Ina's [Familiar]

Frittata or Omelet? I'm sure that most of you have heard of Ina's in the west loop. This was my second trip to this restaurant for brunch and I have to say that I'm truly loving the food. I enjoyed a special referred to as: Amy's Omelet. It was filled with plenty of cheese, chicken sausage an asparagus. They also have an excellent vegetable hash----my meal from my first trip. The atmosphere is nice---even when it's busy you can still enjoy your conversation without yelling. Once again----if you're a brunch kind of a person Ina's is definitely worth checking out.

Ina's
1235 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60607
312-226-8227
http://www.breakfastqueen.com

i love ina's!i have followed her[ina pinkney] and her fabulous cooking for over ten years at three different spaces here in chicago.she is considered one of the leading women chef's in chicago and everything is wonderfully prepared using quality ingedients.one of her more unique brunch specialties is her version of scrapple.

Victor and I don't get to Ina's very often, but our plan to check out the nearby Chicago Antique Market (http://www.chicagoantiquemarket.com/home.asp) on Saturday gave us a good excuse to have lunch at Ina's first.

Previously we'd only tried Ina's for breakfast (which was uniformly wonderful--I'm a veg scrapple fan); this time we shared a beet salad and a brisket sandwich. Wowee! The beet salad was simple--letting the beets speak for themselves--and just totally delicious, and the brisket was terrifically tender, on a brioche that didn't quite hold together (I ate the last bits of the sandwich with a fork).

One day we'll try the famous fried chicken...

ina is "in house" alot and she's always "camera ready"!
btw,ina's is "no cell phones"!
i was recently scolded and admonished by ina herself when mine rang unexpectedly!

I've never been a fan of Ina's food. She is extremely kind and hospitable, but the food is just adequate. I was so suprised at how mediocre everything was the first time I went, I wrote it off to a bad day. Since I work five minutes away, I decided to give it another try; same sort of experience. The pancakes were just okay. The next time I went I had a mediocre omlet. Nothing horrendous, but certainly nothing to excite the palate or to justify the prices. I can get the same meal at Le Peep, a few blocks away or an even better one at Wishbone for the same or slightly less. Breakfast Club, Sweet Maple Cafe, Hashbrowns, are all within five minutes by car and are all superior to Ina's.

radiator wrote:I've never been a fan of Ina's food. She is extremely kind and hospitable, but the food is just adequate. I was so suprised at how mediocre everything was the first time I went, I wrote it off to a bad day. Since I work five minutes away, I decided to give it another try; same sort of experience. The pancakes were just okay. The next time I went I had a mediocre omlet. Nothing horrendous, but certainly nothing to excite the palate or to justify the prices. I can get the same meal at Le Peep, a few blocks away or an even better one at Wishbone for the same or slightly less. Breakfast Club, Sweet Maple Cafe, Hashbrowns, are all within five minutes by car and are all superior to Ina's.

i'm not a fan either. husband and i went there with a couple friends and i was disappointed by the food. i ordered a juevos rancheros type of dish, which was medicore, and the tortilla was nearly impossible to cut through, and husband ordered a french toast dish, which consisted of a plate of 3 small halves of bland french toast. we will definitely not be returning.

I'm definitely not a fan. I think the food is bland and the portion sizes are small. I think the regular Greek diner does a better job with breakfast.

We are very blessed to have a customer base that cares so much about our success that they always tell me the truth when we don't hit the mark...a very HIGH mark I set for my kitchen and front of the house staff.

When a guest is unhappy with a dish or doesn't like it or wants more of something, we happily and easily make it right. BUT, we have to be told. I can't make 'right' what I don't know is 'wrong'.

Granted, our flavor profiles aren't for everyone's palate, but that's subjective.
We can always find something on our menu for every taste.

There isn't a chef I've ever met who isn't frustrated by a customer who leaves and then sends a letter or calls or writes a post that expresses a disappointment when the situation would have been fixed immediately during the dining experience.

These are hard times for our industry and getting true and honest feedback is what will keep us alive. Please do that for all of us.

Thank you,
ina

It was close to 2 p.m. Saturday and I was in the Fulton Market neighborhood and I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch, so a friend and I drove over to Ina's for a bite to eat. I'd read in a Smoque Restaurant-related discussion that Ina's was serving some of the meat products from Smoque and when I looked at the menu I was pleasantly surprised to see an entry for Smoked Pulled Pork Hash, with two poached eggs. Other items on the menu(s) interested me, but not as much as the intriguing entry of the hash.

Smoked (from Smoque) Pulled Pork Hash and Poached Eggs



Combined with the pulled pork to make the hash was onion, red bell pepper, potato, and some cilantro. The two perfectly poached eggs crowned the hash. To one side on the plate was a serving of North Carolina BBQ sauce. Accompanying the order were excellent bread rolls - one a multi-grain offering with pumpkin seeds and in the form of a small loaf.

I very much enjoy both the pulled pork plate and sandwich at Smoque, and what Ina's served in the hash was no let-down. The NC BBQ sauce was falvorful and an appropriate condiment.

It was a comfortable meal, and because we were there just before the 3 - 5 p.m. break in servce there were only three or four other customers.

Smoked pulled-pork hash with poached eggs at Ina's: the best thing I've eaten lately.

[Edited to make a spelling correction]

Hi,

Ina's has now added Chicken and Waffles to the breakfast and lunch menu.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Ina's has now added Chicken and Waffles to the breakfast and lunch menu.

And damn good chicken and waffles at that!

Ina's, Chicken and Waffles



Tender meaty moist, crisp flaky crust, two wings, a good size thigh, light crisp waffle, warm syrup and spiced honey for the chicken.



Fresh squeezed juice, Intelligentsia coffee, seamless service, Ina's over the top wonderfully exuberant personality and an omelet my bride described as "silky" I'll be back soon.

Ina



Ina's
1235 W Randolph St
West Loop, Chicago
312-226-8227

Enjoy,
Gary

That's great to hear.

I have always wanted to love her food. I won't eat the chicken. But it looks gorgeous, but waffles & the rest mean I will put it back on my list of places in the area for breakfast/brunch based on your ringing endorsement.

+1 on the chicken and waffles. I also want to try the frittata with spaghetti.

. . . and don't forget that pulled pork hash pictured upthread, one of the better breakfast dishes I had last year. I'd definitely order that over the frittatas or the omelets, neither of which I've found to be particularly special.

We ate at Ina's yesterday before attending the Opera. We enjoyed our dishes. Dining companions had the Paris omelet which was ham and cheese with potatoes, and another had salmon cakes, something like crab cakes. I had the Vanilla waffle garnished with bananas and whipped cream. The coffee was very good, the fresh blood orange juice was good as was the cinnamon coffee cake. The service was excellent. Didn't have to ask for ice water, its already there. Hot sauce on the table if you need to spice things up. If you get there earlier in the morning, there was no wait. We arrived around 11, but later it was a packed house with a line. Free parking which is a huge deal for me. Ina is very personable and visited tables. What's not to like, its a good go to place for breakfast, lunch or brunch. Ina is having a one day lobster feast in early April for those wanting to feast on lobster. She has not been able financially to reinstitute dinner services but hopes to do so in the future.

Sad news:

Ina Pinkney retiring after 33 years, closing Ina's
Last day of service at beloved Chicago eatery Ina's is set for Dec. 31

Corporations have exit interviews; chefs never have an exit interview," says Ina Pinkney. "So this is really something for me."

Pinkney, aka The Breakfast Queen, creator of Heavenly Hots, Chocolate Blobs and other signature dishes, is hanging up her rolling pin. Now 70, the woman who set a breakfast standard so high it has yet to be surpassed, is announcing her retirement.

Ina's, the Randolph Street restaurant she opened in 2001 in the Market District, has been sold. The last day of business will be Dec. 31; when lunch service ends, the lights will be extinguished and the doors will be locked for the last time.

"The end of a remarkable career," she says, "to have fed Chicagoans for 33 years."

Very good article - well worth reading all of it.

...the woman who set a breakfast standard so high it has yet to be surpassed

Ina's is OK, and she's a lovely person, but that's a bit much.

Ina has sold her building to the Malnati group of Malnait's Pizza fame:

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/a ... ate=mobile