Posts Tagged ‘Breakfast/Brunch’
Punk Rock brekkie: Bleeding Heart Bakery & Cafe in Chicago
By Summar Ghias
Brunch may just be my favorite pastime. But brunch well past standard brunch timings at a 24-hour café essentially morphs me into a kid in a candy store. You can only imagine my excitement at hearing about the new Bleeding Heart Bakery & Café, a welcome bright spot in Chicago’s otherwise dismal late-night dining scene. The restaurant has an edgy diner vibe with vivid tattoo inspired art on the walls and what the owners dub a “local sustainable punk rock brunch” all day, every day.
After road-tripping to Indiana for a concert (yeah, Lupe!), some friends and I were in need of grub. Not just any kind of grub though. Once we’d confirmed that the food was delicious (because really, the host would have told us if it wasn’t), we set out to order from the brunch menu and eye the well-endowed glass counter from afar in all its munchkin and mini-cake mound glory. After oscillating between sweet and savory, I settled on a wild mushroom polenta eggs benedict with roasted red peppers and what seemed like an exotic twist on the standard condiment: persimmon hollandaise. My friends got the farmer’s veggie skillet, the seasonal fruit pancakes and, wait for it, the fried vanilla bean yeast doughnut breakfast sandwich with eggs and cheese.
My disappointing but tasty looking Wild Mushroom Polenta Benedict.
Cooking brunch for dinner with Simply Orange
Simply Orange ambassadors
Last week, I was invited to cook “Brunch for Dinner” at an event hosted by Simply Orange. I already think brunch is the best meal ever, but to have it for dinner was a first (spoiler alert: it totally works!). Simply had the right idea by setting up a communal table out in front so we can first cook, then all sit together right after to enjoy our food.
Dinner table
Pre-cooking fruit and cheese
Georgio’s Country Grill – Midtown
I want to like Georgio’s Country Grill. Before going for the first time, I had heard good things from friends who lived near by. And when I did end up going for the first time to catch up with a friend for lunch, I liked the laidback, non-pretentious atmosphere of the place. Like you’re eating out in…well the country. But I found the food to be a little more disappointing. For lunch, I had an open-faced grilled chicken and roasted peppers sandwich.
Grilled Chicken and Roasted Peppers sandwich, $9.50
It comes with seasoned grilled chicken, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, lettuce and tomato on ciabatta bread. It looked great, sure. I think I feel like if I can make it at home, it takes a little bit of the fun out of the meal. The sandwich just didn’t have too much of a kick to qualify it as anything special. I thought maybe their brunch is where it’s really at…so I went back. And I think you know by now what I ordered…
Eggs Florentine, $13
Eggs Florentine
Arizona Omelette, $13
I don’t know what it is about poached eggs on an english muffin, but I can’t help but order it almost every time. They served theirs over sautéed spinach, with scallions, dill, feta cheese oreganato and a generous serving of hollandaise sauce. The problem I had with my eggs was it veered too much to the salty side. I’m not sure if it was the sauce or what, but I’ve had better. Plus potatoes on the side were just too much for one girl to handle. My friend Asma ordered the Arizona omelette, and seemed to just be mildly satisfied (maybe because the eggs she cooks herself are BOMB).
Buena Vista Bistro in the Design District – Miami
Faraz's Orangina-slash-contribution to my Buena Vista post
My trip to Miami a few weeks ago was a whirlwind, but I still managed to squeeze in brunch at Buena Vista Bistro before I left with my friends Shahla and Faraz. I think Paris was still on their minds (they came back from there just the evening before!), because Buena is a pocket-sized French bistro on a street that doesn’t have much else in the immediate vicinity.
Buena Vista Bistro - Miami
Buena Vista inside
The inside has a very 50s aesthetic — black tables and chairs, mirrors making up half the wall and the entire menu written on a chalkboard behind the counter. But on that warm day, we decided to take it outside under the shade of bright yellow umbrellas.
Eggs Benedict
Eggs (and pretty nails) at Norma’s
I’ve written about Norma’s a couple of times before, and while I’ve heard others have had mixed feelings about their meal, I still have yet to have a bad experience. Last week, I went back with the lovely Christine White of Court & Hudson and her co-worker Lucy. We tried extra hard to ignore the sugary dishes (at least I was), and all went straight for the eggs. I tried the Artychoked Benedict this time poached eggs topped with a creamy truffle porcini sauce…mushrooms….yummmmm.
Artychoked benedict
Christine went for the Farm Fresh eggs that comes with homestyle sausage, and Lucy ordered Norma’s Eggs Benedict, served over a buttermilk pancake, grilled asparagus and Canadian bacon.
Brunch at Sarabeth’s Kitchen
Continuing on with my friends-sending-me-delicious-food-emails, this one’s from brunch at Sarabeth’s Kitchen. The last time I went there myself was a couple years ago, and
Sarabeth's pumpkin waffle
The pumpkin waffle looks pretty original, with sunflower seeds, “ginormous” raisins, and honey syrup which my friend described as “the perfect compliment to the pumpkin” and filling. Below is a picture of the veggie frittata, good but not as exciting as the different-tasting waffle.
Vegetable frittata, banana muffin and fresh raspberry jam
