Trying Something Different at Chalkboard in Lincoln Square

The hubs and I had a jam packed, fun-filled weekend with the whole family in town for a visit.  Since we will be moving to the Lincoln Square area of Chicago this summer, we decided to take brunch to our new hood and hit up Chalkboard on Lincoln.

The Breakdown:

Food: An innovative menu ranging from Pound Cake French Toast to the ever popular Chicken and Waffles, our gang went for the Mick Sandwich (a play on the McMuffin, but much, much better!), the Breakfast Cassoulet and the aforementioned French Toast.

Drink: The hubs tried a drink special which consisted of whiskey, honey and champagne.  The rest of our party stuck with good ole mimosas.  I heard the whiskey drink was great, however I did note that it was served in a champagne flute and our server recommended it be stirred to mix in the honey float, I don’t know about you, but I have never tried to stick a spoon in a flute before but I can imagine it may be difficult.  The hubs drank it “unstirred” and enjoyed it all the same.

Conversation: Oh my, we discussed labor and delivery since two party members are currently with child.  We also talked about my favorite subject of late, Lincoln Square.  I have to admit, since committing to moving to this area I am more and more excited about living there every time I visit.

The Lowdown:

I got the idea to try out Chalkboard after seeing their menu on Opentable.com.  I will say this, reading it was family owned with a chalkboard theme, I was expecting a more casual place.  We walked in were greeted by linen covered tables already donned with wine glasses.  I would suggest to lose the wine glasses at least for brunch, but that’s just this blogger’s opinion.

The service was very friendly, but also awkward and slow, kinda like a cute sloth was our server.  It is brunch, so I don’t expect to be rushed, however we only received one dish at a time from the kitchen and with a party of five this takes some time to get all our food.  Also, after most of our dishes were finally delivered we were told my sis-in-law would have to wait for her french toast because the kitchen wasn’t used to making the dish using pound cake.  Being in the service industry for over a decade there is one thing a I know, you test new dishes BEFORE service.  Like I said, this was brunch, we were in no rush but it was slightly bothersome.  The other thing I noted was that fact that this is one of those joints which uses lettuce as a filler for their dishes.  We had a side of scrambled eggs on a bed of leafy greens, potatoes on a bed of iceberg, even bacon on – you guessed it – a bed of  lettuce.  I would so much rather get a side plate which may look slightly empty with my bacon on it, then have to sift through a garden of lettuce to get to the food I actually ordered.

Our meals were delicious.  The Mick Muffin was made with chicken in duck confit, the Cassoulet was served in a cast iron pot, which was both original and really well executed.

If I was rating Chalkboard on the quality of food only this would definitely be a 3 or 4 egg joint, however, the atmosphere and service brings this Lincoln Square spot down to a 2 egg score.  A couple tweeks and this could a be a top notch brunch spot.

CHI B&B Making New Friends at Fork

I’m really not sure how many times I can discuss how I am new to Chicago, before you go out of your minds and decide that all four of you will stop reading this blog.  Regardless, being new to Chicago we decided to meet a new friend for brunch in an area we have never been to before, Lincoln Square.  I’ll be honest with you, the only information I knew about Lincoln Square is what I saw on HGTV’s House Hunters, and even then I think I may have been confusing that episode with another one.  So off to Lincoln Square we go, to try out brunch at Fork.

The Breakdown

Drink – We all stuck to coffee for this brunch.  Our friend Kelly had been out the night before at what sounds like some awesome Shakespeare Improv thingamajig in Wrigleyville, and the hubs and I were laying low because we had a night of exciting boxing and 40 oz’s to look forward to.

Food – I won’t lie when I say I went boring, I got eggs with pork sausage and toast.  But the pork sausage was homemade, and awesome! Kelly got the Duck Confit Hash (you heard that right, DUCK – CONFIT – HASH! Drool!) and hubs got Chicken and Waffles.

Conversation – since this was our first time meeting Kelly we discussed some typical “what do you do?” “how do you like Chicago?” topics.  Kelly moved here from SF as well, and although we never crossed paths on the West Coast we were hooked up via a mutual friend over the world wide web, and this was our first meeting, which I anticipate will be just one of many:)

The Low Down

As I said I have been itching to get out and see other neighborhoods, and the moment we got off the “el” I knew I was going to like Lincoln Square  very much!  This neighborhood has some German charm, with little grocery stores specializing in German treats (and beer) and German style pubs scattered throughout.  The spot we choose for brunch was right in the heart of the neighborhood, and although not German themed, still rather good.

I went the safe route and stuck with eggs and sausage.  The sausage was homemade, and you can tell.   Little hand formed patties that were the perfect size and taste.  Hubs’ Chicken and Waffles he said were the best he has ever had.  The chicken was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, and the waffle looked good enough to, well, umm – eat! The Chicken Waffles also came with a slice of maple bacon.  As for the Duck Hash I know that if I ever go back (which probably I will) I will definitely be trying that out.  Plus, their extended menu contains several other duck dishes, so I may just go for the Duck Club at lunch sometime.

After brunch we took the time to walk around the area.  We were lucky that we had our own personal tour guide in Kelly.  She took us to Wells Park, as well as along the main strip, and also through the actual Square. After walking all that way in the cold it was time to head home.  On our way back to the el we found ourselves at a Christkindl Market, we took some time to look around and grab a beer.  I will say this, Hubs and I spent the Christmas season in Vienna two years ago and were able to attend a real Christkindl markets, this one didn’t really compare, but it was indoors so it gave us a chance to warm up.

Overall Fork gets 3 eggs.  The location is great, the food was awesome and the atmosphere was casual and comfortable.