I'm a her!!!

And thanks for your kind words!

I can see why nsxtasy was confused: your most recent posts rate you as female on gender genie, but as male on gender guesser. And as we all know, these things never fail.

Athena, thanks for the list of brunch places on N. Michigan. A friend lives down there and we've been having a difficult time finding a brunch place now that Oaktree in the Bloomingdale's building is currently closed for renovations. I hope Oaktree reopens soon since I love their fruit smoothies and chicken livers (yes, that's an odd flavor combination but I don't consume them together).

While I was searching through this thread, I was surprised that I didn't see my favorite brunch/lunch place on the list. I'm sure it's on another thread since it's a GNR.

Tre Kronor
3258 W Foster Ave
Chicago

I hate quiche (too dense usually) but their quiche is amazing. I love both their broccoli/cheese and the salmon/dill quiches and, if both are available, they will serve half a slice of each. I also love their Swedish pancakes and their danishes. I usually order the danish to go at the beginning of the meal because their danishes sell out and I like having a treat for later.

I'll also throw out a friend's favorite brunch place which is:

Southport Grocery
3552 N Southport Ave
Chicago

They do have good pancakes and their grilled brie is tasty.

And I agree with Sarcon about Over Easy in Ravenswood. The food is great but the space is tiny and gets really hot in the summer. Their weekday lunches are also good (they close at 3:00).

Oh man! I forgot about Tre Kronor! Thanks for the reminder!

3 friends and I are heading to Soldier Field this Sunday for the Bears game at noon. 2 out of the 4 are heading in from the burbs via the Metra early so we can get together and do breakfast and a pre-game cocktail or two. I've done a fair amount of searching but so far it's been goose eggs.

We want sometplace casual (since most of us will be in our Bears jerseys) that serves a decent breakfast and drinks, is in the Loop or reasonably nearby so the Metra-takers can get there easily by a quick cab ride. Also, it has to start serving at 10:00am at the absolute latest so we have some time to enjoy ourselves. I was thinking about Butch McGuires but alas, they open at 11:00am on Sundays. I know, I know, lots of constraints. But... any ideas?

Pita Chip-

Gioco promotes a game day brunch. It might fit the bill. I've never been for brunch but I have enjoyed the dinners I've had there.

Gioco
1312 S. Wabash
312.939.3870
http://www.gioco-chicago.com/

Lou Mitchell's. It's a great place to go before the game. You won't be the only ones there with Bears jerseys...and it's located right across the street form Union Station.

Lou Mitchell's
565 W. Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL
312-939-3111

Can you serve liquor anywhere in the city before 11am on Sundays?

Does Lou Mitchell's serve alcohol?

City law changed just a couple of years ago, and there can even be different times based on your location in the city/ward. As far as I know 9am is the new 11am.

I'm not sure what places serve alcohol that early. You may want to try calling places that serve alcohol and are open for breakfast, to see how early they serve booze. Two such places in the South Loop are Hackney's and Eleven City Diner. Hackney's opens at 8:30 am on Sundays, and Eleven City at 9:00. I'm guessing that they serve alcohol as early as it's legal to do so.

My favorite breakfast places in the South Loop near Soldier Field don't serve alcohol. My favorite is Bongo Room, at Roosevelt and Wabash, an easy walk to the stadium. They open at 9, and may have a line waiting by 9:30. They specialize in creative pancakes (with sauces) and egg dishes. I also like Orange on Harrison, which I think opens at 8; they also have creative pancakes and egg dishes, and you can "design your own juice blend". On the 1100 block of South Michigan is Yolk, which serves a more conventional breakfast menu. But if alcohol is a "must", these places won't qualify, unless they permit it on a BYO basis.

Sweets & Savories serves a very affordable brunch tasting menu and a great bloody mary too!

Sweets and Savories isn't even close to the train station, just in case you are posting for the above, but still a good brunch place.

Emerald Loop
216 N. Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL 60601
312-263-0200

Ada's
14 S. Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL 60603
312-214-4282

Yolk-BYOB (make mimosas or vodka for some bloodys)
1120 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
312-789-9655

nicinchic wrote:Sweets and Savories isn't even close to the train station, just in case you are posting for the above, but still a good brunch place.

actually, it's easily walkable from the Clybourn station (Armitage and Ashland), if the folks are on a Metra line that stops there. A wonderful brunch, including a decadent breakfast risotto.

We've been to Gioco several times for Sunday brunch, and altho uneven their breakfast food is usually good, and they encourage Bear fans (it's also not as well known as some other breakfast places in the area, so we've never had to wait).

Also nearby, if you're not so much interested in the food (essentially buffet-style) but primarily the cameraderie and getting sufficiently oiled for the game, I would suggest Grace O'Malley's, which I believe opens at 9:30 on Sundays. Here's more:

http://www.mainstayhospitality.com/index.php?section=4

jbw wrote:I would suggest Grace O'Malley's, which I believe opens at 9:30 on Sundays.

Their website lists both the "food service" and the "bar hours" as starting at 9:30 on Sundays, so I'm guessing you can get drinks with breakfast at that hour, there as well as at Hackney's and Eleven City. So if you love your brewskis with your loaf of onion rings in the morning, you can do it...

Hey all, not sure if this was mentioned yet, but Nookies! (Love the name) I had a simply delightful sunday brunch at the Lakeview location this past Sunday. Here's an excerpt from my review:

We got a table outside surrounded by greenery and what looked like neighborhood locals. I say this because they all seemed to know the guy at the door. Others walked by every now and then and shook hands with him. It was all very neighborhoody. The people-watching was excellent.

We got an Acapulco Burger with avocado, salsa and pepperjack cheese and a Tuna Melt. Both were delicious. The Burger was big, juicy and spicy. The Tuna Melt was great with finely chopped celery, not too much mayo and melted American cheese carefully served on a toasted english muffin. Yum yum! The cole slaw and the home-made fries that came with the dishes were good too and the whole meal cost us just over $20.

Now why don't they have places like this in the Loop or in Streeterville? Seriously, Nookies has three locations: Old Town, Lincoln Park and Lakeview. I bet if they opened one in Streeterville, they'd have to fight customers off with a stick!

hungryinchicago wrote:Hey all, not sure if this was mentioned yet, but Nookies! (Love the name) I had a simply delightful sunday brunch at the Lakeview location this past Sunday. Here's an excerpt from my review:

We got a table outside surrounded by greenery and what looked like neighborhood locals. I say this because they all seemed to know the guy at the door. Others walked by every now and then and shook hands with him. It was all very neighborhoody. The people-watching was excellent.

We got an Acapulco Burger with avocado, salsa and pepperjack cheese and a Tuna Melt. Both were delicious. The Burger was big, juicy and spicy. The Tuna Melt was great with finely chopped celery, not too much mayo and melted American cheese carefully served on a toasted english muffin. Yum yum! The cole slaw and the home-made fries that came with the dishes were good too and the whole meal cost us just over $20.

Now why don't they have places like this in the Loop or in Streeterville? Seriously, Nookies has three locations: Old Town, Lincoln Park and Lakeview. I bet if they opened one in Streeterville, they'd have to fight customers off with a stick!

I didn't go to Nookies for brunch, but I've never been too impressed with the lunch/dinner menu. The prices aren't outrageous, but the selections always struck me as pretty boring and bland.

When I lived in Old Town, i would occasionally go to Nookie's for brunch. The reason for going wasn't the food, but (and I don't remember where I read this) it was to see all the "freshly f****d faces" of the locals.

Thanks to everyone for your recommendations! We decided to go a much more casual route & met our football-ready friends in Grant Park. We brought along a couple of small jugs of freshly mixed bloody marys (poured back into their original tomato juice containers for easy disposal), some tea cakes from Bleeding Heart, and a few small prosciutto and mahon sandwiches on Bleeding Heart's beer bread. We found some stairs just south of Buckingham Fountain and laid out our spread. Everyone agreed on a day that nice outside it was better than any restaurant brunch could have been! Afterwards we were a very short walk to Soldier Field so the location couldn't be beat.

I'm going to The Fireside for the first time this weekend and it's for brunch...can anyone recommend anything?

I'm considering the crab cake Benedict, maybe the strawberry-mint or apple-walnut French toast, or the lox & cream cheese. And the pomegranate mimosa sounds good, too!

As the Fireside is between my house and the in-laws' and we had the whole family around this weekend, we had brunch there on Sunday. I think I fared best, as it's hard to ruin a bagel (singular) and lox plate (not to say they didn't try - the bagel was clearly from frozen, but at least there were capers and onions with my Bunnicula-ed tomato) While it has a large (if noisy) seating area, and a nice heated patio area, the brunch was nothing much. We called in a reservation and were on time, but our food took a very, very long time to come out - and the eggs benedict were served a good two minutes after everything else. I have to say, I wasn't impressed: in addition to the long wait, sausages weren't cooked sufficiently, and had to be sent back to the kitchen (they replaced them, no problem, but it added to the wait time.)

The make-your-own-bloody-mary bar in the other room is a cute idea, but unless you're on a liquid diet, I think you've got other, better options for brunch.

I totally concur with Mhays on the Fireside. I've been many times over the years as it's in my hood (relatively speaking) and my friends like the patio. But I think what my friends really like is the bloody bar -- and I have very little use for Bloody Marys...so it doesn't do much for me. I often find the food under done, takes too long, not up to spec and disappointing. The room's okay -- the patio, that is. The service is spotty -- sometimes you get a good waitperson and sometimes not so much. I've often waited a long time for a coffee refill -- which at a brunch is unforgiveable (imho). The last time I went i had an omelet with brie and ham, I think. It was okay. But the brie was rather congealed and unappealing -- it's not my favorite choice for an omelet. And as i recall they left the rind off -- which is another unforgiveable thing in my opinion.

If I were you -- i'd look for a different brunch location -- maybe Tre Kronor? Frankly, I'd prefer Ann Sather to the Fireside -- but of course, there's no booze.

Oh, I did forget - their spinach omelet came with goat cheese, which the 'spouse did like. Other than that, no one of the twelve of us really had anything to comment on.

Hmm, well, I'm going with a big group, some of had recommended it in the past, so I said, "hey, why don't we go there!" Oh well, I'll stick with the apple-walnut French toast, unless I'm really in a savory mood.

I'm gonna throw out a rave for Meli in Greektown. They've got some of the greatest egg dishes I've ever had, especially the boursin frittata, with melted dollops of herbal cheese splattered over the large egg 'pancake.' Other dishes my friends and I have loved include their crepe, pancake, and french toast options (think "cloud 9 crepes" made from chocolate batter, and thick and custardy french toast slathered in banana-strawberry sauces).
No alcohol, but they've got the best juice bar in town. Make your own from a loooooooong list or go for my faves: the strawberry-banana with extra drizzles of chocolate syrup, and the maple-pecan smoothie...mmmmmmm.
Service is great too with that signature Greektown pizzaz.

Meli Cafe & Juice Bar
301 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60661
312-454-0748

GF and I went to Lula Cafe today for brunch, she came into O'Hare, so blue line stop made it convenient to meet @ Lula...not to mention it's a fav of us both.

We both went for today's specials: the Gunthorp Farm chicken breakfast burrito with zesty seasoning, black beans, queso fresco, and delicately poach eggs on the side; and the hangar steak eggs benedict, layered with carmelized onions, arugula, tomato marmalade and bearnaise on crunchy sourdough crostini...came with home fries too.

Both outstanding, and coffee and fresh OJ made it complete. About $35 total and well worth it!

Long live Lula!

I really like this place called Sunrise at Damen and Chicago. I had an amazing omelette there with sun dried tomatoes, feta, cheddar and Swiss cheese and it was served with pesto sauce and hash browns. It was delicious and inexpensive!

yeah, Sunrise is great - a warm, cozy diner and the people are very nice. Great coffee too, Intelligentsia I believe. They have a patio for warmer times too!

We had an incredibly good breakfast/brunch at Lula this morning. Excellent Bloody Marys.

We had the pork shoulder with wheat berries, greens, brussel sprouts, butternut squash, and two sunnyside up eggs. This dish tasted great, was really well balanced, and quite healthy. We also had the parsnip tart with pears, blue cheese, argula, and a soft boiled eggs. This was also really tasty. Prices are great also.