Brunch Bites: The Grid Restaurant and Nouveau Tavern Launch Brunch, Plus Detoxing at Beatrix
In this week's batch of brunch bites, The Grid and Nouveau Tavern launch brunch, while Beatrix helps us all detox post-Thanksgiving with delicious healthy alternatives.
(Oatmeal at Beatrix)
The latest entrant to Chicago's brunch foray is The Grid, the recent overhaul of the bygone Baume & Brix concept. To inaugurate the arrival of eggs and things, the restaurant is hosting Savor the Season on December 8 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., conveniently combining couture and carbs in one setting. In addition to launching the brunch goods, Savor the Season hosts a variety of local boutiques and designers, allowing diners to shop for wares after they eat. As for the brunch fare, expect dishes such as stuffed French toast with panettone, carbonated blackberry, Philly cheese, rum-maple syrup, and chocolate anglaise; and eggs in Purgatory with poached eggs in diablo tomato sauce, chupacabra sausage, and goat cheese. Those feeling saucy can also opt for special brunch packages such as one entree and one breakfast cocktail for $15 or one entree and unlimited breakfast cocktails for $25. Designers and boutiques on hand for the fete include Haberdash, Henry and Belle, Veruca Salt, Bevello, Sir and Madame, and more, all situated in the downstairs Grid Lounge.
Another brunch newbie this weekend is Nouveau Tavern. The New Orleans-inspired haunt is now jazzing up weekend brunch with the likes of crawfish etouffee, sweet potato hash, and country ham, all courtesy of chef Norman Hargrove.
The cool thing about Beatrix, the seasonally minded contemporary American restaurant at the foot of the sleek Aloft Hotel in River North, is that you can experience it one of two ways: you can indulge like hell or you can eat healthy without sacrificing satisfaction. It's wholesome, nourishing food you can feel good about because it's downright delicious and inventive, and it's precisely the post-Thanksgiving detox we all kinda need. Eschew cocktails for one of their luscious fresh-squeezed juices, such as watermelon-strawberry, carrot-apple-ginger, kale-romaine-celery-pineapple-mint, or the Blue Boost brimming with blueberries, white grapes, and basil. As for solids, Beatrix does oatmeal proud with 10-grain oatmeal topped with sun-dried cherries, and an egg white omelette is studded with avocado-tomato salsa and organic turkey bacon. Quinoa cakes take the place of English muffins for a sort of eggs Benedict thing, topped with poached eggs, tomato-basil sauce, and poached egg mayo. Even the salads are stellar. Salad for brunch? Yes. You'll want it when said salads are pimped out with freekeh, millet, and red quinoa, and when Caesars come with Grana Padano and Greek yogurt dressing.