m. henry

There’s no shortage of great breakfast spots in Chicago, and many of them have already been written about here at Roadfood.com. Let us add one of our favorites to the mix, Andersonville’s m. henry. Their motto is “chow for now,” which apparently refers to a modern food sensibility that focuses on locally sourced and organic provisions and healthy eating. But, clearly, taste comes first here because the breakfasts we’ve tried have been sensational.

Fannie’s Killer Fried Egg Sandwich, a breakfast menu highlight, fills toasted sourdough slices with two over-medium eggs, applewood bacon, sliced plum tomatoes, gorgonzola, and fresh thyme. It sounds great and tastes even better. A spectacular breakfast special of butternut~applepecan hotcakes (tilde theirs) incorporated butternut squash into the batter. The whole shebang was garnished to a fare-thee-well with fruits and nuts, creams and syrups. We have our eyes on a dandelion, leek, and shallot omelette for a future visit. No, this ain’t your uncle’s diner grub!

Fruit juices and lemonade are fresh-squeezed. Locally roasted coffee is organic and fair trade. On your way in you’ll pass through the bakery, and those cinnamon rolls (and cakes and tarts and brownies and cookies) look mighty tempting.

The lunch menu features a roster of well-thought-out sandwiches, including some vegetarian options like a nut-and-grain meatloaf and a veggie Dagwood. And we have to love a place that features two versions of grilled cheese. There are also hot bowls built around noodles, brown rice, or black beans.

Prices are more than reasonable for food prepared with this much care. Most breakfast and lunch dishes run in the $7-10 range. Brunches are particularly popular, and you can expect a significant wait on weekend mornings. The restaurant closes at 3, the bakery at 4.