We started our Tuesday morning with the usual question (after the complete hecticness of sending the kids off to school), Where should we have breakfast? We needed to have a good relaxing breakfast since afterward we were off to the accountant to do our taxes. We decided to go back to one of our favorite restaurants, The Depot American Diner.
The Depot is an an unusual place. Located on Roosevelt Rd. about 2 blocks east of Austin Ave. with limited parking, limited seating and an old fashioned diner ambiance it looks like and is located like a typical greasy spoon but it is decidedly not. The food is all fresh, extremely tasty and made to order. This is our second visit here for breakfast.
The most difficult part of writing this blog today is just sticking to today's breakfast. We could tell you how delicious the pot roast, hot turkey sandwich, meatloaf, spaghetti, and hot made to order donuts are but that would all be from our previous dinners (okay, donuts are breakfast food too but not for the two of us) at this restaurant. We do highly recommend ALL of the above meals!
For those of you who might not know, this week is National Pancake week. So, to celebrate we both had pancakes for breakfast. Actually, we had read in one of the Oak Park's weekly papers that the Depot had the best pancakes in Chicago, a claim that could not go untested. Usually I can eat about half of a large plate of pancakes but today I could not stop eating.
The plates came to the table with about 6 good sized pancakes fanned across the plate. It is difficult to describe how good these pancakes were so I will begin with what they were not. They were not spongy. They were not soggy. They were not eggy. They were not sugary. They were not dry. They were not too buttery. They were not floury. They were balanced pancake perfection. Each bite was chewy, sometimes crisp on the edges with hints of vanilla. They were the best pancakes we have ever eaten.
The coffee was good too.
Dinner can sometimes feel a little rushed here but weekday breakfast was very relaxing. On our way out we asked a man sitting at the counter how his oatmeal was. He said that it was as good as oatmeal can be. (I guess that is an endorsement)
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Eastgate Cafe'
We thought that this week we would revisit one of our favorite breakfast spots from before we began blogging but then Saturday night we went out for dessert (and wine) at the Eastgate Cafe' following a play and we were so charmed that we decided to try it for breakfast.
The Eastgate Cafe is in the "art's district" of Oak Park at 102 Harrison Ave. This little cafe' is great. It has been open for a year and a half on a quiet corner with plenty of street parking. In addition to the food in the cafe' they also feature a small cooking oriented gift shop. But we came for the coffee and breakfast and we were not disappointed. Although this was only our second visit the owner remembered us from our last visit and we were warmly welcomed.
After being greeted by the friendly owner the first thing that you see walking in the front door is a display case with desserts and pastries- All looked tasty and the ones we tried were delicious. We sat at one of the 8 or so tables and enjoyed the quiet friendly atmosphere of the cafe'. There were only 2 other occupied tables, two women were seated at one table and at the other was a man enjoying the wifi on his lap top. (Max may come back here to work on sermons).
The coffee was fresh and had a great flavor - kind of caramel and berry. A carafe was sitting on the counter so it was also plentiful. The breakfast menu was limited (pastries, 2 types of quiche and some type of Russian egg/mushroom pastry that was the owner's grandmother's recipe) -- I think that they specialize in lunch. We decided to share our orders. We split an order of the mushroom/thingy and 3 wonderful small pastries. The mushroom/egg/phyllo thingy was very good, light and tasty. The serving was large, served with sweet fresh fruit and two potato pancakes (frozen). It was supposed to be served with sausage or bacon, which we declined. The pastries were great- the corn and blueberry muffins were moist and sweet. There was a cinnamon swirl which had a lightly crunchy crust and was flaky and moist on the inside.
We sat for a while after we ate read the paper and relaxed. When we went to pay Leslie got into a conversation with the co-owner (the wife part of the husband and wife team) and found out the the pastries were made by a french company located in Hawaii. Apparently the owner of the factory got fed up with France and decided to relocate the entire operation. The pastries are shipped frozen and cooked fresh on location. The desserts are shipped frozen from New York and are also good (we tasted those the other night).
The breakfast was much more relax than last week. No phone calls and just the newspaper and one another's company. We'll be back here again but not for awhile on a Tuesday since we want to keep exploring.
The Eastgate Cafe is in the "art's district" of Oak Park at 102 Harrison Ave. This little cafe' is great. It has been open for a year and a half on a quiet corner with plenty of street parking. In addition to the food in the cafe' they also feature a small cooking oriented gift shop. But we came for the coffee and breakfast and we were not disappointed. Although this was only our second visit the owner remembered us from our last visit and we were warmly welcomed.
After being greeted by the friendly owner the first thing that you see walking in the front door is a display case with desserts and pastries- All looked tasty and the ones we tried were delicious. We sat at one of the 8 or so tables and enjoyed the quiet friendly atmosphere of the cafe'. There were only 2 other occupied tables, two women were seated at one table and at the other was a man enjoying the wifi on his lap top. (Max may come back here to work on sermons).
The coffee was fresh and had a great flavor - kind of caramel and berry. A carafe was sitting on the counter so it was also plentiful. The breakfast menu was limited (pastries, 2 types of quiche and some type of Russian egg/mushroom pastry that was the owner's grandmother's recipe) -- I think that they specialize in lunch. We decided to share our orders. We split an order of the mushroom/thingy and 3 wonderful small pastries. The mushroom/egg/phyllo thingy was very good, light and tasty. The serving was large, served with sweet fresh fruit and two potato pancakes (frozen). It was supposed to be served with sausage or bacon, which we declined. The pastries were great- the corn and blueberry muffins were moist and sweet. There was a cinnamon swirl which had a lightly crunchy crust and was flaky and moist on the inside.
We sat for a while after we ate read the paper and relaxed. When we went to pay Leslie got into a conversation with the co-owner (the wife part of the husband and wife team) and found out the the pastries were made by a french company located in Hawaii. Apparently the owner of the factory got fed up with France and decided to relocate the entire operation. The pastries are shipped frozen and cooked fresh on location. The desserts are shipped frozen from New York and are also good (we tasted those the other night).
The breakfast was much more relax than last week. No phone calls and just the newspaper and one another's company. We'll be back here again but not for awhile on a Tuesday since we want to keep exploring.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Prarie Bread Kitchen
Well-- Not a typical Tuesday.
Today Leslie needed to be at O'Hare by 10:00 to meet a group of 8th grade students who were flying back from Israel. The 80 kids had spent 7 days touring Israel with the Community Foundation for Jewish Education on the Ta'am Yisrael trip. Unfortunately, the day they returned, snow returned to Chicago. So we were in a rush and Leslie had to work the phone during our breakfast. We decided to go to a standby for us, The Prairie Bread Kitchen, at 103 N. Marion Street. It is a warm friendly bakery where they now know us by name. Having recently moved to town, it is a good feeling to be known by people who do not have to know us.
We both had muffins and coffee for breakfast. The muffins were moist and tasty and I think they are probably the best we have had in Oak Park. Their coffee is Intelligensia brand and is very good but we miss having coffee in a real mug. Prairie Bread Kitchen definitely has the best Challah in town which is probably why they know our names. One of us goes there every Friday (usually with Abby for a snack and to buy our challah).
We sat at the window facing Marion Street watching the snow fall, cars splash and people trudge to their destinations. The bakery always smells good and the folks who work there never rush you out. The chairs and stools are utilitarian, but it is a bakery, not a restaurant. I know that we will be back.
Today Leslie needed to be at O'Hare by 10:00 to meet a group of 8th grade students who were flying back from Israel. The 80 kids had spent 7 days touring Israel with the Community Foundation for Jewish Education on the Ta'am Yisrael trip. Unfortunately, the day they returned, snow returned to Chicago. So we were in a rush and Leslie had to work the phone during our breakfast. We decided to go to a standby for us, The Prairie Bread Kitchen, at 103 N. Marion Street. It is a warm friendly bakery where they now know us by name. Having recently moved to town, it is a good feeling to be known by people who do not have to know us.
We both had muffins and coffee for breakfast. The muffins were moist and tasty and I think they are probably the best we have had in Oak Park. Their coffee is Intelligensia brand and is very good but we miss having coffee in a real mug. Prairie Bread Kitchen definitely has the best Challah in town which is probably why they know our names. One of us goes there every Friday (usually with Abby for a snack and to buy our challah).
We sat at the window facing Marion Street watching the snow fall, cars splash and people trudge to their destinations. The bakery always smells good and the folks who work there never rush you out. The chairs and stools are utilitarian, but it is a bakery, not a restaurant. I know that we will be back.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Cozy Corner Coffee Shop
After shoveling the walk (you really have to love living in Chicago!) and dropping off the kids at school, we decided to go to Lido's Cafe for breakfast today. There had been many articles in the local Oak Park papers about Lido's closing and we then heard it quickly reopened. So, we decided the nice Oak Park neighborly thing to do was spend our money at Lido's. We were happy to see it was opened but ended up not eating there. All they had were plain croissants and Ham & Cheese croissants (difficult for us since we don't eat pork.) So, we bought the kids some sprinkle cookies and walked up the street.
We ended up eating at the Cozy Corner on Lake and Marion. I think the age of the customers dropped when we walked in but we were pleasantly greeted by the diner waitress and sat down. I (Leslie) felt like my grandfather was going to walk into the restaurant at anytime (but he died when I was 9) because it reminded me of the diners we used to go to when I was younger. The restaurant opened 60 years ago this March. It is clean and updated but still has that old diner feel to it. Max had a silver dollar pancakes (and many of them) with turkey sausage. The turkey sausage was good as were the pancakes. Leslie had a Greek omelet that comes with hash browns and toast. The omelet was very good (not greasy at all) and the hash browns were crispy just the way we like them. Overall, we were very impressed with the breakfast and surprised that people just kept coming into the restaurant. The waitress was friendly, the food was good, and the coffee just kept coming (although it definitely wasn't the best coffee). It is a great place for a classic diner experience.
We ended up eating at the Cozy Corner on Lake and Marion. I think the age of the customers dropped when we walked in but we were pleasantly greeted by the diner waitress and sat down. I (Leslie) felt like my grandfather was going to walk into the restaurant at anytime (but he died when I was 9) because it reminded me of the diners we used to go to when I was younger. The restaurant opened 60 years ago this March. It is clean and updated but still has that old diner feel to it. Max had a silver dollar pancakes (and many of them) with turkey sausage. The turkey sausage was good as were the pancakes. Leslie had a Greek omelet that comes with hash browns and toast. The omelet was very good (not greasy at all) and the hash browns were crispy just the way we like them. Overall, we were very impressed with the breakfast and surprised that people just kept coming into the restaurant. The waitress was friendly, the food was good, and the coffee just kept coming (although it definitely wasn't the best coffee). It is a great place for a classic diner experience.
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