Tom Waits 2 A.M. Breakfast 1987 from Eleven City Diner
Item Purchased: Tom Waits 2 A.M. Breakfast 1987 from Eleven City Diner
Location Purchased: Eleven City Diner / 1112 S. Wabash / Chicago, IL
Price: $8.95 + tax
Review: My first impression upon receiving the three gigantic plates this breakfast is served on was to wonder when Tom Waits was ever fat. If this is what the gravel-voiced songster ate at 2 A.M. every morning in 1987, it is a wonder he is still alive at all, let alone still able to stand on two legs. This is a lot of food! Two eggs (any style), two plate-sized pancakes, two strips of bacon, two sausage links, two slices of toast and a healthy helping of some of the best breakfast potatoes (crisp on the outside, mashed-potato soft on the inside) I've had in a Chicago diner are what make up this moderately high-priced breakfast dish. The bad news is, you probably won't finish this thing. The good news is, this is the highest priced breakfast dish I saw on the menu at the new Eleven City Diner. (Unless you consider lox a breakfast dish...I don't even consider lox food)
My only complaint with the Tom Waits plate is that the amount of eggs you get seems to be so miniscule compared to the rest of the dish. This is probably because Eleven City uses real eggs instead of a pre-mixed vat of egg liquid and milk like several other diners in this city seem to use.
For those of you who live in Chicago or read the Chicagoist web site, you have probably already heard about the Eleven City. You've read others' wavering reviews, now read my (slightly) more stable one.
What the Eleven City aims to be and ends up becoming are more synonymous than those other reviewers would have you believe. With a classic diner look, minimalist decor, full-service bar (coming soon), full-service deli counter, candy counter and jazz music getting your toes tapping even before your first sip of coffee, this newest of South Loop restaurants offers more options and hours than a hooker in one of Waits' rambling songs. To be able to pull this many ambitions together into one place and make it all work as seamless as the Eleven City is an amazing feat. Located just north of the Roosevelt Red, Green and Orange line train stop on Wabash, this diner is as easy to get to as it is interesting to observe. The menu is a step and a half above typical greasy spoon fare at a price that is moderate in general and low for the South Loop area of Chicago.
Despite the obvious head-nod to classic diners of the 1950s, Eleven City doesn't feel like a diner straight out of the era. Due to the cast and crew on the floor as well as the obvious realization of its influences, the diner is a place you want visit on a regular basis and not just some cute kitschy spectacle. There are no pretensions among the people who greet and get you to eat, so even though the atmosphere seems a bit like a caricature, the staff's friendly and attentive demeanor let you relax and start your day off gimmick-free. What you get at the Eleven City is conversation when you want it, peace and quiet when you need it and a great price for generous portions of carefully prepared food.
As a current resident of the South Loop area of Chicago, I plan on making the best of this nearby spot often...At least for the next month before I move, that is.
If you find yourself near the Roosevelt stop on the CTA, be sure to check this spot out for yourself. If you order the Tom Waits plate, be sure to peek behind the computerized register at the bar. Hiding behind it, in appropriate fashion, is a portrait of Tom Waits himself. I assume the owner of Eleven City has plans to hang this photo on the wall somewhere, but I think it fits perfectly where it was this morning, propped up and slightly hidden just the way I imagine Waits himself to have been situated when he stumbled into a restaurant at 2 A.M. in 1987.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Location Purchased: Eleven City Diner / 1112 S. Wabash / Chicago, IL
Price: $8.95 + tax
Review: My first impression upon receiving the three gigantic plates this breakfast is served on was to wonder when Tom Waits was ever fat. If this is what the gravel-voiced songster ate at 2 A.M. every morning in 1987, it is a wonder he is still alive at all, let alone still able to stand on two legs. This is a lot of food! Two eggs (any style), two plate-sized pancakes, two strips of bacon, two sausage links, two slices of toast and a healthy helping of some of the best breakfast potatoes (crisp on the outside, mashed-potato soft on the inside) I've had in a Chicago diner are what make up this moderately high-priced breakfast dish. The bad news is, you probably won't finish this thing. The good news is, this is the highest priced breakfast dish I saw on the menu at the new Eleven City Diner. (Unless you consider lox a breakfast dish...I don't even consider lox food)
My only complaint with the Tom Waits plate is that the amount of eggs you get seems to be so miniscule compared to the rest of the dish. This is probably because Eleven City uses real eggs instead of a pre-mixed vat of egg liquid and milk like several other diners in this city seem to use.
For those of you who live in Chicago or read the Chicagoist web site, you have probably already heard about the Eleven City. You've read others' wavering reviews, now read my (slightly) more stable one.
What the Eleven City aims to be and ends up becoming are more synonymous than those other reviewers would have you believe. With a classic diner look, minimalist decor, full-service bar (coming soon), full-service deli counter, candy counter and jazz music getting your toes tapping even before your first sip of coffee, this newest of South Loop restaurants offers more options and hours than a hooker in one of Waits' rambling songs. To be able to pull this many ambitions together into one place and make it all work as seamless as the Eleven City is an amazing feat. Located just north of the Roosevelt Red, Green and Orange line train stop on Wabash, this diner is as easy to get to as it is interesting to observe. The menu is a step and a half above typical greasy spoon fare at a price that is moderate in general and low for the South Loop area of Chicago.
Despite the obvious head-nod to classic diners of the 1950s, Eleven City doesn't feel like a diner straight out of the era. Due to the cast and crew on the floor as well as the obvious realization of its influences, the diner is a place you want visit on a regular basis and not just some cute kitschy spectacle. There are no pretensions among the people who greet and get you to eat, so even though the atmosphere seems a bit like a caricature, the staff's friendly and attentive demeanor let you relax and start your day off gimmick-free. What you get at the Eleven City is conversation when you want it, peace and quiet when you need it and a great price for generous portions of carefully prepared food.
As a current resident of the South Loop area of Chicago, I plan on making the best of this nearby spot often...At least for the next month before I move, that is.
If you find yourself near the Roosevelt stop on the CTA, be sure to check this spot out for yourself. If you order the Tom Waits plate, be sure to peek behind the computerized register at the bar. Hiding behind it, in appropriate fashion, is a portrait of Tom Waits himself. I assume the owner of Eleven City has plans to hang this photo on the wall somewhere, but I think it fits perfectly where it was this morning, propped up and slightly hidden just the way I imagine Waits himself to have been situated when he stumbled into a restaurant at 2 A.M. in 1987.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
posted by Kevin | permalink |
3 Comments:
o great consumatron, why do they offer both pancakes AND toast?
Because Atkins is dead and he took his dietary lies with him.
Oh, heee, now I have some place I want to go for breakfast, my least favorite meal of the day.
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