best brunch

would love more opinions. generally, i'd just do dim sum (furama) but i recently had a guest that requested the best brunch in chi. after searching numerous threads on this site it was narrowed down to the signature room @ the hancock or the ritz.

we did a visual reconnaissance with the ritz winnng. the 95th was nice, but a tourist thing. i know well enough (from living in s fla) that if there's another attraction besides the food (water, view etc...) the food doesn't need to be as wonderful and in nearly every case, isn't. the ritz delivered food wise a step above the signature room, and the room was beautiful as well. great seat front row center slightly elevated, respectable service, food was very good to excellent all around.

worth the $? it served the purpose. she (who was visiting me from boca and grew up in manhattan) got her dose of sophisitcated city ambiance throughout the wkend that needed no excuses. it was a nice way to spend our last day.

large selection of food done well. the standouts were the dim sum, hamachi sushi, great smoked salmon (my personal soul food) w/a toaster next to the bagels so you could toast them yourself, carved prime rib that was mooing, really nice roasted potato w/truffles and shaved parm, roasted duck breast w/root veg, roasted brussels sprouts w/chestnuts, plus all your standards as well. even had a small area for kids w/pbj
1/4'd and w/o crust (of course), grilled cheese, french fries, chix tenders, stuffed animals, drawing books, etc... i'm not much on cute, but there's one idea i'll steal for later use.

all and all, a very enjoyable time. as i live in wicker pk, we had already gone to la scarola, scylla, la passidita, bin 36 on milwaukee and marai. nice few days of eating.

the ritz delivered food wise a step above the signature room...

Only a step? That amazes me. I've never been to the Sig Room for brunch, but I was there for lunch once, and that was enough. If we define the Ritz as one step above that, it's a step that requires climbing gear.

Also very good, on the high end: The Four Seasons. Now between The Four Seasons and the Ritz--that's a contest.

On the inexpensive, neighborhood end of the spectrum, and as long as "brunch" doesn't necessarily mean "buffet brunch," I like Tre Kronor.

jazzfood wrote:we did a visual reconnaissance with the ritz winnng. the 95th was nice, but a tourist thing.

Jazzfood

Haven't been to the 95th for brunch in quite a while, but, especially with out of town guests, a corner window table on a sunny Sunday jumps the 95th into the top couple of contenders for Sunday brunch.

Enjoy,
Gary

Does anyone have any suggestions for a less expensive brunch place? My family and I wanted to go this weekend but could not think of anywhere for around 10 bucks or so. We're just looking for basic brunch fare, nothing too fancy.

the prob @ the 95th, is even w/reservations which we had, is that they don't do seat requests. it's a get what you get kinda thing. i knew the ritz must have something decent so we got there early to check it out before our noon reservation @ sigroom. we did a most thorough scope out and then went up to the 95th.

no contest.

while nice, it was packed and a corner window table or for that mattter, any window table were not to be had. food looked good but not as good or interesting as what we just saw @ the ritz. i apologized and told the hostess that we were going to pass and went back to the ritz.

i'd imagine most of the better hotels on that level do nice spreads. a place that i was @ in l a (sunset marquis) used to do it more or less as a loss leader. we blew you away and you remembered it fondly forever. we saw it as a great value for good p r. kept you on the premises as well which benefits the house. not to say we didn't get our bottom line, just that we purposely went over the top in so many ways ie. evian ice cubes, u 8 shrimp, an english butler straight out of central casting etc..

as for other great brunch considerations, i'd be fine w/interesting or unique as well as sumptous.

jazzfood wrote:the prob @ the 95th, is even w/reservations which we had, is that they don't do seat requests. it's a get what you get kinda thing.

Jazzfood,

Trick is to assess who is actually in charge of assigning tables, subtlety/politely thank them in advance with a green-back handshake, and be prepared to wait a short while for a window table to open up.

Not 95th specific

Enjoy,
Gary

In a totally different realm than the Signature Room/Ritz Carlton (i.e., much more casual and inexpensive), Stanley's in Lincoln Park has a great, cheap brunch on the weekends. The buffet-style brunch features, among other things, comfort food such as biscuits and gravy, mac and cheese, fried chicken, waffles, and an omelet station.

On the high end, I can't imagine that it gets much better than Ritz Carlton/Four Seasons, although it looks as though the Peninsula Hotel has a Sunday brunch with live jazz at its Lobby restaurant. I don't know whether this is buffet-style. IMO, you can't beat the nice hotels for brunch.

understood.

"tips" is an acronym for "to insure proper service". in arabic cultures it's "baksheesh" and is given in advance, which really makes more sense if you think about it. i've been the beneficiary of it on a couple ocassions @ that same place i was @ in l a.

we had this sheik of the royal saudi family that was there often (for said brunch and other functions) and liked things a certain way. in fact, he personally explained the concept to me just before he discreetly gave me an oz of gold in a sm velvet jewelery box, to be followed throughout the day w/numerous freshly peeled 100's (7), a bottle of vintage haut brion and some white roses for my then wife. he had had them flown in from spain earlier that day to be the table centerpieces for the party he was hosting @ the hotel that evening. i made sure, which i did/do naturally, that it was exactly to his specifications. i told my boss who just laughed and said to keep it.

anyway back to the more recent, given the magic of the moment, we were glad w/our choice. and the food looked better anyway.

I have to second the rec for Stanly's. Parking can be a problem, but a bit further North on Lincoln you can find something. Also, not a good idea to go there on big deal football weekends, the place is jamed.

jazzfood wrote:understood.

"tips" is an acronym for "to insure proper service".

Actually the "insure proper service" bit is a backronym.

In reality, tip is "derived from the English thieves' slang word tip, meaning `to pass from one to another.' The notion of a stock tip or racing tip is from the same slang."

And that's your bit of obscure trivia for the day.

G Wiv wrote:Haven't been to the 95th for brunch in quite a while, but, especially with out of town guests, a corner window table on a sunny Sunday jumps the 95th into the top couple of contenders for Sunday brunch.

I definitely agree. The times I've been there, the 95th has put out quite a spread for brunch, and you cannot beat that view. If you make reservations and you're prepared to wait a bit when you get there, you can usually get a decent table even without a bribe.

That said, the Ritz has a remarkable brunch, but IIRC it's also about twice the price. You definitely get what you pay for -- assuming you have a hearty appetite -- but for some, it's hard to justify those kinds of prices for brunch.

Ron A. wrote:although it looks as though the Peninsula Hotel has a Sunday brunch with live jazz at its Lobby restaurant. I don't know whether this is buffet-style.

Ron,

Peninsula brunch is buffet style, though the service, drinks, new silver, water etc is impeccable. Brunch overall was very nice, and it's a great way to cheer up your wife if she's feeling blue. Here's a past Peninsula brunch post of mine.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

Thanks for the info and the link to the informative review.

sabersix wrote:I have to second the rec for Stanly's. Parking can be a problem, but a bit further North on Lincoln you can find something. Also, not a good idea to go there on big deal football weekends, the place is jamed.

Stopped at Stanley's for brunch today. Most of the food was good to average but you godda love a brunch that had actual lunch food. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, sliced beef and the Mac and cheese was very good.

We got lucky and found parking about 2 blocks away. The Chicago Marathon was in full force and we had to dodge runners as we crossed the street.

The place was filled with youngsters with the bar area completely filled with people waiting for a stool but there was plenty of room in the back dining room.

What is it with the bar area that makes it so popular? The make-it-your-self bloody mary bar?

The service was great and the atmosphere nice.

$11.00 per person not too bad.

Found ourselves at Stanley's after working up hunger and thirst at Green Market this Saturday. Didn't really need its own thread, so I'm attaching notes here.

Previously, I'd only been to the bar for a pre-Park West shot-and-a-nosh so I didn't know what to expect for brunch.

First impressions began just outside the door when out into the bright sun burst a clump of large, young men in khaki with baseball caps reversed. I tried to quell my rising alarm.

We went in and were greeted by a friendly hostess who asked us where we preferred to sit (front or back). We chose back and just as we began to sit, realized that we were next to a very happy, but very noisy party of about 12. As we had some actual domestic business to discuss, we relocated. No one took this amiss.
Brunch has gone up since the last post. It's about $12 now. Well worth it, considering both the quality and the neighborhood.
The space was cool and darkish, with enough room between tables for it all to feel like just the desired retreat from crowds and sun.
Water appeared and coffee orders were taken promptly.

There is no menu provided or list of what's on the buffet. You simply grab your plate and head on up.
The set up, as best I recall, was a hot table, a cold table, and an omelet station.
Cold table: slices of fresh melon, strawberries, fresh pineapple. Every piece I tasted was fresh and sweet, and I availed myself of plenty.
Bagels, with toasters right there, allowing you to customize. I really appreciate that.
Also cinnamon buns (just OK, per Mrs. B.), some other pastry I've forgotten, 2 types of choc. chip cookie, a big bowl filled with individual serving boxes of cold cereal and a carafe of milk, individual cream cheese portions and Dickinson preserves.
The one oddity was a teasing platter of tomato, cucumber, and red onion slices which powerfully suggested (together with the bagels and cream cheese) that lox was waiting in the wings, about to take the stage at any moment. I kept an eagle eye open for it, but it never did.
The gentleman manning the omelet station was quick and accurate. He managed a couple of pans on the fire while sumultaneously discussing ingredients with other interested parties. I had already eaten nearly my fill and asked him if he could possibly make me an especially small omelet instead of the standard. He replied quickly and unhesitatingly in the affirmative, and produced a lovely little mini version. Ingredients to play with were standard: gr. pepper, tomato, onion, mushroom, bacon, sausage, ham, grated mozz. or cheddar. Sadly no feta, or spinach, or anything even slightly more exotic. But good enough.

The hot table: fried chicken pieces, biscuits/sausage gravy (didn't try), and---praise the Lord---2 kind of potatoes, mashed and hash browns (which, though on a steam table, had acquired some good crusting and browning before they came out.) To accompany the mashed (which were just a bit too far on the soupy side) was a nice brown gravy. Also oblong waffles, warm syrup, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, a large bowl of mixed greens with croutons and grated parm, and possibly a bit more that I have forgotten.

Needless to say no envelopes were pushed, nor boundaries crossed. There is nothing to be had besides the buffet until lunch time. But it was an absolutely solid double for the mainstream, rib-sticking food it was.

On top of that, the service was really excellent. Often I have found that attention really slacks off at a brunch, I assume because people tend to tip less as well as because, with no orders to keep track of, the serving mind wanders. In any case, or server was friendly, quick on the uptake, stopped by several times to check in, and answered a couple of questions authoritatively (1. was there a kids price for brunch?, and 2. was there any additional menu beyond the buffet?). At no time did I return from a trip to the buffet without my plate having been cleared before I returned. Never had to ask for extra creamers, etc.

While there were indeed many, many turned around baseball caps and, on the distaff side, a uniformity that was less to do with externals and more something emanating from within, and though the soundtrack was tailored closely to their needs (many Sultans of Swing, much Joe Walsh---not that there's anything wrong with that), yet, it was all pretty tasty, friendly, and a good value.