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Chicago Restaurant Week

Chicago Restaurant Week 2015: Brunch at Knife & Tine

This is part of a series of posts about Chicago Restaurant Week 2015, held January 30–February 12. Check out recaps from 2014 and 2013, or browse all Restaurant Week coverage.

Knife & Tine Brunch

Breakfast sandwich, Knife & Tine
Breakfast sandwich with coffee-cured bacon, fried egg, cheddar, and house mayonnaise with fingerling potatoes

Best Bite: I’m happy to report that my first-ever Restaurant Week brunch was a major success. Knife & Tine’s menu price included an entree, two sides, and a drink, so our group of six ordered strategically in an effort to taste as many different things as possible. I was floored by the sheer variety of rich, creative dishes that eventually hit our table: cheesy grits, smoky pork sausage patties, buttery fingerling potatoes, nutty pumpkin bread, fluffy biscuits with cardamom-scented cara cara orange jam – and those were just the sides! My breakfast sandwich combined many of the best flavors on the table, especially the mingling of fried egg with bacon cured in brown sugar, coffee, and cinnamon.

Salted butterscotch croissant-style donut, Knife & Tine
Salted butterscotch croissant-style donut

Other notes: They weren’t technically on the Restaurant Week menu, but the salted butterscotch croissant-style donuts were fantastic (and helped me understand the cronut craze a little bit better). I also loved the cinnamon biscuit beignets, a plateful of sugary, bite-size rounds with a vanilla bean dipping sauce. As a bonus, our group was fortunate enough to sit at the chef’s table, enclosed by silver-toned wallpaper and a crystal chandelier overhead.

The details: Knife & Tine, 1417 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago.

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Categories
Best Bites Chicago

2013 Best Bite #5: Goat cheese chilaquiles, Estrella Negra

Each day in December, I’m celebrating the rest of the best bites (and sips) that I didn’t get to blog about in 2013, posted in chronological order. Browse all of this year’s Best Bites, or look back at 2012’s Best Bites.

La  Jaras goat cheese chilaquiles with over-easy eggs, bean dip, salsa verde, guacamole, and sour cream
La Jaras goat cheese chilaquiles with over-easy eggs, chicken, bean dip, salsa verde, guacamole, and sour cream

Why it’s another 2013 Best Bite: I’ve driven by Estrella Negra multiple times a week for years now, but didn’t make it in for breakfast until the middle of this year. The goat cheese chilaquiles were cheesy and filling, with extra-crunchy tortilla strips, hearty beans, and runny egg yolk that blended everything together. I also liked the use of salsa verde and guacamole to brighten up a dish that’s typically dominated by red sauce.

The details: Estrella Negra, 2346 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago.