations need 24 hours’ notice, and the restaurant’s phone is 773-862-6600.
Who is chef John Hogan?
John Hogan is a veteran Chicago chef known for French cooking and charcuterie. He trained under Alsace-born Jean Joho at Everest from 1987, led Kiki’s Bistro and Park Avenue Café, opened Savarin, ran Keefer’s for 13 years from 2001 and later opened River Roast with Tony Mantuano.
What is choucroute garnie?
Choucroute garnie is the signature winter dish of Alsace: sauerkraut braised with Riesling, juniper and onion, then topped with sausages, smoked pork belly, ham hock and potatoes and served with mustard. Le Bouchon Chicago builds its Nov. 15, 2026, dinner with John Hogan around the dish.
What are Le Bouchon Chicago’s hours?
Le Bouchon in Bucktown serves lunch Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner Monday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. It is closed on Sundays, apart from special nights such as the Nov. 15, 2026, Hogan dinner.
What should I order at Le Bouchon Chicago?
Start at Le Bouchon with the tarte à l’oignon “Jean Claude” ($17), onion soup ($14) or escargots ($15), then the trout en croûte ($37) or steak frites ($36 to $42). Finish with maple crème brûlée. On Mondays, every bottle of wine is half price.
Further reading
- Hogan Choucroute Dinner reservations on SevenRooms
- Le Bouchon official site
- Le Bouchon dinner menu
- Le Bouchon’s announcement of the John Hogan dinner on Instagram
- John Hogan biography, Chicago Gourmet
- Three (Mostly) New Chefs Shepherd Le Bouchon into Its 34th Year, WTTW (June 24, 2026)
- This 32-Year-Old Bucktown Bistro Hasn’t Missed a Beat, Eater Chicago (Oct. 23, 2025)
- Le Bouchon’s Second Act, StarChefs
- Past Banchet Award winners
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