CJ's Eatery

i'm a huge fan of bisquits and gravy, and i am usually disappointed by what i'm served when i've ordered this dish. it might be simple enough to prepare, but it is very easy to do a poor job of it. today, at cj's eatery, i had a superb version; probably the best i've ever tasted. the 2 biscuits were fresh and baking powdery even under their thick blanket of flavorful cream gravy. there was just the right amount of sausage in the gravy. most places skimp on the sausage- understandable, as b &g is usually a cheap menu choice. but the sausage is the key- it provides the necessary flavor, and cj's has done it up just right. and the price is right, too. an easy $3.50 means i'll be back for that and the tall glass of real iced tea. my friend's large southwestern style breakfast burrito, filled with eggs, cheese and chorizo, went down a treat as well. also well-priced at $3.50.
i look forward to returning for lunch and dinner. macaroni and cheese as an entree makes perfect sense to me. the pulled pork sandwich, meatloaf tower and the salmon with cajun cream sauce all sound appealing. the room itself is downright gorgeous. high ceilinged, sunny, with colorful art on the brick walls, comfortable booths and artful looking wooden chairs are all a cut above the expected or the necessary. charles (the owner), his business partner, vanessa and matt, the cook, were all welcoming. cj's is an oasis of good food in an industrial neighborhood that is seriously in need of restaurants.
justjoan

CJ's Eatery
3839 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60651
773-292-0990
Grand is just 4 blocks south of north ave. at this address
Neighborhood: Humboldt Park

I have to echo the original poster's thoughts...

This place flat out rocks.

We've only been there for breakfast, but it's a total diamond in the rough and well worth the effort to check out.

I wasn't sure if it would live up to the hype it got in Red Eye, T.O.C., or Yelp, but it did and then some. You're almost shocked at how inexpensive everything is, and how incredible the food is.

My only complaint is that on each trip there, we've never seen many people. The place is simply too good not to be on everyone's radar.

Their selection of coffee's is great, and the mimosa's (BYOB) are fantastic as well. EVERYTHING from the kitchen is homemade, and the food shines but the banana bread pudding with peanut butter creme anglaise is orgasmic.

Just got back from eating breakfast there. Service was excellent. CJ himself came by the table first to explain the menu and the specials. There was no line and plenty of tables open when we arrived - a rare treat for 10am brunch on a Sunday.

We ordered the Gravy and Biscuits (very good), Breakfast casserole (eggs, sausage, tomatoes, onions, cheddar on top of a bed of hashbrowns and baked, served with biscuits), an Omelet (looks like this was made with 5+ eggs - ample and delicious). All were very tasty and inexpensive as well. Agree with what was said above ... enjoyed the meal and will be back soon for sure. Lunch and Dinner look really good too. Definitely want to try the Chicken & Waffles and Meatloaf tower on future visits.

Lastly, there were quite a few tables that filled up during our meal. I have to say that it was a treat to see that they pull in a diverse crowd. This is something of a challenge to find in Chicago, and I hope it keeps up.

I also had breakfast there today. I was a bit surprised at the ambiance of the place. I had expected a standard Chicago diner, with all the talk of biscuits and gravy and all, but CJ's is a step up in ambiance and aspirations, but not in price. The weekend specials include chicken (wings) and waffles, shrimp and grits and a special of two eggs, bacon or sausage, potatoes or grits and a biscuit. That's what I ordered along with a side of sausage gravy.

CJ's Breakfast Special


Overall breakfast was quite good and for $6, quite a bargain. I wasn't all that wild about the scrambled eggs, which had a bit of an institutional taste to them, but everything else was top notch. Next time, I'll stick with eggs over easy, though with all the other items I'd like to check out, it will be a while until I'll get around to ordering eggs again. The coffee was very good as well. I'm not much of a coffee connoisseur, but even I noticed.

This is a very good find, Joan!

A very nice - indeed, heartwarming thing happened last night when i headed over to cj's for dinner. i parked right out front and walked to the door, already debating what i would order for my first dinner there, and discovered the door was locked. while standing there, another car pulled up with 2 men also hoping for dinner. then i noticed the new sign announcing that on wednesdays cj's closed at 4pm. the lights were on and charles the chef/owner was inside doing some prep work. he came over and instead of politely shooing us away he offered to cook for us, as long as we didnt mind that all the items on the menu wouldnt be available. by this time a couple showed up and were also ushered inside. not too many restaurateurs would give up their night off to feed a handle of folks, but charles did. and i'm happy to say dinner was very good.

for starters i had a very thick and creamy butternut squash soup which was noticeably spicy from the addition of cayenne. but the best part was the presence of pecans which i think had been candied. boy, that was a great cup of soup. then i ordered the meatloaf tower which was a large slab of very tasty meatloaf on top of a slice of french bread (unnecessary,IMO). the meatloaf was covered with excellent garlic mashed potatoes with the skin on, just the way i like them. this was topped with fried onion rings. my friend had a rich corn/potato chowder and a 4 cheese macaroni casserole. i'm pretty picky about mac'n'cheese. this was definitely worth eating, though i'd like to see it with a little more sauce. all in all, a very good, down home meal. i also appreciate the vibe in this place. it's real easy to relax here and linger if you like over dessert and coffee or tea. justjoan

I had very good food at this place for a very reasonable amount of money. The service was great and friendly. I loved the decor of the restaurant.

Hi,

I guess I didn't read Steve Z's post carefully enough. I walked into CJ's today dreaming of Biscuits and Gravy perhaps with an egg sunny side up. I then looked at the weekend breakfast special to find Shrimp and Cheese Grits for $9. I made a deal with my guest to share a plate of Biscuits and Gravy and Shrimp and Cheese Grits. At the last moment, she shifted gears ordering Shrimp and Cheese Grits, too. I don't blame her because how often do you find Shrimp and Cheese Grits for breakfast this far north?



These grits were not in the least bit gritty, they were soft, supple and easy to love. The seared tail-on shrimp in a buttery garlic-onion sauce were cooked, though not tough. A bonus was a biscuit to scrap the plate clean or as Mike Royko once said, "Scrape the cat" for the very same activity.

We did split order a full order of biscuits and gravy:



The only think lacking was a generous dose of pepper, which I can easily do myself!

We met the owner Charles who advised they have been open for several months. When they first opened, they had maybe 8 parties attend on a Sunday. There were at least that many parties during the time I was there. Charles acknowledged having read the posts on LTHforum indicating the buzz was starting to be felt in his restaurant. Shrimp and Grits may be a weekend menu item, Charles indicated it could be made during the week by request.

JustJoan, you did yourself proud by posting on this place. This is really quite a find.

Regards,

My husband and I went on Saturday. It was DELICIOUS!
We behaved in a truly gluttonous manner.
Hubby ordered fried chicken and waffles. He went to school in the south and has a thing for that dish. He has never been happy with renditions of it here, until now. He thought that the waffle was light and perfectly crisped and the fried chicken was well-spiced and fried a even golden brown. The maple syrup came chock full of pecans. He also ordered a side of cheese grits and we got a side of sausage gravy to share for use on our biscuits.
I ordered the shrimp and grits and it was terrific! The shrimp were huge. The grits were creamy, cheesey goodness.
And another really important thing, all the food came out piping hot, which we loved.
Our waitress was shocked that after all this we wanted to have dessert, but the two specials were irresistable to us. I had the banana bread pudding with peanut butter anglaise. I am a peanut butter and bread pudding freak and this did not disappoint. It was plated beautifully with a torch- carmelized banana slice on the top, a mint spring and a dusting of powdered sugar. It was so big that I made the waitress take it from me when I was half-way through lest I hurt myself! Hubby had sweet potato pie and thought it was quite good as well.
It seems far west, but we took Grand the whole way there and back from the Ukrainian Village and it did not take long at all.
The coffee was great. The servers were very kind and polite.
We will be back soon.

LTHForum,

Please allow me to jump on the CJ's Eatery bandwagon, went with a small group for lunch Saturday and everything, without exception, we tried was really quite good.

Started with an order of Wings and Waffles, tender waffle, crisp wings, nicely accented by pecan maple syrup and Texas Pete hot sauce.

Lilly, Katie, Sarah


Creamy cheese grits with shrimp and bacon lived up to high expectations as did Biscuits and gravy.

Shrimp and Grits (front) Biscuits and Gravy (rear)


In a Hammondesque moment Lilly, Pigmon's niece, who was born and raised in North Carolina, added ketchup to her Shrimp and Grits.



The rest of our breakfasts were equally tasty, with a Pick Any Four (bacon, ham, cheese, fresh mushrooms, spinach, peppers, red onion, tomato) Omelet w/hash browns and biscuits looking particularly good.



We finished with Banana bread pudding w/peanut butter creme anglaise, a flavor packed dessert, so rich one was more than enough for 7-people to share.

Banana bread pudding w/peanut butter creme anglaise


Service was spot on, our waitress not batting an eye to my bringing in my own bottle of Texas Pete* and CJ stopped by our table a couple of times.

CJ, co-owner CJ's Eatery


The physical space, as has been mentioned, is open, airy and filled with art including one particularly captivating Tiki sculpture.

Lilly, Katie, Sarah,


I'm looking forward to trying CJ's for dinner, especially as there is a large smoker in back which I understand is used to good effect.

Thanks for the heads up on CJ's JustJoan.

I've put up a few additional pictures here

Enjoy,
Gary

*Mandatory for Shrimp and Grits

CJ's Eatery
3839 W Grand Ave
Chicago, Il 60651
773-292-0990
http://www.cjs-eatery.com

gary, i'm not familiar with Texas Pete hot sauce., but if its required eating with shrimp and grits, i guess i'd better get me some. where do i find it? justjoan

JustJoan,

I have several bottles in my trunk of Texas Pete at this moment. I'm not sure it is available in Chicago, but I always bring a supply back. You can have a bottle.

Regards,

justjoan wrote:gary, i'm not familiar with Texas Pete hot sauce., but if its required eating with shrimp and grits, i guess i'd better get me some. where do i find it? justjoan

Meijer's is your friend. That's the only place that I know of in the Chicagoland area where you can buy Texas Pete.

cathy- i'll take you up on your offer- thanks. where do you 'bring a supply back' from?
stevez- maybe i'm the last to know, but i see these mysterious ads for meijer's in the newspaper but they never have any locations. i have no idea what/where meijer's is. is it a chain grocery store? are there any in chicago? justjoan

Hi,

I'm in Mississippi.

Regards,

They usually have Texas Pete at the Tony's on Fullerton.

thanks jim. i'm eager to try this sauce. but texas pete will have some stiff competition in my kitchen from Frank's Red Hot sauce. i go through a bottle of that probably every month. justjoan

justjoan wrote:stevez- maybe i'm the last to know, but i see these mysterious ads for meijer's in the newspaper but they never have any locations. i have no idea what/where meijer's is. is it a chain grocery store? are there any in chicago? justjoan

Meijer's is a mega supermarket/clothing/garden supply/home goods store. It's a regional chain based in Michigan. there are three or four of them around here; all in the suburbs. You can use their store locaterto find the one closest to you.

justjoan wrote: i have no idea what/where meijer's is. is it a chain grocery store? are there any in chicago? justjoan

There's one in Arlington Heights (just off Golf Rd.) and others in the western suburbs. If you're near one, it may be worth a stop: in my experience, Meijer has the best produce section of any "regular" (i.e., not Whole Foods-like) grocery store. (Half of the store is food and the other is non-food items -- like a Wal-Mart, except you can go there without having to feel sad for the rest of the day.)

Edit: Yeah, what Steve said. ^

Texas Pete is a hot sauce manufactured in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. As hot sauces go, it is fairly mild, more vinegary than peppery. But it is very nice when you don't want your food overpowered. When I go to NC for the summer, I always buy a small bottle.

For more information about Texas Pete (originally to be called Mexican Joe, but they wanted an American name) check out Texas Pete website

my husband and i went to cj's on sunday morning and i've got to say i do not know what all the excitement is about. we had the biscuits and gravy, shrimp and grits, and the the eggs benedict special. the hollandaise was way too tart. the grits were way too runny,and the hash browns were not brown at all. our waitress was complelely overwhelmed and inexperienced. the space is very attractive but this place is not worth going out of your way for. perhaps they are suffering growing pains but we could have gotten a better breakfast one block south at wishbone and that is not saying much.

Are you sure you were at the right place? There is no location of Wishbone anywhere near there.

LTHForum,

Second Saturday in row I've found myself at CJ's, it's becoming a habit, and not one I am inclined to break.

Mac and cheese, ordered by Juanna Rumble's daughter Zoe, was more than just kid friendly filler, 4-cheese and lightly baked it appealed to the adults as well.

Zoe w/Mac and Cheese


Gumbo on daily special, CJ's has a nice touch with Low country dishes such as Shrimp and Grits and Gumbo.

Gumbo


Sausage Breakfast Casserole was hearty, filling, though a bit compact (dense) giving it an uninteresting uniform flavor. Not bad mind you, simply uninteresting, especially in comparison to flavor popping dishes like Shrimp and Grits or Gumbo.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole


CJ's breakfast/brunch standards such as banana pancakes, wings and waffles and biscuits and gravy, pictured upthread, were as good as last week, in other words quite good, I may be becoming mildly addicted to the pecan maple syrup.

I was particularly taken with CJ's biscuits, crisp from the griddle, terrific flavor, little spread of jelly and they might have been my favorite of the morning.

Biscuits


Juanna Rumble, in an burst of culinary temperance, ordered Meatloaf with a side salad. No gravy, no potato, just meat and lettuce.

Plain unadorned meat loaf and side salad.


The only slight misstep in, I'm guessing, 14 dishes, were an appetizer of Southwestern Egg Rolls. It wasn't so much the flavor as they seemed to have been fried before the oil was up to temp and were quite oily.

Southwestern Egg Rolls


The Culinary Paparazzi were out in full force Saturday.

Ronnnie_Suburban, Steve Z


Service, especially given our group of 11, was spot-on, Antoinette having a particularly pleasant demeanor to go along with her efficiency and excellent memory.

Antoinette


The one disconcerting aspect of our enjoyable Saturday brunch was from 11am to 1pm we were the only customers in CJ's. This is a great place with good food and people who care deeply about what goes on your plate. They deserve to be busier.

Enjoy,
Gary

Hi,

I was there on Sunday mid-morning to find enough tables occupied to find they are comfortably growing their business. In fact we met a gentleman who was leaving who had been there for breakfast the day before as well as Sunday. He had brought his own champagne to make Mimosas. I later met JustJoan and her party strolling in for their breakfast.

While it was fun to finally order chicken and waffles from a menu, instead of creating my own from ordering two separate menu items. However, I would be willing to pay more, if it meant getting something more than chicken wing parts. While the chicken was cooked perfectly, I simply wanted meatier parts.

We ordered the macaroni and cheese to find it ok, but not outstanding. I prefer a heavier presence of cheddar, though I know I can find it at Smoque.

The breakfast casserole was interesting, especially the sausages. It wasn't rough ground pork, rather it was fine ground. While I admit I didn't ask Charles about this particular ingredient. In the South, they will comfortably use 'Vienna' sausages in a can. 'Vienna' in their vernacular is a type of sausage rather than a manufacturer. These skinless sausages I suspect were canned 'Vienna' sausages or a kissing cousin.

Big thumbs up again for the Shrimp and Grits. I do want to try the banana pancakes sometime soon.

I also like you can order your ice tea sweetened or unsweetened.

There will come a day when you may have to wait to get in, so get there now!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:While it was fun to finally order chicken and waffles from a menu, instead of creating my own from ordering two separate menu items. However, I would be willing to pay more, if it meant getting something more than chicken wing parts. While the chicken was cooked perfectly, I simply wanted meatier parts.

C2,

I had a brief conversation with CJ about this very subject. I suggested they offer "meatier parts" as well, though I specified chicken thighs.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:While it was fun to finally order chicken and waffles from a menu, instead of creating my own from ordering two separate menu items. However, I would be willing to pay more, if it meant getting something more than chicken wing parts. While the chicken was cooked perfectly, I simply wanted meatier parts.

C2,

I had a brief conversation with CJ about this very subject. I suggested they offer "meatier parts" as well, though I specified chicken thighs.

Enjoy,
Gary

Good suggestion!

to echo gary's sentiment- the biscuits are terrific. i dont know any place else that splits, toasts and lightly butters their biscuits, but it's worth the extra effort. i had my first bacon and egg breakfast here yesterday , and the bacon was better than average- fragrant and perfectly crisp. the grits were good, and i love that they are served in a ramekin so they neither spill over into my eggs, or congeal really fast on the plate and get cold.

LMAO . . . love that 'total food geeks' pic of stevez and me!

It was, as Gary posted, a terrific breakfast. Everything I tasted was delicious. I thought the biscuits were outstanding and I was dreaming about making some sort of egg sandwich, using one as the base. The chicken & waffles and shrimp & grits were just excellent, too. The only thing I didn't totally love was my sausage casserole, which had great flavor but was a bit dry. I tend to like my scrambled eggs a bit looser. Nonetheless, the food at CJ's is fantastic and as far as it is from my northern enclave, I would have no problem making a dedicated trip there, just to have breakfast. It's that good and the offerings are fairly distinctive, too.

I saved a little bit of room and after breakfast, went down the block with my family and stevez to sample the classic fare at Jimmy's. It was my son's first trip there and he enjoyed it as much as we did . . .


Polish with everything from Jimmy's

=R=

CJ's Eatery
3839 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60651
(773) 292-0990

Jimmy's Red Hots
4000 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60651
(773) 384-9513

stevez wrote:Meijer's is your friend. That's the only place that I know of in the Chicagoland area where you can buy Texas Pete.

I'll have to look for it, though I'm more of a Crystal guy myself as concerns cheap hot sauce, being from the Gulf.

Note that Meijer stocks quite a bit of Southern-ish stuff, including good frozen biscuits and country ham scraps. That is, at least the Benton Harbor MI Meijers does. I wonder if this doesn't come from the fact that the Meijer empire stretches into the lower reaches of OH and IN, as well as KY.

@JeffB: Any suggestions as to where I could find Crystal locally? We've had a tough time locating it lately and have run out. My better half is valiantly trying to make do with my favorite (Cholula), tobasco and a variety of other hot sauces, but he's sorely missing his Crystal.

Schatz MacArthur wrote:@JeffB: Any suggestions as to where I could find Crystal locally? We've had a tough time locating it lately and have run out. My better half is valiantly trying to make do with my favorite (Cholula), tobasco and a variety of other hot sauces, but he's sorely missing his Crystal.

I'm pretty sure that Lincolnwood Produce carries Crystal. I'll check to make sure on my next visit.