At upscale eateries, traditional breakfast offering is toast
FINE DINING | Pricey, exotic meals become order of the day
After a night of VIP treatment at an Eagles concert in Chicago, what's for breakfast? A cheese omelet? Eggs over easy?
Not for Danville friends Jackie Black and Sandy Golseth, who chose crab cake benedict, pinto beans, chips and salsa at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago.
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
Sixteen at Trump International Hotel & Tower
Scrambled eggs, smoked bacon and mint with caviar on brioche: $24
Two eggs with home fries, choice of meat, tomato provencale and breads: $17
Dry cereal: $7
Strawberry-kiwi juice: $6
Coffee: $5
NoMI at the Park Hyatt
NoMI lobster Benedict: poached eggs on a muffin with sauteed spinach, lobster medallion and hollandaise sauce: $25
Two eggs with beef tenderloin: $26
Two eggs with meat: $18
Dry cereal with fruit: $9
"You've got your veggies; your protein," Golseth said. "We don't have to have lunch," Black chimed in.
Breakfast is going over the top at hotels these days, as culinary maestros have found a new playground, bringing lobster and other delicacies to the morning table.
"Chefs have experimented more in doing some more creative dishes with it," said Mark Payne, executive chef at the Cafe at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago, 160 E. Pearson, which counts lemon ricotta pancakes ($19) among the popular luxury-inspired items on its breakfast menu.
His Bento Box meal ($21) includes an egg and chicken sausage biscuit, challah French toast, honey from Chile, and granola and quince-apple parfait. It's all served in a compartmentalized box.
"Sometimes hotel dining can be looked upon as being not very cutting edge, or boring," he said. "I certainly like to challenge that mind-set."
At Viand, which provides room service for the Marriott Courtyard hotel, chef Steve Chiappetti pushes batter-fried french toast topped with bananas foster.
"It's very rich; very indulgent," he said. "It's not for the lighthearted."
Hotels are encouraging that creativity, looking to provide their guests more upscale amenities. It's a trend that has filtered down from higher-end hotels to the three- and four-star properties, said Phil Mott, a professor at Kendall College's Les Roches School of Hospitality Management.
"It's an inexpensive way of differentiating yourself. When people go to hotels, particularly in the leisure side, they're looking to be pampered and those other steps of comfort," he said. "It signals to you that you are being taken care of."
Guests have taken to the uncommon offerings, making the lobster eggs benedict ($22) a hit at C-House in the Affinia Hotel, which opened in May at 166 E. Superior, said chef Seth Siegel-Gardner.
"I was shocked at how many we sold," he said. "We thought we'd sell maybe one once a week. But some days it's four or five a day."