Violet on the Southport Corridor

Does anyone have any info on this new place? It opened in the old J-Thai location north of Grace. I walked past it tonight and it was empty, but the tables we all set, so I assumed it was open for business.

That's interesting. Wasn't Violet the name of the place that followed Coffeehouse Brandt, the quirky, solid Viennese cafe further south on Southport? That's going back quite some time. I've wondered if there was a connection between Brandt's presence on Southport and Meinl's decision to locate there.

I ate at Violet on Sunday morning. They have been open for just over a week now, and still have a few minor kinks to iron out. The restaurant is spilt into 2 rooms: the entrance with bakery counter and register, with a spacious waiting area, and the cheery yellow dining room.

The menu is interesting; I had the creole benedict: poached eggs over crawfish etouffe on polenta cakes with smoked paprika hollandaise and a side of fruit. The hollandaise was served separately and resembled a browned butter in consistancy and taste, but I didn't have a problem with that as I enjoy browned butter. My server did not have the specials memorized, but other servers seemed to. The specials were a crab, mint and pea quiche and a beggar's purse. A lunch item that caught my eye was the fennel dusted sweetbread sandwich on brioche.

There was a slight misunderstanding at a table near to me with the server's lack of familiarity with the menu being the root of the problem. The man I assumed to be the owner checked in at each table and overall, my experience was enjoyable. They serve breakfast and lunch from 7am-8pm, and I believe the cafe is open until 11pm. At the time I was there (between 10-11 am) only about half of the tables were filled. It was nice to have a leisurely breakfast without crowds of people to make you feel rushed, but I think Violet will be getting much busier soon.

Thanks for the detailed description. So it sounds like Violet is more than just a breakfast spot? No dinner menu however, right? Southport really needs another good casual restaurant that serves dinner. There's just enough brunch/lunch cafes and bars now. I am curious as to what will go in the old Neybours space. Hopefully, not another bar. I am really dying for another good restaurant option.

I will be checking out Violet for an early dinner sometime soon. I agree that Southport lacks dinner options beyond bar/grilles and asian takeout (some of which are good, but really, how many do you need?).

For those in the area, the last couple of years have brought more options to Lincoln Avenue than to Southport. There's Frasca, Kite, and Bourbon (a bar, yes, but with a little more ambition than those on Southport). I live walking distance to both Southport and those Lincoln Avenue spots -- what I wouldn't give for some of Lincoln Square's options to move south and east a bit.

I finally had the opportunity to stop in at Violet today for brunch. Apparently it is owned by Julie Palmer (now defunct Tournesol, Cork Cafe & Wine Bar I think?). What else is Julie involved with now? The waiter told us two other restaurants, but didnt say which ones...

Anyway, the place seems promising and a nice change to the bar/asian grub/boring brunch scene on Southport. I had the bread pudding french toast with cranberries, orange, and vanilla bourbon anglaise sauce. It was very good, not dry at all. One of my friends had the Dirty Steak and Eggs, which consisted of two fried over-easy eggs (fried in steak juices...making them dirty), steak, bernaise sauce and potatoes. It was tasty, but maybe a bit over-priced at $14.00. My french toast was $7.50, which I thought was reasonable. My other friend had a BYO omelet (bacon, tomato, mushroom, white cheddar), which was okay...but nothing too special. I would probably recommend ordering some of the more unusual items off the menu and stay away from the standard, less exciting things like BYO omelets.

The service needs help and didn't seem very polished. Our waiter was fine, and very friendly, but the other bussing staff lacked in proper tableside etiquette, i.e. at the conclusion of brunch, one of the "bus-ladies" came to clear our table of dishes...she ended up stacking all of the dirty plates and cups right on the table in front of my friend, and then hauled them away. She had some trouble with this, so there were a few awkward moments of waiting for her to balance everything on the table and finish.

Also, they should use real napkins and not these "Bounty-Style" paper towl things...

The lunch menu offered everything from sandwiches to pastas to a steak frites. Not sure of the menu's theme...it all seemed pretty eclectic/random, but definitely a step up for the typical Southport fare (Take 5? Ugh, when will that horrible place close down!?!?! I am embarrassed by the sight of it...)

Overall, a good first impression and hopefully the service will improve. They have only been open a month, so I know its early to have high expectations.

Its a promising place on Southport amid the less than exciting selection of bars, asian and coffee shops...

I ate there the other day for lunch (but ended up ordering breakfast) and had the most delicious mushroom quiche. The consistency was that of a flan. It's very child-friendly, offering a basket of toys for the younger diners. I'm definitely returning to sample other meny items.

I thought I heard the waiter say that the owners also run Red Kiva and Mona Lisa (pizza?).