Food News: Brunch Bites Returns to River North + GIVEAWAY!

UPDATE: A winner has been picked and confirmed. The giveaway is now closed, but tickets are still available for purchase.

Brunch Bites is back in Chicago on April 21st for another year of brunchy goodness!

This innovative event features some of River North's finest brunch destinations in a neighborhood-wide food treasure hunt that sends participants on a self guided walking tour in search of delicious food and awesome cocktails. There's 8 participating restaurants this year; 6 returning from last year's line up and two new additions.

Pick up tickets and check out the full list of participating restaurants and what they'll be serving HERE. Jump on it, because last year's event did sell out!

Want to see what last year's festival was like? Check out this post

Want to try your luck at winning a pair of tickets? Leave a comment below this blog post to be entered! A winner will be chosen at random next week. For extra entries, keep an eye on the Bunny and Brandy social media pages! Good luck!

Festival Recap: Brunch Bites Walking Tour

Normally, Brandy avoids physical exercise at all costs, preferring activities that require as much sitting as possible. But when said physical activity involves brunch, she's more than willing to lace up her special comfy sneakers (with their accompanying custom molded cushion inserts), put her hair into an immaculate bun, and prepare to perspire. Such was the case last weekend when Brandy attended the Brunch Bites Walking Food and Drink Event in River North, in which she and several hundred ticket holders were able to make their way to eight different participating restaurants for mini versions of signature brunch dishes and cocktails. "Well, I suppose it is a rather nice day," Brandy reasoned, "so might as well get out and get some sun. And some bacon. And a cocktail or two... or eight."

After receiving her lanyard and official map at the check in, Brandy was on her way. Her first stop was to GT Fish & Oyster, where they were serving one of her favorite little bites, an Oyster 'Po Boy Slider with kimichi and peanuts, along with a mimosa with fresh apricot puree. The crispy little sliders were just as delightful as Brandy remembered, and the fresh burst of fruity flavor in the champagne shot was the perfect start to an exhilarating morning.

Across the street and down a little ways, Brandy entered Bottled Blonde, where they were serving up a delectable Prime Rib Benedict with a spicy hollandaise, green onions, and potatoes, accompanied by a small glass of White Sangria. Brandy devoured the dish quite quickly, savoring the tender meat, the crispy potato cake, and the little kick of the sauce. The sangria was a pleasant surprise, packing quite a potent punch into a few sips.

Brandy then headed to the farthest western point, Hutch Cafe, where they were offering up one of her recently discovered favorites; Nutella Poppers. The dough was just as light and chewy and the middle just as decadently chocolaty as when she'd first sampled these little pockets of heaven a few months ago. The cocktail was called a Spicy Sunset and added a touch of jalapeno to a traditional mix of orange juice, tequila, and strawberry puree.

Backtracking towards the center of the circle, Brandy stopped into Brunch for one of their Banana Bread French Toast bites, which came drizzled with a rum based Bananas Foster sauce, and a tiny yet adorable carafe of mango and ginger sangria.

Moving North, Brandy's next location was Dolce Italian in the Godfrey Hotel. Here, she was handed a small plate of an amazing gnocchi, which had been dressed with plenty of cheese and crispy panchetta. This plate was one of Brandy's favorites of the day, and she almost contemplated trying to sneak a second one. The cocktail was a traditional, but refreshing, peach bellini.

Next up was Zed451, which Brandy still holds in very high regard as one of the best brunch buffets in town. Here, they had not one, but two cocktails for brunchers to choose from; a mimosa, or a coffee based cocktail called Drink Your Breakfast, which was what Brandy gravitated towards. The rich and creamy flavor was the perfect break from the mostly fruit based drinks of the other locations, and the coffee gave Brandy a much needed boost to get through the final lap of her journey. The bite was a mini Chicken and Waffle, spiced up by a bit of buffalo sauce.

Finally, Brandy traveled south to Hub51. They were presenting a pretty little avocado toast with a touch of mascarpone and radish, along side a Salty Dog, with vodka, grapefruit juice, and rim of black sea salt. The avocado toast was surprisingly light, which made it ideal among some of the more protein themed bites of the day, while the cocktail was made extraordinarily flavorful by the black salt.

Brandy's last stop was River Roast, where she relaxed in the upper bar with a glass of a special punch (made with rye, rum, sherry, champagne, lemon, and best of all, Earl Grey tea) and a beautiful little deviled egg, which had been topped with trout roe for a burst of salty goodness. As she gazed out on the river outside, Brandy smiled to herself. As if getting to try all of the dishes and cocktails hadn't been reward enough, she had also been bestowed with the gift of being able to truly enjoy Chicago on one of the very few beautiful days of the year.

The writers of this blog were invited to attend this event for free by the organizers in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Hutch American Cafe or Majoring in Brunch Studies

The Slow and Savory Review

"I'm just about to call an Uber, see you in a jiffy!" Brandy's friend Bernais Bamboo texted her. Brandy was already sitting on the train, headed for River North. It was the first snow of the year and she had decided that she needed to be nestled in a cozy restaurant, sipping a drink in order to enjoy it properly, and she had invited her plucky acquaintance to accompany her. "Why is my first instinct to go outside during a snow storm?" Brandy questioned herself. "Everyone else in Chicago seems to have the opposite reaction. Odd, that."

Brandy had decided to visit the city's newest brunch themed restaurant, Hutch American Cafe, an extension of the popular Lakeview spot that started life as one of Brandy's very first brunch favorites. Entirely brunch-centric restaurants have been problematic for Brandy in the past, as they seem to put so much concentration of creating large, all inclusive menus, that uniqueness and seasonality tend to get pushed aside. "The most successful brunch menus I've seen have always been rather small, flexible, and creative without being unapproachable," says Brandy, "Trying to please too many people all at once can sometimes compromise the experience as a whole. I'd rather see a restaurant's personality shine through with some unexpected options rather than be overloaded with old standbys."

"Uber app not working, so going to drive myself. Be there ASAP!" texted Bernais just as Brandy arrived at Hutch. Seeing that the place was already buzzing, she decided to head inside and snag a table rather than stand out in the snow. True to its homey, Americana theme, the inside of Hutch was warm and eclectic, with various nicknacks hanging from the walls and ceilings, exposed brick walls, and a hodgepodge of metal and wooden furniture. Though a little cramped and a little loud, Brandy found the atmosphere actually quite cozy, so much so that she couldn't help but make friends with the tables beside her (the menus even encouraged conversation with strangers).

"Car won't start! Not sure what to do now... Will update soon," said Bernais's text. "Well, I'll just go ahead and order some snacks in the meantime," said Brandy, who by this point was already simultaneously sipping on a cup of coffee and a fresh glass of Blueberry Peach Orange juice. She picked the Tot-chos, a portmanteau dish made of tater tots covered in nacho-like toppings, such as truffle cheese, pico de gallo, avocado, and a fried egg. The tots had a lovely crisp to them at first, but broke down rather quickly under weight of the cheese, veggies, and yolk. Brandy was a bit disappointed in the cheese, which really didn't taste like much of anything, let alone truffle oil, but the pico and the sliced avocado helped to keep things interesting. She actually wished she'd opted to add in chorizo for a bit of heat, but settled for sprinkling in some hot sauce.

"No idea what is happening. No taxis anywhere and every bus is twenty minutes away!" Bernais texted, followed by a frowny face emoji. "Well, I'll just have to order an entree for her," Brandy reasoned, so she picked the Big Biscuit and Fried Chicken. The menu certainly wasn't joking around when is said that the biscuit was big, as the baked good took up the majority of the plate. It had been cut in half with the aforementioned fried chicken being sandwiched in the middle, then topped with two sunny side up eggs, slathered in white gravy, and sprinkled with crumbled bacon. Though tasty, Brandy found that the biscuit pretty much dominated everything else, even the chicken, which was tender, but not very crunchy. The eggs on top were a little under-cooked for Brandy's liking, with some of the whites still translucent and runny, but the bacon made for a nice bit of flavor to break up the dense, crumbly biscuit. "I know its called the Big Biscuit, but perhaps a little less of it would be better," Brandy supposed, "They could call it the Moderately Large Biscuit. Well, doesn't quite have the same ring to it, I suppose."

Brandy ordered for herself the Pulled Bacon sandwich out of sheer curiosity. "What on earth is pulled bacon?" she wondered aloud. As it turned out, the meat was thick cut pork belly with the same texture as pulled pork, but not quite the same tenderness. Brandy actually found the meat a little tough to eat, especially since the bun was incredibly soft and the fried egg on top only complicated the whole hand held nature of the sandwich. In the end, she found it easiest to tackle this beast with a fork and a knife, which made it much more enjoyable and a whole lot less messy. The flavor of the pulled bacon was actually quite nice, and the little bit of heat from the sriracha aioli really added a lot to the experience.

Still hearing nothing from Bernais, Brandy rounded out her meal with some Nutella Dough Poppers. These lovely little pockets were a pleasant surprise, being flaky and chewy and not doughnut-like at all, which was what she had expected. She was delighted that they weren't overly indulgent either, but perfectly sweetened, crispy, and great with a hot cup of coffee. "I'm almost glad Bernais wasn't able to make it today," Brandy admitted to herself, "Because if she had, I would have had to share these little gems."

The service at Hutch had been lovely and friendly, and even though there was a notice on the menu asking patrons to limit themselves to 90 minutes per table, she never felt rushed. The food could have used a little finesse to become something truly unique and special, but it gave Brandy enough of a taste of things to come that she was excited to see what else might be in store. "I'm here, I'm here!" Bernais exclaimed, running up to Brandy outside the restaurant. "I'm sorry, my dear, but I've just finished," said Brandy, "But don't worry. I've got your entree and some Tot-chos right here in my bag for you. Let's get you home. You've had a rough morning."

The writers of this blog were invited to dine at the restaurant free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

The Short and Sweet Review