Why it’s this week’s Best Bite: La Sirena Clandestina is a South American-influenced restaurant that’s been on my list for a while, but moved up toward the top once I saw their out-of-the-box brunch menu. Faced with too many interesting options, my friend and I split a breakfast empanada to start, then shared two other dishes (and we must have been onto something, because the women at the next table over copied our order exactly). The okonomiyaki was a thick, scallion-heavy pancake with two complementary, umami-rich sauces. This version rivaled the ones I’ve had as appetizers at Japanese and Korean restaurants in the past, but still managed to feel like a morning dish. The fries were what I would imagine Brazilian poutine to be like, generously doused in black beans and gooey cheese with surprising notes from the pickled fresnos and mustard sauce, plus a fried egg to tie it up in a more breakfast-y bow. I loved the whole design of the space, too: turquoise walls, light streaming through salvaged windows, beautiful wood everywhere. To top it off, La Sirena made a spicy, no-frills Bloody Mary with pisco and Fernet that far exceeded the usual brunch benchmark.
The details: La Sirena Clandestina, 954 W Fulton Market, Chicago.