Xoco, Bleeding Heart Bakery Cafe, Marmalade, Chicago IL

Without a doubt my favorite city for breakfast this most recent three day trip to Chicago would logically include three breakfasts – the first a solo jaunt to celebrity chef Rick Bayless’ highly regarded take on Mexican Street food, Xoco, that occurred no more than 60 minutes after my plane landed at ORD. Having been mildly impressed by the brunch at Frontera in the past and much more so by lunch at Michelin Starred Topolobampo shortly thereafter I went into my breakfast at Xoco with relatively high expectations and, thankfully, came away thoroughly impressed.

Having mentioned Xoco’s more laid back approach to Bayless’ cuisine I was not surprised to find the restaurant featuring a cafeteria style ordering format, but what I was surprised to find was the lack of a line – something that had prevented previous attempts to visit Xoco, particularly during a February visit when the temperatures were near zero. Greeted promptly on entering I was asked if I was ready to order and after a few questions regarding the daily rotating selection of pastries and empanadas I made my choices, was handed a number, and found seating near the door where I could watch the traffic on Clark Street.

Sitting for mere moments sipping my water (both still and sparkling are complimentary and on tap) while listening to the festive overhead soundtrack one of a trio of servers would arrive with my first item; the daily Muffin featuring Honeycrisp Apple, Pecan Frangipan, and Sugar Brandy Glaze served warm and absolutely full of shredded apples balanced adeptly by soft notes from the frangipan. Always impressed by Chef Bayless’ ability to incorporate a multitude of tastes, textures, and spices into his food the soft interior was only improved through the use of large Belgian vanilla sugars coating the outside and the slight nose of brandy punctuated by cinnamon; a truly great start and a veritable bargain at $2.50.

With my muffin only half gone as I coordinated a meeting place with my sister via text my “main course” of the morning would arrive perhaps ten minutes after seating in the form of “Torreja,” or “Mexican style French Toast” as it was described by my server. Beginning first with the French Toast itself, a personal favorite for vacation breakfast, it may sound like hyperbole but I’d place the Torreja amongst the top 5 I have ever tasted as the thick bread was perfectly caramelized on the exterior and nearly a liquid custard on the interior – a veritable bread pudding, if you will. With notes of cinnamon prevailing and topped amply with Gunthorp bacon-pecan sprinkles the sweet/savory balance was quite impressive to begin with, but all the moreso with the addition of local pure maple syrup. Gilding the lily? Absolutely.

With the French Toast still wowing me my “dessert” (yes, at breakfast!) would arrive last in the form of Xoco’s most famous item – a single “Mexican doughnut” or Churro heavily dusted with spicy cinnamon and sugar plus a “Hot Chocolate Shot” on the side for dunking. Crispy on the outside, soft within, and perfectly accented by the slightly fruity pure Mexican cocoa I cannot say this was the absolute best Churro I’ve ever had, but considering the price and the quality of the chocolate my only regret in ordering it was that I didn’t go for the trio and pair it with a cup of Xoco’s drinking cocoa, though all things considering there was plenty more eating to do on this trip and given the quality (and modest price) I’ve no doubt I will be back.

After a long night of fun at Alinea, the Aviary, and The Office I woke up early to run while my companions slept in but once we were all finally up and moving it was a quick trip to breakfast at a place that was familiar but different, the Bleeding Heart Bakery and Café near the Ukrainian Village.

Having once in the past visited the Bleeding Heart Bakery in Roscoe Village and leaving with a good impression I will admit that up until the day before our departure I was actually entirely unaware of the Café, but considering past experience and the diversity of the menu Bleeding Heart Bakery and Café became a “must visit” the moment I became aware of its existence; how could I argue with a place featuring three forms of French Toast, three types of pancakes, and an array of baked goods topping fifty that is open for more than fifty straight hours each and every weekend?

With reservations not necessary our arrival at Bleeding Heart would be just after 9am and with parking ample we entered the restaurant to find it surprisingly large and even more impressively damn near filled. Greeted by a hostess and led swiftly to a four-top as I dilly-dallied in front of the pasty case we would soon find ourselves seated amidst the hustle and bustle where we were soon greeted by our server, Adora, who handed us menus and offered us water and beverages; one tea, one coffee, and one ‘just water’ before heading back to the kitchen to drop off another round of plates. With the noise level loud and the restaurant clearly understaffed I have to admit that Adora actually proved to be quite the server stopping by frequently to check in on us and to refill beverages despite the fact that she was covering a minimum of fifteen tables.

With the restaurant’s decoration quite funky while an equally whimsical soundtrack played overhead we each spent a few moments perusing the menu and then the pastry case before Adora returned to take our orders and with our selections confirmed as “excellent, but that’s a lot of food” I next took leave from the table to check out the enormous bakery in back as well as the cake decorating station up front where a large heavily tattooed gentleman was designing a cake themed to Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. A clean operation from front to back I have to say I liked the atmosphere and design of the café much more than the dank Roscoe Village location and although the predominance of hipsters is substantial, the restaurant was definitely an all ages, races, and genders affair with everyone seemingly having an excellent time.

As our hot items were being prepared the first plate to arrive would be a quartet of baked goods including three doughnuts and a Sweet Potato Cinnamon Roll. With the cinnamon roll sweet, soft, and buttery but the sweet potato largely undetectable the more interesting doughnuts would all prove to be excellent and included the “Chicago Blues” Yeast donut with fresh opal basil and crushed seedling farms blueberry glaze, “Los Angelos” espresso fueled chocolate donut soaked in chocolate liquer, glazed in mocha syrup, topped with a “chocolate cigarette” and “The Death of John Waters Divine Donut” maple whisky soaked yeasted donut with candied bacon crust. Sharing and sampling it is hard for me to pick which was best, but overall I really loved the use of the minty lemon tinge of the opal basil in the Chicago Blues and the whisky notes in the John Waters, both every bit on par with the selections at Doughnut Vault for my favorite doughnuts all time.

Moving next to our main courses, four were ordered for the three of us, beginning first with the Wild Mushroom Polenta Benedict with Roasted Red Peppers and Persimmon Hollandaise, a nicely prepared pair of poached free range eggs resting atop baked rounds of cheesy polenta studded with mushrooms and topped with slightly sweet and spicy hollandaise. Never one to fancy peppers so early in the day I was happy to see that these peppers were cooked to a caramelized sweetness largely nulling the heat while the roasted potatoes accompanying were kissed with chives and thyme plus ample notes of butter.

For a second savory selection I simply could not resist the Vegan biscuits and gravy with wild mushroom gravy, a hefty plate with two large and fluffy almond and rice milk biscuits topped with thick and creamy gravy laden with woodsy notes and ample black pepper. Certainly not the most attractive of dishes (then again, when are biscuits and gravy attractive?) the dish was additionally complimented with two nicely poached eggs (double cooked tofu available for the true vegans) adding another layer of smoothness and flavor to the already decadent dish while also serving to slightly mellow the pepper, particularly after the addition of a dash of salt.

Moving on to more sweets, one of the driving forces bringing me to Bleeding Heart was the Chocolate Chip Pancakes with organic peanut butter, caramelized bananas, and candied maple bacon and thankfully it turned out to be every bit as good as it sounded. Perhaps not the most attractive of dishes at first glance given the plating of the peanut butter as a big glob I was willing to overlook this small issue the moment I took a bite of the fluffy pancakes (far less dense than those at Bongo Room, though not as light as those at m.henry) and the sweet/savory amalgam resting atop. Healthy? Of course not. Delicious? Amongst the best in the city.

For our final plate the selection came down to the doughnut sandwich versus the French Toast and given the fact that we’d already enjoyed a trio of doughnuts we opted for the later in the form of Chocolate Brioche French Toast with bittersweet chocolate ganache, chocolate shavings, fresh whipped cream, and seasonal fruit. Beginning first with the bread, both a pro and a con was the inclusion of a substantial amount of chocolate which although delicious prevented the toast from becoming truly saturated as such leaving it slightly doughy on the interior while the exterior was nicely cooked and delicious. Moving next to the toppings, everything from the chocolate ganache and shavings to the whipped cream to the fruits (save for honeydew which I dislike) was fresh, tasty, and all the better when complimented with pure maple syrup.

With everything served hot, quick, and with a smile while drinks remained full despite the busyness of the restaurant I can say without a doubt that Bleeding Heart Bakery and Café has now landed amongst my top three breakfasts in Chicago along with m.henry/henrietta and Southport Grocery Café. With a substantial menu and a bakery with at least twenty more options I’d have liked to try I’d definitely recommend Bleeding Heart to anyone except those with a low tolerance for noise and to those folks I’d still recommend it, just go during the “off hours” which should be easy to find since they’re open, quite literally, all weekend long.

For our final breakfast of the trip, after a night that included two dinners (the first at Les Nomades and the second a chance occurrence that landed me at a table at NEXT,) I found myself again with my sister and her friend at a newcomer to the local brunch scene, a space called Marmalade that has been getting some good word of mouth from a couple of trusted mouths especially in regard to their sweet breakfast options.

Arriving early, only perhaps forty-five minutes after Marmalade had opened its doors and again allocating free parking without difficulty but on our arrival to the doors we were instantly struck by just how packed the restaurant was – literally every seat was filled and parties of eight, four, and two preceded us on the wait list. Debating whether or not we wanted to stay the hostess informed us that in her opinion the wait would be “no more than fifteen minutes” and deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt we were pleasantly surprised when a number of patrons all seemed to finish their meal at once leaving us a nice seat near the window and with full view of the kitchen a mere ten minutes later.

With the restaurant clearly busy and menu present on the table as we arrived I took some time browsing the bakery items before returning to my seat and from this point forward we would wait while watching what may be the most inefficient restaurant in the history of overcrowded brunch spots. With servers racing here and there refilling drinks, bussing tables, serving foods, brewing labor intensive espressos, seating patrons, and just trying to keep up it would be at least fifteen minutes after we were seated before our server would even notice us to take drink orders – water only – before again racing off without taking our order. Finally returning only after she’d bussed a table and served another we finally had the opportunity to place our orders…and wait , wait, and wait some more with empty water glasses until our orders arrived.

Chuckling at the clever paintings and number of persons now waiting outside while musing about how much more efficient the restaurant could be by simply adding a dedicated bus-boy and barista/bakery worker the first item to arrive at our table would prove nearly worth the wait – a Sweet Potato and sour Cherry Muffin dense and moist with flavors of cinnamon and cloves punctuated by large cherries impressively ripe for this time of year. A bit small for the $3.50 price tag and certainly not as impressive as that at Xoco only 2 days prior this was still a good muffin and the streusel topping plenty sweet to offset the slight savory notes of the sweet potato.

Now nearly fifty minutes post-seating our main courses would finally arrive and although each was complicated none was as much so as the “Jason’s Omelette,” a three egg fold absolutely stuffed with sweet potato, butternut squash, pumpkin, caramelized onions, cranberries, cognac chicken sausage, goat cheese and topped with a red wine reduction. A difficult flavor to describe though largely predominated by the boozy notes of the wine and cognac melding with the savory notes from the cheese and the onions I’m really not sure that I “liked” this kitchen sink approach, though it was definitely novel and something I could envision myself making on the morning before I left on vacation to use up various odds and ends in my fridge.

Moving next to the sweets, my sister’s selection for the morning was the “Mango and blueberry cinnamon roll presented cut in half served with warm mangos and blueberries, smothered with cream cheese icing and sprinkled with granola.” Again an interesting option and arriving large and colorful this dish began and ended with the cinnamon roll, a decent representation that I had expected to be cooked something like French toast (a la Yolk,) which was simply plated and topped with the aforementioned ingredients – all a bit out of season and not particularly sweet without the addition of the icing. Overall a bit disappointing especially given the price I think Marmalade would be better served to alter the ingredients seasonally or to rethink the preparation of the cinnamon roll (or both.)

For the final selection my choice for the morning would be “Marmalade’s Breakfast Gingerbread Pudding,” the best option of the morning by far with the dense gingerbread perfectly soaked but toasted on the top and served piping hot. Good on its own the pudding was additionally complimented by the addition of raspberry marmalade, orange marmalade, and thick crème anglaise. A small portion overall but substantially sweet I would strongly recommend this dish to anyone and to Marmalade I’d recommend serving it all week long instead of only during weekend brunch as it was without a doubt their most well conceptualized and executed item.

With my sister and her friend now bordering on running late for their tour of Crucial Design studio the delivery of our check would again be delayed but once it arrived we were encouraged to pay up front at the hostess stand – another design flaw as this is also where people waiting for a seat are forced to stand – but in this case a lucky occurrence as the restaurant’s owner was standing there eliciting feedback – opinions I was more than willing to give and opinions that he was happy to receive noting that they were in the process of streamlining the service procedures and that they were “still learning what works” – a good practice for any restaurant, especially one that is already quite popular and functioning in a market with so many great alternatives.