Dillman’s
Lemon Almond Pound Cake
Canele
Cookies n’ Cream Cookie
Coffee
Tea
Sweet Cheese Blintzes
French Toast
Potato Pancakes
Separated from our Thanksgiving feast by nearly twelve hours plus a twelve mile run Black Friday began with the back-to-back “Jewish Deli” experience of Brandon Sodikoff’s new-school Dillman’s and oldschool South Loop favorite Eleven City Diner, the former a splashy new spot every bit as beautiful as the rest of the restaurateur’s empire with ample leather, chandeliers, and polish all around yet surprisingly empty for our 7:00am arrival – clearly a mistake on the part of everyone else who could have, and should have been there for a breakfast far superior to the traditional ‘diner’ in both comforts and cuisine. Clearly a space designed for the night as well as the day it was with a short explanation of the daily baked goods that we were introduced to the menu and with coffee plus tea freely flowing from large silver vessels it would not be long before the meal began with a trio of fresh pastry including a lemony yet toothsome pound cake, warm sugar cookie studded with oreos, and a superlative warm canele with an interior near liquid and a rival for the best in the country well worth its $1.95 price tag and difficult to resist ordering by the dozen. Amply impressed by the first round and hoping the best was yet to come it was with another refill or two of coffee as light music played overhead that our main courses arrived and with the latkes piping hot and crisp with handmade applesauce for garnish it was indeed the primary plates that wowed; for my aunt a duo of lightly sweetened cheese blintzes beneath brown butter and for myself two slices of custard-laden French Toast alongside light cream and warm maple syrup that redefined simplicity while easily ranking amongst the best in the city.
