Chicken Fried Steak with scrambled eggs and 2 pancakes from Golden Nugget on Central (& Wellington). It takes me 2 meals to finish it!

SCUBAchef wrote:

Fraggle wrote:Raspberry scone (or two) at Taste of Heaven

Good scones huh? I've been
looking for years. The best
I've found anywhere to date
are from Lazy Jane's in Madison,
Wisconsin; replacing my old
favorite from UpperCrust
Productions (Gainesville).
This could knock it down
to only a three-hour trek
(from Indy).

I wholeheartedly agree that Taste of Heaven makes wonderful scones. I like the dried cherry, but they always have a few kinds to pick from. I haven't found a better scone that's as accessible here in the city.

Since I have been making lists I figured I better make a dent in them.

This last Sunday my Bride and I decoded to take a trip to Nuevo Leon for the much talked about Chilaquiles and Huevos Rancheros. I have not been there that I remember but I have heard a lot about it.

What a great place. The place was bustling at 1:00 pm on Sunday with a lot of larger families waiting in line. Since we were only two we were able to be seated in short order.

The staff flying around busy as all get out but never did they seem tired or bothered by all of the bustle. Always friendly and quick to smile.

Service was great! Our orders were taken quickly and a complementary bowl of chicken soup with rice (a whole small piece of chicken, bone and all!) was brought to us and our coffee served (with a small carafe on the side).

With all of the activity we were allowed to eat at a leisurely pace with our waitress stopping by to make sure we were happy.

We had never tried Chilaquiles yet and this was the first thing I wanted to try. I have had Huevos Rancheros before (even in Mexico).

Boy! This stuff was good. There was a goodly amount of scrambled eggs in the Chilaquiles and it was spicy enough to keep you awake but not so hot that we were sweating. I tried them both plain, with a bit of salsa and on tortillas. Very good on a tortilla.

Speaking of the tortillas. Obviously made fresh. A touch greasy but with a very good flavor. I can see eating them just as they are or with a little spread on them.

The Huevos Rancheros were good as well. A little too wet but after mixing a little rice to soak a bit of the liquid, it was fine. Not too spicy at all.

All and all I am eager to return and sample some of their other offerings.

The feel of the place is that it is a place at the top of their game. Enough staff to keep the crowds moving and great enough food to keep the crowds packing in.

Best of all... The prices of the dishes we sampled were just $3.50 each!

Visiting my folks for dinner later that night we were talking about that we had this good breakfast and my mom mentioned that they had a favorite place that they used to visit back in the 60’s in that area… Named ‘Nuevo Leon’. Small world! She mentioned it was a small, single storefront back than with 3 worn stone steps leading inside.

Also. Parking was a nightmare when we visited. After once around the block I noticed they have a parking lot just to the east on Laflin St, just south of 18th. Be sure to get the card that the attendant gives you stamped when you are at the casher.

Thanks again folks for the great recommendation!

Nuevo Leon
1515 W. 18th St

Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop -- the one in Evanston -- has a great Catfish & Eggs breakfast, with Cajun Potatoes, very good cheese grits and chicory coffee. Also Crab Cake & Eggs and several other great ways to start the day. The only problem is that you need to go early so that you can work up an appetite by lunchtime.

There are almost too many to choose from...

However, a current favorite of mine is at the new neighborhood "blunch" spot (their self consciously pseudo-clever word, not mine) Vella Cafe.

We waited for long months in anticipation of the Grand Opening, sometimes feeling as though we were in a grand sociological torture experiment. We rushed to visit and visit again when it opened, and so far they have yet to disappoint. Their whimsical spins on breakfast classics delight my brain and belly. My favorite of the month is:

Prosciutto, Goat cheese & Fig jam crepes, served with a side of smashers and chicken sausage.

It is far more than I ought to eat and priced accordingly, but I always walk away happy. I'm so happy to have a good coffee and breakfast spot here in LoganBuckPark or whatever the landed gentry are calling my neighborhood... it's worth a visit!

Vella Cafe - 1912 N. Western, Chicago IL - 773-489-7777

Eggs over easy, hash browns, rye toast and ham off the bone at Jeri's Grill. Hands down one of the best breakfasts in the Lincoln Sq. area.

Jeri's Grill
4357 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 604-8775

PS ..Anyone tried the Bamboo nextdoor to Jeri's?

is there a place to get an italian beef at 7 am?

PS ..Anyone tried the Bamboo nextdoor to Jeri's?

I don't think Bamboo Massage serves food, but I know that's not what you're asking...

First place: The giant baked apple pancake, available at Walker Brothers and the other Chicago-area locations of the Original Pancake House.

Second place: Blueberry pancakes covered with almond panna cotta cream, at Bongo Room.

Third place: Peach bliss cakes, a special that was a variant of the blackberry bliss cakes normally on the menu at M. Henry (pancakes layered with fruit and vanilla mascarpone cream, then topped with a brown sugar and oat crust).

(Yes, I like sweet dishes for breakfast. But each of these places has excellent savory dishes, too, many of them egg-based.)

Apple pancake photo from the Walker Brothers website:

Panther in the Den wrote:[*]Orange, 75 W Harrison St (312) 447-1000

Orange is pretty good, I've been there a few times and have some pictures from last spring. Their "frushi" is fun... pieces of fruit and rice made to look like sushi.



The pan-seared oatmeal was good:



Omelette:

heavy liquid wrote:Orange is pretty good . . . The pan-seared oatmeal was good:

I used to like Orange quite a bit. However, of late I have been less impressed. In particular, a couple of weeks ago I ate at the Orange in Roscoe Village and had the pan seared oatmeal. I found it to be a giant sticky mess which was overly sweet. Since this was the first time I had it, I can't say that it's always this way, although my biggest complaint lately with Orange is just the excess sugar in many of their sweet dishes.

Dosais and Uthappam at Udupi Palace on Devon.




Udupi Palace
2543 W Devon Ave - At N Maplewood Ave
Chicago, IL 60659

773 338-2152

For the money, Valois is one of the best breakfast spots in Chicago. Line-served french toast, hash browns, bacon, and coffee for under $7 ALWAYS hit the spot at this Hyde Park legend. The food is great and the cafeteria service is fast.

Furthermore, the place is enormous and fun, particularly on Sundays during the post-church rush. The classic sociology text Slim's Table was written about its patrons, and apparently Philip Roth, while a graduate student at the U of C, found a napkin with seven random sentences on it, many of which he has used as to begin his novels.

Valois
1518 E 53rd St
Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 667-0647