Brunch Bites: White Oak Tavern and Ten Mile House
In this week's batch of brunch bites, White Oak Tavern & Inn gives Lincoln Park a new brunch option and Ten Mile House becomes a brunch destination in Evanston.
Locally inspired, farm-driven Midwestern fare is the order of the day at White Oak Tavern & Inn, which just added weekend brunch to its arsenal this past weekend. With chef John Asbaty at the helm, everything is made in-house and meticulously sourced and prepared. Wholesome, inventive dishes include local grain porridge with cinnamon-Earl Grey milk, pecans, creme fraiche, and preserves; buttermilk waffles with brown butter, milk jam, and bourbon maple; a frittata with fresh cheese, mushrooms, and smoked breadcrumbs; a croissant Benedict with bacon and Meyer lemon hollandaise; tamales with black beans, dried chili salsa, fried egg, pickled onions, creme fraiche, and cilantro; and more. To drink, there's a full range of cocktails like beermosas and whiskey sours, plus La Colombe coffee and Rare Tea Cellar teas.
Further north, Ten Mile House in Evanston just became your new weekend best friend. Drawing on its dinnertime penchant for updated American classics, the restaurant extends the ethos to its newly launched Sunday brunch menu. Start off with one of their signature brunch pizzas, like the Sunrise topped with bacon, sunny eggs, potato, arugula, and Mornay; or the New York with house-smoked salmon, pickled red onion, tomato, capers, sesame seeds, and creme fraiche. The restaurant's resident smoker procures some pretty impressive entree options as well, like hangover fried rice with smoked pork shoulder, a breakfast sandwich with smoked ham and green chili hollandaise, and a mile-high frittata with pork shoulder, roasted peppers, and white cheddar. For something colossally sweet and savory, there's a behemoth called The Dude, which features a bourbon-maple glazed bacon cinnamon roll piled with breakfast sausage and fried eggs. To drink, sip on cocktails like the Prosecco-based "Your Turning Violet, Violet" or the Ginger Rum Shandy. Brunch is served Sundays from 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
- Matt Kirouac