Brunch Bites: Country Brunch at Bub City and Friends Brunch Series at avec

In this week's batch of brunch bites, Bub City goes country and avec plans a friendly brunch series.

(Eat this at Bub City)

River North is pretty much the antithesis of the country, but you can get pretty close to a rural respite with Bub City's new "country brunch." Available on Saturdays and Sundays, the toe-tapping affair features quirky beverages, a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar, and of course soulful fare like fried chicken and waffles with bacon-jalapeño honey and country gravy; green chili scrambler with carnitas, tomatillo salsa, and tortilla strips; and hash browns with customizable toppings such as brisket burnt ends and pimento cheese. Live entertainment takes place on Sundays. Yee haw!

Nothing like a little camaraderie to jazz up brunch. In line with the convivial spirit that brunch entails, avec is planning a "friends brunch series," wherein a different chef or beverage professional is invited to take over the restaurant for a day to put their spin on Sunday brunch. It could either be a chef cooking up a different kind of brunch fare or a beverage pro doling out cocktails or beers to pair with avec's food. The series kicks off on March 9 with chef JP Doiron and food and beverage director Krissy Schutte from CH Distillery. On April 6, it's Virtue Cider, followed by Joaquin Soler from Smalls on April 27. Then it's Cary Taylor from Big Star on May 18, and Off Color Brewing's John Laffler rounds out the series on June 8.

- Matt Kirouac