Bunny and Brandy's Best Best for New Year's Brunch Guide 2018

Cambria Hotel-Chicago Loop (32 W. Randolph)

The hotel’s brunch will be held on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day from 8am to 2pm at Intermission, their lobby restaurant. Brunch-goers will enjoy bottomless mimosas, or a Bloody Mary bar, a carving station, featuring prime rib and ham, a Chef Omelet station, and a build-your-own waffle station. Guests can also choose from classic brunch selections like Eggs Benedict, a variety of flavored scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, breakfast potatoes and house made pastries and desserts. The brunch is available for $39.99 per person and is open to the public. Check out www.cambriachicagoloop.com for more information.

20 East (The Talbot Hotel, 20 E. Delaware Pl.)

On New Year’s Day, guests can enjoy an all-you-can-eat family style brunch from 8 a.m.-7 p.m., including the holiday hot chocolate bar. For $45, start out the year right with Fried Chicken with bacon and pepper gravy; Sriracha Butter Waffles with housemade jam; Cavatappi Chili Mac topped with cheddar; Roasted Garlic Potatoes with truffles; and a Country Apple Tart with salted caramel and whipped cream, and a hot chocolate bar (including multiple topping choices for $6: large and small marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate pieces, graham crackers, chocolate pirouettes, candy canes, and more. Alcoholic hot chocolates are available for $10). Reservations for New Year’s Day Brunch can be made here. Brunch is only available to tables with a minimum of two people.

Cindy’s (The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, 12 S. Michigan Ave., 13th Floor)

DJ Dave Mata’s Uptown Downtown spins an all vinyl set of vibrant soul music from every corner of the globe during daytime brunch on Sunday, December 31. The next day, guests can welcome 2018 with New Year’s Day brunch, feasting on the shareable large format plates and platters such as Buttermilk Pancakes with yuzu & lemon curd, blueberries, and Chantilly or the Shellfish Platter featuring Maine lobster, oysters on the half shell, king crab, and accompaniments. Cindy’s is open for Sunday brunch on New Year’s Eve from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and New Year’s Day brunch is served at 10 a.m. on Monday, January 1. For more information and to make a reservation, please visit www.cindysrooftop.com or email nlarose@chicagoathletichotel.com.

Headquarters Beercade (213 W. Institute Pl.)

On Monday, January 1, hold down the fort at River North’s favorite nostalgia-tinged beercade as the space transforms into a life-size childhood fantasy—a New Year’s Day Blanket Fort Party. All 14,000-sq. feet are fair game in the creative fort construction, and a designated area will be set aside for feather-filled pillow fights. Blanket fort-appropriate attire is encouraged, which translates to staying in comfortable PJ’s or fully committing to rocking an adult onesie. Beverage Director Zach Rivera serves up special cereal-infused cocktails for the event and throws an epic pizza party to provide fort-building fuel. Headquarters will have materials (blankets) on-site, but guests are welcome to BYO-blankets, which will be donated to charity following the event. Coverage leading into the college football bowl games will be aired on TVs across the bar and DJs will be spinning all afternoon. Together, HQ and inventive Chicagoans everywhere can reach their 2018 goal of using thousands of yards of blanket to craft the largest blanket fort River North (or the world?) has ever seen. Headquarters’ Blanket Bowl runs from 12-4 p.m. Tickets cost $25 per person (includes entry, 4 drinks, and pizza) and can be purchased here. For more information, log on to www.hqbeercade.com. 

Howells & Hood (435 N. Michigan Ave.)

Sweetwater Tavern & Grille (225 N. Michigan Ave.)

Old Town Pour House (Oak Brook & Naperville locations)

Chicago is invited for New Year's Day recovery brunch to start the year off right, with menu items such as the Stuffed French Toast with vanilla bean ice cream battered brioche bread, Bailey's cream cheese, mixed berry compote and powdered sugar, and the Pork Benedict with smoked pork shoulder, poached eggs, and BBQ hollandaise on an English muffin with habanero hash browns and pico de gallo. Reservations encouraged for New Year’s Day Brunch. Menu prices vary by location. Reservations for each respective restaurant can be made at the following links: Howells & Hood, Sweetwater Tavern & Grille, Old Town Pour House Oak Brook, Old Town Pour House Naperville.

Old Town Pour House (1419 N. Wells St.)

 The Boundary (1932 W. Division St.)

Chicago’s craft beer bars ring in the new year with the “Go Out in Style” package at Old Town Pour House and The Boundary. The celebratory New Year’s Eve package, which goes from 9 p.m.-1 a.m., includes guaranteed entry, passed appetizers, and midnight brunch bites including Mini Stuffed French Toast with vanilla ice cream battered brioche bread, Bailey’s cream cheese, and powdered sugar, and Mini Breakfast Sandwiches on a green onion cheddar biscuit with a breakfast sausage patty, aged cheddar, and scrambled eggs. The night also offers a Champagne toast at midnight, Champagne bottles for $20.18, a video DJ showing 2017 hits leading up to midnight, and Snapchat Spectacles awarded to the snappiest dresser. Partygoers are invited to come back the next morning for a New Year’s Day recovery brunch, not included in the price of the package. Tickets available for $40 per person at Old Town Pour House here and $70* per person at The Boundary here (*price includes four-hour premium bar).

Maple & Ash (8 W. Maple St.)

Chicago’s sexiest steakhouse is offering a fun way to ring in 2018. On Sunday, December 31, start the celebrations early with Maple & Ash’s Countdown to the Countdown brunch featuring classic Maple & Ash brunch fare, countdowns every hour, and fun NYE accessories to enjoy with friends and family. Brunch is priced at $55 per person, with the option to add unlimited bubbles for an additional $25. Maple & Ash’s Countdown to the Countdown brunch is from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Space is limited and reservations with a credit card guarantee are required. Reservations can be made by calling 312.944.8888 or online at OpenTable. 

Torali Italian - Steak (160 E. Pearson St.)

Say goodbye to 2017 and hello to 2018 this new year at the Ritz-Carlton, Chicago’s recently opened restaurant, Torali Italian – Steak. Celebrate New Year’s Day at Torali’s New Year’s Day Brunch on January 1 featuring an a la carte selection of brunch bites and cocktails. New Year’s Day Brunch takes place from 6 a.m.-3 p.m. on January 1. Reservations are recommended and may be made by calling 312.573. 5160 

Filini (The Radisson Blu Hotel, 221 N Columbus Drive)

A little hair of the dog always helps following a fun evening! Filini hosts a New Year’s Day boozy brunch, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. The breakfast buffet features sweet and savory favorites such as biscuits and gravy and French toast, accompanied by beverage options of Bloody Marys, Mimosas, Bellinis or Michelada cocktails, priced at $65 per patron. For those in need of revival after the evening’s festivities, an Oxygen bar by Clowning Around Entertainment will be available on site for an additional cost.

Porkchop (South Loop @ Roosevelt Collection, Hyde Park, and Bolingbrook.)

The restaurant will reward all pajama-wearing patrons with 20% off their brunch tab – which makes indulging in selections like Southern Benedict (two buttermilk biscuits topped with country ham or bacon, and poached eggs, smothered in Andouille gravy and served with roasted potatoes, red onions and green peppers) and The Fat Elvis Brunch (Bacon waffle, bananas, peanut butter, maple syrup, and whipped butter), that much more fun. All diners will be treated to one free Bloody or Mimosa, and kids eat free. 

Homestead on the Roof + West Town Bakery (1924 W. Chicago Ave.)

West Town Bakery is taking over Homestead on the Roof’s spacious rooftop for a delicious pop-up New Year’s Day Brunch. This decadent buffet will be open from 11:00-3:00 p.m., with menu highlights including: House cured and smoked Atlantic Salmon with accouterments, Biscuits and Gravy, and a Slagel Farm Prime Rib Carving Station. The brunch is priced at $39.95 for adults and $19.95 for kids, exclusive of beverages. Reservations will be available through OpenTable and the restaurant will take walk-ins if space is available. Celebrations will also take place at West Town Bakery’s Chicago Avenue location where they are hosting a New Year’s Day "pajama day!” Staff will be dressed in their favorite jammies, and you can feel free to get comfy and wear yours too while indulging in decadent brunch fare from 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Imperial Lamian (6 W Hubbard St.)

Diners can brunch it out on New Year’s Day with River North’s Chinese restaurant’s dim sum offerings. Full of favorites like the Pumpkin Puffs, Combination Xiao Long Bao, and Crispy Wontons, the full brunch menu will be offered from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on New Year’s Day. Featured holiday menu items are available including PEI Mussels and Cumin-Scented Dorade. To make reservations, visit Imperial Lamian’s website

Lowcountry (3343 N. Clark St.)

In celebration of the upcoming New Year, Lowcountry, Wrigleyville’s premier seafood boil-in-a-bag dining spot, opens its doors for a special brunch service featuring delicious Southern-style comfort foods and bottomless select seafood. Available from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 31, guests will strap on their bibs and enjoy hands-on all-you-can-eat snow crab and shrimp, along with mouthwatering brunch dishes including biscuits and gravy, crab cake benedict, waffles, shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese, and more.

Sol Cafe (1615 West Howard St.)

The Rogers Park staple, is celebrating the year’s end with its tropical paradise themed brunch. The menu includes a Caribbean Breakfast Bowl (all-spiced cornbread, crispy bacon, runny egg, stewed greens (kale-llaloo), bacon broth, chili lime peanuts), along with several vegetarian options such as the Jerk Bowl (charred jerk tofu, roasted yams, avocado, kale salad, toasted coconut, lime, cilantro, mint). Patrons are encouraged to bring their own alcohol for mixers like the Sol Punch (blood orange tea, acai berry, lime, orange, pineapple, orange blossom) and the Thailight (cold brew, coconut cream, ginger, coriander, cardamom). Along with the food and beverage specials, patrons will be greeted with tropical decor and an inspired playlist. Hours of operation through the new year will be 7am-3pm with food being served from 9am-3pm.

True Food Kitchen (1 West Erie Street)

Start those 2018 resolutions right away with a healthy New Year's Day brunch. True Food Kitchen will be offering seasonal favorites like Pineapple and Orange Mimosas, Matcha Horchata, Smaashed Avocado Toast, and a Vegan Chorizo Burrito. Brunch starts at 10:00 am on January 1st. Reservations are encouraged.

Public House (400 N State St.)

This River North Favorite will be sending 2017 out with an Anti-Resolution Brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am- 3:00 pm. $25 will get guests bottomless blood orange mimosas and bloody Mary's to accompany decadent dishes like Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread, Crab Cake Eggs Benedict, and 5 Layer Pancakes in three different flavors. It's also the last weekend for the seasonal Frosty the Cake Shake, a boozy chocolate peppermint milkshake that comes topped with a whole slice of cake and sprinkled with peppermint candies.

The Monkey's Paw (2524 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60614)

On New Year's Day, The Monkey's Paw will be serving up a menu of comfort food favorites. Farm Fresh Omelettes, French Toast with Whipped Ricotta, and Hot Beer Cheese Dip with pretzel bread and just a few of the options available to help you feel like yourself again after a night of partying. Add on the Mimosa Meal Deal for an extra $12 and receive bottomless mimosas with any entree. The Monkey's Paw will be open from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm on New Year's Day. 

New Year's Day Brunch Guide for 2015

La Sirena Clandestina
Friday, January 1 from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Live music from local samba band Planeta Azul will play musical sets throughout the day.  Sticking true to the South American tradition of eating seven pomegranate seeds for good luck in the New Year, Beverage Director Anthony Mitchell and LeBlonCachaça Brand Ambassador Daniel de Oliveira will greet guests with a complimentary Pisco Punch incorporating 7 pomegranate seeds into each portion. 

Sienna Tavern
Friday, January 1st, starting at 10 a.m.
If one recovery cocktail is not enough, order a bloody Mary carafe paired with the vodka of your choice, or select a bottle of bubbly and build your own table side mimosas. Dishes include Lobster Hash, Tiramisu French Toast or Caramelized Waffle.

Dolce
Friday January 1st 11:00-5:00
Extending their normal brunch hours, Dolce will feature their menu of signature pizzas and pastas all the way up until 5:00 p.m. was a pizza party starting New Year's Eve and carrying over into the wee hours of the morning.  One could literally just stay in the restaurant for an entire day of feasting!

Kit Kat Lounge
Friday, January 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Throughout the midday soiree, Diva Madam X will wow the crowd with live musical performances, as Kit Kat's mixologists shake up half-priced martinis.   Guests may enjoy Chef JoAnn Witherell’s brunch menu, featuring Chicken and Waffles, Rice Krispie French Toast, Crab Cake Benedict, Chilaquiles and more. Kit Kat's brunch drink package will be offered for $14.95, featuring free-flowing champagne, build-your-own Bloody Marys, mimosas, sangria and bellinis.

Filini Bar &Restaurant
New Year’s Day from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Chef Carolina Diaz presents an omelet station, prime rib carving station, and all the traditional breakfast eats you could want, along with a Bloody Mary & Mimosa bar for those who heal best hair-of-the-dog style. Brunch is priced at $75 per person, exclusive of tax and gratuity.

Bull & Bear
Friday, January 1st starting at 10:30am
Chow down on specialty "not so resolution" dishes like Biscuits & Gravy Pop Tarts and Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese and then wash it down with $5 22oz Stadium Drafts and $15 Bud Light Buckets. College bowl games will be broadcast all day long for the viewing pleasure of hung over sports fans.

Howells and Hood
January 1st from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 
The brunch is priced at $29 per person with menu items including: Made-to-order Omelet Station, Country ham, Applewood bacon, pulled pork, seasonal wild mushrooms, artichokes, heirloom tomatoes, etc. Carving Stations with Cedar River smoked brisket, Howells & Hood Country ham, Hot Station, Braised short rib chilaquiles, sticky buns, truffle potato casserole.  Charcuterie and Seafood Station will feature house-cured salamis and sausages, house-made mustards, smoked salmon, citrus-cured salmon, and deviled eggs.

Sixteen
11:00 a.m. –2:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day
Chef Thomas Lents will present a lavish brunch and complimentary Bloody Mary or Mimosa at Sixteen.  Appealing to the whole family, diners will have the option to select from a colorful array of soups, salads, charcuterie and a raw bar in addition to bustling stations featuring omelets, sushi and nigiri, carved specialty meats and fish and more. A Kids Table will be available including childhood favorites, from mini burgers to grilled cheese sandwiches.  New Year’s Day brunch is priced at $98 per adult guest and $35 per child aged 5-12 years.

Nana
9am-2:30pm New Year's Day
The 6th Annual Pajama Brunch will happen on New Years Day 2016,   It's the best way to start off the New Year- drinking Blood Mary's in your PJ's!  And this year, Nana is offering $5 gift cards to everyone who shows up for brunch on Friday in their pajamas.

Rockit Ranch Restaurants will be hosting a variety of brunches:

Bottlefork from 11:00 to 2:30

The Duck Inn from 12:00 to 5:00

Sunda from 11:00 to 3:00 with build your own Bloody Mary carts, mimosa kits with table side champagne and fresh berries, and imported rare teas

Rockit Burger Bar from 10:30 to 4:00 with $6 mimosas, build your own Bloody  Marys, and mojitos

Rockit from 10:00 to 4:00 Acoustic brunch with live music, build your own Bloody Marys and mimosa kits.  College games will play throughout the day with sound.

Still looking for a few more options?  Check out these lists from Time Out Chicago and Eater.

Toast or New Year’s...Hey!

The Slow and Savory Review:

There’s that old idiom that says, “Third time’s the charm,” and for Our Ladies and Toast, that has proven to be true.  Turning up at just past 10:30 on New Year’s Day, Our Ladies were surprised to find a table open and ready for them, as in their previous two tries they have been told a wait of more than an hour was expected.  Once inside, it’s easy to see why there’s such long waits, as Toast only holds about 20 medium sized tables in a smallish space.  But the ambiance is cozy enough, with varied toasters scattered around the room and ironic country rooster wallpaper.

This week Bunny and Brandy were accompanied by some new friends, Bean and Bailey Blue, a charming couple from Boise, who they had met at their local lodge’s annual New Year’s Eve Bash.  “I’ve heard lots of good things about this place,” said Bean good-naturedly, “Kinda has to be somewhat decent with a two hour wait, eh?”  He chortled to himself, causing Bailey to roll her eyes at him and smile to herself.

The menu had a few surprises and twists to it, but for the most part Our Ladies were presented with standard brunch fair: sandwiches, pancakes, omelets, and (of course) French Toast.  Our Quartet ordered beverages first, to cool their aching, celebration weary heads: a mocha, a latte, some fresh apple juice, and “Coffee… just bring me coffee,” groaned Bean.  For entrees, Bailey played it safe with 2 eggs, scrambled, with toast, fruit, and house potatoes, while Bunny ventured out of her comfort zone with a dish called “Pancake Orgy,” a combo of different pancake flavors, topped with yogurt and granola.  Brandy ordered something similar, the “French Toast Orgy,” while Bean tempted Bunny’s ire by ordering the Tenderloin Benedict, with a truffle flavored hollandaise. 

Drinks and food arrived in a decent amount of time.  By then, Our Ladies had noticed the huddled masses forming at the front door and whispered amongst themselves that they must have just missed the rush by mere seconds.

Bailey’s eggs were a lovely, simple dish, just as promised.  However, Bailey noted that her scrambled eggs were the best she’d ever had in a restaurant.  “They have weight to them, you know?” she chirped, “So often places make scrambled eggs too fluffy.”

Bean’s Tenderloin Benedict was cooked wonderfully, with just the right amount of runny to his yolks.  He observed that there was something a little different about the hollandaise, which the waitress told him was due to the lemon included in the recipe.  But Bean found the house potatoes disapprovingly bland and greasy.  “I’m from Idaho and I know a good potato,” he was heard to remark.

Brandy’s dish came with three pieces of stuffed French toast of different flavors: strawberry, Mexican Chocolate, and Mascarpone.  The menu had promised a topping of yogurt, granola, fresh berries, and honey, but sadly, the dish only came with the berries and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.  The stuffings themselves were good and just the right amount of unusual to make things interesting, but the French Toast into which they had been stuffed could have been cooked up in almost diner’s kitchen.

Finally, Bunny’s pancakes did come with the promised granola and yogurt, but sadly, Bunny felt the granola didn’t help the already dry, yet fluffy pancakes.  The flavors, which were meant to be banana, blueberry, and lemon poppy seed weren’t very distinct from one another either.

After eating and paying their bill, Our Ladies and guests were rather rudely rushed along by a manager so that the next of the millions of people on the waiting list could have a seat.  All in all, Toast proved to be mediocre at best, and no where near the standard expected by a two hour wait for food.  With so many other hidden gems around the city, Our Ladies wondered why it was that anyone would wait that long for over priced and under-plated comestibles.  After all, why wait when you could be full and happy by the time some one on the Toast waiting list is just being seated.

P.S.  Our Ladies would like to extend a hearty congratulations to NANA for hosting a very successful and refreshing Pajammy Jam New Year’s Day Brunch, and they most certainly look forward to that sort of spectacle being instituted for brunches across the land!

The Short and Sweet Review: