Description: West Egg
620 North Fairbanks Court
Chicago, Illinois 60611
NO BREAKFASTS IN THE HOTEL - HELP!!
We spent a week in Chicago in June 2012 and our hotel we stayed in didn’t include breakfast in its tariff. This meant that we had to find our breakfast each day. We ate in the restaurant attached to the hotel one day and then we found this place and had a couple of breakfasts in here.
I could easily pass on breakfast as it is a meal I have little interest in but my son and his girlfriend felt that breakfast was a big part of their holiday experience. My husband also enjoys his holiday breakfasts and so I went along too.
We asked some local people passing by where they suggested for breakfast and this place was number one.
ABOUT WEST EGG
The West Café has been in downtown Chicago since 1988 and is basically an American diner. They are a family friendly place using fresh quality ingredients in a modern ‘IKEA’ inspired setting.
They are famous for the wide variety of breakfast foods but also add a twist of Italian, Greek, & Tex-Mex to their meals.
TIMES OF OPENING
Now West Egg is busy at the weekends for breakfast or brunch and the queues went down the road so we didn’t manage to go on the Sunday but did get there twice during the week. It is a restaurant that caters mainly for breakfast, brunch and lunch so is only open till 3pm each day.
Monday- Friday : 6:30 A.M. - 3:00 P.M and on Saturday and Sunday 7:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.
ALL ABOUT EGGS
As a non egg eater I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of a restaurant that called itself after a food I dislike but as the others wanted to go I went along hoping that they offered non eggy items for me.
I need not have worried as the menu is quite extensive. They had a good variety of healthy options as well as a huge number of eggy breakfast options and sandwiches and if you really wanted more of a lunch they also had salads and homemade soups and their ‘ world famous rotisserie chicken’.
INSIDE THE EGG
As I mentioned the interior of the place is ultra modern, minimalist with the look of IKEA about the furnishings. It is lovely and light with really high ceilings and huge windows so it gives the feel of clean, sleek and airy. The floors are wood and the tables on one side ar like a diner with wooden benches. There are also white plastic tables and chairs in the place but we liked the tables slightly lower in the window area as we could people watch as we waited for our food.
We were welcomed in and shown to our table with no wait on the two occasions we visited. We did see the queue on Sunday and gave it a miss.
EATING THE EGGS
There is a huge selection of drinks on offer from coffee and teas through to softdrinks ,herbal teas and fruit juices too.
There are seven types of pancakes on the menu and these range from plain at $6.75 through to strawberry cakes filled with strawberries, bananas and cream at $8.25 and a few other fruity and nutty ones also at $8.25.
Waffles are also offered and these range from the plain one at $6.25 served with butter and syrup and then for $8.75 you van have strawberries and cream with them.
French toast served three ways from $6.95 through to $8.75. Omelettes come in five versions and cost from $6.95 for a plain fluffy one through to $8.95 for the Bacado which has bacon, guacamole, cheese and home made salsa on the side. Each omelette comes served with English muffins, potatoes or tomato wheels.
My choice was the granola topped with strawberries or blueberries which was more than ample for my breakfast requirements. My companion chose varied meals from omelettes through to the steak and eggs meal with English muffins, tomato wheels etc and then on another visit the scrambles eggs dish was chosen which comes with the English muffins and tomato wheels again.
The second time I went I chose a breakfast salad which sounds strange until you read what is in it. It is actually served in a parfait glass and is layers of granola with layers of fruit, yogurt and nuts with a muffin on the side which cost $8.95.
I did think my healthy options were quite expensive when I saw the size of the meals my family ordered that cost pretty much the same for bacon, eggs and so much more but as i didn’t want a meal like that I had the choice of paying up for my yogurt and granola with fruit or doing without which would have been churlish and anti social. I only see my son when we go to the States or when he comes home so twice a year at most so i wanted it to be a nice experience and he really liked this place.
SERVICE WITH A SMILE
we found the service spot on. They brought everything just as we asked and were happy to add or remove any parts of any meal if we wanted them to. The coffee and tea was refillable from the pots on our table and when we asked for more hot water a fresh pot of tea was brought.
TOILETS
These were modern, clean and accessible. I didn’t have to wait on either occasion we used the facilities which is always a bonus with the ladies facilities.
WHICH COMES FIRST?
In the menu they have posed the question:
"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"
They then answer this promoting the quality of their ingredients:
"Let us first consider the case for the egg. We use only farm‐fresh eggs that are selected especially for us by a company that know how tough our standards are. Then there is the matter of our chicken. Plump & fresh, we cook it in the most natural of ways, slowly on a rotisserie. It is as juicy & healthy as any bird you will ever have.
So, you can see the answer is that it really does not matter at the West Egg Café, both the chicken & the egg are number one."
RECOMMENDED?
Yes it is a very clean and well appointed diner style restaurant that serves freshly cooked or prepared brunch style meals for breakfast or lunch. The place has a nice feel about it with friendly staff and nice light open surroundings. The food is pretty reasonably priced and well presented. The portions are good but not the usual huge USA portions, which was a positive for us as we hate wasting food but found we couldn’t finish a lot of our meals.
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