Humboldt Park's first caviar-centric restaurant might do the trick! It isn't cheap, but you can certainly get out of there for less than $200 as long as you are careful how you order.

https://heritage-chicago.com/getreadytoeat/

2700 W Chicago Ave
Humboldt Park
Chicago, IL 60622

Cafe Marie Jeanne. Several choices and economical. Atmosphere for a weekday breakfast is wonderful.

LynnB wrote:Ressurecting this old thread for a couple of reasons. One - my almost-7-year-old has expressed a desire to try caviar. Two- I found this thread valuable and interesting.

I know I could purchase caviar and make blini, etc.. at home for a somewhat reasonable price. I could also take my daughter to Russian Tea Time and have the full experience for about $200 (includes parking, beverages, tip, etc...). I am wondering if there is an in-between? An restaurant city or suburbs that offers a taste at a reasonable price?

This whole quest was kicked off by my daughter seeing an on-line photo of a deep-fried crab topped with salmon roe that she found fascinating. When I explained to her what fish roe/caviar was, she became concerned that if she ate it little fish would grow inside her. I brought up the fact that she eats chicken eggs regularly and there are no little chickens growing inside her. That worked, and she is ready to try some fish eggs!

Any suggestions appreciated.

What a fun request! My first choice would be Cafe Marie-Jeanne, for brunch or lunch. They offer a side of caviar toast, or a caviar addition to other items. There would also be plenty of other options she would likely enjoy so it doesn't have to be only about the eggs...unless she only wants the eggs, and that could probably be accommodated too. I also imagine staff would be helpful in giving her a fun experience.

Heritage Caviar Bar might be somewhere to consider, although I haven't been, so not a direct recommendation. Heritage also serves brunch.

If Band of Bohemia still offers Eggs on Eggs on Eggs, and she likes omelets, this would be a great intro, but others have posted not seeing it on the menu since their recent chef change.

Edited to offer my apologies for the redundancy of the CMJ and Heritage recommendations, so please allow me me to revise them a +1! In reviewing the beginning of the thread, I missed the recs on page 2.

Cafe Marie-Jeanne
1001 N California Ave

Heritage Restaurant & Caviar Bar
2700 W Chicago Ave

Band of Bohemia
4710 N Ravenswood

My thought was make eggs on eggs with Tobiko or salmon roe, though any opportunity to go to Cafe Marie-Jeanne is welcome.

I think, but you could easily check, eggs on eggs are off the Band of Bohemia menu. Heritage Caviar Bar sounds fun, expensive, but fun.


Cafe Marie-Jeanne
1001 N California Ave

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! I think Cafe Marie Jeanne is the plan.

I want to reiterate a comment Cathy2 made far up thread -- and that is to not overlook domestic caviar. Collins Caviar is lovely, and since it's from the U.S., you can get better caviar for less money. Because you don't want to buy bad, cheap caviar -- nothing shelf stable. You want something that tastes good. Carolyn and Rachel Collins actually take their caviar to schools and instruct kids in how to eat it (press the eggs against the roof of your mouth with your tongue, until they pop) -- making it more fun for them. My experience has been that really cheap caviar -- the stuff you usually find in gift baskets -- is horrendous. I was astonished to find out how good really excellent caviar was. And Collins has a range -- including some caviar spreads that just get you a bit of the taste, if you want to dip your toe in rather than taking a major plunge.

http://www.collinscaviar.com/

LynnB wrote:Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! I think Cafe Marie Jeanne is the plan.

Had an order of the bottarga toast here this morning and it was great. FYI if you want to that route as well.

FWIW Heritage Restaurant and Caviar Bar was on Check Please Season 18 Episode 7 first broadcast January 25, 2019. Segment is available on-line through link on this page.

Just circling back on this as we made it through the wind yesterday to Cafe Marie Jeanne. It felt a perfect GNR experience. They were busy but we only had to wait 5 minutes at noon. Our server was wonderful, especially after we explained our mission. The caviar toast was great and the perfect size for my daughter and I to share along with her kid’s egg/pancake/sausage and my smoked mackerel omelet. Jonathan was very happy with his Croque Madame as well. Audrey’s only complaint was that she thought the fish eggs would be bigger. Yikes, this kid!
Thanks again to all who put this gem on my radar.

LynnB wrote:Just circling back on this as we made it through the wind yesterday to Cafe Marie Jeanne. It felt a perfect GNR experience.

Kevin Pang just did a The Takeout write-up, 4 lessons from a post-graduate course in omelettes featuring chef/owner Mike Simmons of Cafe Marie Jeanne with a picture of a caviar topped omelette.