From-scratch recipes elevate brunch at Carpentersville's Southern Belles
If you lament weekends in the suburbs because comforting brunch spots seem to be clustered in Chicago, you can stop your bellyaching. Classic and trendy breakfast and lunch dishes, either decadent or wholesome with walloping flavor, are waiting every day at Southern Belles Pancake House in Carpentersville. And you won't be dropping serious Chicago-style dough either.
Located in a strip mall across from Spring Hill Mall, Southern Belles' 6,000-square-foot eatery has been open since late January, joining its other locations in Barrington, Bedford Park, Plainfield and Yorkville.
Thinking it was a great omen for omelets, we didn't mind that the parking lot had nary a spot open on a rainy weekday afternoon. The restaurant was packed with families, co-workers, retired folks and a smattering of singles enjoying burgers, sizable salads, steamy bowls of soup and lots of big breakfasts.
Although you might imagine a Southern-themed eatery would be crammed with country kitsch, the restaurant is spacious but sparsely decorated. I'd rather the effort take place in the kitchen anyway.
In addition to the prodigious menu, we were relieved the house coffee wasn't your typical unenthusiastic diner joe. The Red Eye roast is a robust, medium bean offering enough richness to want another cup from the pitcher that hits the table in no time flat.
Co-owners Steve Fotos, Harold Oliver and Frank Georgacopoulos devised a menu that borrows from the Southern belt of the country, so you'll find shrimp and grits, tasty Tex-Mex like Migas, and fried chicken and waffles to go along with your country fried steak and eggs.
A breakfast restaurant can be an easy gold mine - basically eggs, pancakes and sandwiches - but portions, selection and from-scratch recipes elevate Southern Belles. Two soups, a broth and a cream-based, are cooked up daily as are the buttery biscuits (and we hear the sausage gravy is a decades-old recipe). The kitchen staff stays busy hand-forming burgers lightly so they remain juicy; salsa is prepared three times a week with roasted tomatoes and garlic; and the homemade chicken chorizo is acres away from the oily, orange pork version. In fact, all sausages are made in-house - chicken/apple/cherry, breakfast sausage patties and the chicken chorizo.
So what will it be? A golden hollandaise dolloped atop two perfectly poached eggs? There are seven Benedicts in the $10-$11 range, from the classic to one that involves grits with seared pork belly, tomato and spinach. The all-buttermilk pancakes are generously sized and cushiony, but there are also sweet potato, whole grain, fruity and decadently adorned options. When you feel like dessert for breakfast, go for the Triple Chocolate Pancakes ($9.25). The griddled discs are made with chocolate-infused batter pocketed with chocolate morsels and drizzled with more chocolate.
You might actually wish for a hangover when you know that the popular Migas awaits - fried tortilla triangles bathed in grilled jalapeños, onions and tomatoes, tossed with eggs and pepper jack cheese and accented with fresh pico de gallo and sour cream ($10.95). Sweet and savory crepes; breakfast tacos; thick omelets with a choice of cheesy grits or hash browns and toast or pancakes; crazy layered skillets (like the Hotlanta with shredded spuds, smoked sausage, chicken, onion, cheese, peppers and eggs); and French toast are among your choices.
Even though soup and a sandwich had a soothing appeal on a rainy day, having breakfast out is always a treat. And homemade corned beef hash is my kryptonite, so it was one of the house specialties for me. The homemade hash (a medley of shredded corned beef, onions, green peppers and potatoes) had deep flavor and zero grease. And although the over-medium eggs, hash browns and pancake accompaniments were expertly prepared, I wanted more of the hash. My lunch mate has a similar food affinity for biscuits and gravy. He proclaimed the biscuit fluffy, not leaden, and the sausage gravy generously peppered, not too salty and very satisfying. Southern Belles just rolled out potato pancakes as a special, so we also tried a half order. They were fragrant with onion and potato and surprisingly light.
When we head back, I'd go all country with shrimp and grits or chicken and waffles.
If it all sounds like a cardiologist's nightmare, know that Southern Belles offers a substantial selection that is a nutritionist's dream. Low-calorie scramblers, healthy wraps, baked oatmeal, fruit parfait; gluten-free options like ancient-grain French toast, faux grits made with cauliflower rice and popular Johnnycakes; salads; and a nice nod to vegans with black bean quinoa sliders, oatmeal pancakes, a kale wrap and more.
Sandwiches, wraps and burgers come with sides of soup, choice of fries, house slaw or side salad. Frank Georgacopoulos said that regulars go for “The Gobbler,” $10.95 worth of smoked turkey, cranberry pecan pesto, arugula and fresh apple on baked bread, and “Moo-Cluck-Oink,” bacon and a sunny-side up egg atop a grilled burger with fixings on a brioche bun. Specials change monthly, so it could be a burnt ends skillet, chicken salad sandwich or an Athena grilled cheese with olive tapenade, grilled red onion, zucchini, tomato and Feta cheese.
As for the service, water glasses were filled immediately and empty plates bussed just as quickly. Plus, our charming waitress let me change my order without missing a beat.
<i>Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.</i>
Southern Belles Pancake House
152 S. Western Ave., Carpentersville, (224) 699-9959,
Cuisine: Breakfast and brunch favorites
Setting: Spacious, comfortable strip mall locale
Prices: $5-$14.95
Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily