Breakfast at O'Hare

We starting writing this blog yesterday (Tuesday) from O’Hare but didn't have time to post it.  Saturday night we got a call that a friend of ours from Philadelphia, David Zeehandelaar, had died.  David was the president of the congregation when Max arrived in Philly.  Over the four years that we were there David and his wife, Mona were friends and mentors to us.  Although over the last few years we have not been in as close contact as we would have liked we still thought that it was important to express face to face how much they have meant to us.  We were able to arrange, thanks to Leslie’s parents, to have our children well cared for, and Tuesday is a day off for us both.  We wish that we went to Philly for a happy occasion but that will have to wait for a different time. 

Breakfast at O’hare is what you would expect it to be.
 

George's Family Restaurant and Pancake House

We were pleasantly surprised by this diner located at 145 S Oak Park Avenue.  We have passed by George's Restaurant many times but have never eaten there.  People have recommended it to us but we have never gone in. Last week we met Peter Sagal from the radio show "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" and he told us his kids love this restaurant for breakfast so we finally decided to breakfast here this morning.


The restaurant was very crowded.  There were green carnations on every table (even though it's a Greek Diner) and decorations up for St. Patrick's Day.  The waitress quickly came with diner coffee and water for both of us.  The menu had the usual breakfast items (pancakes, waffles, omelets etc.).  After eating a lot last week, we decided to go with the basic egg breakfast.  Believe it or not, we were still able to get the early bird special (it's not over until 11:00 a.m.).  We had eggs over easy, toast, turkey sausage, orange juice, and hash browns (Leslie got fruit instead).  The eggs were perfect!  We were really pleasantly surprised and how good our breakfast tasted.  This diner was much better than our last diner experience in Oak Park.  The waitress came around with coffee often and was very friendly.


There seems to be a group of older men that meet there every day (there was also a group of older ladies at a different table).  There was great diner conversation (one person was talking about Rod Blagojevitch on the radio and his court case).  We talked to the man at the register and he told us he grew up at this restaurant.  It's been around for years.  The full menu looks like your typical Chicago diner: salads, Greek specialties, pasta, sandwiches, etc.  I'm sure we'll be back for a meal with our kids one day and for breakfast again soon.

We're not in Oak Park this week! Victoria's Pastries in San Francisco

On Saturday afternoon we left Chicago for San Francisco. It's R & R time for Leslie and the Rabbi's Convention for Max. We got here Saturday night and had a great Tapas dinner. Sunday morning we went to a local restaurant for breakfast and then walked around. On our walk we passed by Sear's Restaurant (not part of Sears Department Store). There was a long line out the door and a video playing about their Swedish pancakes. It's supposedly the best pancake in town and has been open since 1938. It had to be good. We decided we needed to blog about this place. SO we thought we'd cheat and go there early Monday (before Max's sessions) and blog about it on Tuesday. Well, after our breakfast we were so disappointed that we didn't want to blog about it! The Depot has nothing to worry about. The pancakes were small and there was not much flavor. We were both disappointed until this morning. We had a great breakfast (serves us right for trying a place the day before!).

Leslie's coworker sent us with a list of restaurants close to our hotel, the Fairmont in Nob Hill. Victoria's Pastry Company was about 7 blocks from our hotel in North Beach. The pastry shop has been open since 1914. The walk there was really nice (all down hill!). There are about 8 tables in this old Italian Bakery. We got the last table. There was a man siting alone at one table next to us and two woman at the table on the other side. It wasn't until the middle of our breakfast that we found out they were a married couple who come to the bakery every morning. The woman sit and gossip together. The man was waiting for other men and reading his newspaper. We offered to switch tables but he was thrilled with the distance (I didn't understand but Max shook his head in agreement). They meet their friends every morning.

There is no doubt in our mind why this bakery has been open since 1914. It was delicious! The coffee was rich. We both enjoyed our large mug and could have had more. (Although I didn't want to carry it on the walk up the hill!). We shared three pastries. The first one was a Bear Claw. It was fresh and so soft. The next was a broiche. This was also very good. But by far the Cherry Strudel was the best. It was flaky and delicious. We both finished everything. I have to say this was one of the best bakery's we've ever been too. You'll have to check it out when you come to San Francisco or you can even order on-line. The walk back uphill was hard but not hard enough to stop us from going back to this bakery tomorrow!

Max went on after breakfast to a day trip titled, Coffee, Beatniks and Jewish Literature. Leslie went sightseeing around San Francisco and to the Wharf. We won't say who has had a better day. We're home on Thursday and will blog about our regular life next week. Thanks to Leslie's mom and dad we've had a great time away together (and of course Max has enjoyed his meetings.)

Al's Grill

It's Tuesday again!  The first day of ISAT's for Jacob and regular school for Aden and Abby.  Jacob listened to his teachers and had a big healthy breakfast before school.  Then as he was walking out the door he turned to us and said, "Where are you going for breakfast?"  I really do wonder what he thinks about us blogging!

Today we decided to go to Al's Grill.  Al's is on Madison St. in Oak Park, just across the street from Oak Park Hospital.  Their slogan is "Where Food and Friends Become Family."  Not sure what they're striving for but I don't think we'll become family with their food (we've got enough to deal with in our own family).  From the outside, you can see the menu illuminated by florescent lights above the counter.  We assumed you order up at the counter and then sit down.  But when we walked in, the waiter seated us and handed us the menu.  We're not sure why the menu is also illuminated on the wall.

We had high hopes for the restaurant as it was very crowded, especially for a Tuesday.  Shortly after we sat down the waitress came over to offer us drinks.  She immediately came back with their version of coffee (definitely not Blue Max, The Depot, or Prairie Bread Kitchen).  We each ordered a full breakfast (not that we were told to eat properly for ISAT's but we both kept up with Jacob's breakfast mode).  Max had 2 eggs over easy, hashbrowns, turkey sausage, and toast.  Leslie had a spinach/cheese omelet, grits, and toast.  Everything came extremely fast.  The food was fine but not nearly as good as the other diners we have been to.  The turkey sausage was very good and so were the grits.  Everything else was just fine. The hash bowns weren't very crisp and the omelet had frozen spinach. We were really surprised at how crowded the restaurant was but the price and service were good so we think that helped.  It is also much better than hospital food so we're sure they get a lot of business that way.  We decided while we were eating that this is the perfect place to go if you want a quick breakfast but not McDonald's.

We're not sure we'll be back to this restaurant.  I guess if we are visiting the hospital it's a fine place to breakfast (it's only open for breakfast and lunch).  We would probably take the two extra block walk though and eat at the Original Pancake House a little further down Madison (one place we went to before the blog started that we will write about at some point!).