Nana

We went to breakfast at Nana in Bridgeport.  It has been featured on Diners, Drive ins and Dives and Check Please and has only been open for 3 years.  They don't open until 9 am so it really is more of a breakfast/brunch and they also serve lunch and dinner. We decided to go with both a savory and a sweet dish for our breakfast.

Savory option:

Biscuits and Duck Gravy

Biscuits and Duck Gravy - 2 eggs any style (we had over hard), 2 smoked cheddar biscuits, duck gravy, duck ragout, spring onions and corn. The biscuits were a bit dense, but that was good so that they didn't fall apart easily with all of the other ingredients.  With some bites the gravy was a bit salty.  But, the duck elevated the traditional biscuits and gravy to another level. Overall it was very rich in a savory sort of way.

Sweet option:
Lemon Pound Cake French toast - with whipped cream, chocolate mousse and peaches.  This was practically a dessert.  This was definitely at the other end of the spectrum with taste and richness versus the biscuits and gravy. It was great to be able to sample both of these breakfast items - they were a good balance for each other since they were both rich meals in different ways.

Final thoughts on Nana:

Lemon Pound Cake French Toast

Food - it was different than any other breakfast place we have been to recently because it was fresh, clean, and not overly heavy.  Compared to other Diners, Drive ins and Dives picks this seems a bit more upscale, especially for the neighborhood.
Service - it was ok, there was one server for lots of tables.  We waited a bit to order but the food came out relatively quickly.
Atmosphere - had a lot of original artwork on the walls, we got their right when the place opened and were okay but it definitely got hopping as we were leaving.

Interior

Interior

Yolk

This past week we have been on completely opposite schedules so we decided to meet up for breakfast at 6 am (after Nick got done working and before Natalie started working).  We went to Yolk in River North upon recommendation from a friend.  There are also 2 other locations in Chicago.

Eggs Benedict with fruit and potatoes

Eggs Benedict - they have a few variations on this but we went with the traditional (poached eggs, canadian bacon, english muffins, hollandaise sauce).  A good eat for Natalie but Nick likes his eggs thorougly cooked.  The small amount that Nick ate was enjoyable-perfectly poached  for those who like poached eggs. A very rich and decadant breakfast any time. 

Hey Ricky Omelet

Hey Ricky Omelet - included avocado, chorizo, jalapeno, onions, cheese, sour cream and salsa.  It came with fresh fruit and pancakes and we upgraded to the strawberry chocolate pancakes. A giant burrito sized omelet. Nick ordered it for its southwest flavor and it lived up to its hype. It was warm and had a kick from the chorizo and jalapenos but not enough to kill the flavor of the acocado.  It was large enough to share and have some left over for the next day and it reheated well unlike a lot of eggs. The pancakes were great and much larger than we figured for a side dish-warm and fuffy and a lot of sweetness. You could tell that they were the first ones off the griddle that day in that the outside was a little cruchy from the fresh oil on the griddle (we were the first customers in the restaurant).  But that is ok though because Nick likes the first ones from a batch at home.

Strawberry Chocolate pancakes

Final Thoughts on Yolk:

Food - Generous portions - lots of fruit on the side. Good and filling. (A breakfast place has to do something incredibly good or bad to really take note).  They did a good job with flavors that we don't readily have at home. Good - but not extraordinary.

Service - good - typical of a breakfast joint not in a hurry

Atmosphere - the space is huge.  Perhaps it gets filled up on a weekend but right when it opens on a weekday there were not that many people there.  Bright and clean, more modern with fun lighting.  Not your average diner or greasy spoon look.

Bongo Room

We went to breakfast at the Bongo Room in Wicker Park.  We had been given a few recommendations by friends to try it out.  They are open for both breakfast and lunch, but known more for the breakfast food.  They do not accept reservations so it can be difficult to be seated right away.  We went on a Friday holiday so we were expecting a little wait but it wasn't the wait that was the issue it was more the lack of a dedicated hostess. There were 2 parties that were seated before us (that arrived at the restaurant after us) because of the disorganization at the front end.

That aside, once we were seated the waitress was friendly.  We both ordered sweet breakfast dishes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Pancakes

One was graham cracker crusted pumpkin flapjacks with chocolate chunks topped with warm vanilla bean cream.  The other dish was white chocolate and caramel covered pretzel pancakes.  Both were very rich and tasted more like baked cakes than griddle cakes.  In fact, the pumpkin pancakes tasted a lot like a recipe we have for pumpkin chocolate chip bread.  Both sets of pancakes were satisfying and filled us up until dinner. The pancakes were very dense, not airy and fluffy.  The sauces on both were in place of syrups and they were needed to tie the dishes together in a complete package.  When the pumpkin pancakes arrived at the table one of the people next to us commented that is smelled like Cinnabon. The pretzel pancakes were delectable and were exactly what we hoped for - the crumbled pretzel with its slight saltiness cut though the super sweet topping of white chocolate and caramel. The bottom pancake needed a bit of the topping or else it was a little dry to the taste; luckily there was plenty of the topping to be spread around.  Several people sitting around us had more of the savory breakfast items but we were more in mood for sweet that day.

Pretzel Pancakes

Final thoughts on Bongo Room:
Food - good and interesting combinations that people should try. But for us it will probably be a long time before we return - not because it is bad food but because we have so few mornings and so many other places to try. Sweet Maple Cafe  is still Nick's favorite pancake place in town.
Service - besides the whole waiting for our table experience that tainted our perception of the meal, the actual service once we got to our table was good, but not notable
Atmosphere - clean and bright faux painting an walls. Fun ceiling fans. The tables are very close together like at most breakfast places.

Interior with cool fans

Interior with "deer" heads

Pannenkoeken

We went to breakfast at Pannenkoeken Cafe located at 4757 North Western Ave in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. Pannenkoeken are large, thin Dutch pancakes topped with either sweet or savory ingredients.  In addition to these unique pancakes Pannenkoeken Cafe also has other breakfast offerings including eggs, omelets, regular pancakes and french toast.

We chose to order their namesake and ordered both a sweet and a savory pannenkoeken.  Nick ordered a chocolate and banana pannenkoeken and Natalie ordered a sausage, mushroom and Havarti cheese one.  Despite being very thin the pannenkoeken are surprisingly filling.  Both the sweet and savory combinations are quite tasty.  It was great to have a bite of the pancake and topping all at once - it was a burst of flavor.  The savory one would have been a great brunch or lunch option. The sweet one was similar in flavors to a dessert crepe.

We went to Pannenkoeken right when they opened on a Saturday morning (8am). We did this because we read reviews that it is a very small space and that waits can get long.  The reviews were right about the space being small; there was only enough space for up to 20 space to sit (4 - 2 person tables and 3 - 4 person tables).  Nick was practically sitting in a doorway.  By the time we left it still wasn't completely full yet and we were kind of happy about that because it would have been super tight if all of the tables were full.


Nick also ordered a hot chocolate and because of the small size of the restaurant we were able to see it being made (which was kind of fun).  We also saw that they serve freshly squeezed orange juice made from a funky automated orange "squeezing machine".

This is how close our server was to us .
The green machine in the corner is the juicer.

Final thoughts on Pannenkoeken Cafe:
Food - tasty and different breakfast offerings.
Service - good, but if it were busy it could get hectic really quick.  With the tiny size of the restaurant a server is never too far away though...

Atmosphere - Dutch decor with a modern twist.  This is the first time we discovered Lincoln Square and we noticed a lot of German influence in the neighborhood's other shops and restaurants. Definitely a neighborhood to check out in the summer.  But it is far out of our way so it is kind of difficult to justify driving for just breakfast - maybe we will go back if we are already in the neighborhood.

Sweet Maple Cafe

Chocolate chip pancakes and biscuit

We went to breakfast at Sweet Maple Cafe in Chicago because we had heard about it on a breakfast episode of Chicago's Best.  The night before we read some reviews online about it and it sounded like it can get busy and have long waits, so we decided to forgo a little sleep and go there right after it opened at 7:15.  It paid off and we were able to walk right in.  Sweet Maple Cafe is located on 1339 W Taylor Street in Chicago near the UIC campus and Rush medical complex. It is not much to look at from the outside but has a cute and cozy charm inside.

Omelet, home fries and biscuit

Natalie ordered the three cheese omelet with home fries and a biscuit and Nick ordered the chocolate chip pancakes and a biscuit on the side.  The omelet and fries were standard, filling and tasty.  But the biscuits and the pancakes were exceptional.  The sweet milk biscuit was large, it filled up most of a small plate.  It was warm, filling and airy.  The pancakes had the chocolate chips not only served on top of them but also baked into them as well.  In Nick's limited time in Chicago he thinks they are some of the best pancakes he has eaten. They too were airy, moist and delicious.  They filled you up but didn't have a lingering heavy feeling.

Final thoughts on Sweet Maple Cafe
Food - we definitely recommend the pancakes and the biscuits, this is home cooking with a touch of southern flair
Service - attentive waitresses, water glasses were always full. we weren't there during the peak time so we don't know what that is like

Atmosphere - homey feel - unfinished floors and distressed painting look, there are only about 15 tables so it   probably could get tight when busy, there is plenty of paid street parking

Dat Donut

Nick loves donuts and Natalie is indifferent.  But we heard multiple times about Dat Donut from the show Chicago's Best. There are 2 locations, both on the south side of Chicago and we went to the 8249 S Cottage Grove location. Dat Donut has been called one of the 10 best doughnut places in the country, but we found it to be just an average tasting doughnut shop. The novelty there is that they sell a doughnut called the "Big Dat" and it is so large that its size equals about 5 regular donuts.  So we had to order a Big Dat and then we also ordered an apple fritter, a cinnamon roll and a jelly filled doughnut - this way we could have breakfast for days.   We felt that for the distance we had to travel to get to Dat Donut, we would rather drive to find a Krispy Kreme to have a hot and fresh glazed doughnut.

Final thoughts on Dat Donut:
Food - your average doughnut shop, the doughnuts did taste better at home after being warmed up in the microwave
Service - there is walk up service and just a few chairs for eating there, it is a cash only business
Atmosphere - it is located on the south side of Chicago so whatever that means to you.  We went during the day to make sure we would be safe, but we didn't feel threatened in any way. We were definitely the minority race but it wasn't an issue.  There is a good sized parking lot so you don't have to park on the street.  It is open almost 24 hours a day.

Ann Sather

At the beginning of a Saturday morning full of activities in Chicago, we went to breakfast at Ann Sather, specifically the location at 909 W Belmont.  Ann Sather is a famous Swedish restaurant/bakery in Chicago known especially for cinnamon rolls. Natalie had partaken of the cinnamon rolls in the past but more recently Nick had learned about them from an episode of the Best Thing I Ever Ate on the food network (specifically the episode entitled "Wake up call".)

For breakfast we ordered 2 things - Swedish pancakes with lingonberries and a ham, egg and cheese breakfast wrap. All egg dishes come with 2 sides and the breakfast wrap qualified as an egg dish so lucky us we got to have the cinnamon rolls included.

The Swedish pancakes were tasty and unlike a buttermilk pancake they were light and thin.  The lingonberries were tart and a good accompaniment to the flavorful pancakes.  We were super surprised at the size of the breakfast wrap - it was more of a burrito than what we have experienced at other breakfast establishments. Nick felt like he was eating 4 eggs, although it was probably only 2. It was so tasty and filling that he didn't need to eat until dinner that day. The cinnamon rolls were, of course amazing. They weren't dense, but light and airy and the sweetness was just perfect.

 To top it off the prices are very reasonable, especially for the dishes that include the sides.  Also if you just want cinnamon rolls you can carry out boxes of them to go.  At the Belmont location there is a parking lot in park so you don't have to try and find street parking.

Final thoughts about Ann Sather:
Food -large portions, perfectly flavored, worth the drive from the suburbs
Service - attentive, food came out quickly
Atmosphere - Swedish decore and sayings, the tables were a bit too close together - the wait staff couldn't always get between the chairs/tables

Wildberry

Because the only day we can go out to breakfast together is Saturday we don't often really do it. But we decided to go out for breakfast before a day at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  We went to a place called Wildberry.  We went to the location in Schaumburg at 1383 N Meacham Road.  We found out about this restaurant from a breakfast themed episode of Chicago's Best.

Natalie ordered the tiramisu pancakes - pancakes cinnamon, cocoa, whipped cream and a tiramisu cheese spread in between the pancakes.  Natalie doesn't often like to order pancakes at restaurants because they usually fall short of the taste of the pancakes she can make from scratch at home.  But because there were some extras thrown in with the pancakes she was willing to try it. The pancakes alone were okay but the cheese spread made everthing taste much better. What would have made them a little better was having more of the cheese mixture along with spreading it evenly in between the layers of the pancakes - that way every bite could have some of that flavor.

Nick ordered the Wildberry French Toast - partly because how can you pass up a restaurant's namesake item. It was a large portion so it was very filling. The french toast was supersweet and tasty, but there could have been more mascarpone cheese.  No syrup was needed because of it was so sweet.

Nick also ordered a cup of hot apple cider.  It was good, but he prefers non-pasteurized cider with mulling spices.

Sorry no pictures of the food - we forgot!

Final thoughts on Wildberry:
Food - average breakfast place
Service - slow; we felt like waited a while to get everything
Atmosphere -  good atmosphere, clean, nicer looking than most breakfast spots