Yolk South Loop

Years ago a friend told me that her favorite spot in the city to have breakfast was Yolk. The chain has eight Chicago locations in addition to restaurants in three other states. Last week hubby and I finally made it to a Yolk location where we had a hearty lunch on what had probably been the coldest day of the season so far. 

We visited the South Loop location and while I would have loved to have walked across the street for a stroll through Grant Park before or after our meal, I was definitely not dressed for the weather. We quickly ducked into Yolk, arriving late morning and every table was full. We didn't wait more than a couple minutes, though, and we were seated in a booth and perusing the menu.

I ordered a glass of the orange strawberry juice to start and loved it. There were just so many good options to choose from, it took me a long time to make up my mind - everything from avocado toast to eggs benedict to a croque madame to omelets and lots of sweet dessert entrees (French toast, pancakes, crepes and more).

Hubby had a Hey! Ricky omelet with smashed avocado, chorizo, onion, jalapeño, pepper jack and cheddar. I always go for the savory stuff and went with a favorite - chicken and waffles. This was the first time I'd had it covered in sausage gravy. Oh, and the waffles had bacon pieces in them. So, it was a triple meat brunch. In lieu of a sunny side egg, I got scrambled. It's one of my favorite breakfast meals I have had in a while.

So, I said that I always go for savory...but I do always like to end my meal with just a bite or two of something sweet. I was over the moon to see that on the menu they had "sweet singles" - individual pancakes, French toast, crepes and waffles that were $5 each. So, I ordered a Nutty Monkey Cake for dessert (and still took home 3/4 of it because it was a big portion). Hubby opted for the Nutella crepes, which were also covered in strawberries, bananas, whipped cream and chocolate syrup drizzle.

I loved this idea of having a sweet dessert after brunch that is normally an entree. It was scaled down a bit and I could not have loved this more. I think more restaurants out there should have peanut butter pancakes with bananas and chocolate chips on their dessert menu or fruity Nutella crepes. Why not?

For more info on Yolk, the locations and the menus, visit eatyolk.com.