Hub 51

Location – 51 W. Hubbard (Dearborn and Hubbard)

In one word – Manic

Food – By going at lunch, I ensured that I could focus on the food and that there was not a wait.  I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to approach the menu:  They have sushi and tacos and sandwiches.  It was a bit manic for my taste.  After interrogating our server about her favorite dishes, I settled on the Crispy Baja Fish Sandwich.  Fish sandwiches are always risky; you run the chance of the overfried or old fillet.  I was pleasantly surprised, the fish with its cornmeal crush was crispy but not oily.  The jicama adds a cooling aspect to the meal.  My eating partner chose the Sonoma salad (spinach, grapefruit, avocado, walnuts, sunflower seeds and cranberries) – it’s huge, totally shareable.

Drink – So this place can turn into a scene, but not at noon on a Tuesday.  We kept it clean and ordered diet Cokes all around.

Service – The server indulged in my Q&A session when I felt overwhelmed by the menu.  Points for that.  She did seem to forget our table when we wanted to take care of the check.  Not ideal when you have lunch hour clientele trying to get back for a 1 pm meeting…

Scene – With that Rockit vibe, you feel hip without the place being inaccessible to the average person.

Dress – You ought to show some effort when you come here.  Jeans are fine, but spray a little extra Febreeze on them this time.

Cost – With an entree, soft drink, tax and tip, you can have a $22 lunch.  No cheap, but you’ll be full when you leave.

If you like, try…Rockit, Sushi Samba Rio

Victory’s Banner

Location – 2100 W. Roscoe (Roscoe and Hoyne)

In One Word – Y(om)ummmm

Food –VB’s menu is entirely vegetarian and promises that “you won’t miss the meat!” They offer many dishes that may make you believe, including their Famous Meatloaf. Whether or not you’re a fan of fake bacon with your eggs, VB’s food is incredible and worth the trip to Roscoe Village.

My Trusty Sidekick and I met a friend for brunch at Victory’s Banner this Saturday. After a twenty minute wait, we were seated and I was starved. I ordered The Steverino ($9.25), a hefty yet downy omelet with slices of sweet caramelized onions, crunchy red bell peppers, and tangy, creamy goat cheese all folded into it. Heaven! Harmony! I highly recommend this combination of sugar+salt meets fluffy+smooth. Dear Steve of The Steverino: whoever you are, you are a scholar and a gentleman. A side of grilled potatoes with the omelete were good, but nothing spectacular.

Trusty had VB’s award-winning French Toast ($5.95) with a side of Grilled Potatoes ($1.75). Recognized by the Chicago Tribune as the best French Toast in town, the thick pieces of brioche bread had a delicious crust and were skillfully cooked—they were soft, but not soggy in the middle. They were served with peach butter and real maple syrup. Our friend ordered the Oat Bran Raspberry Pancakes ($6.75) which were substantial but fluffy, and had dense pockets of delicious, real unsweetened raspberries in them.

Drink – I enjoyed a cup of peppermint Mighty Leaf tea ($2.25). My Trusty Sidekick had a cup of coffee ($1.85), and our friend, who always makes the best brunch beverage choices, indulged in a mango lassie ($2.95), which is a must-try. It was the thickest, richest mango lassi I’ve ever encountered (even if you flicked the straw, it stood straight up, lodged in the middle of the glass) and one sip took you all the way from the subtle sweet honeyed flavor from the mango to a little bit of sharp tang from the yogurt.

Service – It is unusual for a restaurant to be devoted to offering its guests not only great food but a sense of spirituality, which is what VB’s staff aims to do. Victory’s Banner, named for the phrase “God’s eternal Banner of Victory,” is inspired by the philosophy of Indian spiritual master Sri Chinmoy, who was the restaurant owner’s spiritual teacher for over 35 years. Members of the staff are also followers of Sri Chinmoy, and wear saris and practice meditation before their shifts. While this may sound somewhat cult-esque, that is not the feeling you get at all. The staff are friendly, polite, and work efficiently as a team; their unique dress simply comes off as eclectic and sincere.

Scene – VB is small but cozy. Light-hearted scribbles of birds and colorful abstract paintings decorate the sunny room with yellow booths. Pamphlets on meditation classes at the front of the restaurant may make you feel like you’re in a yoga studio, but the crowd is hardly made up of yogis. There was a wide range of ages and backgrounds in the guests when we dined at VB. Prepare yourself for a wait; when we arrived, twenty or so people were waiting for a table to open up and our group waited 20-30 minutes to be seated.

Dress – Jeans and a sweater work fine.

Cost – With tax and tip our bill for three people was around $40, or about $13 per person. A little bit on the expensive side for brunch, but we felt like it was a fair price for the quantity and the quality of the food we enjoyed.

 

If you like, try… Kitsch’n on Roscoe, Orange, The Chicago Diner

Written by hungry yuppie

Toast Two

Location – 2046 N. Damen (Dickens and Damen)

In one word – Filling

Food – This is the sister to the original Toast (in Lincoln Park). Come here to fill up on brunch or lunch. I was starving, so I went big for the veggie eggs Benedict. Despite being so hungry, I barely could finish half of it. The eggs Benedict are served with cooked spinach and then are doused in hollandaise sauce. The dish is served with house potatoes. So overall, delicious. But I reached a point when it was just too much for me. Too much food, too much sauce. I think the key is to stop when you’re ahead here. My eating partners took on the chicken chutney salad. It looked very healthy…My other eating partner enjoyed the seared ahi tuna sandwich.

Drink – The coffee and tea at Toast is from Julius Meinl. I had the apple tea, which possibly was the most aromatic beverage I’ve ever ingested. Totally recommend it!

Service – So one eating partner wanted to substitute his choice of potato salad or hash as the side included with his dish with fruit. The server said no problem. With his meal came the best looking fruit cup I had ever seen. The server neglected to tell us that he would be charged a pretty penny for the fruit cup and it would NOT be included as a side as we assumed.

Scene – The place is super casual, very relaxed.  You’ll see families, friends, couples, babies.  It’s really quite beautiful.  As long as the baby is not crying.

Dress – This is a lunch and brunch place, so no need for fancy dress.  I fit right in with jeans, Uggs (it was cold!) and a long sleeved T.

Cost – For food, drink, tax and tip, I paid $15.  I thought for all that food, it was a decent deal.

Tempo

Location – 6 E Chestnut St, on the corner of Chestnut and State

In one word – Bustle

Food – Having moved huge masses of people in and out of its doors over the years, Tempo is a Gold Coast/Chicago institution and a well-oiled brunch machine. It’s a good place to take big groups and out-of-town visitors, and while my high school girlfriends were visiting me this weekend Tempo did not disappoint.

Here’s how the production line works. First, you wait for a table. Reservations aren’t accepted for Saturday or Sunday, so unfortunately this prerequisite is part of the Tempo weekend brunch experience. Get there early (before 9:30) or late (after 12) and depending on the size of your party you’re more likely to be looking at a wait that’s 15-20 minutes or less.

Once you’re seated you’ll be faced with a more pleasant challenge: choosing what to order. Their menu is huge and has something for everyone. Try one of their legendary 3 egg omelets served with a thick slice of white or wheat toast, home-made marmalade and crispy, country-fried potatoes ($8-$14). A Tempo omelet is truly a thing of beauty. It is basically an open-faced frittata the size of a Frisbee (I dare you to finish an entire one on your own). Whether you order it with egg-whites-only or not, it is as light and fluffy as a Sarah Palin interview answer, and there’s a huge variety of ingredients to choose from. Between the eight of us, our group sampled the Artemis (artichoke, tomatoes and Swiss), the Veggie (spinach, zucchini, and broccoli), and the State Street (broccoli, ham, mushroom, tomato). If you ever try either the Jamaican omelet (banana, walnut, honey) or the Michigan omelet (apple, cheddar), let me know how it is–I’ve always wanted to try them but can never stray from my usual orders. Our group also tried the Banana-nut Buckwheat Waffle ($12), topped with a heap of banana slices, walnut confetti, and thick maple syrup, and the Eggs Benedict ($12), which had a smooth, tangy hollandaise that had it’s way with everyone (cholesterol schmolesterol). No matter what you order there’s a good chance that even after you stuff yourself, there will still be so much food left over that you’ll leave feeling slightly inadequate.

Drink – Order a smoothie ($4)—we tried the Casablanca, a combo of cantaloupe, strawberry, and fresh orange juice—or you can get just a freshly squeezed glass of juice ($4)—I recommend carrot-apple. Pop, coffee, and specialty coffee drinks are available, but coffee hounds be forewarned—there are no free refills.

Service – The staff here are seasoned pros and they do not mess around. The service is usually impersonal, but very efficient. You’re expected to order quickly, but you can expect your food to arrive just as quickly. Plan ahead, because if you’re going during Sat/Sun brunch rush-hour you will not be seated until your entire party has arrived. They only accept cash, so leave your credit or debit cards at home.

Scene – There’s not much to the decor; Tempo is basically a clean, bright, busy diner. If it’s nice out, try to stick out the wait so you can sit in their great outdoor patio area—you’ll be rewarded with some top-notch people watching. Their clientele runs the gamut—you’ll see tourists, locals, students, families, big groups, couples, Chicago’s finest and more.

Dress – There is no dress code. Tempo is open 24/7 so depending on what time you go, you could wear PJs to sweats to yoga-wear to jeans.

Cost – About $13-$15 per person before tip.

If you like, try… Ann Sathers, Yolk

Written by hungry yuppie

Kitsch’n River North

GB Note: Getting a second opinion on KRN from hungry yuppie.

Location- 600 West Chicago at intersection of Chicago and Larrabee

In one word – Average

Food – For weekend brunch, there’s a lot going on at Kitsch’n. They now have two locations; we tried the one in River North. Their three-page menu offers both breakfast and lunch options that add a little artistic license to all the old favs. For example, Coconut Crusted French Toast or Bayou Crab Cake Benedict were two choices that offered you a creative interpretation of a brunch classic. You can also choose between their Wings Three Ways—Buffalo, Thai, and BBQ style—or Mac ‘N Cheese puffs with marinara dipping sauce as fun alternatives to your average bar wings or mozzarella stick appetizers. This twist on comfort food is Kitsch’n’s claim to fame, perhaps best exemplified by their As-Seen-On-TV Green Eggs and Ham—eggs scrambled with fresh basil pesto and served with smoked ham—which Rachael Ray raved about on her “$40 Dollars a Day” show.

Unfortunately, despite the Food Network fanfare and a menu full of creative options, when I went to Kitsch’n last weekend with my Trusty Sidekick and our friend, we were disappointed by our food and found Kitsch’n to be average, at best.

Here’s the breakdown. My Trusty Sidekick got a BBQ Hamburger ($9.50) and our friend ordered a Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($8.99). Both chose a side of Spicy Curly Fries. Unfortunately, they both found that their meat was dry and tough and their curly fries were cold and bland.

I tried the The Kitsch’n Sink Salad ($10.99), which comes with your choice of any four ingredients on top of organic mixed greens. For an $11 salad, the portions were okay—I got a pile of greens with a decent portion of avocados, cucumbers, roasted red peppers, and tomatoes (my four ingredients). My complaint is that it was served completely without ceremony in a stainless steel mixing bowl (were they out of plates?), and, I was disappointed by the lack of creativity. Dear Kitsch’n Chef, given your restaurant’s creative theme and a name like “The Kitsch’n Sink Salad,” it would be nice if the options for this salad were more exotic so that we salad-lovers could enjoy some of your creativity too. For example, I was hoping for something like blue cheese stuffed olives, candied sunflower seeds, grilled portabella slices, even artichoke hearts—but, no dice. If it was only $8 or even $9, instead of $11, it would have been adequate for what it was. But I ended up walking away thinking that I could have made this salad on my own and for a lot less money.

My salad quibbles aside, there was a definitely deal-breaker during our meal—our friend asked for milk for her tea, and when it arrived we were surprised to find that there were either spoiled milk boogers or scrambled egg boogers floating at the top of her pitcher. As you can imagine, it was not appetizing. My Trusty Sidekick and our friend had been fighting the good fight against dry meat until then, but after that we all had to surrender. All in all, if I try Kitsch’n again I would definitely go with one of their breakfast items and leave the lunch menu alone.

Drink – Typical brunch cocktails, or affordable wine choices if you prefer.

Service – Even though we went at prime brunch time (high noon), we were seated immediately. Our waitress was pleasant and prompt. Other than the milk fiasco, the service was satisfactory.

Scene – We sat in Kitsch’n’s outdoor beer garden, which was very relaxing. The tables are well-organized, so you don’t feel like you’re competing with a stranger’s conversation or claim to space. Many of the tables have large patio umbrellas, so it’s nice and shaded. The atmosphere is very casual and low-key. It would a great place to meet friends for brunch, and its very family friendly—take kids if you have them—or—parents when they’re in town.

Dress – Unlike some brunch places in Chicago, the River North Kitsch’n isn’t a hot spot where Friday or Saturday night dress seems to continue on into brunch-wear the next morning, and suddenly everywhere you look you see lots of boobies looking to get their late morning/early afternoon buzz on.

In other words, jeans and a t-shirt are fine.

Cost – Without drinks, it was about $13 per person with tax and tip.

If you like, try- Orange, Yolk, Tempo, Demitasse

Written by hungry yuppie

Starfruit

Location – 1745 W. Division (Division and Hermitage)

In one word – Kefir

Food – Lifeway Foods, producers of kefir drinks, have franchised their product as part of a “kefir boutique” cafe.  Kefir is a probiotic dairy drink.  Starfruit serves frozen kefir, which resembles frozen yogurt.  It’s nice to enjoy a dessert that’s good for you – kefir helps both your digestion and your immune systems.  Starfruit serves two flavors, original (vanilla-esque) and their flavor of the week (this week is pomegranate).  You can get standard frozen kefir, parfaits or smoothies.  Like its cousins, Red Mango and Pinkberry, Starfruit offers a variety of toppings for your kefir dish.  I went with a swirl of the vanilla and pomegranate flavors topped with mango.  The perks of Starfruit is that the small cup is still really large.  AND you don’t feel sick after eating the whole thing.

Drink – I guess I could have gotten a smoothie instead of the standard soft-serve.

Service – The staff will let you try each flavor before you purchase it.  I have to say that those samples were quite generous.

Scene – The place is next to yoga studio; you can tell that the customers of Starfruit are the type to really believe that their body is their temple.

Cost – I paid a $4.41 for my small sundae (soft serve with one topping).  I guess if you’re not indulging too often, it is worth it.

If you like, try…Berry Chill, Red Mango (in Naperville)

Veggie Bite

Location – 1300 N. Milwaukee (Milwaukee and Paulina) and 3031 W. 111th Street (111th and Whipple)

In one word – Idealistic

Food – The premise of Veggie Bite is fast-service organic vegan food.  It’s a tall order for a restaurant.  My overall reaction was that the place was nice in theory, struggles in practice.  The menu is filled with your usual fast food options – burger, chili dogs, Philly cheese steak, but there’s no meat or dairy in the food.  My eating partner and I both went for the Supreme Wrap on the cashier’s recommendation.  It was a wrap filled with seitan “chix-free nuggets,” tomatoes, cucumbers and a cucumber dressing (which tasted more like a light ranch dressing).  It was filling but not fulfilling.  The “chix-free nuggets” didn’t taste all that fresh to me, and there was too much sauce in the wrap.

Drink – You can get smoothies here as well as juices.  I picked up some mango nectar juice, which I enjoyed.

Service – Order at the counter and then the food will be brought to your table.  I appreciated that the cashier was forthright about his opinion when I asked what was the best item on the menu.  Given that vegan fast food is pretty new in Chicago, it was nice to have someone give guidance on what to order.

Scene – Expect the last few hipsters remaining in Wicker Park to frequent this place.  I was a little alarmed by the establishment’s decor.  I was staring at posters of helpless animals with captions like “Mercy.”  It was sort of like eating at an anti-animal cruelty booth while in my college student union.

Dress – You can put on the urban hipster garb or just wear what you’re already wearing.  It really doesn’t matter.

Cost – For my wrap and mango drink, I spent $8.28.  I guess it’s pretty reasonable given that the wrap was just a little smaller than a Chipotle burrito in size.

If you like, try…Soul Vegetarian, Karyn’s Cooked

The GB Mac and Cheese Crawl

Today my eating partner and I set forth to determine the impossible; we ventured through the city to find Chicago’s best macaroni and cheese. As my arteries are only so wide, we tested just three locations. I acknowledge that there are more locations to add into the mix, but I really believe that the restaurants below should be included when grouping the best mac in the city.

Contenders: Cafe Selmarie, Stanley’s and Handlebar

Winner of GB Mac and Cheese Crawl: Handlebar

(Smoked Gouda Mac ‘n Cheese)

Location: 2311 W. North Avenue (North and Western)

Cost: $3.50 (side dish price)

Positives:

- Simplicity: In this case, less is most definitely more. Just macaroni covered with a gouda cream sauce. No breadcrumbs, no baked cheese, just the basics. This dish tasted truly homemade, helping to reiterate the fact that mac and cheese is the epitome of comfort food.

- Cheese: Smoked gouda’s taste is distinct without being overpowering. Handlebar’s gouda sauce resembles an alfredo sauce. Believe it or not, going this route makes the dish feel lighter and fresher than baking the macaroni with cheese.

Negatives:

- Size: It’s a side dish, not a main. I wanted more. It gave me so much love.

Second Place: Cafe Selmarie

4729 N. Lincoln (Lincoln and Lawrence)

(Macaroni and Cheese)

Cost: $9.25 (entree size)

Positives:

- Complexity of Taste: So this dish uses six cheeses (gruyere, swiss, white cheddar, queso rico, pecorino romano and bleu). You can detect each of those cheese while you’re working your way through the dish. Additionally, they put leeks in. It’s more subtle than an onion, but still provides added flavor.

- Texture: Selmarie bakes bread crumbs on top of each serving, which provides the right amount of crunch. The cheese does that thing where because the cheese is warm, it’s stringy between your mouth and the plate (this is a good thing, think “Cheese-y, Cheese-y from those old Little Caeser ads).

Negatives:

- Bottom of the Dish: The big issue was that there was a milky oil liquid at the bottom of the dish. I understand that’s a by-product of the cheese, but it was kind of gross.

Loser: Stanley’s Kitchen and Tap

(Toasted Macaroni & Cheese)

1970 N. Lincoln (Lincoln and Armitage)

Cost: $8.95 (entree size includes 1 side)

Positives:

- Portion: It’s big. Like really big.

- Side Dish: The entree comes with a side. As we were at Stanley’s, we chose their famous tater tots and were not disappointed.

Negatives:

- Oil: There’s a whole lot of oil in this dish. When you have macaroni and cheese, you expect your cholesterol to rise a bit, but Stanley’s take on mac and cheese could send you to the ER. The level of oil and grease made the dish almost unappetizing to me. I bet this dish could cure a hangover in seconds.

- Bland: They use just one cheese, cheddar (granted there’s a whole lot of cheddar in the dish). Compared to the cheese profile at Selmarie and Handlebar, the taste was a bit pedestrian.

Kuma’s Corner

Location – 2900 W. Belmont (Belmont and Francisco)

www.kumas-corner.com

In one word – Accoutrement

Food – I had only heard fanatical raves about KC, so I needed to check it out myself. It’s a burger joint, you receive a menu with a page full of different burger options. Unlike Epic Burger, vegetarians are welcome here. You can get any burger option with a beef patty, chicken breast, portabella mushroom patty or chicken tenders. Also, they use pretzel bread buns (which I LOVE!). I was a bit overwhelmed by the options, so I went with my server’s recommendation (all the menu options have a rock theme), the Lair of the Minotaur – Beef patty with caramelized onions, pancetta, brie and bourbon soaked pears. This is apparently a shout-out to the May Street Market burger. One of my eating partners went big and chose the Bongzilla burger – Beef patty with a sausage on top of it (I’m not kidding). My other eating partner took the Motorhead Burger – Portabella burger with goat cheese, Kalamata olives, oregano, tzatziki, onion and tomato. Overall, don’t get me wrong, the dishes were all good. However, it was all about the accoutrement and less about the actual burger. Please don’t read this as a criticism, it’s meant to be an observation. Here’s a little advice, you have the options of choosing chips or fries with your meal. Choose the fries, the chips are super dry.

Drink – They have a healthy selection of beers to choose from. I saw SKA beer, my new favorite Durango, CO brewery, on the list and stuck with that. One of my eating partners chose a beer only to find out that it was raspberry flavored (which was not noted on the menu).

Service – So I was expecting to wait at least 30 minutes for a table for three. However, perhaps by going to KC on a Tuesday night, we found the golden ticket to “no line, no wait.” Plus, we lucked out and got a table in the back outdoor patio (it’s much quieter back there compared to the actual restaurant). When we got to our table, our server sat down with us. She definitely had spunk, one of those girls who starts talking to you as if you’ve been sarcastic friends for years. She had that balance of jadedness without being unpleasant. It’s a winning combination. Every table in her section seemed like they had created a friendship with her when they finished the meal. KC won me over when the manager (at least I think he’s the manager) came around to make sure that the food was satisfactory.

Scene – KC has this heavy metal biker theme. Don’t let that intimidate you. While the ladies room is wallpapered with illustrations of scantily clad ladies, the clientele is diverse and respectable.

Dress – I would wear something that feels comfortable to you. Everyone at the restaurant is so distinct, there isn’t a real dress code.

Cost – For a burger and two beers, I paid $24. For the caliber of the food, I felt like this was affordable.

If you like, try…Epic Burger, Twisted Spoke

The Bluebird

Location – 1749 N. Damen (St. Paul and Damen)

http://www.bluebirdchicago.com/

In one word – Earnest

Food – Bluebird has jumped on two trendy Chicago bandwagons:  1) Small plates 2) Flatbread.  While I enjoyed both trends at Bluebird, they didn’t set any sort of new culinary standard in my mind.  However, I do think it’s worth trying this place.  It’s quality casual place to dine.  My eating partner spotted frites at a neighboring table as soon as we walked in.  Ordering those was a good choice.  They are served with a garlic alioli sauce and curry ketchup.  This is one of those sides that you continue to eat even after your mind and stomach tell you that you are clearly full.  In addition to the frites, we sampled the roasted baby beet salad.  I did dig this, but I wanted there to be less frisee and more beets and cheese.  Finally we shared a flatbread (which is the size of a medium pizza).  The one we ordered had roasted mushrooms, fresh chevre, grilled greek sausage, shallots, garlic and watercress.  The best part of it was the actual flatbread, which was described to us as a kind of Lebanese cracker bread.  After eating all of that, I was full-dizzle.

Drink – Someone I know mentioned a month back that I should try Ska Beer out of Durango, CO.  Crazy enough, this happened to be on special.  I really did enjoy the recommendation, it was smooth, but had a nice bitterness to it.  Bluebird has a ton of wines and local beers to choose from.  I think this will be a good place to sample less common beverages.

Service – I thought that the service was very earnest.  Our server was really sincere and invested in insuring that we enjoyed our experience at Bluebird.  He talked to us about his favorite dishes and why he liked each of them.  Since I wasn’t in a hurry and this was my first time dining at Bluebird, his thoughts were welcome.  He also made me feel confident of my food choices.  There is nothing worse than a server who judges what you order at a restaurant.

Scene – The place kind of reminded me of a less sceney avec.  Same sort of bare, yet warm atmosphere.  The restaurant is located at an odd cross-section of the city.  It’s Wicker Park, so you have remnants of the indie hipster scene.  But, it’s on that strip of Damen that looks like the Gold Coast (you know with Marc by Marc Jacobs, BCBG, etc.).  As a result, you get a mix of people dining here. 

Dress – Our server had jeans and a polo on.  Take your cues from him.  It’s a casual place, no need to breakout the fancy wear.

Cost – For my beer, shared frites, salad and flatbread, I paid $21.  It was actually a lot of food for that amount.  I wouldn’t scream “Bargain,” but it’s not overpriced.

If you like, try…avec