Brunch

There are a large number of brunch spots in town. In fact, Time Out Chicago mentions 52 in this week's issue. They did not, however, mention the spot that I went to over the weekend, the imaginatively named Brunch. Brunch has a large open dining room that is elevated from the street. There is a pastry counter by the hostess station in the front. The dining area has hardwood floors, an unfinished ceiling with ventilation ducting, and beams, and a long curving bar running the length of the dining area. There are several large flat screens behind the bar that were all televising the death of Joe Paterno when I was there. While the TVs were on, there was also background music playing playing Indie Dance music like MGMT and LCD Soundsystem. I sat at the bar where I was served quickly and very friendly. For starters, I had the Strawberry Stuffed French Toast which was stuffed with strawberries and whipped cream cheese and served with sliced strawberries and maple syrup. When I am presented with a sauce (or syrup) on the side, I like to try the food by itself first so I can get an idea of how it tastes. As one might expect it was kind of sweet but the toast could have used a little moisture which I added with a little syrup. While the syrup was good, it really didn't add anything to the taste of the french toast. The dish was good, though.
For my main dish, I had the Brunch Skillet. As most skillets are, it was brought out in a cast iron pan. It consisted of cubed sweet potatoes, grilled onions, and a hash of Yukon Gold Potatoes, Pancetta, and fresh herbs and was topped with two eggs to order which, in my case, were over easy. I was also served a toasted English muffin on the side. I like skillets and this was a good skillet that took a step in the imaginative direction.

I enjoyed my meal at brunch. The food was well prepared, the staff was very friendly, the music was good and it had a very relaxing vibe. It reminded me of the former River North version of Kitsch'n without the 70s design. While there are several good brunch places that are closer to me than Brunch is, this will be a place that I will come to again.