Sunday brunch in or near the Lincoln Square area...

LTH intervention needed please. Meeting up Sunday morning with an old army buddy, and need a reccomendation for brunch. She's staying in the Lincoln Square area and my mind is drawing a blank. There will be four of us. Good coffee and good food are important, but most of all, a place that is conversation friendly.

Thanks in advance for your help.

How about Chalkboard? Seems to hit all of your marks quite nicely.

Chalkboard
4343 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago
773.477.7144

Fork is also a great option:

http://forkchicago.net/

Bistro Campagne does brunch and is in the heart of LS.

Cafe Selmarie and Julius Meinl are very good and in LS.

Big Jones is very close to Lincoln Square.

viewtopic.php?t=18691

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=34345

Uncommon Ground's two locations are a very short drive.

I'd go with Darren's suggestion and drive ten minutes to Big Jones in Andersonville. Brunch is great, something for everyone, and they take reservations. I live in the area, and that's always a top choice.

Owen & Engine is also a short drive (or bus ride down Western) and takes reservations.

I find both to be very conversation friendly.

Ronna

Lula Cafe is also not far away.

http://www.lulacafe.com/

You could do Dim Sum at Furama. There is parking next door.

It's more North Park, but nearby GNR Tre Kronor would also be an option.

Tre Kronor
3258 West Foster Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 267-9888
http://www.trekronorrestaurant.com/

Also, Pizza D.O.C. has a sunday brunch and is actually in Lincoln Square. Can't vouch for the coffee as I've never tried it.

Pizza D.O.C.
2251 West Lawrence Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 784-8777
http://www.mypizzadoc.com/Brunch.html

I'd vote for Chalkboard or Meinl in the area. Tre Kroner is great if you're willing to go that far, but it also tends to be absolutely packed with a pretty serious wait.

I had brunch at LM not too long ago and it was delightful. I don't know if it fits the profile but it was pretty dang yummy.

I've also had brunch at Fork and I enjoyed it. It's a bit more of a party atmosphere...

I live in the Manor, just west of the river from Lincoln Sq - but I would head either north to Big Jones or south to Owen & Engine. Both have very good food and beverages and are conversation friendly, though IMO O&E has a leg up on the ambiance. Can't go wrong on the food at either, though. Haven't had brunch at LM yet, need to rectify that - love their dinners.

Evil Ronnie wrote:LTH intervention needed please. Meeting up Sunday morning with an old army buddy, and need a reccomendation for brunch.

Evil,

While Tre Kroner, Lula and Big Jones are good suggestions Fountainhead is high on my Must-Try for Sunday Brunch. Fountainhead has a solid rep on on LTHForum but its high on my list for a personal connection. Eddie, aka Doc, is an in the trenches line cook at Fountainhead, but Sunday brunch is his time to shine. I had drinks with Eddie and Johnny Van of Johnny Van's Smokehouse a couple of nights ago, Eddie also cooks with Johnny Van, and Eddie's eyes lit up when describing 'his' brunch. The thought kindred spirit immediately came to mind.

Eddie, as well as Johnny for that matter, are retired military which makes for an interesting connection given the nature of your brunch. If you go to Fountainhead for Sunday brunch please say hello to Eddie/Doc for me.

Regards,
Gary

The Fountainhead
1968-70 W. Montrose Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
773-697-8204

spinynorman99 wrote:Fork is also a great option:

http://forkchicago.net/

Seconded. I think Fork is wildly underrated. It's not going to blow your mind, but it's pretty damn good, and I rarely see or hear it mentioned.

jfibro wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:Fork is also a great option:

http://forkchicago.net/

Seconded. I think Fork is wildly underrated. It's not going to blow your mind, but it's pretty damn good, and I rarely see or hear it mentioned.

We've gone with two different couples in the last 3 weeks and both visits wowed our guests. I agree that it's not reinventing the wheel but it does comfort food extremely well, with good service and a comfortable environment. One of our friends lamented that he didn't live closer because he could see stopping by there often as his "neighborhood spot."

the place everyone overlooks for brunch:

Mixteco Grill‎
1601 West Montrose Avenue
Chicago, IL 60617
(773) 868-1601
mixtecogrill.com‎

it's sit-down mexican with pretty nice ambience. It won't be crowded for brunch, unlike every other brunch place. The food is great.

If you don't mind a crowd, I recommend Over Easy on Damen:

Over Easy
4943 North Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL
(773) 506-2605
overeasycafechicago.com


And then of course there's always Wishbone a little further south, on Lincoln & School. Never disappoints. Was not very crowded last time I had a weekend brunch there:

Wishbone Restaurant‎
3300 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 549-2663
wishbonechicago.com‎

One place I do NOT recommend is Marmalade, on Montrose & Damen. Overpiced, poorly prepared, bland food AND ridiculous wait times.

sarcon wrote:And then of course there's always Wishbone a little further south, on Lincoln & School. Never disappoints. Was not very crowded last time I had a weekend brunch there:

As a former Wishbone fan, "disappoints" describes my recent experiences. They seem to be phoning it in. What was once a special place now seems to be Eggsperience with a different theme. The food's passable, but not memorable. If you're in that area, Sola's a far better choice (or Victory's Banner in Roscoe Village).

sarcon wrote:One place I do NOT recommend is Marmalade, on Montrose & Damen. Overpiced, poorly prepared, bland food AND ridiculous wait times.

Heh, I was just going to recommend this place. I've only been a few times, but my food has always been great. The chilaquiles I had on my last visit were super spicy, even before the extra Cholula sauce. Of course, I've only ever been on a weekday, so I don't know what it's like on a busier weekend morning.

spinynorman99 wrote:

sarcon wrote:If you're in that area, Sola's a far better choice (or Victory's Banner in Roscoe Village).

Sola has a fantastic brunch. Their chorizo benedict may be my favorite brunch item in Chicago.