Bonfire
Park Plaza Hotel
Boston, MA 02116
617-262-3473
Located at the Park Plaza Hotel, Bonfire is chef and restaurateur Todd English’s first steak house in Boston. Based on the American steak house with sophisticated European influences, Bonfire’s menu spans all the cattle-ranging regions of the world. With a firewall that runs along the back wall and a taqueria behind the bar churning out empanadas and creative gourmet tacos, the cooking becomes the entertainment at Bonfire. The extensive, award-wining wine list includes selections from South America, Spain and California, as well as more than fifty different tequilas and mescals. Bonfire adds an elegant and seductive little spark to Boston’s fine dining scene.
New Year's Eve 2008 at Boston's Best Restaurants
See how your favorite restaurants are ringing in the New Year.
Chilean Wine Dinner at Bonfire
A steakhouse they may be but it’s not all-meat-all-the-time at Bonfire – on Wednesday, December 10th chef Bonfire hosts a ...
Check Out Chefs in Shorts
The season’s best harborside tasting event, Chefs in Shorts, is back at the Seaport Hotel for its eleventh year ...
Robert Bean
Chef at Bonfire
A native of Woburn, Massachusetts, Chef Robert Bean brings an impressive culinary pedigree to downtown Boston, where he is Executive Chef at Todd English's Bonfire Steakhouse at the Park Plaza Hotel and Towers.
Bean first entered the kitchen at age fifteen, at the Granite Rose in Hampstead, New Hampshire. With no prior culinary background, Bean was hired as a dishwasher, but quickly worked his way up to cook. He spent the next four years gaining valuable experience and culinary skills, before moving on to become a Banquet and Line Cook at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston.
Now certain of his calling as a chef and his passion for the restaurant industry, Bean decided to complement his extensive restaurant experience with formal culinary training. He enrolled at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. While a student there, he continued to hone his skills as an extern at the famed Four Seasons Hotel. Upon graduation he accepted a Sous Chef position at the Atkinson Resort and Country Club in New Hampshire.
Bean was welcomed into Todd English Enterprises in 2004, when he joined the line at Olives Las Vegas in the Bellagio Hotel. For a year and a half he immersed himself in English's signature interpretive Mediterranean cuisine, proving to be an invaluable addition to the Todd English Enterprises team. When he moved back to Boston, Bean began working the line at English's rustic seafood concept, Kingfish Hall, in historic Faneuil Hall. Again impressing his superiors with his creativity, skill and leadership, Bean quickly moved up through the ranks, becoming Sous Chef and finally Chef de Cuisine.
When an opening became available to lead the culinary team at Bonfire, English knew exactly the chef he wanted for the job. Drawing upon his love and comprehensive training in the classics, as well as his broad experience executing both English's interpretive and rustic cuisine, Bean wows his customers nightly with Bonfire's Latin American inspired steakhouse fare.
- Aïoli
- 1. noun A blend of ail (garlic) and oli (oil) in the parlance of the Provence region of southern France. Around here, we'd call it a garlic mayonnaise.
- Assiette
- 1. noun French for "assortment," as in cheeses.
- Bouillabaisse
- 1. noun A Provençal stew of fish, shellfish, onions, tomatoes, white wine, olive oil, garlic, saffron and herbs.
- Brioche
- 1. noun A soft, yeasty French bread enriched with butter and eggs.
- Cavatelli
- 1. noun Small pasta shells with wavy edges.
- Charcuterie
- 1. noun The French term for delicatessen-style items.
- Chorizo
- 1. noun Crumbly, spiced pork sausage.
- Chutney
- 1. noun A spicy, fruity, sometimes marmalade-like Indian condiment.
- Coulis
- 1. noun A thick puree or sauce.
- Crostini
- 1. noun The Italian word for "little toasts" (referring to bread, not grappa).
- Duxelles
- 1. noun Often used as a garnish or to flavor sauces and soups, duxelles is a mixture of finely chopped mushrooms, shallots and herbs cooked in butter until it forms a thick paste.
- Empanada
- 1. noun Savory or sweet turnover.
- Farro
- 1. noun Tuscany's mainstay, a small, light brown grain.
- Foie gras
- 1. noun Expensive, silk-textured goose or duck liver that has been enlarged by a process you don't want to read about if you're going to eat this dish.
- Frisee
- 1. noun French for curly, but usually refers to curly endive, the bitter salad green of the chicory family.
- Frisée
- 1. noun A curly, mildly bitter member of the chicory family, eaten raw in salads.
- Hollandaise
- 1. noun An emulsion of egg yolks, lemon juice and hot melted butter, the smooth, rich sauce is often an accompaniment to vegetable, fish and egg dishes.
- Jus
- 1. noun French for juice, jus also refers to the unthickened juices from a piece of roasted meat.
- Mizuna
- 1. noun Crisp, feathery salad greens from Japan.
- Nage
- 1. noun This culinary buzzword usually indicates a bouillon with (among other things) white wine, shallots and herbs.
- Oxtail
- 1. noun A very flavorful cut of meat usually from beef or veal tail. Can be very tough so, often requires long, slow braising.
- Paella
- 1. noun A saffron-flavored rice dish with meats, vegetables and shellfish; named for the large shallow pan in which it is traditionally cooked.
- Pâté
- 1. noun Ground meat, fish or vegetables blended with fat and seasonings; can be smooth or chunky, served cold or hot.
- Pâte
- 1. noun French for dough, paste or batter.
- Persillade
- 1. noun French for parsley, also refers to a mixture of parsley and garlic that is often sprinkled on a dish as flavoring or garnish towards the end of its preparation.
- Pico de gallo
- 1. noun A Spanish condiment featuring chopped peppers, cucumbers, onions, jicama, jalapeño and seasonings.
- Porcini
- 1. noun Smoky, meaty wild mushrooms.
- Quesadilla
- 1. noun A flour tortilla filled, folded and then either toasted or fried. The filling usually consists of cheese, salsa, meat and refried beans.
- Ragu
- 1. noun Tomato and meat sauce from Bologna.
- Risotto
- 1. noun Italian dish made from rice cooked by intermittently adding small amounts of stock or broth. Other ingredients are added as required.
- Rösti
- 1. noun Refers to a Swiss potato dish, similar to some types of home fries, where shredded potatoes are sautéed on both sides until browned.
- Semolina
- 1. noun Very coarse flour used to make pizza and bread. Also refers to rounded parts of wheat used to make a pudding of the same name.
- Shiitake
- 1. noun Bold and meaty, these are called "black mushrooms" on Chinese menus.
- Terrine
- 1. noun An earthenware container, or the dish cooked therein.