Finally crawling my way out of the dark hole that is the first-month-after-graduating, seemingly endless cycles of resume churning madness.
Back to something a little more lighthearted… What about the oatmeal crawl?
My good friend Yana and I have been eating our way through Chicago’s breakfast joints, picking apart each restaurant’s representation of experience through their innovations on a classic, mostly forgotten about dish.
First stop? Why not hit the ground running with Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat Diner. This celebrity chef- most known for her James Beard awards, Top Chef fan favorite status and slew of restaurants associated with goats, the West Loop, and Boka Group- has a high bar to maintain with her take on oatmeal. The results?
Think: GOAT-Meal
Inedible oat-mush with essence of goat. Oat crumble, blueberries, creme-fraische. Thick paste that one would expect to be savory, but instead tastes like soured goat milk mixed in with good old-fashioned oatmeal and left to cook for too long.
This oatmeal screams, “Celebrity Chef needing to stay relevant innovates a simple dish, but comes out completely inedible”.
1/5.
Next stop! Little Puerto Rico, where we get a history lesson, a Jibarito, and some damn good coconut oatmeal.
Nellie’s Puerto Rican Cafe on West Division is famous for their ‘avena de coco’ made with creamy coconut milk and topped with cinnamon. Yana and I struck up a conversation with the server, asking “why coconut?” He explained to us that the coconut is a comfort food integrated into many aspects of Puerto Rican cuisine and life, typically bringing forth feelings of comfort, nostalgia, and love from generational passing of family dishes in their homeland. Although not native to Puerto Rico, the cultivation of coconut has grown rapidly over the past few centuries, and the enjoyment of the ‘avena de coco’ at Nellie’s gives a glimpse into a multilayered experience of place and story through food.
4/5 oatmeal experience.
Oh, and the plaintain sandwich, “Jibarito”, is killer.
One week later, Yana and I found ourselves eating at one of my favorite Chicago diners, Cafe Marie Jeanne in Humboldt Park. This French dinette features high quality, well excecuted comfort food ranging from Monte Cristos to poutine, and delicasies like calf brains to steelhead roe toast. At Cafe Marie Jeanne, you can enjoy caviar alongside cheddar grits and not feel pretentous for ordering it or embarassed that you had to Google a few items on the menu.
The oatmeal is the best yet.
Nutty, crunchy, hearty, all good things that oatmeal should be (in my opinion). Slightly sweetened, garnished with maple roasted pecans, I was in heaven. Quality and execution, 5/5.
Also, spruce up your breakfast sandwich by getting a cheddar and habanero biscuit and topping it with bloodsausage or (if you feel like splurging), caviar.
Cafe Marie Jeanne never disappoints.
Next up? Dove’s Luncheonette off of the Damen stop in Wicker Park.
I always find it fun to hop into a breakfast place that also doubles as a Mezcal Bar. Mezcalita with your oatmeal, anyone? Oatmeal features sliced pears, crisped oat topping and dried prunes with a delicate drizzle of maple syrup to finish. The slightly creamy texture of the oats is perfectly complimented by the crunch of the topping. The colorful plateware and mini-doily is a nice touch.
Although I was disappointed that there seemed to be no “why” to the dish, no Mexican flair or storyline to the ingredients, the oatmeal was quality. What’s quality without a good story, though?
3/5
This brings us to today. Did I mention that I’ve been in a funk since graduation? What better emergence from the depths than a trip to Manny’s Deli in the southwest loop? Although recently renovated, the space still holds the charm of a Jewish New York style deli with edible comforts to match. Grab a lunch tray, saunter past the Matzo balls, challah french toast, and bagel and lox towards the cafeteria-style case with pies and fresh sliced fruit towards a destiny of satisfaction. This place has character.
I don’t even care that the oatmeal is sticky, made with water, and bland. I don’t care that the raisins and brown sugar come in plastic cups on the side. I don’t care that the bagel and lox is a DIY project. Look around! The place has soul, history, and a clientele to match.
5/5 oatmeal experience. 2/5 oatmeal.
MORE TO COME! I’m promising you this, but mostly myself.