Chicago: Brunch at Longman & Eagle

I’ve pretty much been obsessed with Longman & Eagle since I went a few years ago.

I had always vowed to go back and I knew I wanted to go for brunch on my recent trip. And I realized I’ve never really been a huge breakfast person. I lean more savory and lunch-y. Although that hasn’t stopped me from ordering the sweeter breakfasts like French toast for dessert. Shouldn’t all breakfasts end in dessert?

In any case, a brunch cocktail was in order and I decided to get the Bloody Lawrence which is a Bloody Mary variation with corn whiskey. When it showed up with a little buddy on the side, I wasn’t entirely sure if it was a DIY situation. Turns out my Bloody had booze in it and this was just a bit extra. Ah, happiness, thy name is whiskey. Longman & Eagle prides itself with making whiskey affordable and if this was anywhere near me (i.e. in L.A.), it would be my local.

 

Luckily, my travel partner also considers herself more of a lunch person and we decided to split the Dungeness crab mac and cheese entree as an appetizer. Our server didn’t find a problem with that at all.

It was probably the best mac and cheese I’ve had in a long time. And with the addition of the sweet fresh crab, it was particularly wonderful. I contemplated ordering some to-go so my friend I was going to meet up with later could have some. But then I decided to tell her to just go check it out herself.

 

My friend went veggie on me and got the slow roasted cauliflower with beluga lentils. She had been obsessed with beluga lentils since the first batch we had the first night in Chicago. These were better but they were still a bit too firm. She was more into the golden raisins and raita that was part of the dish.

I liked her dish but though some sausage crumbled on top would be even better.

Luckily I got a dish with sausage. Plenty of sausage. I was torn about the chicken and waffles but our server convinced us that the biscuits and sausage gravy was something else. And it was. It also came with two eggs done in any style you wanted. I chose scrambled. And made myself a bit of a biscuit sandwich.

We thought about moving to the bar for some more daytime drinking but L&E was very crowded so we did a bit of shopping instead. I found the cutest store, Wolfbait nearby. They have great jewelry and gifts. It’s like walking into an Etsy dream.

Longman & Eagle, will you do a pop-up in L.A.?

Longman & Eagle

2657 N Kedzie Ave., Chicago, IL 60647  —  (773) 276-7110

 

© The Minty  2013