Brunch in Chicago: Left Coast

Happy Sunday friends!! I hope everyone is having a fab day. Sundays are by far my favorite day of the week. I love getting up early and jam packing the day with lots of fun activities and treats. On today’s agenda, brunch (duh), a little shopping and walking around in the sunshine, and then going to the Hawks game tonight!! No Sunday Scaries on a Sunday Funday!

I’m super excited to be writing this post because I’ve been wanting to launch a Chicago brunch series for my blog for quite some time now. I am a huuuuuge foodie, and love spending as much time as I can exploring the Chicago food scene in as many neighborhoods as possible! Luckily my boyfriend Francis is the exact same way, so we typically spend 75% of our weekends doing something food related.

Brunch is without a doubt my favorite meal. It’s more than just a meal in between the time of breakfast and lunch, it’s cultural. It also features all of my favorite types of drinks: coffee, juice, and cocktails, and is the only time of day when it is acceptable to have dessert as your entree. I eat out to brunch every day of the weekend, every weekend, religiously, and am always on the hunt for the latest and greatest thing.

First up for this series is Lincoln Park’s Left Coast Food and Juice, which features quick, healthy, and flavorful eats featuring produce grown at nearby farms. You order up at a counter and then can either sit in the restaurant’s seating area, a mix of high tables, bars, and long tables, or easily take it to go. They have tons of California-inspired cuisine, think acai bowls, avocado toast, and matcha lattes. Speaking of, their matcha latte is the best I’ve had in the city. Not too sweet!!

Everything on the menu sounded incredible. I actually came here last summer for my 22nd birthday and ordered the buckwheat smoked salmon ricotta crepes, which were more or less life changing.

This time, I ordered the Montecito Hash, which features two poached eggs, garnet yams, red bell pepper, kale, spinach, queso fresco, lemon yogurt, toasted pepitas, and LC’s very own hot sauce. Omg. Let me tell ya. This dish could not have been more up my alley. Everything tasted SO fresh and flavorful. The eggs were fantastic, (poached so that when you break into them, all of the yolks pour out UGH), the flavors of the dressings were so balanced and not overly heavy. The spinach was left raw, (which I love for health reasons!), and the yams and red pepper were roasted to perfection.

Francis got the pancakes, three buckwheat pancakes, seasonal fruit, greek yogurt, granola, maple syrup. This was also just out of this world good. I love buckwheat; it is a crazy healthy grain and makes for really hearty and filling pancakes! There was some sort of magical drizzle on top and some sort of cranberry relish. They reminded me of Christmas.

Left Coast also has tons of juices, smoothies, salads, and grain bowls.  The only real downside to this restaurant is the seating situation. You get a number when you order and then have to find a spot. It was SO packed when we got there; the line was practically out the door. We got lucky this time and grabbed some seats at a counter once we spotted a couple that were just finishing up.

Overall, always an incredible experience here!! If you’re looking for something healthy and fresh and looking to take a little walk over to the other coast, I highly recommend! It’s not exactly a traditional brunch spot- no bloodys and mimosas here. And the whole eating process is relatively quick; the food comes out quickly on recyclable plates, and when it’s packed you may feel obligated to get out of there as soon as you’re finished eating. So if you’re looking for a long and boozy brunch I would try elsewhere!

More info here: http://www.leftcoastfood.com/

Until next time!

Xo,

Meghan