Someday our prince will come, til then, b'fast for two gals

Good evening foodies...we are two gals taking a sick day tomorrow looking for a good breakfast joint/spot, been to Milk and Honey, was wondering about Lula Cafe...Wishbone is geting tiresome, dim sum on weekdays?...Orange sounds promising, Any advice out there?

Thanks much,

Buffalo Gal

buffalo gal wrote:Good evening foodies...we are two gals taking a sick day tomorrow looking for a good breakfast joint/spot, been to Milk and Honey, was wondering about Lula Cafe...Wishbone is geting tiresome, dim sum on weekdays?...Orange sounds promising, Any advice out there?

Thanks much,

Buffalo Gal

Lula is OK. I had a rather mediocre soupy shrimp thing there a couple months ago. This after the server said it wasn't much liquid in it.

You could also try Flo on Chicago just west of Noble. It's a southwestern kinda thing. I'd go there over Lula.

We had a really great breakfast a few weeks ago at Hot Spot, on Armitage near California. I know it's garnered mixed reviews on this board, but I thought the "logan" berry pancakes were sensational, and my husband's corned beef hash was mighty tasty too. Good coffee and nice conversation with the owner. I'm anxious to go back.

Ive been to Orange a couple times, and while it was never bad, I was a bit underwhelmed. I strongly recommend dim sum on weekdays. I love beating the weekend crowds and enjoying the warm meal on a cold day.

ToniG wrote:We had a really great breakfast a few weeks ago at Hot Spot, on Armitage near California. I know it's garnered mixed reviews on this board, but I thought the "logan" berry pancakes were sensational, and my husband's corned beef hash was mighty tasty too. Good coffee and nice conversation with the owner. I'm anxious to go back.

I haven't been there for months (really almost a year), but am pleased to hear Hot Spot's corned beef hash is still up to par; it was fantastic when I had it. I'd also recommend the non-traditional biscuits & gravy, with mushroom rather than pork sausage in the white gravy, but with enough pepper and spice to make up for it. Prices are a bit high; Hot Spot falls into the "fancy" breakfast category, and as someone who typically eats breakfast maybe three times a month, I'm a hard sell on fancy or costly breakfast; nevertheless, Hot Spot is pretty good. And I've had some good breakfast at Lula, but I think their breakfasts tend to be overcomplicated and fey; although someone more aligned to eating breakfast on a regular basis might draw a different conclusion.

If you have access to a car or to the Chicago to Kenosha Metra line, I would highly recommend Walker Brothers in Wilmette. Never had a bad breakfast here. The apple pancake is fantastic to share while you dig into your omelet or corned beef hash. Coffee is served w/ heavy cream and the orange juice is freshly squeezed. Also, the hash browns are heavenly.

Walker Brothers Pancake House
153 Green Bay Road
Wilmette, IL 847-251-6000

Hey Buffalo Gal,

Since you are also on a rampage of visiting "special places" before you leave town, I'll recommend Edgebrook Diner.

JiLS wrote:And I've had some good breakfast at Lula, but I think their breakfasts tend to be overcomplicated and fey; although someone more aligned to eating breakfast on a regular basis might draw a different conclusion.

Jim, I've got to call you out on this. I'm a huge fan of Lula's breakfasts -- where else can I get a new variant of eggs, beans, corn, and cheese each week, let alone in a single dish? I don't consider myself a lover of 'fey' breakfasts, whatever that means (and I question your use of the word 'fey' in this context, because I don't think you mean "fairy-like" or "touched" or "fated to die soon" but feminine, in a pejorative sense - correct me if I'm wrong). You can get sweet breakfasty foods as well as a good selection of savory - and imaginative, not 'fey' - breakfast entrees.

And a side of Gunthorp chicken? I'm there. At 9 am, nothing tastes better.

I've eaten at Hot Spot and Lula in the same week. Apples and Oranges. For my tastes, I'll take Lula.

Had a late brunch with Giovanni at Lula yesterday, and was very favorably impressed with the food.

I had been to Lula once years ago in the early 'let's cook some food to serve with the coffee' phase, back when they'd only been written up in New City maybe once. The kitchen impressed me very little at the time, nothing cleverer in concept or more adept in execution that I could make any morning at my house, and ever since then I wondered if they'd improved enough to justify all the fuss. I can't say on one meal that all the fuss is called for, but it was tasty. I had poached eggs over a cheesy polenta with a mushroom ragout. There was supposed to be 'hazelnut broth' with the mushrooms... I'm still trying to figure out how you'd make broth out of a hazelnut. Maybe hazelnuts steeped in mushroom broth? Hazelnut oil added to mushroom broth at the last minute? Anyway, it tasted like mushroom broth and gave a nice additional concentration of flavor to the mushrooms. I liked the texture of the poached egg with the polenta; comfort food for adult tastes. Giovanni had the short rib/root vegetable hash with eggs which he liked a lot; I enjoyed my taste of it. The meat was shredded and mixed with, um, beets, potatoes, rutabaga? Whatever roots they dug up were good, and while I was initially skeptical about the idea, the concentrated savory flavor of the meat and the good texture and flavor of the sauteed root veggies worked well, especially with egg dripping into it. Liked his dish better than mine, in fact, but I'm too much of a lady to eat his lunch.

So, buffalo gal, if a storefront on Logan Square with good service and food that's clever, well made, and a little different appeals to you and your gal pal, Lula may be your place. If you want something in the friendly diner pattern, I'll be another one to send you over to Edgebrook Diner. If it's a sunny day, you can go for a walk on the bike path in the forest preserve afterwards and have a wonderful day playing hooky.

Giovanna

I know you guys already had breakfast, but for next time, Bongo Room (South State Location) is great. The crowds are nothing like Bucktown/Wicker park location, and the breakfast burrito is so good with zingy cilantro and fresh ancho sour cream. Of course, your sweet tooth will be rewarded with Chocolate tower pancakes and the like....

sigh, i love orange. their coffee, roasted with orange peels, drives me crazy (in a good way). this week i had chai-soaked french toast, stuffed with ricotta, served with carmelized apples and chai latte syrup. i know, trendy, but i liked it. the clark st. location is more intimate and hipster-stylin'.

well we ended up at Tre Kroner...what a wonderful, unpretencious meal, old fashioned decor, the real deal here...

sweedish pancakes w/ lingonbery, limpa toast, potato/pork sausage, reminicent of keishka, great coffee and the maple danish was sublime, the girs working there were very friendly

then drove over to clark street to a favorite shopping area, including 'Paper", then a yoga/dance clothing store and 'Scout' a super scavenger/rehabbed/intense memories filled furnishing shop...

love Andersonwille, will miss it very mucho

Buffalo Gal

Bumping the thread to mention that I had breakfast at Milk and Honey this morning. If I were closer, this would definitely be on the regular rotation (though I was with an Oak Park neighbor who meets a Rogers Park friend there every Saturday for breakfast, so I guess it could be in regular rotation). Anyway, what really impressed and surprised me was how reasonable it was. Everyone else was eating interesting pancakes (granola and banana) and waffles (pumpkin and apple) with butter and real maple syrup for $6.75, but my eye was caught by a cheddar and bacon strata sitting on the counter. Turns out that a square almost too big to eat was only $3.75. With my $1.50 tea it was as cheap as any diner.

Now that I've been there for breakfast, I'm really going to have to figure out how to get back there at lunchtime for the best sandwich in Chicago

Milk & Honey
1920 W. Division
Chicago
773-395-9434 [/url]

I agree - I love Milk & Honey for its varied but cared for menu! They use fresh ingredients and keep it all affordable! Ingredients for breakfast are cheap - I hate having to pay $10+ for pancakes with a few berries at some of the other trendy spots in town.

I had Milk & Honey's crabcake sandwich to go, and it survived the drive back to Palatine very well. The chipotle mayo had a great kick too it, often times when other restaurants list chipotle mayo as a condiment, I don't taste it at all.

Despite the fact that their lines are often out the door, the wait for a table is minimal.

One other thing at M&H is that the soups are almost always excellent, like the not-too-sweet tomato/fennel soup I had the other day, which was served with a big parmesan crisp floating in the center. Quite good, and, amazingly, it didn't need salt. I bet the parmesan helped.